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Enhancement request: Missions for Roam


Brian1
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[not sure if this is right place for this]

I was thinking it would be kewl if you had the game had a random mission generator for the roam mode.

IT could work something like this:

Hit Ctrl+Alt+C (Request new campaign mission)

Cancels any existing mission (option, would help clean up old data or impossible random missions)

Checks your affiliation and career type (ie ter/mil commander)

selects a mission type from a list which might look like:

1 Goto position

2 Destroy object at location

3 Escort person to location

4 Take item to location

5 Gain X amount of xp in certain time

6 Destroy X amount of enemy

7 Defend object at location

8 Goto location and dock with object then do one of the above

and then generates suitable objects or locations.

System would award bonus XP and or money based on accomplishing the task, possibly with a timelimit.

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They don't take too kindly to wishlist items around here...

But, I agree with you. This would enhance the game quite a bit.

Question about this: Can you have 2 or more ACM scenarios running simultaneosly? For example...

You have your "big game"(BG) scenario, and your "single mission"(SM) scenario. While performing a SM, let's say the mission is to destroy all Ter/Rai craft in this area, you encounter an important NPC which is part of BG. Let's also say that he is requesting escort back to a station, and he rewards you with an artifact afterwards(which, let's say, is part of the plot of BG). You're also rewarded with the pay from the SM. Is this possible? If not, what don't I understand?

This also raises another question. Obviously one ACM scenario can be immediately follow by another one(Case in point: ACM The Future is Now Redux). But, can an ACM scenario be availible in MisCon that wasn't there previously, for example...

In BG, you safely escort the ship to a station. When you dock, is there a way to have a new mission appear in MisCon?

EDIT: Also, may be none of my business, but I think this belongs in GBS discussion.

[ 12-12-2001: Message edited by: R_wilco ]

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Waiting for the fireworks, popcorn anyone?

While I wait, might I just point out the following:

[*]Wishlist items are very bad for your health, figuratively speaking.

[*]Roam is strickly free flight, what you're describing is ACM/campaign mode.

[*]You need to do a little research before asking such things, you'll do much better.

THREAD MOVED

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: Tyrn ]

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quote:

Originally posted by Brian1:

[not sure if this is right place for this]

I was thinking it would be kewl if you had the game had a random mission generator for the roam mode.

Oh, man. You're gonna get beaten. Severely. Even I know better...

Roam mode is meant to be totally open-ended. Right now it's the only viable way to play any caste you want in the game - even the harmless ones like explorer and diplomat. Because of that any kind of "random mission" generation would require an insane amount of possibilities. After all, you can't only allow missions for combat castes. And you can't expect a diplomat to attack a space station.

And even if someone was willing to put all of that work in, I don't think BCM or GBS-II (And I could be totally wrong here) even supports the random generation of missions. Anyway, just way for the scripting system to be released. Then people will be able to make their own campaigns, complete with missions and objectives and such. Until then play around in Roam Mode, I've had an incredible amount of fun with it. And the campaigns that are available now aren't too bad either.

EDIT: Besides, adding simple random missions to roam mode would probably just end up as an annoyance. Even after playing the game for weeks now every situation I get into still seems fresh. Like when a stormcarrier jumps in on top of me and half of my systems are down for repairs. Or limping back to base, hoping no one notices that my weapons are almost useless. Or figuring out a way to get my ship running again after the main computer is gone... hmm. Everything interesting that happens to me seems to involve an extreme amount of damage on my ship. Coincidence? I think not! Er...

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: Simparadox ]

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quote:

Originally posted by Tyrn:

Waiting for the fireworks, popcorn anyone?

While I wait, might I just point out the following:

[*]
Wishlist items are very bad for your health, figuratively speaking.

[*]
Roam is strickly free flight, what you're describing is ACM/campaign mode.

[*]
You need to do a little research before asking such things, you'll do much better.

THREAD MOVED

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: Tyrn ]

[RP]

Wow, they're giving us a 21-gun salute!

Hey...how come it's pointed right at the bridge??

[/RP]

Ok, aside from the GBS FAQ, information on GBS seems somewhat scarce. For clarification, I meant to refer to ACM and not ROAM. Sorry

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Come on. I don't know about you guys but I want the SC to concentrate on BCO. Instead of having some kind of random mission generator, I want to actually interact with people instead of go there do that get e.p. and credits. Of course (like most extras) it would be nice but not worth the ammount of time.

