Can someone sign for this crate?

[Mecron]

No, no...In Nstar you will have to gather help from the...Borves...and Gelves...and the ....monolith of the nanomages...and you are a...StarRanger....and then you all have to face the...really dark hordes...from the planet...Blordor.


(and to answer the serious question, at this point it looks like it will be open ended after the storyline concludes but don't know how super excited I am about a endless wealth/affirmation gathering simulation.)

[Anaris]

that was partly why i was asking about the scale of the player's skills and assets at the end of the game.

if it is open-ended, giving the player further progress in himself and in the things he owns could extend the gameplay because you get to set your own goals; building companies and trade routes, or raiders to live in your asteroid bases or something.

obviously, thematically i wouldn't be keen on owning entire fleets of starships plying a secure and happy void patrolled by armadas of ships. but if the game's factions and criminal characters have organisations and systems, allowing the player to take them over, mirror them (or build your own to compete) or shut them down would keep "in-world".

[Space Voyager]

No, no...In Nstar you will have to gather help from the...Borves...and Gelves...and the ....monolith of the nanomages...and you are a...StarRanger....and then you all have to face the...really dark hordes...from the planet...Blordor.

There is something suspicious about this...

[Erinys]

that was partly why i was asking about the scale of the player's skills and assets at the end of the game.

I don't think it's a bad idea to think of your character as a business person with a certain amount of entrepeneurial spirit. But the general tone, the design and the style of play is not really conducive to recreating the events of "The Godfather" in space.

It would take a deliberate and very intensive effort to create a game which would simulate building, maintaining and controlling a criminal empire or even a "straight" giant shipping concern.

There will certainly be crime, larceny etc. in the Northstar universe. But in general the player is an adventurer, not a mafia don, a general or a shipping magnate. Your interaction with major institutions like the Stellar National militaries, the organized crime syndicates and the multi-planetary corporations will be as an independent individual, not as a cog in the machine--not even Cog Numero Uno.

--Arinn

[Anaris]

cool. means less scope, but much more detail.

[patton1942]

No, no...In Nstar you will have to gather help from the...Borves...and Gelves...and the ....monolith of the nanomages...and you are a...StarRanger....and then you all have to face the...really dark hordes...from the planet...Blordor.


(and to answer the serious question, at this point it looks like it will be open ended after the storyline concludes but don't know how super excited I am about a endless wealth/affirmation gathering simulation.)

I for one hope it stays reasonably open ended. In the RPGs I've played I always find myself wanting to go back and get something I missed, or an item I couldn't afford, something.

I always seem to be artificially extending gameplay to achieve some goal I set for myself.


I understand that too much sandbox play can destroy a slick storyline, but after the story is done and you've 'won' I always seem to enjoy a good romp around game universe for a few hours.

[Sevain]

It is very rare for me to care for universes after their stories have been told. I play for motion and once the storylines have been concluded the universes are static.

[Anaris]

the presence of RPG missions changes that somewhat for me. even the little stories are fun, and sometimes even the ones i make myself.

one of the great things about a complex universe like this one, or for that matter it seems anything Kerberos touch, is that narrative emerges from the gameplay. and if there's stuff left undone from the main story, i always appreciate not having to start again to experience what's left in the game.

it's not that i don't do multiple playthroughs of some games, i just kind of prefer having access to all the game's content when i want to.

[Erinys]

The basic idea is to create a tapestry of stories. Some of them are relatively limited in scope, and essentially represent the fabric of daily life as an independent ship's captain in the Northstar universe. Others are part of a fully developed story line sequence with much larger implications.

--Arinn

[U.E.D.C.]

Must.... Not....beg.....for....... release!!! Can....Not....drool.... on....keyboard!

[Space Voyager]

Must.... Not....beg.....for....... release!!! Can....Not....drool.... on....keyboard!

I have a notebook and this is why I bought an extra keyboard. Drool away.

[U.E.D.C.]

Think If we sign for this crate we find a copy of N* in it? Mec would probably be in the shadows laughing zuulishly as we fought each other to the death for it?

[long_fella]

Think If we sign for this crate we find a copy of N* in it? Mec would probably be in the shadows laughing zuulishly as we fought each other to the death for it?

Threads like this (and my other one) are the virtual equivalent of having signed for it .

Unfortunately it's like being addicted to a drug that isn't available.

[bmac4417]

*Patiently waiting for his fix*

[Xentax]

The basic idea is to create a tapestry of stories. Some of them are relatively limited in scope, and essentially represent the fabric of daily life as an independent ship's captain in the Northstar universe. Others are part of a fully developed story line sequence with much larger implications.

--Arinn

How about the 'remort' approach:
- You can play as long as you want
- Level/wealth/etc. levels off towards some cap (and there's limited benefit in doing so beyond player defined goals like "hit level X" or the like)

The key is that anytime after the story ends (with victory OR failure), you can 'retire' that character and pass on some kind of legacy to a new game start. They could be modest (an heirloom item like in torchlight) or profound (certain game endings unlock new classes, abilities, modes, party members, or different start conditions, etc.). For example, beating the game could unlock the classic "hardcore" mode where party death = game over.

Thoughts?