I generally agree with the comments on exploration. Though - being a big-time hex gamer, I do like the hex exploration aspect of it. I think the main problem is that there's just not enough going on out in the wilderness in general. I could see, occaisionally, running into nothing - or even half the time. But it seems like after a certain point, you just never run into anything again and it makes the whole operation tedious - becoming - "do I get injured, killed, or just find another empty hex". That said - I agree with the general MacGuffin comment that "It needs love".
thoughts on exploration
(19 posts) (8 voices)-
jbehnken
MemberMight also be interesting to find some cryptic clues along the way that might point out what direction we need to be travelling to find various things - like the Frost Giant Lair, the Rival Family, Mines, whatnot... Could add a lot to the exploration angle. Of course - that might be a coding nightmare (I know nothing of this sorcery you call coding).
John
Posted 2 years ago # -
jbehnken
MemberI also realize the aforementioned idea might make for a static map. So maybe as clues are found, additional things can be added to the map that pertain to 'part two' of the plotlet. Just a thought.
I also want to add that the exploration feature - though bland at the moment - really makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. Taking the hexes away - or taking away that 'physical' aspect of exploration has the danger of making the game feel 100% text based, which is less fun in my opinion. Would be kinda neat of the various 'bad guys' in game could claim hexes and we had to take them back as part of the overall effort to solidify the kingdom. Those hexes could be represented by a different color. Yes, I'm off on a tangent, but that's how my mind works. :)Posted 2 years ago # -
Hey all,
Thanks! These are really great things for us to consider. As usual, you folks are amazingly helpful and thoughtful.
For this Friday we're putting in some more events that will act as rewards, increasing the amount of space explored each time you go out there, and putting back in the mechanic where you'll divert to a site in your way if you hit one before your intended target.
Past that, my hunch - like that of jbehnken and others - is that this is maybe more a problem of us not having enough content and consequences to make exploration engaging. Before we look at more radical departures from where we're already headed, I'd like to see if we can get this working well.
Therlun, I think the system you're proposing looks pretty damn cool, although I haven't had a chance to really think about it past that. It would definitely represent a big change in direction for us and would remove one of the more "concrete" elements of the game, so we'd only want to look at that big a change if we can't make the current map and exploration compelling.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Waferthinninja
Member(First post - got the game a few days ago. Long time KoDP fan, great to see another game in the genre - I can't believe it's taken so long!)
Here's my idea for how to implement exploration. Divide the map up into smallish regions (~10 hexes?). In code each region is basically a list of hexes, and also contains a list of adjacent regions, and maybe keep track of which region lies in each cardinal direction. The game should also know which cardinal direction the region lies in relation to the city.
The player can give a general exploration order to a character along the lines of "explore west" - the game searches for unexplored regions which is adjacent to explored regions, and to the west of the city, and reveals it. Since the game knows which direction each hex lies, you can easily add this order to the context menu.
Revealing regions will show up points of interest in specific hexes. Characters can be ordered to explore these specific points in the same way specific hexes are explored now. When a region is first revealed, it makes sense that the explorers would check out one of these points of interest - pick one and run the event.
On a related note, I'm not keen on the "percentage chance to successfully explore" thing. Fair enough if an event forces me to turn back, but a boring "failed exploration" message is unrewarding and frustrating. Travelling events should often include advantages for taking more soldiers with you, so its still worth doing this.
Just some ideas, not sure how they gel with your existing code.
Great work so far on the game so far, I'm excited to see it develop.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Hey Wafer! Welcome and thanks for the kind words. That's a very interesting idea. Hmm.
Overall, the moves away from giving the player less control over where they go just don't sit right when we talk about them. I do really like the idea of opening up new areas visually by getting near them. Graham and I were just talking about it, though... we're figuring we'll get the next couple big systems completed and see how the game plays before making any big alterations to exploration. That way, we'll know for sure how explore interacts when there's a lot more going on in the game with your families, your city, etc.
Posted 1 year ago # -
So noted, gentlemen. :)
Posted 1 year ago #
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