Core Loop

Overview

The core gameplay loop is the task of keeping the ship running by working together as a team.

The ship itself constantly consumes resources and suffers Decay of core functions. Players need to gather resources to keep the ship going and repair decaying systems. To find resources, the players need to first scan their surrounding area and identify resource clusters that can be mined. Once identified the players need to pilot the ship to the resource cluster and deploy a mining drone to gather the resources. During all of this, the ship components used to complete these tasks degrade from use and need to be maintained.

This results in a self perpetuating cycle of resource gathering and repair with the ultimate goal to gain a net profit in resources for future use and upgrades. The goal is for the simple maintenance and operation of the ship itself to be fun and engaging, without being completely overwhelming to players. The balance between having enough to do and having too much to do is one we aim to test and approach in a gameplay prototype that covers the basic gameplay loop. Once this is established, additional events, complications and crisis can be layered into the game.

The roles players fulfil are separated into roughly 4 areas. Each player will be able to perform any of these areas tasks, but we plan on specialisations and job specific skills to be implemented as development continues.

Piloting

Pilots need to maneuver the ship through open space. The ship is always in motion and cannot be simply parked somewhere. The pilot is able to stop the ships momentum to a very slow crawl, but never outright stop it's movement altogether. Adjusting speed and direction uses the ships Thrusters, decaying them over time. The decay rate is based on how the ship is operated, with elegant flying being the most efficient. Pilots primarily interact with the Fuel resource, as they control how much of it is used per second to operate the ship. Pilots may additionally be required to adjust the ships orientation to enable certain scanning maneuvers or mining drone deployment.

Scanning

Scanning is the act of searching the space around the ship for objects. Identifying resource clusters and potential dangers to enable the crew to make plans and plot a course. Scanners interact with the ships 3D map. From there they send pulses out to identify objects in an area or get a closer inspection of individual objects.

Resources

Gathering resources consists of configuring and sending out mining drones, followed by processing and refining the collected resources to make them usable by the ship. Drones are modular, consisting of an engine, a function slot (drill head), and inventory slots. They are remote-controlled and consume fuel to fly. The drill head is used to mine asteroids and deposit resulting resources into the drone's inventory.

Refining

Gathered resources are to be processed in a refinery into metals, alloys, liquids, or gases.

Crafting

All resources that have been refined can be used for crafting different kind of items, ammunition or other useful items or even upgrades.

Maintenance / Repair

All useable components of the ship decay and need to be maintained

Like : LifeSupport

Game Info

• 3D Space
• Interior

Core Loop Overview

The core gameplay loop is the task of keeping the ship running. The ship itself constantly consumes resources and suffers decay of core functions that need to be maintained. In order for maintenance to be possible, resources need to be acquired via mining and refining of resource clusters found in space. To find these resources, players must scan the surrounding area to guide the pilot to where resources can be found. Maneuvering the ship, scanning for resources, and deployment of resource-gathering drones also requires resources to spend, and all these parts decay with use, necessitating maintenance to keep them functional. As a result, the gameplay loop is a careful balance of spending and acquiring resources and making decisions over which operation to prioritize to ensure long-term success while dealing with short-term resource shortages. Piloting Scanning Mining / Refining Refinery – Infinite Power dump Maintenance Game Setup Slider Setup for resource amount, ship decay, and area scanned Resources Types Fuel / Super Fuel Thrusters Thruster decay when used. Short bursts cause injector damage, reducing maximum fuel use Long use of thrusters damage the burn chamber, reducing fuel efficiency Drones Drones have one engine, one head, and three cargo slots that can be customized. A drone needs at least one fuel tank in its cargo to operate properly. Thruster decay same as ship thrusters Mining head Decays as mining is performed. The decay rate is based on asteroid composition/resistance. As mining heads decay, the time in between resource ticks goes up. Personal Backup Generator Coolant / Super Coolant

Metal / Super Metal Power The power generator runs constantly, requiring coolant to produce power. Players set the reactor to a specified output level. Power below a certain threshold requires the same coolant per second rate to keep the generator running. Going higher increases the coolant consumption rate exponentially, making it inefficient. The reactor decays over time, reducing the threshold at which more coolant is needed with each level of decay. Junctions regulate the power to specific areas. The players set a specific value on the junction, this value is the power deducted from the generator at that junction. Junctions have cable strength that dictates how much power can go through safely, they decay when more power goes through. If a component tries to draw more power than the junction allows, that component is disabled and goes offline, this decays the junction. If the power demand of junctions exceeds the reactor output, batteries are drained to make up the difference, this decays the batteries. If there is not enough power, even after drawing from batteries, the highest draining component is disabled, again decaying the junctions. This goes on until power output exceeds power demand. Life support is a special case that will only be disabled once everything else has been disabled. Batteries – store excess power, decays when drawn upon, can be filled up. If filled completely, cables decay. The decay causes storage to reduced. Power discharge is automatic but can be disabled. Decay