Comments Wanted: Proposed RPG

Saigo · Post by **Saigo** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 1:02 pm

The following is a rough preliminary pitch put together by my partner and myself for a CRPG. We would like to see what enthusiasts have to say about the concept.

As we flesh out the story, with Buck's indulgence, we would like to continue to post updates for your commentary. Hopefully, before too long, we will have a website up with the full story and early production design as well.
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ASTROKNIGHTS©
An Internet Role Playing Game
Imperial Star Warriors who are Sworn Enemies must
Join Forces in an Epic Battle to save Earth…

AstroKnights is © 2000. All Rights Reserved.

IN A NUTSHELL
AstroKnights© is a space fantasy adventure game set in a vividly detailed dystopian future- the New Dark Ages. Feudal empires inspired by ancient cultures wage war using advanced technology. With an applicable game engine, the AstroKnights© game is adaptable for both multi-player Internet roll-playing and multi-player Console action. The ‘Quest and Combat’ theme combines close-quarters combat and ship-to-ship battles with a desperate interplanetary quest for Earth’s most valuable resource- oxygen. The twist is that each adventurer has his own hidden agenda, his own secret loyalties. Can anyone be trusted? Can you be?

THE STORY
In the New Dark Ages, Earth’s atmosphere is choked with toxins leaving open-air unbreathable. The poisonous environment has forced the population to live under artificial domes or sealed underground cities breathing stale processed air. These hostile conditions have driven the surviving industrial nations into imperialism inspired by their ancestral empires from Europe and the Americas, to North Africa and the Far East. Ten empires battle for control of natural and technological resources in daily clashes of hi tech armies led by elite Special Forces teams. These Special Forces are commonly known as “Knights” -armored warriors that carry both plasma weapons as well as energy blades for close-quarters combat. Bearing meticulously designed battle armor worn as a tribute to the knights of empires past; these elite soldiers invoke the spirit of their forebears. Imagine a European Paladin, a Japanese Samurai or a Roman Centurion sculpted by future technology. Any single knight is more than a match for an entire squad of conventional troops.
Space probes launched to seek new sources of oxygen have discovered a strange Earth-like planet whose orbit on the other side of the sun has kept it hidden until now. This new discovery, nicknamed ‘Ohtwo’ (O2 for oxygen), is more temperate than Earth with lush vegetation and far richer in precious oxygen. Evidence of an advanced culture brings the United Empires Special Council together in an unprecedented unified effort. A diplomatic envoy is sent to O2 with military escort. Three months pass. Finally, a garbled transmission broken by interference reveals the vicious slaughter of all military and diplomatic personnel by unidentifiable assailants. In response, the Special Council plans a mission code named ‘Roundtable’.
The most decorated knights from each of the Ten Empires are assembled to form an invasion team. Their mission is to determine who committed the massacre, take appropriate action against the aggressors, and bring back as much oxygen as possible. The unified spirit of the mission is that the AstroKnights© battle for the greater good and Earth’s salvation, but some of the more ruthless empires have ordered their knights to betray the others and return alone. The empire that controls the oxygen supply controls the world. Earth’s future depends on the virtue or villainy of few select space warriors- the AstroKinghts©.

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 2:34 pm

Solid story, goor preliminary. Kind've a Warhammer 40,000 meets Star Wars. A few tweaks here and there, and the story coud really fly. Good work Saigo.

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Master of otter training, Guru of Games, and Tamer of the Frustrated Viper!

Saigo · Post by **Saigo** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 3:02 pm

Originally posted by Aegis:
Solid story, goor preliminary. Kind've a Warhammer 40,000 meets Star Wars. A few tweaks here and there, and the story coud really fly. Good work Saigo.

Gracias!

The tweaks are already pages and pages of notes....

Saigo · Post by **Saigo** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 4:14 pm

Thanks, Buck.

I think that the members here could give me much valuable imput. Story updates will probably be slow, though, since we both work real jobs too.

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 9:10 pm

Can you tell us a bit about gameplay? I'm interested in how the CRPG will differ from what's currently out there.

