What’s in a Name?

February 7, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew

Developer Diary 9

Our working title for the game has been Fading Suns: Noble Armada, but we’ve begun to have  few concerns about it. The main issue is that our friends at Ulisses Spiele are getting ready to launch the fourth edition of the Fading Suns rule book, and we don’t want searches for the games to confuse one for the other. The idea is for the games to support each other, not get in each other’s way.

We are also getting a number of questions as to whether this is another version of our older Emperor of the Fading Suns game. The idea with a variety of different games set in the same universe has always been to shine lights on different aspects of the setting. EFS took the broad perspective, with you leading one of the most powerful factions in the Known Worlds along its rise to power. The Fading Suns RPG went the exact opposite route, exploring individual stories after the Emperor Wars ended.

Noble Armada is a combination of the two. You are a noble, commanding at least one starship and its battle-ready marines and crew. You venture to enemy space and lost solar systems, seeking to expand your house’s power and your own wealth. They are grand stories, but not on the grand scale of EFS.

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Rechargeable Resources in FSNA

January 23, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew

Developer Diary 8

Some games have a plethora of resources – wood, ore, money, population, time, hit points, mana, etc – that influence what actions a player can take. We used this to great effect in some of our previous games, like Merchant Prince and Emperor of the Fading Suns. I really liked having Reputation, Nobles and Singularities as resources.

The Noble Armada miniatures game only has a few – shields, crew, marines, thrust and so on. We have expanded this a bit for the Noble Armada PC game, and this generated a great discussion in the “Realistic Movement” developer diary.

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Wooden Ships and Laser Beams: Combat in FSNA

January 15, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew

Developer Diary 7

Combat is central to the player experience in FSNA. We knew that we wanted to emphasize what was most fun in the miniatures game – careful maneuvering for devastating broadsides.

At the same time, we wanted to take advantage of the PC platform – creating a more visceral, fast-paced experience. Transitioning from turn-based play to real-time allowed us to make combat faster and more frantic. Instead of carefully lining up each shot, choosing a target with care, players race into range. They fire their maneuver jets to twirl around in a deadly dance that protects their damaged sides and brings their full gun arrays to bear.

In some ways, the PC game more closely aligns with the “reality” of the Fading Suns universe. In many ways, the miniatures game more closely followed naval combat in the Age of Sails. Captains engaged in tense, deadly ballets at sea. They struggled to use their wind to bring their frigate’s main guns to bear before their enemies did the same.

The PC game follows the same basic idea but at high speed, befitting spaceships capable of flying at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour and firing lasers back and forth. At these velocities, one mistake can make all the difference between victory and ignominious defeat.

Upcoming developer diaries will continue to analyze the FSNA combat system. What RTS strategy game do you think had a good combat system?

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Seeking the Wisdom of Crowds, Part 2 – Kickstarter Video

January 11, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew

Kickstarter Diary 3

We got some great feedback, both here and on Facebook, on the last crowdfunding post I made. I appreciate it and will return to the magic well for more input. We are working on our Kickstarter video, and these links are what we have come up to. Any feedback on them, and what we should add or delete? We are trying to keep them under two minutes.

Posted in Developer Diary, Fading Suns, Game Development, HDI, Noble Armada | 4 Comments

Seeking the Wisdom of Crowds – Stretch Goals

January 6, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew

Kickstarter Diary 2

We are planning to start a Kickstarter soon for Fading Suns: Noble Armada, and we could really use some input from you. While finishing the game, we realized that with a little more time and money we create some very cool additions to the game that we had not planned.

One of my favorite things with all of the Fading Suns games we have created has been the fun stuff the players have made. Things like the Hyperion and Nova mods for Emperor of the Fading Suns, fan stories for the RPG, and awesome live action games for Passion Play just scratch the surface of your creativity.

We have a Level Editor for FSNA. Unfortunately, like most proprietary level editors, it really is not usable by anyone who did not help design it or who has not been working with it for months. We want it usable by any player, and that takes UI design, art, programming and playtesting for which we have not budgeted.

Using the FSNA Campaign Editor

A user-friendly level editor is one of the primary goals of the basic Kickstarter. We also know that players would like the game on more platforms than just PC, so the base Kickstarter also funds versions of the game for iOs and Android devices.

We have a lot of options for what we do after that (what Kickstarter calls stretch goals) and need your input about what you would most like to see.

  • More ports of the game to console devices – Xbox, Playstation, etc.;
  • A port for Apple computers and Mac devices;
  • Additional factions, ships and items. Right now the game includes spaceships from the five Royal houses. When we include other factions, they are flying Decados, Hawkwood, Hazat, Li Halan and al-Malik ships. However, the Fading Suns universe is home to many types of ships and there are a lot we could add. Do you want:
    • Barbarians
    • Inquisition
    • Something else?
  • While this game now focuses on the science fiction aspect of the Fading Suns universe, the setting is really a space fantasy. Players love the holy miracles, psychic powers, ancient relics, and unexplainable phenomenon. Which of these would you like to see added:
    • Psychic powers
    • Theurgy
    • Relics
  • The game currently includes a Skirmish mode (a single fight) and Mission mode (coming in at the Jumpgate and battling through the solar system). Would you like to see a campaign mode that links multiple missions and allows you to sail from jumpgate to jumpgate?

All feedback is welcome, even suggestions we did not post here.

Posted in Developer Diary, Fading Suns, Game Development, HDI, Noble Armada | 9 Comments