Now, is this an established empire?
Perhaps it is just forming into a single system and the roads/bridges hve yet to be built. As the world''s time progresses, those roads and whatnot are extended away from the original town outwards toward the north/north-west edges of the island.
Can you give us a little insight into your plot/story? Is the story going to revolve around more historically correct situations, or strictly fictional?....Or factional.
Restricting World-Map Movement
Author
Totally fictional. The storyline isn''t rock solid, yet. The player is the first knight and general of "King Grislan". King Grislan rules the lower right continent, which is called "Arlon". Near the beginning, the player falls ill because of an unexpected fight with his first undead enemy. The King must take charge of his armies to do battle while the player is out.
When the player awakens from his sickened sleep, he learns that the King is dead, and that the enemy is rampaging through the empire''s villages.
The enemy is an evil wizard that found an ancient spell to create an undead army. He attacks the villages to use the fallen warriors to increase his troop count. Of course the player knows none of this. It will unfold through the game.
The Player''s goal is to stop the evil. Or at least drive it out of Arlon, near the beginning. Later on, it will become a personal grudge to destroy it entirely.
The time which the player slept is variable, I suppose. But it will have a huge impact on what''s not destroyed in the empire.
When the player awakens from his sickened sleep, he learns that the King is dead, and that the enemy is rampaging through the empire''s villages.
The enemy is an evil wizard that found an ancient spell to create an undead army. He attacks the villages to use the fallen warriors to increase his troop count. Of course the player knows none of this. It will unfold through the game.
The Player''s goal is to stop the evil. Or at least drive it out of Arlon, near the beginning. Later on, it will become a personal grudge to destroy it entirely.
The time which the player slept is variable, I suppose. But it will have a huge impact on what''s not destroyed in the empire.
Consider taking a page from Gladius, the new Gladiator RPG / turn-based fighting game:
There are several lands that can be traveled to, but you''re restricted to a small space containing only a few towns until you accomplish certain tasks. There are roads leading out, but guards block the way until you''ve gotten a pass out of the area. The only way to get the pass is to accomplish all of the the tasks.
It''s elegant because you get to wander around freely but only within a confined space. There''s an ocean to the south and west, and mountains to the north and east that bar your path.
--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...
There are several lands that can be traveled to, but you''re restricted to a small space containing only a few towns until you accomplish certain tasks. There are roads leading out, but guards block the way until you''ve gotten a pass out of the area. The only way to get the pass is to accomplish all of the the tasks.
It''s elegant because you get to wander around freely but only within a confined space. There''s an ocean to the south and west, and mountains to the north and east that bar your path.
--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...
Political Backstory:
The other nations hold colonies on the island and the native Arlonians have been fighting a Revolutionary War to reclaim those lands from their oppressors. As the war wages, the other nations (starting with the "future home of evil") begin to pull out. The Arlons see this as they are coming closer and closer to victory. Unbenounced to them, the other nations have fewer troops because of a plague in their homelands. This plague is fairly mysterious and they do not know the cause. There is also riots (in those plagued areas) in each nation, which take away troops from the war.
As victory falls into the hands of the native Arlonians (or perhaps they are called something else beforehand), they are to be united under one nation - one monarchy. The newly appointed King Grislan names the main character to be the general of his royal army.
[This plot gives the player not only a sense of loyalty to his nation, but the player will feel like he is a protector of them instead of just someone wearing a "General" title. Perhaps the first level or two can be fought during this Revolutionary War so that the player does have time invested in a specific cause. This would make his feelings of nationality even stronger and would make the upcoming war of evil and the slaughter of Arlon's people even more dramatic]
As the war of evil touches Arlon's shores, the General is sent to the north-west (or wherever) to combat these people who are seen as a last-ditch effort by the other nations. When you arrive at the shore, you find that they are undead. Over time, you find that there was a terrible plague that hurt the opposing nations' armies and your new goal becomes to find the source of the plague to prevent it from devastating Arlon.
This fight causes you to be sickened and you are brought back to the empire to rest and get better. [Perhaps you spread the plague to the King when you return] When you awaken, you learn that the king has been killed.
[At this point, you can decide whether the player becomes a general - RTS - or the people find out that you were the carrier and you are oucasted - adventure.]
The man who was to become King before King Grislon was chosen, leaves Arlon to live with the other nations. Perhaps he is a native to one of the other nations. Anyway, he is a powerful mage bent on becoming a monarch and his body is overcome by the plague, effectively turning him into a powerful "evil being" who wants nothing more than to destroy Arlon.
