[color=#1C2837][size=2]But generally speaking, the pact usually favoured the bigger country - ie. the one that had more military capability.[/quote]
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[color="#1c2837"]This reminds me of Soviet efforts to prop up East Germany as a sort of national potemkin village. They had assigned the Poland-produced meat to East Germany, so little meat was available in Poland as it went to East Germany. Some Poles would try to drive across the boarder to buy meat in Germany, so they set up propaganda campaigns about "poles taking your meat!" to encourage people to rat out visiting poles.
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[color="#1c2837"]Least, this was what I was told.
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[color="#1c2837"]Which reminds me of a slogan. "Mackerel is your fish, margarine is your butter", and my personal addition, "Linux is your UNIX".

Wow, our ideas are so similar.

http://www.starpeace...om/strategy.asp

Every time you build a store, it will automatically try to buy supplies from all the warehouses in the world. The simulated people who work at your company's headquarters will decide from which warehouse to buy, based on price and transportation costs. [/quote]

The game will automatically buy from the best supplier in the list. The choice is always based on price, which includes transportation cost. If unable to get all the supplies necessary from the "best buy" supplier in the list, then it will try to buy from the second best, and so on.[/quote]

Every facility with a supplier list will display a Connect button when inspected. When you click on connect, the mouse cursor will turn into a bulls-eye. Move the cursor over the building you want to start trading with (a factory or a warehouse) and click on it again. Then the game will "connect" both buildings. For example, if you connected a food store and a food warehouse, the warehouse will appear in the food store's supplier's list.[/quote]

In Starpeace Online all merchants are registered in a sort of global directory. You can search for suppliers in the same manner you would search Yahoo for something.
Let's say you build a new food warehouse, and you need suppliers for it. Do the following:
Select your food warehouse on the map and inspect it.
Go to the Suppliers Tab. You will see the supplier list there.
Click on the "Hire" button. The Supplies Search Page will appear, now you can set the options you want in order to narrow you search. Press the "Search" button, a list of results will appear.
Note: this list is ranked according to Price, from cheapest to most expensive. Therefore, the supplier with the best price will be listed first.[/quote]

The best way to speed up your game is to get loans.
You will find banks in the game. Some of them will be operated by players, and some by NPCs. A loan is probably the best way to boost your companies.[/quote]
The game also gave me ideas for buildings and resources if I ever want to add more to my game.

[color="#1C2837"]I'm not sure what's the point of having an in-game monetary system backed by a real currency unless you want to create another Project Entropia.[/quote]
[color="#1C2837"]The in-game currency will be real Canadian dollars, to be clear.

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[color="#1C2837"]Trying to simulate a fully closed economy will be very hard and most players will go broke in the long run.[/quote]
[color="#1c2837"]It's pay-to-play after all. $30 might sustain you for a few months. Or maybe a year. Maybe eventually you will get the hang of it and make a profit off of other players.[color="#1c2837"]

I like the idea of having a fixed population that is a resource for the players to exploit. I have wanted to see a game like that for a long time, and this seems like the only reasonable suggestion I've heard to implement it. However, I think you are over-complicating the idea. Keep it simple - even the most basic of these ideas makes it economically much more complicated than Starcraft (and look at the amount of research that has gone on online into optimal Starcraft economies). You have a good basis - workers choose the jobs they will work based off the ones that pay the most for their time. That's all you need and anything more will probably get in its way! Don't have a half dozen resources, don't try to accurately simulate any form of economics, and don't make the player break out their economy text books.

That's my suggestion.

Update! This is going to be long...

Here's what I've added to my Design section.




Maybe I should add a chain fence to the game, for defense. But you wouldn't be able to build it over roads though. It would collide with with pipelines and look unrealistic, but whatever. Or maybe it would collide with pipelines. That way there would be two ways to go through - roads and pipelines.




A chain fence could be destroyed by tanks (or mechs, for that matter). But a concrete wall couldn't. It would probably cost more. A chain fence would cost 1 Metal. While a concrete wall would cost 5 Concrete. Maybe even 10 Concrete.




