FMO Project Tracking
Where the development team tracks their progress. This has been made read only for other viewers so they can see what's going on in the FMO world.
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Nicholas
Paladin
1033 posts
Jun 13, 2004
12:43 AM
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 *OPEN* New shipping system
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FMO has grown to something much larger and more intricate that was ever originally conceived. I think battles and exploration have reached their point of perfection, without any need for further complications or upgrades. The occassional patch or new feature will still be there, but I would like to direct our energies elsewhere.
It's become apparent to me that players are ready for FMO to grow into a much larger world, encompassing a larger range of realism than just adventure and fighting. I fully agree. When we started FMO, one of the foremost things on my mind was my recent experiences with Neopets; I always felt in awe at how their world seemed so open and endless. I'd like to see FMO grow to the same...then beyond.
The first idea to follow this new paradigm was the castle system. It was born more out of a way to keep super-players interested in the game, but it fits here as well. Unfortunately, we can't release the castle system until we have enough profit to buy the extra components we need, but they will be coming...hopefully in the next few months.
Now I'd like to expand things in another way. This will be targeted more at mid-range characters, maybe allowing entry at as low as 20k or 30k gold. I'm envisioning adventures on the high seas. Players will be able to buy ships, and redesign them as they see fit. I imagine the first few will take these ships and set up trade routes to attempt to make money...and more.
Soon, though, we'll begin to see players ready to take advantage of this perfect situation. They'll outfit their ship(s) with larger cannons and huge crews, aiming to disable merchant ships and board them...commandeering both ship and cargo. This should see the rise of mercenary fleets, offering their services to merchants in need of protection...for a price.
Sea battles will be new and different than standard battles. Maneuvering will become paramount, as ships turn slowly and have no ability to stop on a dime or rush ahead at full speed on a whim. Ships must gain and drop speed, and turn in wide arcs. To make things even more difficult, side mounted cannons will only be able to shoot from the side.
Player fleets will be limited by the number of captains a player can hire. Captains are few and greatly in demand, so they will not be easy to find. A new charisma skill will be added for characters, to aid in finding captains and hiring crew. The details of this are yet to be determined.
Hopefully, this will open FMO to even more possibilities. A shipbuilding skill could be added, allowing players to repair their ships for free. Meanwhile, those with extremely high skill ratings, and enough money, can open a repair yard. Others will be able to open a shipyard and see new ships. Exact mechanics are, again, yet to be determined. However, I think this will be an excellent first step toward a complete player economy.
Ultimately, I see FMO becoming a game without a singular purpose that dominates your standard fantasy strategy game. Players will have a myriad of directions they can take their characters through the world, and find what part of the game they enjoy best.
Nicholas Bostaph
Fantasy Master Online Developer
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Nicholas
Paladin
1033 posts
Jun 13, 2004
2:42 PM
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Re: *OPEN* New shipping system
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We talked this over and came up with some refinements to the system.
First, crew will be more involved than just a number and a simple equation. I'd like players to be able to hire on different strength crews. A crew may be mostly normal humans, with a few fighters and a knight or two. On the other hand, players could take a small crew of only higher class warriors. What characters have the choice of hiring is based on their charisma, though their gold pouch will make a big difference in who they can keep loyal.
When ships attempt to board, they will extend a plank. We'll say that this plank is large enough for 6 crew to cross (or maybe more, we'll see). Players then watch as their computer controlled crew battle on another using the standard battle system we've all grown to love ;). Players get to see the map, read the battle log from the last turn, then click a button to allow the combatants to take another turn.
I'm thinking that players will also be able to take items out of their inventory, and place them in the cargo hold of their ship(s). During battle, these items will be automatically given to the crew heading into a fight. The strongest weapons will get paired with the strongest crew members who will, of course, be the first to enter battle.
The next thing we talked about is how the system would be played. A map will be created with all the ports listed. A player's fleet will always be either in a port, or on their way to one. Each port will have a set number of each resource that they have, and a few set resources they produce. How much a resource costs at each port is directly related to how much the port has, and how quickly it can be produced. Each night, ports use so many of each resource, based on it's size, and produce so many of those few resources it can. Players, in effect, will see fluctuating prices and must be careful not to overload a single trade route. Otherwise, their profit will quickly disappear.
When a player is online, they can choose to travel to another port. The trip will take several hours between each. Anytime a fleet is at sea, it is open to attack. If the owner is online when the fleet is attacked, they may control the battle. Otherwise, they must trust in their captains. In this way, players can control if their fleets are ever battling under the AI's control. When fleets are sailing, they must pay their crew wages, and they must have enough food and water for their crew. These costs should be considered when deciding if a trade route is worthwhile.
Players also have another set of commands available, besides just "said to port XXXXXX". They can have their fleet move out into the ocean in search of a merchant fleet to attack. Players who decide to be pirates attempt to attack a fleet to board the enemy ships. Any ship destroyed in battle is gone for good. Any ship boarded becomes the property of the boarding player. Ships are allowed to retreat to prevent the loss of an entire fleet. Pirates must be careful, however, not to attack too powerful of merchants. Otherwise, the merchants may be looting their new ship! Only players with an alignment of 7 or less can be a pirate.
Another command players can use is to hunt pirates. Pirate hunters use this command just as a pirate would. However, the fleets that the site finds for them to attack are those who are under the command to look for merchant fleets to attack. These hunters will find their pray a more difficult target, but will likely find much more valuable ships when considering the cost of weapons. Only players with an alignment of 4 or greater can be a hunter.
The last command for players is to offer their services to merchant fleets. Any fleet in the same port can see a list of mercenary fleets. These players can hire mercenary fleets as protectorates before sailing. If a battle breaks out, the mercenary fleet is expected to battle the incoming pirates while the merchants try to run. Being a mercenary will be more difficult as you must wait to get hired, and then you still have a long trip ahead of you. This could turn the job into an all day venture unless the player is willing to let the AI control them should battle break out en route. All players can offer their services as mercenaries.
Nicholas Bostaph
Fantasy Master Online Developer
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