I already have plans for BCO. The very first thing I am going to do once I get some credits in the bank is hire myself an explorer and ask him to scout out and clear me a nice patch on the planet so that I can open up my trading shop. Then I plan to expand/protect it, and eventually if I get rich enough to get myself a space station (probably get together with some other guys, or if I get really lucky, all to myself). From then on I will be making some missions for the mercenarys and assasins, so that they can do a little work for me. Oh man. I just can't wait.

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quote:

Originally posted by Soback:

Come on. I don't know about you guys but I want the SC to concentrate on BCO. Instead of having some kind of random mission generator, I want to actually interact with people instead of go there do that get e.p. and credits. Of course (like most extras) it would be nice but not worth the ammount of time.

I agree completely. I don't see wish list items as being immediate requests or anything, just a way of throwing ideas on the table for discussion/criticism/etc. And if the SC thinks something's a good idea, then he's the one to decides if, when, and how it'd be implemented.

After all, most of my wish list items would require many months to implement. And most probably couldn't be implemented in the current system. It's stuff that'd have to wait for BCO version 7.0.

And it's not a criticism of the current game at all. Quite the contrary. It's just a truism that the best games will always have the largest wish lists.

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: Schmendrick ]

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While the inclusion of an in-game random mission generator is definitely "wishlist", I can't see a reason why someone (ie one of us) with decent coding skills could not write an out-of-game script generator.

So you would run the script generator, start up the game and select campaign, and your randomly generated campaign would be there for you.

Once I get my hands on GBS II I certainly intend to do some scripting, and I've done some pattern-based script generation before (admittedly for something entirely different!) so I'll have a go at the random generator. Might do it on SourceForge so it could be a group effort.

Cheers,

Smiley

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Good luck SmileyMan , but first take a look into GBS scripting tools which is for BC3K. You can dl it from here.

Try your hands on that first (you'll need bc3k of course to do it).

Atleast open one of the script files (eg. beginning with acm*.scr) and take a look at it, so you know what you're dealing with.

No offence, but from time to time there pops up people who say that they can come up with user friendly GUI or like you now, script generator.

Be my guest, but...

If I were you I'd use my time more efficiently by trying out the basic usage of GBS I until GBS II is released.

GBS II will be much like GBS I.

Just my 0.2 cents

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: Papi ]

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quote:

Originally posted by Schmendrick:

Well hell, since we're on the subject, could anybody explain to us noobs
why
wish list items are affixed such a stigma?

I would imagine that, in most cases, it's because wishlist items are so "out there" that there's no chance of them ever being put into the game without an incredible amount of work. There's nothing wrong with discussing what you'd like to see in the game, but since these are official message boards I think most posts are interpreted as "Hey, SC, you know it'd be really nice if this was in the game *wink wink*".

A random mission generator would probably be a huge task since there's nothing like it in BCM right now. It'd probably just be a waste of time to get into a debate about it (eh.. which we are now anyway, so..) since it's just not likely. I suppose a random script generator might be a good idea, but how is it really going to be that different from what Roam mode is anyway? Whenver I play Roam mode I always find plenty of things to do. I can be sitting near a station, minding my own business, when suddenly I need to defend said station from some sort of attack force.

I think it really just comes down to not fixing what isn't broken.

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quote:

Originally posted by SmileyMan:

While the inclusion of an in-game random mission generator is definitely "wishlist", I can't see a reason why someone (ie one of us) with decent coding skills could not write an out-of-game script generator.

So you would run the script generator, start up the game and select campaign, and your randomly generated campaign would be there for you.

Once I get my hands on GBS II I certainly intend to do some scripting, and I've done some pattern-based script generation before (admittedly for something entirely different!) so I'll have a go at the random generator. Might do it on SourceForge so it could be a group effort.

Cheers,

Smiley

Depending on the capabilities of the scripting language (of which I know absolutely nothing), it might be possible to actually generate random missions in-game. The main capabilities required would be a random number generator and the ability to create arrays.

of course these would have to be very generic missions and making it work for every race/caste combination would be a collosal pain in the ass. Furthermore, I don't know if it'd be worth the effort. Random missions are usually seem rather bland and pointless. Especially after doing the same one 20 or 30 times.

