Sobriquet
Vanguard
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Posts: 118
Location: Reno, NV
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 Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2004 7:25 pm Post subject: Zaimat says – Overview |
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Because the original thread, "What We Know So Far" has the potential of becoming HUGE and untenable, it was decided to split it up into its compenent parts and post each section seperately here in"Goodies".
The information is still the same, albeit a bit more streamlined. Please do read the threads from which these snippets are taken. As always, the contents of the posts are unchanged except for an occasional punctuation mark for clarity.
So without further ado . . .
Zaimat says – Overview
Epic Exploration of Space War Game (1rst Post & Long)
I know the initial reaction is from the perspective of older games but a lot of it does not apply because in Horizon space is large and open and a lot of other things have effect on how you conduct battle and what makes a strategy successful.
Galaxy layout questions
The way the galaxy is setup in Horizon:
1) It's total open space. . . . the galaxy [is divided] into sectors . . . A sector is pretty huge in itself spanning many screens. . .
2) . . . each sector can have a maximum of one star
3) We've set the limit to 9 planets max per system. No colonizing of moons.
4) There are no artificial barriers between stars or sectors, it's one whole continous galaxy space.
5) The galaxy, stars, planets are all randomly generated
6) Movement is in 2-axis, planets are on a different (background) plane . . .
. . . in Horizon you will simply pick the best planets, instead of colonizing everything . . .
Space Monsters, Super Races...please No!
There aren't any super-races that interfere with the gameplay
There are races in Horizon much more powerful than you, a lowly new space-faring race at the beginning. That does not mean you can't work with them or avoid them or fight them and survive if you play smart.
There aren't any super-races that interfere with the gameplay such as the antarans in MOO2 where the player had no control or interaction with. But to their credit they did give the player the option to turn it off.
There are races in Horizon much more powerful than you, a lowly new space-faring race at the beginning. That does not mean you can't work with them or avoid them or fight them and survive if you play smart.
Ship design and tactical combat (lots of good info here READ ME!!!)
Who said things were fair in this galaxy...
As others have answered you get to play the humans not too far in the future where we have just begun to explore the stars.
Science, trade and some spies...
. . . we are trying to make things more 'realistic' as much as possible in Horizon and still keep it simple and easy to play.
Small revelation for the day
There is an explanation for the humanoids storywise...
The tantik are not cyborgs and indeed they are supposed to look like peasants because they are...
How to Win Horizon
. . . it's all about beginnings, discovery, contact, survival, expansion, building and leading your empire to become a part of the galactic 'scene' or family of major races. You are the new kid on the block . . . and you will have to 'fight' your way to make it among them. That is in 'general terms' winning in Horizon.
Now specifically to 'end' a game: Two endings are story based set of conditions which I won't get into (it's so much more fun discovering the first time) but they do involve conquering your enemies with any means. And there is always the popular another race obliterating earth (losing your homeworld ends the game even if you have other colonies you can't recover). We are considering other options as well but we're very happy with the current set of possibilities so time will tell.
Outposts/outer colonies
What happens is, if you are in between turns, well you get to see your galaxy map clearly indicating any objects trespassing in your space. If you are in between turns, one of two things will happen. If nothing else is happening, your view will automatically move to that sector of space and you watch/take actions. If you were already 'busy' with another event you will get a notification and you can either choose to ignore it (let the AI deal with it) or switch your focus there and oversee it yourself.
There will be a lot of systems/planets available to explore (hundreds of systems, a few thousand planets unless you change the parameters of the galaxy). Expansion and exploration will not be just part of the start of the game but are throughout the game. The act of colonizing isn't the hard part, but developing that colony. So you will pick the best planets or the most important strategically.
Well “best planets” is in regards to the viability such as the atmosphere being native to your race (this is a huge factor), mineral resources are also important if you plan to build a colony with real industry, etc.
. . . developing a colony (or just holding onto it) is a costly venture but it won't always be an option.
Pre-disposition for war
The majority of races are not pre-disposed [for war] but a few are . . .
None of the races are programmed to play good or evil.
Space Combat
A lot of thought and effort is being put into the AI in Horizon and. . . I don't want to hype it . . . want to keep your expectations very [emphasis Zaimat] realistic.
Great Projects (long, text-heavy suggestion)
Most colonies will be more like outposts, strategically picked.
edit. updated info 11/10/04
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