User:Diagoras

From Elite Wiki

Hermitage

Hermitage - construction and management simulator, where player take control of a small mining party in the asteroid field, inspired by Dwarf Fortress and Oolite.

Key points of narrative

  • Galaxy is inhabited by multiple races and faction with complex political relationships.
  • Player-controlled mining operations are small-scale and do not affect universe - just a small party of men, trying to earn their living.
  • On the contrary, major events in the outer galaxy can have big impact on player's campaign.

Key points of game mechanics

  • Procedural generation of environment - both asteroid field and universe around it.
  • Asteroids are destructible - digging them out provides both raw materials and empty space to occupy.
  • Player has in-game avatar - mining party commander, who can be controlled in first-person mode.
  • Other party members (8 or less at the game start) controlled through jobs distribution.

Key points of architecture

  • Minimalistic game core implemented in C++ using Unreal Engine 4.
  • Extensibility through SkookumScript.
  • Reasonable target system requirements - should be fluently playable on current-gen budget laptops.

Key points of development model

  • Dedicated development team concentrates on game core, providing platform for community to improve it with gameplay extensions.
  • Game is distributed for free including all community extensions.
  • Community modders wanting to support core development team may release some strictly non-essential content of their extensions (additional textures, model variations, music tracks, etc) as "tribute". Such content is avaliable only to players buying special "sugar daddy" DLC's.
  • Income from this DLC's remains under control of core development team, but all financials are strictly public.
  • In case of such model generating funds excessive for covering core development needs, surplus should be used for rewarding talented modders through public initiatives - contest awards, bounties for popular feature requests, etc.
  • Upon gathering up active modding community, sources of game core are published under permissive license.

Questions and answers

Post here or in the discussion thread.