Backstory introduction

[British]

I'm not sure if I really like the idea.  It definitely sounds neat, but I kind of like the current theme of "here's the situation you find yourself in".

That's how I see it as well: shit happens, you barely survive and crash-land somewhere, and then you have to make-do with the few things you have.

[AspenShadow]

Also I think you're underestimating the extra work Tynan would have to put in to make this change considering we have a perfectly functioning game-start system in place already.

Tynan could use a break from hearing about complex ideas that people want him to input at some point right about now I think. Like I said in another thread, it's best to slow down the influx of ideas on this forum until we've played the Alpha.

[Semmy]

Also I think you're underestimating the extra work Tynan would have to put in to make this change considering we have a perfectly functioning game-start system in place already.

Tynan could use a break from hearing about complex ideas that people want him to input at some point right about now I think. Like I said in another thread, it's best to slow down the influx of ideas on this forum until we've played the Alpha.

I completely agree.

But there is always a BUT.
He has such a great kickstarter start that he could almost get a extra programmer for the complex ideas d-;

[AspenShadow]

I completely agree.

But there is always a BUT.
He has such a great kickstarter start that he could almost get a extra programmer for the complex ideas d-;

I had considered the likelihood of him doing that myself to be honest, though it may mean more (labour of love) to Tynan if he does most of the coding himself? It'll be a good boost to Ludeon Studios and his emerging reputation as a competent independent games designer.

Art direction is definitely needed to break away from the PA-art we're using as a placeholder because it comes up in almost every youtube LP lol, but beyond that I think most of the money is likely going to be saved for those surprising little costs you can't prepare for and time for him to devote himself to it entirely without ruining his health.

[CommieKazie]

I agree this is something that wouldn't get added for awhile (if at all).  But I don't think the idea should be dismissed for that reason.  It's also not a topic that requires "wait until alpha" to see how things are implemented.  It stands alone from other gameplay elements.

There is a functional game-start system, but this proposed system adds to it.  It gives backstory and environment to the game, which is otherwise a random occurrence.  Nor does this system remove the "here's the situation you find yourself in" feel.  You are still crash-landing with not enough supplies, fighting to survive.  Even if some choices were available at start (which we have, as it stands) that doesn't make surviving any easier.  The game also lets you file through an infinite number of "randomized" characters.  Doesn't this backstory explain why we have that option?
Actually for a true "here's the situation you find yourself in" feel, should we have any choices at all?

I understand your concerns that it is overly complicated, so let me draw a comparison.  The FTL New-Game menu sticks you 'in-game' in a hanger.  You can shuffle through ships and variants, but you have something to look at.  The hanger is more atmospheric to the game than a simple "Pick one" prompt.  The current system is a list of stats and words.  There is nothing wrong with that, but I think the proposed system would ease players into the game.  It would also allow for a small tutorial on character and console control before putting players in charge of a colony.

Drop the time limit if it sounds intimidating.  The proposition is the exact same system the current new-game interface has, but with environment and feel.  Like the Call of Duty game where you can get out of the chair and walk around outside of the main menu.  Or Perfect Dark (back to N64 days), the main menu was a computer you could open up; otherwise you were free to walk around the building.

[SpaceEatingTrex]

I don't know if we'd actually want any gameplay segments on the ship, because that would be such a different playstyle it could be an entirely new game!

However, I do think we could do interesting things with the pre-game to give RimWorld more depth. In addition to the ideas mentioned in this thread, here's a quote from another thread:

in the main menu... put a "Quickdraw" button (in keeping with the western theme)

i dont want to know what storyteller i am getting... or who my colonists are... or whatever else there is to choose... make it all random and drop me off

With this and the ideas from this thread in mind, I think RimWorld could have three different beginnings:

• Quick Start - as described above, immediately start the game with everything randomized.
• Strategic Start - the current start, where players choose their character and storyteller. I hope this will be expanded to let players control or randomize as much as they want.
• Story Start - this would be like the King of Dragon Pass Opening, where players build a story that determines how they start. For instance, the game starts with a space liner crash, but what if was it a military ship, a cargo ship, a research ship, or something else? Where was it headed, and what did the captain do when it started to crash? By letting the player make decisions about how their story begins, we give them the chance to be invested in their story before the game even starts. I think this kind of option could add depth to both players' stories and starting gameplay.

