This is a pre-release snapshot of version 10 of android game:
“synSpace: Drone Runners”
(available in the Google Play store, and on Amazon for Fire HD Tablets.)
Since Google mandates I release this new version asap, it will probably be released suddenly in the very near future, at whatever completion level it is at, when the deadline looms. (It looms!)
This video is a pastiche of snapshots taken during the development of v10.
But it’s a fair question: What is the Game?
I tend to talk about the engine in the abstract, but the whole point of the engine (and the ‘tweaks’ that command it) is to serve the needs of the starmap, and give the starmap author (you, the player!) the support you need to tell new stories, and make new styles of games (limited to very old graphics).
Or just play Starmaps as written by others. You don’t HAVE to be a Starmap author, it’s… your choice!
Basically synSpace is a sandbox RPG game, where you explore space and worlds, alone or with others, and have persistent RPG elements that level over time as you play.
Each Starmap (written by a player) hopefully comes with a Lua script full of quests and adventures. And a suite of interesting vehicles, devices, and equipment with which to interact.
V10 introduces ‘Activities,’ where your sandbox RPG game is interrupted and you take part in an Activity (usually multiplayer), offered by the moderator (and you choose whether or not to participate).
An activity lasts for a few minutes, and at the end (or when a game-ending goal is achieved,) one player is announced to be the winner. After which, all players are returned to their sandbox adventures. Much like “queueing for a Raid.”
Within an Activity, you might start with a different set of possessions (or even level/stats?). But back in the sandbox you should have persistent possessions. (just not in v10, since it is being rushed out the door without persistence).
V10 introduces a new Starmap (“Paradise, Utopia”), which is your introduction to Planets, Hives, and Critters. Planet Utopia has its own quests and storylines (more coming). The storyline borrows liberally from my favorite movies. And I have shamelessly hijacked the word “Spice.”
Utopia offers an Activity, called ‘a WarPath’. It is an homage to my game, “WarPath” (where you race against time and other players to win the hearts of a bunch of planets). But in this activity, you race against time and other players to win the hearts of a bunch of Hives.
The MFD (Multi Function Display) in the upper right has many functions, but the one talking about any current Activity, is called ACT. That’s where the moderator sets the duration and rules of the WarPath. Other players (on their ACT panels) see the offer and can choose to join. After 30 seconds, everyone who joined is automatically roped into the activity.
Hives are bio-synthetic printers that churn out Critters as fast as they can (with local environmental conditions, which you can influence). They use something called Spice to do the actual printing. No one knows exactly how Hives work, as they were one more thing left behind by the Old Ones. But they mostly all still work after who knows how many eons. (Think: Forbidden Planet and monsters from the Id)
But Hives really like Spice, almost an addiction. So they (and the bio-synthetic critters, who are basically made of Spice) are very grateful when you provide them with Spice. Lots of Spice.
This wins the hearts of the critters, and they tell their parent Hive how swell you are, and eventually the Hive itself changes to follow your ‘Path’ (your player color).
You can also drop large ‘Spice Bombs’ which shower an area with Spice Crystals, possibly claiming multiple Hives and Critters in just a short time.
But ‘scores’ and ‘points’ are just for Activities.
In theory, a single Starmap could define more than one Activity, but I sort of see it as a reason to make another Starmap instead. (Since any player can write a starmap with any text editor, import it to their Android Device, then clone and share it with other players)
All graphical assets (such as they are) can be created with editors built into the game itself, and which act as mini-games you can play while waiting for other players to join you.
Players automatically share these assets (so other players can see what their characters look like, and collect starmaps and other collectibles.)
As usual, I’m sorry for a little vaporware around the edges in this release (unfinished engine development:)
For example, v10 has a pretty fancy crafting system, with required Plans and Materials and Inventory, but none of the requirements are checked in v10), so anyone can pretty much make anything at any time for free, so it’s perfect for testing, but not a true game function yet.
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