Server setup: game-mode

[Lukwan]

Starmade needs game-mode to be selectable when an admin is setting up their server. Every time changes are suggested to the game someone cries "you are trying to force me to play your style". Clearly people have distinctive ideas about how they want to play SM and Schine has said they want to be inclusive.

Suggested game-modes:

1) Single player: Full HB (unlimited protection) , undeathinator etc. [4x]

2) Single player/survival-hardcore: Limited HB protection, limited re-spawns, consumable Air/Fuel/Ammo. [Survival]

3) MP free-for-all: few 'rules'...mostly as it is currently. [4x]

4) MP builder-friendly: PvE (or not), no human Vs human combat (auto-denied). RP and build-focused, possibly with custom mobs/enemies. Full HB protection. [Creative or PvE]

5) MP-Arena: Like a build-friendly server but focused on PVP tournaments, arena combat, contests & duels. No unprovoked human combat; automatic consequences for griefing. Consent required for PvP-combat. Full HB protection (extends to entire sector?) Formal combat among human only...Arena-block required as part of development. [Hybrid or Formal-PvP]

6) MP-faction war: This one has the trickiest balance elements as it attempts to regulate a persistent PvP war with individual joining and leaving regularly. Debates are ongoing regarding FP-policies, limiting HB protections, and other meta-game issues. [If RTS is incorporated, it would be used in this mode.]

7) MP-Adventure: Adventure-mode would be similar to a campaign in Dungeons & Dragons. The admin would spend time creating content, missions, quests, stories, custom mob-factions etc. Players would join and explore the galaxy solo [4X] ... or join a quest-party to follow the 'plot' [PvE & Scripted Adventure].

 

[jayman38]

I think a complex control board would be a better solution than hard-and-fast modes. I am talking about a large control panel with many checkboxes and sliders.

• Starter block hotbar, where the admin adds what blocks he thinks the average player should start with. (Simply use creative-mode inventory to place blocks in the hotbar, to program the starting block types and counts.)
  
• Sliders for Homebase protection costs and cost type. (Allow requiring both credits and faction points, or any combination.)
  
• Slider for starting credit count.
• Sliders for shop block reload rates, shop credit reload rates, starting shop cash, starting block quantities, maximum block quantities, etc.
• Checkboxes in a dual list of factions for who can damage who, enabling friendly fire, etc.
• Sliders in a dual list for controlling starting faction relations.
• Sliders for kicking/ban offense levels. (Custom XML files can go into further details on these levels and define things like griefing behavior.)
• Sliders for job/mission generation rate, job/mission minimum/maximum counts, reward levels and types, etc.
• Sliders for maximum build mode dimensions, maximum block placement limits, build-mode spying ability, etc.
• Sliders for maximum ship block count, ship dimension limit, max fleet count, max ships-per-fleet count, max overall ships per player, etc.
• Sliders for relative generated faction fleet strength (allowing different servers to throw different pirate challenges at players.)
• Sliders for detailed universe simulation control. (relative aggressiveness of AI factions, rate of spawn, rate of exploration, rate of conquer, etc.)
• Sliders for AI faction war simulation. (Basically, this set of controls would define how often a player happens upon an AI faction battle. More battles are more exciting, but at the same time, more work on the server.)

It may sound complex, and it is, but you could always place mode-style "preset" buttons at the top that set everything according to that generic mode. (And then use XML to define the presets for each mode.)

 

[Lukwan]

I think a complex control board would be a better solution than hard-and-fast modes. I am talking about a large control panel with many checkboxes and sliders.

Total agreement here. I had assumed that there would be a menu to choose options from for each 'mode'. I like your list as a starting point.