I wish I could elaborate more on certain topics :) Or better, It would need time.
The fact is that between the systems I have planned there are many "holes". Holes as parts I haven't defined in the smaller details. This is a direct result of my approach. What I did wasn't about finalizing a mmorpg ready to be developed. This because it's just a dream with no real chances to become real so I never needed to "conclude" it and fill the gaps. Part of the fun is because it's an open project that can still dynamically change as I learn something new and I make new considerations.
The whole thing is a result of a process. It's about the time I passed to play and study these games. I built my own ideas as a result of the radical problems I've encountered and experienced. So it has been an high-level approach. Trying to define and focus the general shapes of the game so that the details could be defined afterwards. I've set some goals and premises. From these general shapes I moved to define better the details, like if the game was a painting that started with me planning the layout and then progressively going into the detail.
I can try to answer your questions on these details but the fact is that they are blurred, so it's not about design already definied in a finished state, but just a "maybe" about parts that I still haven't faced and decided.
> What happens to a territory when the upkeep is not paid?
I'm not sure. It's a part tied with too many other elements that I would still have to wait to see how the whole thing pans out. I'd say, for now, that a territory will always remain under the owner but it will progressively weaken. The point of the resource system isn't about being a moneysink to keep up a terrotory, it's just a PvP strategic mechanic. So the point of the resources is to upgrade, develop and potentiate specific areas. If noone follows the process, that area will become progressively more vulnerable. It's up to the player decide what will happen.
> The three super factions of order, chaos, and balance are talked about as really two factions (the previous three minus the latter) connected by a would be neutral (perhaps 'no' would be more fitting) faction. What are the motives of the Balance faction? Simply acting as an economic nexus wont cut it.
In fact there are two factions. Plus space for player-created factions. The "Balance" isn't a normal faction. In the original idea the Balance was founded on an NPC realm, so completely automated. Both the Order and Chaos are interdependent and suffer what happens in the other but even more so about the Balance. It's a "reacting" faction that moves depending on what happens around.
The idea is to let the players decide if to tinker directly with it or not. The game is designed so that the goals in the Balance faction are MEANT to not be balanced. You don't have the same gameplay of the other two factions and you do not need to preserve a balance in numbers to be able to play.
Eve-Online is a game completely founded on competitive commercial systems. The game has 60k subscribers and raising. The "economic nexus" isn't about sitting at an auction house. It has plenty of gameplay occasions. While most of the processes are meant to be automated, the player can still choose to organize caravans to move around the goods between places, or set his own society. There's plenty of space to build what you want because the game is going to support this as a Virual World.
You cannot teleport items between places. Everything exists "physically" and, as I said, you'll have to move stuff directly or through the automation. This means that a caravan is always open to "fun" encounters, like PvP attacks from raiders or PvE ambushes. The world is there and ready to be played with.
The Balance faction allows you to build big commercial organizations, or play alone with a few select goods for your own goals. You can decide to ambush directly NPC caravans and resell the goods you find. It's a sandbox and it offers plenty of toys to play with. This faction is the most open ended because it lets directly the player choose his role. All the social professions are particularly developed for this faction. So the best crafters and tradesman will belong here and will have always plenty of space to enjoy the game.
And, again, the game doesn't require as many players in "Balance" as they are in the other two factions. It's already set to be a "niche" faction.
> What resource would one faction produce that the other could not produce? If a resource lies withen a conquered territory that resource should be able to be utilized by the occupying faction. It is simple and logical..
I haven't defined the name of the resource, the process of production and all the rest. This again because I set a goal, the actual lore or concrete gameplay will just need to adapt to the goal. It's a PvP mechanic before it is "lore". It will get integrated and excused in another moment, that's not the focus.
There are three classes of resources and this specific one we are talking about is set so it can be stolen or destroyed. The main trait is that one faction cannot build it directly, that's all. But it can buy it or steal it when it already exists "physically" in the game world. If you find a depot you can definitely use it.
Think to a classic crafting system. At some point you need components for a recipe that you cannot get directly and that you need to buy from other players in other crafting professions. The idea follows a similar pattern. There are resources that you need to obtain through the other faction and that you cannot produce directly. Pay for it, steal it or whatever. The way you get it is open, but you cannot create it directly.
The reasons and the specific process aren't defined at this moment.
> Severly limiting backpack space and forcing a player to make critical decisions about loot acquistion -constantly, could get annoying and down right tedious.
Because you think on the premises of games already out there. The rules are different here. In WoW you cannot prepare a chart or an horse if you need to transport stuff, in my game this is a core feature. Stuff has weight because it exists "physically". The inventory system is already PvP because beside your own equipment the rest can be stolen.
A single player doesn't need a lot of space. Most of the "inventory gameplay" is about moving the resources at the level of the PvP/conquest. It's about the caravans that will move constantly between places.
Your personal stuff is only partially affected by this system and the game directly won't require you to lose half of your time managing your stuff. In most of the cases you can just ignore the whole thing and go on with your duty. As I wrote you don't have to carry around junk and loads of loot. What you can carry on yourself is most of the times enough of what you need to survive and play the game properly.
Ultima Online already used a weight system. Crafting classes like miners had to carry around a pack horse in order to transport the resources. I don't think this was a burden. My idea follows that approach.
Besides, I don't think you will move out of a village without an horse in my game.
