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To all SSC Station occupants

Thank you for the donations over the past year (2024), it is much appreciated. I am still trying to figure out how to migrate the forums to another community software (probably phpbb) but in the meantime I have updated the forum software to the latest version. SSC has been around a while so their is some very long time members here still using the site, thanks for making SSC home and sorry I haven't been as vocal as I should be in the forums I will try to improve my posting frequency.

Thank you again to all of the members that do take the time to donate a little, it helps keep this station functioning on the outer reaches of space.

-D1-

LeapDriveOnline - space action RPG with "Social exploration"

 
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 LeapDriveOnline
(@leapdriveonline)
New Member
Hello,

 

For the past year I have been independently working on a spaceship-based action RPG game called LeapDriveOnline.  Here is a 2 minute video explaining the core concepts of the game:

 

 

So what makes LeapDriveOnline a new concept?

 

LeapDriveOnline procedurally generates a massive "maze" (called The Maelstrom) of connected regions of space (called Cells) much like a normal rogue-like game, BUT each instance of The Maelstrom is shared among a community of players.  All of the players begin at the same location at the edge of The Maelstrom, but they need to explore The Maelstrom to find a path to The Core.  A number cells contain "beacons" which allows the player to start their next journey from that cell (you can think of this like a spatial save-point).

 

Built into the heart of the game is a system for sharing paths that players have found.  If I, for example, find a powerful relic in a cell, I can send you a path to reach that relic which you can follow.  You still need to reach the relic yourself, but the path to reach it will be marked.  In the end, the game is a race, with individuals and clans trying to reach the core of the maze.  The enemies you face will increase in difficulty as you approach the core, and there is a rich system of ship upgrades to make your ship more powerful as you play.

 

Some people will share information with others, and some people won't.  To make that decision more interesting, if someone uses a path that I have sent them, I receive a fuel bonus that allows me to make more trips.  So, do I share information?  How broadly?  I call this a "Social Exploration" game.

 

At this point the game is playable but needs a fairly massive balancing pass.  I'm trying to collect feedback to decide how to proceed.

 

More information about the game, and to apply for the closed beta, can be found at LeapDriveOnline.com.

 

Other social links:

Facebook:

 

If you have any additional questions I'd be happy to answer them.  I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd take a look at the game and give me any feedback you might have.

 

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Topic starter Posted : January 15, 2014 13:54
DarkOne
 DarkOne
(@sscadmin)
Illustrious Member Admin

Some nice concepts here.

 

The premise of the game is the social interactivity, so can you play with other players in the same instance or is it generally solo play with the ability to share paths and other things? And when a maelstrom is created is the goodies only for the few that get to the core first or does everyone get something when they make it there? Your interface (from the video) seems like it would convert well to a tablet, do you have any plans to go that route? And last question in the video you saw some enemies from time to time, but will you go into sectors where they are just everywhere and you need people to help you through it, almost like a raid concept?

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Posted : January 16, 2014 04:13
 LeapDriveOnline
(@leapdriveonline)
New Member

- There is a new instance created by the server every few months.  Everyone is playing in that same instance, but it's asynchronous multiplayer (so I don't interact with your ship) (NOTE: I have experience writing multiplayer engines - so that will probably be one of the big improvements after launch).

- Everyone that goes to a cell gets the same rewards.  I am playing with an idea of resource drain - i.e. you station you ship in a cell to "mine" resources while you're not playing.  Certain cells will be richer than others - but that richness will decline with the number of people mining in that area.  This will encourage people to find new areas and only tell their friends about them.

- The game is written in javascript and webgl - which means it will play on most tablets right from the browser - so yes, I'm trying to make the interface work for both - but I probably won't ever write a mobile app - with webgl the world is converging on one platform that everything can run.

- Right now there is no real-time multiplayer.  As the player goes deeper into the maelstrom the difficulty and the count of enemies will increase.  There are different missions in different cells besides just fighting everything - like escort, protect and assist missions.

 

Thanks for any interest.  My big push right now is to try and get approved on Greenlight - If you're interested please take a moment to help me out!

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=216253554

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Topic starter Posted : January 16, 2014 09:40
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