Planetary development

Planets

Our goal in VERZ is that planets are NPC locations; but that players could have some control over them. We’ve looked at other games and NPC locations in them; and we found a lot of things we both liked, and didn’t like.

One of the big questions we have been asking – and continue to ask – is how much players should be able to influence planets, and planetary economies. In some games, individual players can have vast control over NPC locations, and are able to shape economies, see planets grow 100-fold or more in population in a relatively short amount of time, and otherwise have what we feel is an unrealistic level of influence. On the other hand, in some games, even the most dedicated efforts by even groups of players have little or no effect on these locations: NPC locations are mostly static that refuse to respond to anything players do.

But finding the right place in the middle is likely to be an ongoing challenge for us. We want players to be able to influence planets. More effort means more influence – which also will benefit groups of players who work together, especially if they apply effort in different ways. Effort over time will be important; but we also want chances to respond to the planet and its needs. However, we also want there to be limits – and in two ways.

In some MMOs, spending even a short amount of time away from the game can be enough to lose weeks or months of work. Even spending a few days doing something else can be enough. While neglect should see a decline in the planet, we want it to be forgiving. VERZ is a game for busy people: taking a vacation shouldn’t cost you weeks or months of work.

However, the bigger one is putting a limit on how much a planet is able to do. I’ve played a couple economy-building games where making use of NPC locations is better than building your own structures. In other games, obscure reactions from NPCs mean that doing something you don’t recognize is wrong will screw you over. None of these is right for VERZ.

Trade

June saw a big step towards what we want planets to be. Before this, planets generally had a large amount of money and resources; and would buy anything until they ran out of money – which would be reset periodically. Good for testing other parts of the economy; but not what we want for planets. Now, planets have the beginnings of an economy. They will buy resources, and convert them over time into other resources – mostly credits; but also other resources based on the planet. 

For now, this is just a list of production options: each planet has a list of what they can do. Like buildings, the recipe consumes resources, takes some time, and then produces an output. Unlike buildings, some planet recipes don’t take an input (like the “Compost generation” above), allowing a planet to continue to produce some resources even when unsupplied – though, generally, up to a maximum.

However, it’s also the start of something more. We want to make things so that, the more you supply, the more instances of production a planet will produce. Keep a planet supplied with a large amount of one resource, and it will keep turning that resource into credits and resources you are buying. Stop supplying a resource, and over time the planet will return to lower levels of consumption.

Development

We’re also planning more with this system. Weapons, equipment, and ships are almost certainly going to be part of the system. Don’t supply a planet with resources, and it will produce few, if any, ships and equipment. Keep it well-supplied, and it will produce more. But missions might also be tied in, at least a little: supply a planet with the right resources, and it will produce more missions – you won’t run out of missions if you don’t supply the planet; but you will see fewer than if you kept the planet supplied.

And some missions might work as recipe inputs: complete this mission, and the planet starts producing something. Maybe it’s another mission; maybe it’s extra resources. During major events, these might even be critical to success. Complete this scouting mission plus deliver electronics to create a spying mission. Send a spy (or hacker) on that mission and the planet consumes missiles to create a war mission. Complete that and the target planet loses resources and credits. But even most of the time, running certain missions might be critical to keeping an advanced economy going. Traders who have active mission runners will have an easier time – and attract more mission runners.