None of those go into as much detail as CommieKazie's idea, but what do you guys think? If you got to decide how your RimWorld game started, what would you do?

[windruf]

Thoughts?

hate idea.
we save all or die together. everyone who is to soft for this will be send to make reservations for us in hell

[murlocdummy]

I agree this is something that wouldn't get added for awhile (if at all).  But I don't think the idea should be dismissed for that reason.  It's also not a topic that requires "wait until alpha" to see how things are implemented.  It stands alone from other gameplay elements.

There is a functional game-start system, but this proposed system adds to it.  It gives backstory and environment to the game, which is otherwise a random occurrence.  Nor does this system remove the "here's the situation you find yourself in" feel.  You are still crash-landing with not enough supplies, fighting to survive.  Even if some choices were available at start (which we have, as it stands) that doesn't make surviving any easier.  The game also lets you file through an infinite number of "randomized" characters.  Doesn't this backstory explain why we have that option?
Actually for a true "here's the situation you find yourself in" feel, should we have any choices at all?

I understand your concerns that it is overly complicated, so let me draw a comparison.  The FTL New-Game menu sticks you 'in-game' in a hanger.  You can shuffle through ships and variants, but you have something to look at.  The hanger is more atmospheric to the game than a simple "Pick one" prompt.  The current system is a list of stats and words.  There is nothing wrong with that, but I think the proposed system would ease players into the game.  It would also allow for a small tutorial on character and console control before putting players in charge of a colony.

Drop the time limit if it sounds intimidating.  The proposition is the exact same system the current new-game interface has, but with environment and feel.  Like the Call of Duty game where you can get out of the chair and walk around outside of the main menu.  Or Perfect Dark (back to N64 days), the main menu was a computer you could open up; otherwise you were free to walk around the building.

Personally, I'm imagining the opening sequence of System Shock 2, where you're asked to make a series of in-character decisions that will affect how you start the game.  Still, the usage of a more atmospherically appropriate menu system, as stated by CommieKazie, is something that would be leaps and bounds superior to the overwhelming majority of games that don't use that kind of immersion technique.  It's too bad that this is the kind of thing that would have to wait until beta or even post-release before enough resources can be gathered for its implementation, but it's not bad to talk about it in this early stage of production.

[Yellowdart1]

I love this idea, but I picture it as a race against the clock sort of thing. I picture there being a large selection of differently shaped and sized tile space ships. All of the "walkable" areas, the whole ship, would be surrounded by several layers of tiles that represent "Hull Integrity". If you were crashing due to an uncharted asteroid field, the hull would start getting eaten away on one side from the outside. If you were crashing due to an internal high-heat fuel fire, the fire would start to eat it's way outside. Everything would be randomized, like the rest of the game, so you would not know how many people you will start with, where your cryo tubes will start you out, if they are all together, if they are near the escape pods, if the supplies and any weapons are near either of those, if you would be able to reach all of the supplies (some might be consumed by the fire, or an airlock door closed of an outlying part of the ship due to hull breach, so no food to take). Also, some of your colonists might die from cryo system failure, or be burned up before anyone even wakes up, or just take a lot longer to wake up. A certain number of your escape pods could be damaged, as well. The AI storyteller could eventually balance a higher number of escape pods with a smaller amount of food to grab to make it more challenging. One colonist (leader? Ship captain? Security Officer?) might wake up with a pistol, but any other weapons, all low level, would be in an arms room some distance away, possibly unreachable based on ship damage. The player could choose to launch any one pod at will but once the escape pod room has been breached, all pods would launch automatically with whatever is inside. I also feel it would be a good thing for challenging game play to spread escape pods over the map randomly, so you have to risk (future) wild predators, (future) sandstorms, etc. to rejoin your group.