High-level design and detail holes
I wish I could elaborate more on certain topics :) Or better, It would need time.
The fact is that between the systems I have planned there are many "holes". Holes as parts I haven't defined in the smaller details. This is a direct result of my approach. What I did wasn't about finalizing a mmorpg ready to be developed. This because it's just a dream with no real chances to become real so I never needed to "conclude" it and fill the gaps. Part of the fun is because it's an open project that can still dynamically change as I learn something new and I make new considerations.
The whole thing is a result of a process. It's about the time I passed to play and study these games. I built my own ideas as a result of the radical problems I've encountered and experienced. So it has been an high-level approach. Trying to define and focus the general shapes of the game so that the details could be defined afterwards. I've set some goals and premises. From these general shapes I moved to define better the details, like if the game was a painting that started with me planning the layout and then progressively going into the detail.
I can try to answer your questions on these details but the fact is that they are blurred, so it's not about design already definied in a finished state, but just a "maybe" about parts that I still haven't faced and decided.
> What happens to a territory when the upkeep is not paid?
I'm not sure. It's a part tied with too many other elements that I would still have to wait to see how the whole thing pans out. I'd say, for now, that a territory will always remain under the owner but it will progressively weaken. The point of the resource system isn't about being a moneysink to keep up a terrotory, it's just a PvP strategic mechanic. So the point of the resources is to upgrade, develop and potentiate specific areas. If noone follows the process, that area will become progressively more vulnerable. It's up to the player decide what will happen.
> The three super factions of order, chaos, and balance are talked about as really two factions (the previous three minus the latter) connected by a would be neutral (perhaps 'no' would be more fitting) faction. What are the motives of the Balance faction? Simply acting as an economic nexus wont cut it.
In fact there are two factions. Plus space for player-created factions. The "Balance" isn't a normal faction. In the original idea the Balance was founded on an NPC realm, so completely automated. Both the Order and Chaos are interdependent and suffer what happens in the other but even more so about the Balance. It's a "reacting" faction that moves depending on what happens around.
The idea is to let the players decide if to tinker directly with it or not. The game is designed so that the goals in the Balance faction are MEANT to not be balanced. You don't have the same gameplay of the other two factions and you do not need to preserve a balance in numbers to be able to play.
Eve-Online is a game completely founded on competitive commercial systems. The game has 60k subscribers and raising. The "economic nexus" isn't about sitting at an auction house. It has plenty of gameplay occasions. While most of the processes are meant to be automated, the player can still choose to organize caravans to move around the goods between places, or set his own society. There's plenty of space to build what you want because the game is going to support this as a Virual World.
You cannot teleport items between places. Everything exists "physically" and, as I said, you'll have to move stuff directly or through the automation. This means that a caravan is always open to "fun" encounters, like PvP attacks from raiders or PvE ambushes. The world is there and ready to be played with.
The Balance faction allows you to build big commercial organizations, or play alone with a few select goods for your own goals. You can decide to ambush directly NPC caravans and resell the goods you find. It's a sandbox and it offers plenty of toys to play with. This faction is the most open ended because it lets directly the player choose his role. All the social professions are particularly developed for this faction. So the best crafters and tradesman will belong here and will have always plenty of space to enjoy the game.
And, again, the game doesn't require as many players in "Balance" as they are in the other two factions. It's already set to be a "niche" faction.
> What resource would one faction produce that the other could not produce? If a resource lies withen a conquered territory that resource should be able to be utilized by the occupying faction. It is simple and logical..
I haven't defined the name of the resource, the process of production and all the rest. This again because I set a goal, the actual lore or concrete gameplay will just need to adapt to the goal. It's a PvP mechanic before it is "lore". It will get integrated and excused in another moment, that's not the focus.
I wrote something about this here.
There are three classes of resources and this specific one we are talking about is set so it can be stolen or destroyed. The main trait is that one faction cannot build it directly, that's all. But it can buy it or steal it when it already exists "physically" in the game world. If you find a depot you can definitely use it.
Think to a classic crafting system. At some point you need components for a recipe that you cannot get directly and that you need to buy from other players in other crafting professions. The idea follows a similar pattern. There are resources that you need to obtain through the other faction and that you cannot produce directly. Pay for it, steal it or whatever. The way you get it is open, but you cannot create it directly.
The reasons and the specific process aren't defined at this moment.
> Severly limiting backpack space and forcing a player to make critical decisions about loot acquistion -constantly, could get annoying and down right tedious.
Because you think on the premises of games already out there. The rules are different here. In WoW you cannot prepare a chart or an horse if you need to transport stuff, in my game this is a core feature. Stuff has weight because it exists "physically". The inventory system is already PvP because beside your own equipment the rest can be stolen.
A single player doesn't need a lot of space. Most of the "inventory gameplay" is about moving the resources at the level of the PvP/conquest. It's about the caravans that will move constantly between places.
Your personal stuff is only partially affected by this system and the game directly won't require you to lose half of your time managing your stuff. In most of the cases you can just ignore the whole thing and go on with your duty. As I wrote you don't have to carry around junk and loads of loot. What you can carry on yourself is most of the times enough of what you need to survive and play the game properly.
Ultima Online already used a weight system. Crafting classes like miners had to carry around a pack horse in order to transport the resources. I don't think this was a burden. My idea follows that approach.
Besides, I don't think you will move out of a village without an horse in my game.