You'd have a wall like this and you could also add towers. I don't know if you'll have the option of allowing soldier/mercenaries to go in automatically. Or if you would hire workers to work the guard tower like other buildings. But that would mean weapons/whatever would automatically be included in the tower, unlike soldiers/mercenaries that requires a Military Points upkeep. Or maybe the tower would require Military Points in addition to work. But that doesn't make sense then... because when do I say that tower is supplied or not? Like, as soon as it reaches the required level of input, it's automatically deducted, and what is produced? Can it only shoot at that moment? So I think I will allow soldier/mercenaries to go in by themselves, like if there's an enemy shootable from that tower. You can shoot through a chain link fence but not a concrete wall. And you can make pacts with other players so you can be protected together. But what if you made pacts with two players and they both go to war? Then I think you will be allied with the person that you first made a pact with. And if your pact-mates go to war with somebody as a result of THEIR pact, then you go with them too. So if everybody in the game is in a pact with somebody else, and somebody goes to war, everybody will get pulled in to an all-out war. It'll be GREAT! LOL





Concrete walls can only be blasted through by enough rounds from tanks. And then maybe I'll add air-transporters that can air-drop mechs, like in Gundam Wing. That would be COOL.

Maybe I should add bombers too. They would be the only unit that can destroy buildings (instead of capturing them). If a war breaks out and the player is not there, the player's units would automatically be mobilized. Bombers would automatically be mobilized and start bombing enemies. Soldier/mercenaries would probably be defending. And tanks too. Or should they be attacking? Maybe the player should be able to set if they're defensive or offensive. Maybe the player should be able to set target in case of war, like a war plan.

Ooh, I got another idea. When tanks are destroyed, they'll be smoldering wrecks with cloud plumes over them, like in real life. Any tank wrecks or corpses won't disappear until the war is over. Like in real life. LOL





In case of war bombers are mobilized. When a building is destroyed, the player will get an alert saying "Our [building] has been carpet-bombed by [corporation] ([player])." The player can build anti-air guns for defense. But they're not perfect. Maybe they have a range limitation, or maybe they're inaccurate. The bombers are inaccurate, like maybe they're a tile or 3 off. When the bombers are mobilized, let's say they have to go down a run-strip to lift off. The run-strip is on an Air Base owned by them. The bombers have to lift-off one-by-one. Let's say it will be 8x4 tiles like a Refinery. (Or maybe 4x2 tiles? No, that run-strip looks too short.) So the bombers must go move up to the run-strip each and go to the starting position and run up to full speed, and then the next bomber can approach the run-strip.

After they lift off, they're under automatic control and pick random targets. But that means they won't pick the safest route around anti-air guns. Whatever. Fighters are usually dormant and take no resources, but they'll require Military Points (Military Supplies?) when they go for a bombing run and after they return, and Fuel. A pilot also needs to be take up the job and go to the bomber. Or maybe you'll have full-time pilots, in which case they will consume Military Points.

Let's say you also have Interceptors. They intercept and destroy bombers whenever they are detected. Let's say you need a Radar Station to detect incoming bombers. Each upgrade level gives you a wider range of detection. Let's say that you start off with a 16x16 range of detection. Actually, by the time the Interceptor lifted off it would already be too late then. So let's say the Radar Station can see the whole map. Maybe you also need the Radar Station for the anti-air turrets.

Once a war starts, and other corporations become enemies, any deals you have with them no longer exist. You will get alerts whenever that happens like, "We are no longer able to receive [resource] from [corporation] due to our diplomatic/political situation." But you won't be able to siphon off zetrol from pipes or steal electricity, even though the enemy's pipelines or powerlines are going through your territory. You'll be able to destroy enemy transport trucks, though. But workers can work for multiple corporations, that's the atmosphere of my game.

