Suggestion: FTL MMO

[Lestibournes]

It seems to me that FTL would make for an MMO that is actually fun to play, but only if it can stay fresh over time, and it seems to me a dynamic game universe is one good way to accomplish that. My suggestion it to have an abstract RTS simulation running in the background, or to be more verbose:

Every region can have a government. Depending on the type of government and perhaps other factors, like racial and ideological makeup and the crime-rate of the constituency or government, it will choose various priorities and actions. This can include scientific, economical, or military development as well as relations with other regions and governments. They can go to war, claim ownership of, develop, colonize, establish trade routs, extradition treaties, pro/anti slavery treaties, ally with, or even unify with (whether in the form of a federation or other types of unions) other regions and governments, and impose taxes, tariffs, embargoes, that is, a full range of economic, military, police, and diplomatic options.

This will cause various regions to claim unsettled regions, or conquer them even if they are claimed. If a region is conquered the foreign government may choose to either maintain the current indigenous government as a subordinate government, replace it with a new indigenous government (perhaps one that is more compatible with that of the conquerors), impose a foreign local government (such as a military occupation government), or assume direct control. Governments may also establish a new local government in a region that was previously under direct control.

Pirate gangs and other groups that haven't grown out of a region also count for this purpose as governments, and can claim territory, fight wars, conduct diplomacy, etc, just like a normal government.

The result should be a galaxy constantly in flux, as different groups each strive to get stronger and better in their own way. Some by taking, some cooperating, some by bending in the face of strong winds, some by standing tall.

There is no need to render all this activity in detail. The player will pretty much only see the results, so it can all be abstracted away to a bunch of stats or something. Those results will be governments changing (conquest, rebellion, civil war), territories shifting hands, some places getting more dangerous while others become safer, some places becoming wealthier while others become poorer, some becoming more populated while others are wiped out by war or plague or some natural disaster.

In short, a simulation of a dynamic galaxy that actually makes sense, so it always keeps the player on his toes, never knowing if his favorite market won't be a death-trap next time he visits.

Such a thing would probably only be useful for an MMO. A single-player or regular multiplayer game probably wouldn't need it.

PS
It would work even better as an MMO if it supported battles between multiple fleets of ships, especially since it could allow players to get involved in battles that are purely between AI, such as an interstellar war, not just by running quest-like missions but by fighting in the main battles. However, although players should be allowed to participate in a fleet and maybe even command one this is a game of space exploration, not empire building. The players should not be allowed to conquer and rule. That is one option that should not be presented to them.

PPS
It would be way cooler if each region was (usually) a solar system, and sectors were eliminated or hidden in favor of true free-roaming.

[OrangeBottle]

I don't know if you've noticed, but what you've suggested here is so complex that it could be an entirely different game on it's own.

[Lestibournes]

I don't know if you've noticed, but what you've suggested here is so complex that it could be an entirely different game on it's own.

What it boils down to is a simulation that runs in the background. The level of complexity is irrelevant since the purpose is merely to keep things fresh by making the game universe dynamic. The player doesn't really deal with any of this, except in the form of quests he can take on, battles he can participate in, and a change in the statistical probability of encountering different ships at specific regions.

[Justin]

The level of complexity is irrelevant since the purpose is merely to keep things fresh by making the game universe dynamic. The player doesn't really deal with any of this....

I think what OrangeBottle meant is that the level of complexity is so high from a development perspective, which I would have to agree.

It's a super cool idea though, I could totally see that working. It's just someone else would have to make that game

[Lestibournes]

The level of complexity is irrelevant since the purpose is merely to keep things fresh by making the game universe dynamic. The player doesn't really deal with any of this....

I think what OrangeBottle meant is that the level of complexity is so high from a development perspective, which I would have to agree.

It's a super cool idea though, I could totally see that working. It's just someone else would have to make that game

I didn't express myself clearly. What I mean to say is that the simulation can be technically simple as long as it appears to the player to result in a highly dynamic universe with emergent story.