Resources in si-fi space empire type game
Author
I am trying to design a space empire strategy game.
Please suggest resources that will fit this type of game.
(for example spaceships made from metal,
and need fuel)
Thank you!
depends on the amount of realism you want (and the setting/story/background/whatnot) - more info please.
This is rather vague, as Hase points out. It is highly dependant upon the setting.
For example: if nanotechnology is available, then it is likely that the value of an object will be directly proportional to its mass: so a ton of diamond will be worth the same as a ton of water, and a ton of plutonium. If nanofacturing is a slow process, then there will probably still be a parts industry - i.e. generic parts will be built en mass and distributed to everyone.
If there is complete nuclear synthesis (i.e. any element can be turned into any other element) then the value of an object will be indepedant of its composition; on the other hand, if there is incomplete nuclear synthesis (i.e. elements can be turned into only some other elements) then the value of a ton of something may be dependant upon what it is a ton of.
Regardless of whether or not nanotech is available, information will always be valuable. With nanotech, the designs for material objects will be valuable, as will material objects that have a ''copy protection'' system built in to stop them from being replicated. This gives you expensive but probably illegal systems for disabling said copy protection.
Without nanotech, you have the same resources you have here on Earth. Either you simplify things, or you make up some elements of your very own, ala Star Trek. My advise would be to have nanotech, but make it very slow - several days per kilo for a single nanofactory. This means you have a legit reason for having a simple resource system and for having a parts industry (which makes things more interesting, IMO). To make water, food, clothing, etc for everyone you''ll need megafactories containing many millions of nanofactories (otherwise you can''t build enough food in time), which gives you something that needs to be defended.
Hail Eris! All fnord hail Discordia!
For example: if nanotechnology is available, then it is likely that the value of an object will be directly proportional to its mass: so a ton of diamond will be worth the same as a ton of water, and a ton of plutonium. If nanofacturing is a slow process, then there will probably still be a parts industry - i.e. generic parts will be built en mass and distributed to everyone.
If there is complete nuclear synthesis (i.e. any element can be turned into any other element) then the value of an object will be indepedant of its composition; on the other hand, if there is incomplete nuclear synthesis (i.e. elements can be turned into only some other elements) then the value of a ton of something may be dependant upon what it is a ton of.
Regardless of whether or not nanotech is available, information will always be valuable. With nanotech, the designs for material objects will be valuable, as will material objects that have a ''copy protection'' system built in to stop them from being replicated. This gives you expensive but probably illegal systems for disabling said copy protection.
Without nanotech, you have the same resources you have here on Earth. Either you simplify things, or you make up some elements of your very own, ala Star Trek. My advise would be to have nanotech, but make it very slow - several days per kilo for a single nanofactory. This means you have a legit reason for having a simple resource system and for having a parts industry (which makes things more interesting, IMO). To make water, food, clothing, etc for everyone you''ll need megafactories containing many millions of nanofactories (otherwise you can''t build enough food in time), which gives you something that needs to be defended.
Hail Eris! All fnord hail Discordia!
Types of resources:
ores to be smelted into pure metals
crystals
scavanged metals
gasses
exotic plant life
exotic micobes
solar power
nuclear material
Resource collection ideas:
mining on the surface of planets and moons
"netting" floating asteroids and space dust
pressurized atmospheric samples
use micobes to convert a liquid or gass to a new form
solar satilite relay
Some power sources like hydro or wind would provide power for installations on the surface of the planets.
Space Strategy:
Low gravity in space combat is like high ground in surface combat. The greater the gravitational pull on an object, the more fuel and time it takes to change course, including being in orbit. It would be harder for a fleet on a planet to break through to space than it would for an enemy fleet in orbit to keep them down. Firing a space-tp-surface rocket would accelerate quickly with little fuel, while a surface-to-space missile would have to use a lot of fuel and have be lighter.
The benefit of being on the surface, however, is that there would be more resources to gather. The orbiting fleet would be slowly using resources up.
Games like Star Contol have dealt with this before. I am sure there is info on the game on-line. Trade Wars could be of interest to you as well.
Without knowing more about your game it''s hard to tell you exactly what your resources should be, but I can recommend a few general things.
Planets, unless they''re self sufficient, need just about everything. Food & water, construction materials, etc.
Ships need refined materials for construction, things like metal alloys. You need raw materials to produce these refined materials, mined metals like iron. They also need fuel to run and people to operate them, which leads me to my next point.
Highly trained workers/soldiers are another resource you could use. It takes training to operate a spaceship, space station, or high tech manufacturing facility. Maybe empires need academies where such people are trained. An empire''s population size, general level of education, and other factors could contribute to how quickly you can produce these people. Or maybe you could create robotic replacements which require more of an investment in technology and production.
I think someone already mentioned this but information/technology is a big thing. Designs for stronger ships & weapons, improved manufacturing techniques, new alloys, intelligence information - you can think of all of these as resources to be ''harvested.''
Planets, unless they''re self sufficient, need just about everything. Food & water, construction materials, etc.
Ships need refined materials for construction, things like metal alloys. You need raw materials to produce these refined materials, mined metals like iron. They also need fuel to run and people to operate them, which leads me to my next point.
Highly trained workers/soldiers are another resource you could use. It takes training to operate a spaceship, space station, or high tech manufacturing facility. Maybe empires need academies where such people are trained. An empire''s population size, general level of education, and other factors could contribute to how quickly you can produce these people. Or maybe you could create robotic replacements which require more of an investment in technology and production.
I think someone already mentioned this but information/technology is a big thing. Designs for stronger ships & weapons, improved manufacturing techniques, new alloys, intelligence information - you can think of all of these as resources to be ''harvested.''
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