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quote:


original message by Simparadox:

A random mission generator would probably be a huge task since there's nothing like it in BCM right now. It'd probably just be a waste of time to get into a debate about it (eh.. which we are now anyway, so..) since it's just not likely. I suppose a random script generator might be a good idea, but how is it really going to be that different from what Roam mode is anyway? Whenver I play Roam mode I always find plenty of things to do. I can be sitting near a station, minding my own business, when suddenly I need to defend said station from some sort of attack force.

I think it really just comes down to not fixing what isn't broken.


True, and it's possible to script acm missions with dates, times and when ever you want a new mission. It's quite simple to create objects to pop up every now and then and you are offered escort job or whatever and it's you're choice to take the job or not. While in the between missions you can do what ever you like. GBS is very flexible.

It's all in the way you make it.

But random generator... hhmmm,

I can't say it's impossible, but very unlikely with my knowledge of the GBS. (Which is not very much I must admit)

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quote:

Originally posted by Papi:

True, and it's possible to script acm missions with dates, times and when ever you want a new mission. It's quite simple to create objects to pop up every now and then and you are offered escort job or whatever and it's you're choice to take the job or not. While in the between missions you can do what ever you like. GBS is very flexible.

It's all in the way you make it.

But random generator... hhmmm,

I can't say it's impossible, but very unlikely with my knowledge of the GBS. (Which is not very much I must admit)

I can't imagine an actual random mission generator would be possible with a scripting language. Brian's original request was to have one integrated with BCM itself, but I think that idea was based more on his ignorance of how BCM works. Someone suggested having a "random script generator" (a program that could randomly generate scripts and then you could load them into BCM), which is what I was referring to, but I can't really see that as being a viable choice. After all, ACM games should be played because you want to have a carefully crafted mission or story to play through - not because you're interested in just having some random mission to play around with. At least, that's my opinion.

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I think I'll slip this one in ahead of the hellfire.

What I think would be cool, and easily accomplishable (Is that a word?) with GBS-II is to create a script with nothing but a random (generated using an outside program) series of patrol zones. Nothing else. There are different rules for experience in patrol zones. You'd be responsible for what happened there even if you weren't there.

This would give you some guidance, and some additional responsibility. And, it shouldn't be too difficult to do with GBS. It's a good mix of structure and free form. Let the computer do it's own thing, AI-wise, but give the player something specific to do.

PS. Brian1. I love Jovian Chronicles.

Aint happening and you should know better

TTFN

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: Badgerius ]

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: Gallion ]

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Listen up n00bs!

ROAM = Free Flight, nothing more nothing less.

You n00bs also need to pull you cranial cavity out from your backsides. ROAM and ACM already have a random mission generator built in. How do you think those various crafts (hostile, friendly, & neutral) and what-not mysteriously appear in the region you are in when playing BCM? They sure as heck aren't scripted.

If you n00bs cannot handle simple ROAM, what the heck makes you think you can hande a ACM? The SC included 2 ACMs, a port of the original BC3K ACM and an Insurgent ACM. Don't tell me that you n00bs have completed both of them already. Plus there's a plethora of IA mission to piddle around with.

Once you start a Campaign, ROAM or otherwise, your are stuck for the duration of that campaign. When playing in ACM mode, CTRL+ATL+C allows you to request the next mission in an ACM IF you've completed a previous mission and don't want to wait around for the mission timer to count down.

Now if any of you n00bs think that you are a good coder, then knock yourself out trying to develope a GBS-II GUI and random generator. You will find that it is an exercise in futility - where's SpcFx when you need him

You want a script? Well I got a script for you to try, take me all of 2 seconds to prepare and 10 seconds (sloooow arse modems) to upload and minimal time to post the link once the SC release GBS-II to the masses.

quote:

I was thinking it would be kewl if you had the game had a random mission generator for the roam mode.

IT could work something like this:

Hit Ctrl+Alt+C (Request new campaign mission)

Cancels any existing mission (option, would help clean up old data or impossible random missions)

Checks your affiliation and career type (ie ter/mil commander)

selects a mission type from a list which might look like:

1 Goto position

2 Destroy object at location

3 Escort person to location

4 Take item to location

5 Gain X amount of xp in certain time

6 Destroy X amount of enemy

7 Defend object at location

8 Goto location and dock with object then do one of the above

and then generates suitable objects or locations.

System would award bonus XP and or money based on accomplishing the task, possibly with a timelimit.

Brian1 you'd be lucky not to DeD.

quote:

Question about this: Can you have 2 or more ACM scenarios running simultaneosly?

