Please forgive me, but, well... This still suffers from the problems of
complexity and and lack of focus that the current system does.
I think the problem is that you’re trying too hard to be intresting. In
short, you’re enjoying the rules and ideas you’re coming up with. That
means that you want to come up with more of them, because it’s fun. I've
done that multiple times in the past. It doesn't work very well. Look, for
instance, at my first contract system. A very flexible and detailed system
that was also so complicated that no one wanted to figure out how it worked.
I can't promise that this will work, but what you might try doing is to
start with a very simple idea and then add just enough so it's not actively
boring. So, basically, pick a paragraph of your current plan (and, for the
love of the light, please, not the one you marked as arguable), and make
that your new plan. See if you can do it all in ~three rules, about two
reasonably sized paragraphs each. Remember that brevity is a virtue.
Designing a large system that fits well together and that is also simple
and focused is extremely hard. I still can't do it myself without a lot of
help, although I'm getting better after a ton of practice and mistakes. A
small focused system that can be expanded later is probably a better idea.
When I say that you should be able to come up with a reasonable summary
(that is, one that gives people enough background to understand what's
going on) that's a paragraph long, I meant it. Examples:
1. There are politicians and political parties. Players, through normal
game activities, gain favors which they can use to gain power and influence
more politicians, eventually allowing the player to win. Politicians also
have special powers which the players who control the build up political
power.
2. There's a currency called stems with no intrinsic utility. Players have
one of three roles, which they can only change rarely, and which allow them
to bid with stems for one of three more specialized currencies that help
with gameplay. One currency controls proposals, another provides extra
votes, and a third removes judicial punishments. Various officers have the
power to set economic policy for each currency, setting the amount at
auction and the taxation rate.
I'm not trying to shoot down your ideas; I just want to help you come up
with a strong proposal. The fact that it's supposed to coexist with
Politics makes the need for simplicity even greater, but most of this is
generally applicable. I hope that I've helped.
-Aris
On Mon, Oct 8, 2018 at 6:00 PM ATMunn <iamingodsa...@gmail.com> wrote:
After some feedback on my last message and some time outside earlier
today, I've refined my Putting Agora in Space idea. The biggest
"complaint" on that was that it was too broad and too much like the land
system which is likely about to be repealed. So, I've thought about it a
bit, and here is the new idea.
This system will be largely its own system, but will be interlinked with
the Politics system (assuming that passes). Its main focus will be on
space battles. This was something that I hesitated to have in the
original idea; however, when Aris suggested narrowing down the idea to
one main system, that was what e mentioned. I don't think e was
specifically suggesting that and instead using it more as a suggestion,
but I actually thought it could work. E also suggested having several
smaller economic systems linked together as opposed to one main one, so
I decided to make this work along those lines.
Planets will likely still be a thing, however they won't be nearly as
influential and important as they were going to be originally. Instead
of being owned directly by players, planets are owned by political
parties. Players can gain Favours with parties by defending the party's
planets from invaders. There will probably be a fixed number of planets.
(This part is debatable) There may be a select few planets owned by
Agora instead of a party which are where players must travel to perform
certain game actions, such as voting, making proposals, etc. This could
create an interesting dynamic, but could also be annoying and too much
of a hassle.
Each player has a Spaceship. This is what allows em to travel around the
galaxy, and is used to fight space battles. Upgrades can be bought for
Spaceships to increase things like their fuel capacity, speed, attack
strength, etc. There may be a limit to how many upgrades a Spaceship can
have, causing players to either specialize in a particular thing, or
have more of a "jack of all trades" Spaceship.
There are also some non-player controlled Spaceships that will roam
around the galaxy. There are friendly ships called Merchants; players
can trade with these to sell unneeded things and potentially buy things
at a lower price than normal, or even buy special things only available
through Merchants. On the other end of the spectrum, there are Pirates
which will try to attack Merchants, players, and Planets.
Every player has a Fame switch. When a player's Fame is above a
particular threshold, e is considered Famous; when eir Fame is below a
particular negative threshold, e is considered Infamous. Fame is
increased by doing good deeds such as trading with Merchants, helping
players by giving them things or helping repair their ships, defeating
Pirates, or even defeating Infamous players. Fame is decreased mainly by
attacking Merchants and other players. Both fame and infamy can have
rewards, so players can choose either path.
I haven't actually thought much about how space battles will actually
work. I imagine it will be some sort of turn-based thing, where once a
player engages in a battle, e and the other ship will take turns
attacking (or defending) until one is defeated or retreats.
Another thing I'm unsure about is how one will actually encounter other
ships. Some battles will take place near a planet, but I imagine most
will occur in interplanetary space. I'm not really too thrilled about
having a big space map, as we just got done with having a map. Of
course, it would be very different then that was, but I feel like
there's some better way.
I think this is the main bulk of the idea at the moment. One other idea
I had is political parties giving players "side-quests" that they can
perform, such as transporting goods between planets. This could give
players another thing to specialize in.
Again, as always, thoughts greatly appreciated. I think I'm liking the
direction this is heading, though.