Applebrown · Post by **Applebrown** » Mon Apr 02, 2001 9:16 pm

Really cool idea for a story. Tweaks could be scientific in nature... such that perhaps it's not on the other side of the sun as all the planets at some point travel around the sun albeit in a semi contained plane and we'd probably be able to detect it. However, if it were just out of the edge of the solar system, hidden by dark matter but JUST as the furthest probe we'd ever sent out crash landed on the planet after years of being thought destroyed (because of its inability to communicate and our non-detection through the dark matter), it somehow was able to broadcast one picture before its demise that looked to be of an oxygen rich and verdant planet. Or it could be on the other side of a nearby mini black hole... now that would be kind of neat because it would throw in element of danger during travel, and any interplanetary travel around it would have to have some sort of minimal risk or at least storywise. It could also be thought to be a black hole at first but then found out, by accident to be a wormhole. There are many possibilities.

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Applebrown @ [url="http://www.GameBanshee.com"]www.GameBanshee.com[/url]
Make YOUR Gaming Scream!

[This message has been edited by Applebrown (edited 04-02-2001).]

Saigo · Post by **Saigo** » Tue Apr 03, 2001 8:57 am

fable: game play is still wide open. Since we are open to a marriage with most any decent game engine, the game play will not take shape untill we find the right match. We have to know what we can do before we decide what we will do. That said, one of the things I would like to do is to keep the mechanics familiar to roll-players by using a system similar to AD&D. I intend to check out Black and White in the next few days to see what they have done. One of the things I would like to see, combat-wise, is use of the third dimension -- attacks from above and below, not just on the ground plane. What would you like to see done? What aspects of other games do you like, what don't you ever want to see again?

Applebrown: I'm aware that the "counter-earth" concept is a little corny, but we wanted something close by. We considered the farthest reaches of the Solar System, but it's just too damn cold! However, the black hole idea is great! It fires the imagination and presents a possible new challenge. The worm hole also adds to the story, because if one fails to successfully negotiate the passage, one could be sucked through to an alternate universe with an entirely new scenario. Thanks!

[This message has been edited by Saigo (edited 04-03-2001).]

fable · Post by **fable** » Wed Apr 04, 2001 7:15 pm

Saigo, thanks.

I'll tell you what interests me: the illusion of reality. I like party NPCs that occasionally take command in different situations, bicker and kill one another. Vendors who close up at night, or go on vacation. Goods whose value shifts according to whether marauding gangs or blockading war parties are outside the city. Interest groups who adjust their impressions of you according to your actions, rather than your words.

Gruntboy · Post by **Gruntboy** » Thu Apr 05, 2001 2:55 am

Very original Saigo (though I am reminded of some Warhammer 40K background: Techno-Barbarian overlords carved up the earth at one point).

Well done.

Re: game engine. Have you played X-com apocalypse? That had a real time or turn based engine with AD&D style equpment screens for armour etc. You could go upstairs but not float freely (as you could in the earlier turn based X-com games).

Either that or Homeworld - 3D RTS space combat. Just swap the ships for people.

AstroKnight1 - "My PlasmaRifle is drained, switching to PowerSabre!"
AstroKinght2 - "My armour is breached!"
AstroLord - Ready PlasmaLances, prepare to charge!"

Saigo · Post by **Saigo** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 9:53 am

Fable, I tend to agree. I would like to see players think for themselves, not pick from multiple choice dialogue. Harder to do, of course, but much more challenging. And better role-play, too.

GB, no, I haven't played either of those games -- I'll look into them. Thanks a bunch!

And, for the record, the initial concept was my partner's. The current incarnation, though, is more nearly a co-creation. Kudos to Constantine for a solid idea!

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 11:52 am

Fable, I tend to agree. I would like to see players think for themselves, not pick from multiple choice dialogue. Harder to do, of course, but much more challenging. And better role-play, too.

Saigo, very true. Of course, it takes a lot of work to do this, but the main reward is that the game stands out from the pack; word gets around; and sales go up (assuming everything else is equal).

But in this business, everybody immediately imitates a winner, and hardly anybody tries to be different--even when it would make them more of a success.

I keep thinking back to the example of Konung, yet-another Infinity style RPG that came out (relatively recently) from Russia. Supposedly set in medieval Russia, Byzantium and Scandanavia, here was a chance to do something dramatically different, using the myth cycles, customs, and visuals of cultures that are never explored in our very Celtic RPGs. So of course, what was produced looks like just another generic Celtic RPG, with all the cultures feeling the same. What a waste.

