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Bast, quick question

3y
#1
Well maybe not so quick.
Since your taking a look at models.
Are you keeping the same model for structures? Like entertainment, government, ect.
Also what about the races? Same or are there going to be different ones? Would this be a good chance to suggest new ones?
Any lore ideas yet to base the buildings and builders on?
Questions?
Concerns?
Feeling lonely?
Feel free to get in touch with me via message or heading over to
https://discord.gg/tsBg6Ec
3y
#2
cry8wolf9 said:Well maybe not so quick.
Since your taking a look at models.
Are you keeping the same model for structures? Like entertainment, government, ect.
Also what about the races? Same or are there going to be different ones? Would this be a good chance to suggest new ones?
Any lore ideas yet to base the buildings and builders on?


Sorry cry, but you might get more than you bargained for with my reply.

So I am not exactly sure what you mean by "models," but I don't want the design of the game to be limited by what was there in MC1. There might be a tendency to think "well this is just MC1 with just 3d versions of the landscape and buildings," etc, but that is not my thinking at all. There is no reason that the tech or building tree has to mimic what was in MC1, and the buildings don't just have to be 3d versions of their MC1 counterparts. There is no reason why MC1 needs to have a lander, silo, solar panel, greenhouse, refinery etc, unless they make sense in the context of the game. Same thing applies to Rovers, which is why I continue to raise the question as to whether they need to exist in the same form as they do in MC1.

This is not to say that existing MC1 stuff does not belong here, what I am trying to say is that this is an entirely new game, there is nothing wrong with starting on with a new slate.

In terms of lore/races/civs/etc. My thought is that MC2 would be on one hand smaller in scale than MC1, but at the same time much larger.

What does this mean? So My Colony 1 basically encompasses a large area of the galaxy with thousands of planets and the three principal races. And all of the races are still official "lore" for the game, of course. Additionally, a "planet" in MC1 is basically limited to a small plot of land, and you can go from a lander touching down on a dead empty world to a booming metropolis in a matter of days.

I want MC2 to feel completely different, like when your lander touches down on the Red Planet (or whatever world), you are just a lander and two tiny colonists alone on a massive, dead, empty world that you must tame, and all of the resources you need will not just be sitting there waiting for you upon arrival.


Here is how I sort of see it in my head. All lore for the game universe comes principally from the following titles: Colony Wars, Colonial Tycoon, Death 3d, My Starship, Deimos, Deimos 2 - End of the Earth, Deimos 3 - High Noon, and Sarge. If you wanted to put the story in a chronological order, I think it would go like this:
  • My Colony 2
  • Deimos
  • Sarge
  • End of the Earth
  • High Noon
  • Colony Wars
  • Death 3d
  • My Colony 1
  • Colonial Tycoon
  • My Starship
I see MC2 as taking place during the first human exploration and settlement of other worlds. The Deimos series (plus Sarge) takes place in the early days of United Earth, where they have just a couple of settlements. The LIS is starting to form, but is not officially recognized yet, and has not yet broken off from U.E.. Colony Wars takes place shortly after the events of Deimos 3, where the LIS formally declared independence (in the form of a surprise attack) and fights to break away from United Earth, which they are eventually successful at with eventual aid from the Zolarg finally tipping the war in their favor. Death 3D takes place during the middle of the LIS war, and features the demise of some of the Deimos-era heroes, along with the United Earth Presidency, where power is moved over to the General Assembly instead. My Colony 1 and Colonial Tycoon are both post-LIS war, where the three civilizations and also the Alpha Draconians, which are now known to humans but have been known to the Zolarg for a long time, are all branching out and colonizing this part of the galaxy. And My Starship takes place somewhat later, where much of this part of the galaxy has been colonized and commerce/war is going on as usual between the various factions.

So that is a general overview of the MC Universe lore. The nature of My Colony 1 and 2 make them harder to place firmly on a timeline, since a game can last "years" and span throughout the whole timeline. But I do like to see My Colony 2 start at the very beginnings, not to far from our present day, because I think it would be neat to see the original few lonely colonists roughing it in hard times on a barren world, which is what going to Mars is going to be like in real life.

It has given me some ideas for some changes VS MC1 though.

In MC1 you are like a mayor or a governor starting a city. In MC2, I see the player as more of a company landing on part of a new planet for fun and for profit, but mostly for profit. You begin with a certain amount of money, and initially to get more colonists, you have to finance another launch from Earth, which results in another Lander showing up with two or three colonists. The Lander can be broken down for scrap parts once it arrives. I think you will also be able to order up a supplies lander from Earth for a lower cost, which has no colonists but whatever materials you need to order, or foot/water etc. However if another player is also on that planet and there are already colonists nearby, they may join your settlement instead of having to bring in new people. You get more money by exporting resources back to earth.

Eventually your settlement grows into a city and the nature of the game changes from one of having to ship materials to Earth for survival to a self-sustaining colony. But I think it will be a slower, more drawn out process VS MC1.