Maybe once a building is carpet-bombed, rubble will be left. I will have a 1x1 rubble tile that I will cover all over the building land. It will be blocking and won't be cleared until the war is over. And I won't have to change the draw-queue to draw it.

The units will have a Military Points consumption rate, like workers have a Consumer Goods consumption rate. If they don't get the required Military Points, they will simply abandon their jobs and become workers. Tanks will be left idle. Maybe enemies can pick them up?

Whenever you sell a building, it will say: "For sale: $0.11" (or whatever the price is). You can also offer to buy something from another player and they will be given an alert about the proposition. You can demolish your buildings but fences, walls, etc. aren't owned by any single player.

In a prolonged war, you'd need a truck delivering Military Points (supplies) to your soldiers. Maybe it would do it automatically? Units would go to the nearest Military Base to resupply. Trucks would automatically pick up supply missions if you're already paying for them, to supply units that otherwise wouldn't be able to reach a Military Base in time, or where it would be expensive/time-consuming. I still have to figure out how, though. In what cases the trucks will deliver supplies.

There will also be artillery. It will shoot long-range barrages at enemy units. They have to be within a certain range or their position known, though. They are inaccurate, also. More accurate in closer range, but totally ineffective when the enemy gets close enough (that's their weakness).

Tanks have machine guns that can mow down units. Maybe they can even run over enemy personnel. I was thinking of having streetlights of the sides of roads, and tanks would break/bend them whenever they went through them. Maybe the same with powerlines, but that might be disruptive if done unintentionally to your own power grid.

Droids might be an alternative to mercenaries because they consume electricity instead of food. Tanks will consume fuel. I guess mechs will too. Maybe droids should run on fuel too? If they run on electricity, they'd have to go to a friendly powerplant to recharge. They can't just get electricity from powerlines. Same way tanks/trucks can't just get electricity from a pipeline. You will need a certain technological level to build droids. The R&D Facility will generate Research/Technology Points and you can click on the droid icon in the building menu to spend points on that tech. There will be a number beside each tech to show you the current tech level. So a higher tech level will allow you to make better droids. If I have droids, maybe I should have automated tanks and mechs too? Maybe I should add an "Automate" option to have them piloted by computer. Will that mean they consume electricity and a little less Military Points or something? I think I'll just keep it to Military Points and won't add droids yet.

Maybe I should also add APC's (armoured personnel carriers). You could potentially make an indestructible base, requiring units to zig-zag through guard tower control points. Personnel would be useless against guard towers because they couldn't kill the units inside. An APC could transport them inside. I'm not sure how boarding would work. Maybe the units would board the APC automatically if there was one nearby and it would automatically wait for units that were going to board it. I won't give an option to load units into an APC and it will be done automatically instead whenever the player orders them to go somewhere. They can't be in an APC the whole time because they'll need to consume Military Points at one point or another. APC's also travel faster than units. But APC's won't be able to move by themselves. They'll need at least one unit to be inside, but they won't be civilians (workers).

Maybe after the units are beside the towers they can go inside for hand-to-hand combat. Or maybe the enemy units will be exited and an outdoor firefight will result. But what if there's not enough room? I don't want to deal with placement of units that exit the guard tower, so I will just have a randomized hand-to-hand fight. I haven't worked out the mechanics, so units will just be picked off 50%/50% one-by-one.

Pathfinding will be used in cases where the players orders unit movement (instead of moving directly to the target and possibly running into obstacles). In case the route requires moving outside the player's visible 16x16 area, the server will have to inform the client. When the units go outside the player's plot, I guess they'll be deselected. The player will have to shift view to see them again.

I will have 3 frames for the mechs like I do for workers/soldiers. I will have to slow them down for the mechs so, so maybe the animation will run at 1/3 speed. And tanks will have a turret that can rotate independent of the chassis. It will have it's own rotation. I will have to use a specialized packet to update it's orientation, like UnitPacket2. I was thinking of adding velocity-based movement to tanks, to give them a massive, drifty type of driving feel (along with other vehicles), but that would mean adding extra data. I don't know if I will add this. It would result in cool firefights though. Imagine two tank groups, firing at each other and drifting, circling each other, bumping into obstacles. Maybe they'd do building damage, I don't know. That would be annoying if your tanks were doing damage to your own buildings.