R_Wilco - NO

quote:

...picks up gauntlet...

Mine are bigger SmileyMan

You n00bs need to do some research before you ask about stuff you know completely nothing about.

TTFN

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: Gallion ]

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quote:

Originally posted by Gallion:

Listen up n00bs!

See, I told you there'd be fireworks. Can't wait for the flame thrower to come back.

Here's the prime reason why wishlist items are shark bait around here: No research on the part of the wisher and the result is a wish that is one of three things: impossible, laughable, or one that destroys gameplay.

I'd write more, but I've more posts to read and a game that's begging to be played.

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quote:

Originally posted by Gallion:

R_wilco-
NO


[RP]

Hey, are you in my crew? 'Cause that's really all they say to me...

[/RP]

Well, gotta learn somehow. Like I said before, information is scarce and the GBS FAQ is none too helpful. Do you think I've just been plodding along, playing the scenario, not paying attention to how it works? The structure of this game and it's functions are just as interesting to me as the game itself.

[ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: R_wilco ]

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Some of you assume I intend to play online. :-)

I tried out online gaming with the first versions of UO and Everquest.. actually... back to the days of text based MUD and MUSH.

The past few years I have concluded that a:

a) player kiling wastes my times

B) I have quality gamers around I could play face to face with

c) whenever a live friend and I talk about playing online together it rarely happens

d) you generally can't back up to a recent save in the game is something wonky happens

e) something wonky will eventually happen to your connection, the server or the small irish gnome on the bicycle providing power

My intention is to actually play BCM solo.

Hence my interest in single player features.

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quote:

Originally posted by Brian1:

a) player kiling wastes my times

B)
I have quality gamers around I could play face to face with

c) whenever a live friend and I talk about playing online together it rarely happens

d) you generally can't back up to a recent save in the game is something wonky happens

e) something wonky will eventually happen to your connection, the server or the small irish gnome on the bicycle providing power


Well, BCM is in a totally different category from Everquest or Ultima Online. In response to your list...

a) What else are you going to kill? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't BCM multiplayer going to be a strictly free-for-all combat situation? Aka, deathmatch in space?

B) LAN games definetly are fun, but it's hard to argue with the advantage of going online anytime and finding a huge group of people to play with.

c) Only good reason for knowing a person you play with online offline is to make gloating easier after you beat the crap out of them.

d) I can't see any reason that would come into play in BCM multiplayer...

e) Ah, well. Not much I can say about that. Stuff happens, just reconnect and join the game again.

Anyway, whether we like it or not, the general trend in computer gaming is towards multiplayer. There's something nice about playing against real people, even if they can't compare to the single-player AI . And since most gamers do like multiplayer games there's really no reason to expect a load of support for single player play. Not that I mind, I can't wait to start blowing other people to bits.

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a) Actually, SC has plans to create a continuing online campaign with scenarios for the various fleets, races, and castes online. This may be a BCO thing, though. And yes, you still have the AI craft cruising the galaxy as well. PKing will be dealt with accordingly, by whatever guidelines are given by the fleet/organization of the player. Either way, this is a thinking game. If you're a trader, you'll probably be escorted by either a player or AI ship or two.

b & c) Most of the people here, I didn't know until around 9 months ago. Now, it's all good... What I mean to say is, is that we're a community here, behind the players. Remember, you need to register the game to get in the forum now. You need to register the forum to get in the Fleet DB. You need to register in the Fleet DB to get on the Fleet DB servers (where most of the forum peeps will be doin our playin). So, our community is basically preserved into multiplayer. Our vets will still be here, and so will our newbies. Get to know everyone, and you'll know when you have to run for your life, and when you won't need to botehr. No need for worries.

d) Your information is stored on the server. SC had the file save format changed in 1.0.02 RC5, to use ones that will be compatible later, with the multiplayer patch, and later patches. That way, your save files shouldn't go screwey on the single player end. You can't save multiplayer games, because only 3000AD servers are allowed to host (no player-hosted ones), and it's all already stored on the server.

e) SC posted system specs around here somewhere...... 2 identical systems (I think 2?), and they were both pretty kick ass. Just trust my word for this one. As long as you've got 56k, you're good. In BCO it's planned to spread the game universe over multiple servers, to allow more players, and to decrease lag.... One or the other; or both... Well, since I'm starting to stray off topic... (A sign of me trying to stay up past 1 after a long week.....)

Nova, over and out.

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