Could be cool if each playthrough gave you 10 random citizens to choose from at the start. That way your character can be a real person in the world with pre-existing social connections. Alternatively a custom player could be made as an outsider that just shows up within the game world one day.
A cool mode would be permadeath where you continue playing as your child.
A cool option would be end game events that change the dynamics. Zombies invade from the north, sea levels rise, mechanical automatons discovered underground, etc. Kinda like the end game events in Stellaris.
Anyway, on to the nitty gritty details. How would this self functioning empire really be implemented?
NPC AI will be handled with "roles." These are basically positions within society that define how an NPC operates. Farmer, smuggler, king, thief, guard, assassin, merchant, etc. Some NPCs might have multiple roles at a time and roles can dynamically change as needed. Each role has its own unique AI code and parameters, instead of it being a one size fits all situations.
Communication between NPCs/players will be mostly handled by a negotiation screen. The 1st person selects things from a list that they want to happen, and then the 1st person selects reasons from a list for why they should happen. For example a simple exchange could be buying a pie for 10 gold while a more advanced exchange could be threatening to burn down a person's house if they don't stay silent. This "desires & reasons" approach uses the same design philosophy as the previously mentioned "roles." Each desire and each reason is individually coded and only cares about itself.
Crafting is the cornerstone of the economy. "Wells" are places in the game world that produce raw materials from nothing. Everything else is crafted and produced. Oceans, lakes, rivers, forests, mineral deposits, snow, and such are examples of wells. Wells can be created, modified, and destroyed depending on actions within the world. The only defining trait of a well is that its resources are calculated as an approximation instead of as individual entities. The world map has wells defined with a heat map of sorts for each resource.
Extracting from wells is achieved with traditional crafting. When in the area, the well is inherently available as an input ingredient. These maps are also used when traveling and when new locations are founded (more on this later).
A cool mode would be permadeath where you continue playing as your child.
A cool option would be end game events that change the dynamics. Zombies invade from the north, sea levels rise, mechanical automatons discovered underground, etc. Kinda like the end game events in Stellaris.
Anyway, on to the nitty gritty details. How would this self functioning empire really be implemented?
NPC AI will be handled with "roles." These are basically positions within society that define how an NPC operates. Farmer, smuggler, king, thief, guard, assassin, merchant, etc. Some NPCs might have multiple roles at a time and roles can dynamically change as needed. Each role has its own unique AI code and parameters, instead of it being a one size fits all situations.
Communication between NPCs/players will be mostly handled by a negotiation screen. The 1st person selects things from a list that they want to happen, and then the 1st person selects reasons from a list for why they should happen. For example a simple exchange could be buying a pie for 10 gold while a more advanced exchange could be threatening to burn down a person's house if they don't stay silent. This "desires & reasons" approach uses the same design philosophy as the previously mentioned "roles." Each desire and each reason is individually coded and only cares about itself.
Crafting is the cornerstone of the economy. "Wells" are places in the game world that produce raw materials from nothing. Everything else is crafted and produced. Oceans, lakes, rivers, forests, mineral deposits, snow, and such are examples of wells. Wells can be created, modified, and destroyed depending on actions within the world. The only defining trait of a well is that its resources are calculated as an approximation instead of as individual entities. The world map has wells defined with a heat map of sorts for each resource.
Extracting from wells is achieved with traditional crafting. When in the area, the well is inherently available as an input ingredient. These maps are also used when traveling and when new locations are founded (more on this later).