Maybe I should add tank killers/destroyers.








Minefields?

Anti-tank barricades?





Only, minefields should be dangerous to you as well as your enemies, like in real life. Your units could know to avoid it, though. You could place it around all your walls. You wouldn't know about your ally's mines, though. Or maybe you would. I guess they'd share information.

Maybe you should be able to customize mechs, like in Starsiege? I have an idea for a Gundam-like mech (with arms and all) and a more robotic mech like in Starsiege/Mechwarrior. I don't want to draw different weapon mounts, though.

Maybe I will have single-point positions for each mine, with many one any single tile? Like, you'd have to be at exactly that position for it to explode. And then it would be cleared. If you were setting up an improvised explosive on a road, your trucks would know to avoid it. Or maybe I'd have an area-based mine, where any part of the unit on the mine would trigger it.

Back to the supplies idea, it would require you have safe supply lines, like in real life. Military Points/Supplies include everything from food to ammo. Units consume the same amount of Military Points regardless whether its peace time or war. You'd think they'd consume more if they were expending ammunition, but I don't want to add that complexity.

If I add minefields, there's the minesweeper position opened.

And, about bombers - if they return to base to resupply, what if another bomber/interceptor is taking off? They'll have to circle around until they can land. How will circling work? Maybe they'll have a limited turn rate. But wait, I only store eight directions. Maybe I'll have velocity-based movement for them, like I thought for tanks. I will only use x,y coordinates, though, and z (elevation) will be 0 when they are grounded, X when they are in flight, and a gradient when they are lifting off or landing. How will I store this gradient? I can't use the state variable because it's already used to indicate whether they're attacking or returning to base or whatever.

Will I tell the player about bombers/interceptors going through his view? He would see it flying through his airspace. Maybe I'll add a sound effect. When a bombing is made, I'll have to add an explosion effect. Maybe only 3 frames. And a sound effect. I'll reuse the explosion effect for when a tank is destroyed (and then plume clouds). Maybe I'll add nukes. Maybe they'll destroy a whole 16x16 plot. You'll need to reach a certain technology level to build them. Upgrading them will increase the damage range. Maybe you should be able to have ICBM's. Missile silos (buildings)? Maybe I should add water. That would be an extra channel of transport. And I'd have to add ships. Bridges for roads. Would powerlines be able to go over water? Pipelines? If not, there would be isolated islands with their own economics. Unless supply ships transported stuff. There'd be oil/zetrol patches on water too, which is what transport ships would use, so it wouldn't be too expensive to transport. Except electricity, which can't be transported.

Units can go through tank barricades, but not tanks or mechs. Units/tanks/mechs can also shoot past tank barricades. But otherwise tank barricades would be indestructible.

The mechanized combat will be like in T-17 Tanky.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=PWsDYD9aVL4

I also want a Front Mission 4 kind of feel for the mechs.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=8HQ7bhiVyeE

The projectiles will have 3D velocity-based movement that will be projected onto 2D isometric space. They will also leave behind smoke trail particles. Blasts might have debris like in Cortex Command.


http://www.youtube.c...h?v=KZO5nuTc3Js

The missiles will have that realistic spiral effect. I think I don't need to simulate rotational velocity, all it needs is directional velocity and a constant corrective throttle towards the target.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=QlyjlMhKb3E

The tanks and other velocity-based moving units will have need a velocity-cap though.

Projectiles will be effected by gravity. The missile will be pointed slightly up when fired. Shrapnel fired from mechanized units will also be fired at a trajectory to the expected end position of the target's movement. The projectiles will have a constant velocity upon leaving the muzzle and so will have to be aimed higher or lower depending on the target's distance.

EDIT: Velocity-based movement.