Having multiple players on a planet will also allow for a planetary economy to grow, where trade networks between settlements are made and colonists move from one player to another. Eventually a planet can be built to a point where Earth is no longer required. In MC1, each player has his own planet, but in MC2 I would rather see all players on the server on the same planet, with the planet itself being near infinite in size, with different resources and terrains on different parts on the planet. There will of course be support for multiple planets on a server, but I do not think the game will be as fun if everybody starts with their own planet, as on MC1. On MC1 it was needed because a planet was, at most, a few square miles in size. In MC2, a planet is like an actual planet.

I don't know if there will be terraforming as in MC1, or if so it will be way, way slower.

As for other civs, my plan is to just have Earth/Human. If somebody wants to create a mod with another civ built out, they are free to do so. If it's really good and they want it included in the base game, I will consider it. But it's not a part of the initial plan.
Owner of Ape Apps, LLC
3y
#3
bastecklein said:
cry8wolf9 said:Well maybe not so quick.
As for other civs, my plan is to just have Earth/Human. If somebody wants to create a mod with another civ built out, they are free to do so. If it's really good and they want it included in the base game, I will consider it. But it's not a part of the initial plan.


If you implement different terrain types (so we could have cliffs, oceans, and gas giants) then I would be happy to make a couple of new races (bird people and fish people) and to create all the rovers, buildings, and tech so that gas giants, water worlds, soaring cliff worlds, volcano worlds, and geiser worlds can be done by humans. I think maybe you should make the modding tools first so that you can use them in the development process and so that people in the community (me included) can help you add things.
I am nerdy programmer that happens to like games made by ape apps. At some point in my life I am hoping to start a company and make games.
3y
#4
That is exactly what I plan on doing, @DKMK100 !
Owner of Ape Apps, LLC
3y
#5
bastecklein said:That is exactly what I plan on doing, @DKMK100 !


Yay! As soon as that is done I will start making stuf. Is it possible for modern to make higher resolution models? 16*16 is pretty low
I am nerdy programmer that happens to like games made by ape apps. At some point in my life I am hoping to start a company and make games.
3y
#6
@bastecklein

Wouldn't this early-economics aspect create a lot of unknowns about the company :
why should it have to worry about bringing food and other colonists? was this not thought before?
why not send rovers to prepare a base beforehand?
the colonized planet is far away. then emergency help packages won't work.
when you become self-efficient, does that mean you emancipate from the company and don't have to send goods anymore?

I don't really like this link to earth and prefer thinking of the game as the challenge of having to be self efficient, because you're on your own.

The game is thought in a survival mode (at first at least) : you have to make sure you have enough water, food and power. This is so dangerous and given the cost no company would risk it. However a government body with political intentions could make it, just like king of Spain gave Christopher Columbus the opportunity to west. After exploration is made, business starts and companies establish.

The main constraint I can't seem to be able to find an answer to is that we have multiple players on the same planet who the game does not necessarily make collaborate. How is that realistically viable? It is if these settlements are different companies but it doesn't feel realistic to me for the reasons above.
Creator of Coloniae
Admin of the MC2 translation project
3y
#7
bastecklein said:
cry8wolf9 said:Well maybe not so quick.
Since your taking a look at models.
Are you keeping the same model for structures? Like entertainment, government, ect.
Also what about the races? Same or are there going to be different ones? Would this be a good chance to suggest new ones?
Any lore ideas yet to base the buildings and builders on?


Sorry cry, but you might get more than you bargained for with my reply.

It's not what i bargained for but it's what i was looking for and wanted so 'nat 20 on my bartering roll'?
Questions?
Concerns?
Feeling lonely?
Feel free to get in touch with me via message or heading over to
https://discord.gg/tsBg6Ec
3y
#8
Sobeirannovaocc said:The main constraint I can't seem to be able to find an answer to is that we have multiple players on the same planet who the game does not necessarily make collaborate. How is that realistically viable? It is if these settlements are different companies but it doesn't feel realistic to me for the reasons above.


Sorry I am slow, what exactly do you mean here? You are saying it would not be realistic to have multiple players on a single planet?

To me it is more realistic, just because how many planets will be available for colonisation in real life anyway? Pretty much Mars and some moons. But of course the game does not have to be realistic, as in MC1 where there is an infinite number of planets. My thought was on MC2 sort of the opposite, a few planets but with infinite amount of space. I mean the space does not have to be infinite, but how many different cities and civilizations are just on Earth alone?
Owner of Ape Apps, LLC
3y
#9
bastecklein said:You are saying it would not be realistic to have multiple players on a single planet


Yes, because they need to survive and they are not collaborating (nothing shared between different players' settlements). Why would they land on different parts of the planets and play their own game? Being together should bring higher chances of survival.

It could work if the colonists were not in a survival mode and focus on bringing resources in for their company, but then the game lacks the survival challenge.
Creator of Coloniae
Admin of the MC2 translation project
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Ape Apps, LLC is an independent software development company founded in 2010 by Brandon Stecklein. Over the years, Ape Apps has published over 400 apps and games across various platforms. You can get in touch with Brandon on Twitter or by leaving a post on his wall @bastecklein
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