Something I want to put into the app in the very near future, is more than one starsystem. I actually want to have stars, with planets orbiting them, and all that fun stuff. Right now, making planets is going to be more than we want to tackle right now, so I figure a textured sphere would work as a placeholder. I have an idea about how to make suns, but I'll put that in another thread.
What we need to tackle, from a conceptual/design stand point (no code for a while yet, I would think) is how we want to handle travel between starsystems. As we all know it'd take years and years and years to even reach the closests solarsystem to our own... conventionally. So, in the game, and my story I use the concept of subspace to 'cheat'.
I've done some decent research on it, and, the basic principal is that the ship is bending space and time, creating a wormhole into the fourth spacial dimension. (If you would like a better description of how it's possible to move faster in the fourth dimension than the third dimension... I'd be happy to explain in a seperate thread.)
Now, to the design part. Subspace itself is going to be interesting... I imagine that it'll be pretty featureless.... however what we do see will be confusing to us. (Since we can only see a 3d representation of 4d space) So, how about we cop out, and just have an undulating cloud, of like blue and black. (Kinda like
this, or
this, only blue.)
When a ship enters subspace, I imagine an oblate spheroid (egg shape) of energy that surrounds the ship, distorts it, and eventually, fades out (rather quickly) into nothingness, when the ship enters the wormhole into subspace.
Now that we have that described, we need to figure out the game play part of it. For now, I say that we just have the ship moving through subspace (without the user's input affecting it) for whatever length of time it would take to get there.... unless people have a large problem with that. (since if we make it next to instant, the screws with time syncing betwee n players, and places.)
Deciding where you're going I think should be as simple, as bringin up a systems map. (which I imagine would be loaded into all ships by default) The map would show where you are, and have little cirlces, or something indicating other starsystems. (it will onlt show the ones we've modeled.. which will be the 'most common' systems you want to go to.) when you click on a system, the map will change, and show the system, so you can pick which planet you're going to (the navigational systems will drop you out as close as possible, and set an autopilot course for that planet), or where in the system you want to come out. It will also indicate places you *don't* want to come out (like too close to anything, since subspace has a nasty habit of sending out localized gravitational shockwaves when you exit it.) Those places will be shown as yellow, (you will damage that object) orange (you will damage yourself and the object.) and red (it will kill you.) The map will also give you basic info of each planet, if you click on it.
Here's the problem... aside from defining entry point into the system (which we could do), how do we allow the player to decide where they want to be when they exit? Do we have a grid based system, and they just click on it, or what? What would make the most sense?
Well, that's all I have for now, I'll likely post latter (after breakfast). Discuss amongst yourselves.
--Chris