Weasel · Post by **Weasel** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 10:42 pm

@Saigo...great idea. I believe the best factor of any game will be the A.I.

Homeworld's A.I wasn't that good and I found it to be too linear. I can tell you a game that reminds me of the working together part.....7th saga for the SNES... It had 7 people (or say knights) and some of them would betray you. The A.I wasn't that great , but the trill of not knowing who was going to betray you was great.

A couple of questions...

1. Will the fighting be limited to ‘Ohtwo’ and outerspace?

2. How many hours of gameplay are you trying for?

3.Will the 'Knights' be based on a leveling up system or will the equipment be used for this purpose?

Saigo · Post by **Saigo** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 5:16 pm

Weasel:

1. Where else should they fight? We see some potential for training sessions aboard ship, and at some time, it maybe desirable to have fighting on the homeworld itself.

2. I think a minimum of 250 hrs. would be about right. I would like to see more like 400 hrs. to get the full story.

3.I think both. We are now developing a class system as well -- infantry, heavy infantry, medic, combat engineer, and recon. Knights will gain skills in their respective classes as well as upgrading weapons along the way.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 5:37 pm

250 hours? (blink) Most huge games require 100. If you can sustain interest and gameplay for 250 hours, you'll probably get a Nobel prize; but I don't know how you'll set about doing it. Good luck, regardless.

The Outsider · Post by **The Outsider** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 4:51 pm

Hm. There's a partial problem.

You mentioned that the quasi-races for this game would be reminiscent of European, African, Roman, and Japanese knights. One problem that springs to mind is that I don't think that the African troops went in for heavy armor. I may be entirely mistaken on this, or it may not be as significant as I thought. Any comments?

Weasel · Post by **Weasel** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 7:15 pm

Originally posted by Saigo:
<STRONG>Weasel:

1. Where else should they fight? We see some potential for training sessions aboard ship, and at some time, it maybe desirable to have fighting on the homeworld itself.

2. I think a minimum of 250 hrs. would be about right. I would like to see more like 400 hrs. to get the full story.

3.I think both. We are now developing a class system as well -- infantry, heavy infantry, medic, combat engineer, and recon. Knights will gain skills in their respective classes as well as upgrading weapons along the way.</STRONG>

(1) As for question number one ...that's what I was meaning....if any fighting would take place on the "Homeworld".

(2) 250 hours...(OMG I have to agree with Fable) maybe settle for a smaller amount of time (150 hours) and try for more replay value.

(3) This would be great.

Still I say it will a great game.

Saigo · Post by **Saigo** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 7:15 pm

Originally posted by The Outsider:
<STRONG>Hm. There's a partial problem.

You mentioned that the quasi-races for this game would be reminiscent of European, African, Roman, and Japanese knights. One problem that springs to mind is that I don't think that the African troops went in for heavy armor. I may be entirely mistaken on this, or it may not be as significant as I thought. Any comments?</STRONG>

The African empire we chose to use is the Egyptian empire (an amalgam of all periods). You are correct about the historic use of armor, though. The same is true of the Native American civilizations. We have developed a composite of North, Central, and South American styles. In all cases, the armor is meant to be a representation of what the respective cultures might have developed in our particular scenario. In fact, I designed both suits of armor, and you should have no trouble connecting the design with the culture it represents.

Sometime in the next few weeks we should have our development sketches on line for your viewing pleasure.

I would like to tell everyone how much I appreciate the comments and questions. Please keep them coming!

[ 04-09-2001: Message edited by: Saigo ]

Saigo · Post by **Saigo** » Mon Apr 09, 2001 7:50 am

Weasel, Fable, you may be right. There is a lot of story to tell, though. I think we should plan to separate the sub-plots ito expansions and turn the finale into a sequal. Understand that the outline above is the initial rough draft -- the story has grown wildly and will have to be edited.

Gruntboy · Post by **Gruntboy** » Mon Apr 09, 2001 8:03 am

Saigo. Flash Gordon. The Ice planet people (very "African" looking). They have groovy gold armour. Would look pretty good.

Also, I think Egyptian dress could certainly look "heavy". How about Persians, Arabs, Aztecs and other cultures? Try some medievil warfare/armour books if you haven't already.

Greeks too?