Thanqol Learns To Draw Six: Stealing Time

[Thanqol]

Okay! Here are a couple of things that need doing, in no particular order:

1) Compile the information we have into a master reference document. That way, we don't have to go digging through this thread for the latest version of mechanics/features, and it'll be easier to get other people up to speed on the project when the time comes. This will essentially be our working design document; we'll update it as we go and as things change. There's a million and five ways to write and organize them, go with whatever format makes the most sense to you. For me, I've found that it's helpful to split concept and mechanics into two separate documents. (Business planning goes into a third document as needed.)

I have some sample design doc templates I can throw your way if it'll help.

Yeah, if you want to administer that it'd be great

2) Work on finding concept art/music/general game aesthetic. There's a limit to what we can do here before hiring dedicated art/music people (as they will bring their own ideas to the table too) but we can get started now. Find pieces of music, drawings, poignant quotes, anything that captures the target mood and feel of this game.

On it. I'm basically visualizing an icy neon blue/sleek silver with sharp edges for the player, and neon red/dark metal with rounded corners for Johnson. Will get deeper into research soon. The Frozen Synapse stuff is worth a look as a starting point.

2.1) On that note, now may be a good time to write out one crisis dialogue tree for concept purposes. It doesn't have to be something we'll use in the final version, just something indicative of the tone we're going for. Plus, it'll give us a good sense on how much dialogue there might be per crisis.

Wilco. I'm using the Dues Ex Human Revolution conversation fights as my model.

3) Do a first pass on the more nitty-gritty details of the design. Start answering questions like: What actions can the various units perform? What determines the results of those actions? What Technologies are in the game, and what effects might they have? How many nodes on the map? etc. I fully expect these details to change in playtesting, but we need someplace to start. (Aside: A good chunk of playtesting will be devoted to seeing what happens when these details are tweaked. Playing maps with 10 nodes vs 20 nodes vs 50 nodes, for example.)

Compiling the information we have into a more comprehensive reference document should help us pinpoint what we still don't know. Alternatively, imagine somebody playing this hypothetical game, and look for gaps.

Awright let's get some definitions nailed down:

COUNTRIES

There are a few maps we can use as a model, with Twilight Struggle (50+) on one end and XCOM2 (16) on the other end.

Traits
0-4 Influence Links. This might be capped lower in the early game and raised with technology.
15 technologies (number subject to change). All techs range between 0 and 2, where 1 is sufficient saturation to provide the bonus and everything else is just buffer.
1 Bonus or Output: The resource generated by the country when controlled.
Port. Countries can only forge influence links to adjacent countries, but if the country has a port they can forge a link to any other country with an open port.
Developed/Developing. Developing countries do not produce outputs until Modernized and have a mallus to tech growth.


Bonuses and Outputs
+1 Army speed
+1 Agent speed
+1 Executive speed
+1 max Influence Links
Trade Hegemon: 2 ports
Civilian Laboratory
Military Laboratory
Culturally Influential: Double tech spread to/from countries connected to this one
Hermit Kingdom: Can sever influence links to this country instantly and for free
Shipping Interdiction: Enemy ocean travel to any country linked to this one takes 2x as long
Sphere of Influence: Armies in countries linked to this country can conventionally engage each other (though not in this country)
Graveyard of Empires: Output: Agent. Permanent one-Agent Insurgency.
Global Espionage: Once every 5 turns can teleport an agent stationed in this country anywhere on the map.
International Aid: If developed, 2x Development speed to all linked countries
Fortress: Immune to insurgencies
Colonial Hegemon: Deploying in this country provides control over all unoccupied developing countries it is linked to.
Exports Terror: Every turn an Insurgency hits one country this country is linked to, chosen at random.
Output: Executive
Output: Agent
Output: Army


Writing this discovered a really cool role for countries as regional hubs that project power over their surroundings.

UNITS
All movements have a base speed of 1 square per turn. Units cannot move and act. All actions have a % chance of success, influenced by technology. All units have the technologies of the country that spawned them.

Army
Represents combined conventional military, diplomatic and economic power.
Can't enter a square with a deployed army. If in a square with a deployed army must leave the next turn.
Action: Deploy. Grants control of all positive effects of controlling the country.
Action: Confiscate Technology. Reduces technology growth
Action: Conventional Warfare. % chance of destroying any enemy armies in this province. Disabled by default.

Executive
Represents corporate and financial clout.
Action: Break Link. Undermines and destroys an influence link.
Action: Forge Link. Creates a new influence link between eligible countries
Action: Push Technology. Adds technology growth
Action: Development aid. Modernizes a developing country.

Agent
Represents special forces and intelligence services
Action: Insurrection. % chance every turn of destroying a deployed Army.
Action: Steal research. In a province with a lab, steal knowledge of one technology.
Action: Assassinate. % chance every turn of destroying a deployed Exec or Agent.
Action: Deploy superweapon. Destroys all units in the country, destroys all influence links to the country, loses all technologies, knocks the country back to Developing.

TECHNOLOGY LIST

Fusion Power
Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
Social Media
Renewable Energy
Advanced Materials
Space Program
Quantum Computing
Virtual Reality
Cybernetics
Artistic Utopia
Advanced Ethics
Medical Science
Brain Mapping
Nanotechnology

Technology Effects:
+/- Deploy speed
+/- Confiscate speed
+/- Break Link
+/- Forge Link
+/- Push Technology
+/- Development Aid
+/- Insurrection
+/- Assassinate
+/- Output
+/- Max Influence Links
+/- Port Connections
+/- Technology research speed
+/- Technology spread speed
+/- Ban efficiency
+/- Superweapon vulnerability
Superweapon: Yes
Conventional Warfare: Yes