So I just finished building out around 150 items for the game. That was exhausting 0_o
All the items I've added are system modules which means once there are some new chassis types there should be enough content to build ships all the way to the level cap and the highest combat class!
There are a few cool things that come out of this:
1) Pi formulas: All the PI values for items are figured out based formulas specific to that item type. This is exciting because it means that we have a perfect little number to display how powerful an item is, barring any special abilities. Because each module type has its own formula to calculate its PI, I'm going to start a page listing how they are all calculated. Starting the process of exposing the formulas (including the combat) behind the game should lead to much better development and happier players. Exciting!
2) Module Items: The next part of the painful process begins - creating module items (reminder - There are two module types, item modules and system modules). Rough numbers came to needing about 1100 items to create enough content to the level cap, which I don't think I'm going to do now. Just creating those 150 system modules nearly killed me, so I think I'll create enough item to get to say, level 15, maybe 20? That should keep everyone busy for a while.
3) The next phase: Once these are done, we reach the most important phase of all - [color=#ff0000]The dreaded Fun Test. [/color]I'm going to try and wrangle as many people as I can into giving the game a shot (huge thanks to those trying it out and reporting bugs so far) and get an answer to the most important question so far - Is all this fun? My goal for adding all these items now is to give people enough possible enticing content that when they play it for a few hours or a day they can get a good feeling of whether it's fun. For all I know people find this kind of game boring...
4) Item listings I noticed that now there are so many items listed in under the system modules tree in the marketplace it looks pretty rubbish. I'm going to have to add a scrollbar to it or change how the items are displayed somehow. I had the crazy idea of making a separate site to buy and sell items that would look similar to http://ncix.com (Is it obvious where this game is getting it's inspiration from yet?), but that's just wishful thinking. It would be cool though....
So that's the status!