World Boundaries
Because the nation is young and un-established (split up by other nations), there are no roads and paths between cities. As time progresses, the people of Arlon begin building these roads. This is where the transportation system comes into place. Because of the topography of the land (mountains, rives, water, etc.), the only way across the island is by road - which has to be built.
[edited by - dgaf on April 17, 2004 6:26:03 PM]
The other nations hold colonies on the island and the native Arlonians have been fighting a Revolutionary War to reclaim those lands from their oppressors. As the war wages, the other nations (starting with the "future home of evil") begin to pull out. The Arlons see this as they are coming closer and closer to victory. Unbenounced to them, the other nations have fewer troops because of a plague in their homelands. This plague is fairly mysterious and they do not know the cause. There is also riots (in those plagued areas) in each nation, which take away troops from the war.
As victory falls into the hands of the native Arlonians (or perhaps they are called something else beforehand), they are to be united under one nation - one monarchy. The newly appointed King Grislan names the main character to be the general of his royal army.
[This plot gives the player not only a sense of loyalty to his nation, but the player will feel like he is a protector of them instead of just someone wearing a "General" title. Perhaps the first level or two can be fought during this Revolutionary War so that the player does have time invested in a specific cause. This would make his feelings of nationality even stronger and would make the upcoming war of evil and the slaughter of Arlon's people even more dramatic]
As the war of evil touches Arlon's shores, the General is sent to the north-west (or wherever) to combat these people who are seen as a last-ditch effort by the other nations. When you arrive at the shore, you find that they are undead. Over time, you find that there was a terrible plague that hurt the opposing nations' armies and your new goal becomes to find the source of the plague to prevent it from devastating Arlon.
This fight causes you to be sickened and you are brought back to the empire to rest and get better. [Perhaps you spread the plague to the King when you return] When you awaken, you learn that the king has been killed.
[At this point, you can decide whether the player becomes a general - RTS - or the people find out that you were the carrier and you are oucasted - adventure.]
The man who was to become King before King Grislon was chosen, leaves Arlon to live with the other nations. Perhaps he is a native to one of the other nations. Anyway, he is a powerful mage bent on becoming a monarch and his body is overcome by the plague, effectively turning him into a powerful "evil being" who wants nothing more than to destroy Arlon.
World Boundaries
Because the nation is young and un-established (split up by other nations), there are no roads and paths between cities. As time progresses, the people of Arlon begin building these roads. This is where the transportation system comes into place. Because of the topography of the land (mountains, rives, water, etc.), the only way across the island is by road - which has to be built.
[edited by - dgaf on April 17, 2004 6:26:03 PM]
Don''t restrict the player physically. Just set in place some other reason for them not to go places.
For instance, until the Eleventh Awakening has occured, the gates to Frionard Castle are closed. But then they blow open in the course of the battle. Or there are guards preventing the player from entering a cave out of public safety. But then the Eleventh Beast, having recently awoken, decided to bite the guards'' heads off, effectively clearing the way for you.
Or an other example would be to let the player in, but not have anything worthwhile for them yet. No-one''s going to talk to them about the Eleventh Beast until it''s actually awakened, and the engineer that''s supposed to transform their ship into an airship won''t actually have a reason to help them yet.
For instance, until the Eleventh Awakening has occured, the gates to Frionard Castle are closed. But then they blow open in the course of the battle. Or there are guards preventing the player from entering a cave out of public safety. But then the Eleventh Beast, having recently awoken, decided to bite the guards'' heads off, effectively clearing the way for you.
Or an other example would be to let the player in, but not have anything worthwhile for them yet. No-one''s going to talk to them about the Eleventh Beast until it''s actually awakened, and the engineer that''s supposed to transform their ship into an airship won''t actually have a reason to help them yet.
Author
quote:Or there are guards preventing the player from entering a cave out of public safety. But then the Eleventh Beast, having recently awoken, decided to bite the guards'' heads off, effectively clearing the way for you.
It''s funny. I was thinking about that as I studied some old console RPGs. The way gaurds usually block your path. It would be difficult to pull that off if you''re the general, though
dgaf -> Those are great insights into a story I didn''t know could have such depth. Thanks. One problem with the blockage is that roads wouldn''t need to connect something to allow travel. I just meant that if there were roads, then other blockages would have been romoved to make the road. But the lack of a road is not really a blockage itself. A lot of the game will also take place in forests and on mountains, so it''s difficult to pull any of it off right. What makes one forest passable, but another not? Drawing different densities could make it apparent, but what makes it realistically acceptable? Has anyone ever seen a forest that couldn''t be walked through, excluding rainforest/tropical? I live in stickville, practically dead center in the middle of one
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