new iphone Traveller game coming?

[Mithras]

I'm gutted on 2 levels:

1) There is no Type R merchant, and
2) I have never had any intention of getting an iphone. I could stretch to an ipad...

 

[AKAmra]

I've got an iphone. This would be the first app I've bought in over a year or so. Looking forward to it.

 

[gfasi33]

the trailer looks cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4wNgnrXTY

 

[DFW]

Some good graphic work but not done by someone who understands Trav space combat nor any basic physics...

 

[barnest2]

Well that was... short ranged? spitfires in space?

 

[DFW]

Well that was... short ranged? spitfires in space?

:lol: I thought that they were A6 Intruders.

 

[andrew boulton]

The explosion was nice...

 

[DFW]

The explosion was nice...

Don't get me wrong. The quality of the actual art was good. However, this type of art needs a tech advisor to guide the artist. Otherwise, it really doesn't work for a Sci-Fi game like trav. Fantasy doesn't require that near as much.

 

[barnest2]

The above is exactly right, especially for something with such an interesting combat style as traveller. It's very different to a lot of space combat games, so it can't really be like freelancer... at least not if its going to be like traveller.

 

[andrew boulton]

Traveller space combat can last hours, is silent, normally outside visual range, and most weapons are invisible.

How do you turn into something that's playable or visually interesting?

 

[barnest2]

Large scale, very slow strategic real time strategy...
I think it would be awesome personally

 

[DFW]

Traveller space combat can last hours, is silent, normally outside visual range, and most weapons are invisible.

How do you turn into something that's playable or visually interesting?

The "hours" part is simple. Compressed time turn based. Just like other computer based wargames. Missiles are visible. Ship hits aren't invisible. You cut from sensor/gunner display to target. Showing a ship maneuvering correctly isn't boring. Showing Traveller ships instead of modified Spitfires or A6's isn't boring. Getting rid of physically impossible asteroid belts won't hurt.

That's what I'm talking about. Also, weapons hitting screens doesn't have to be invisible. Doing it correctly doesn't have to be boring. Doing it VERY incorrectly (as in the video) is going to turn off a large segment of Traveller players. (a small market as it is)

 

[barnest2]

DFW's ideas are better than mine....
Turn based would make more sense. Or turn based where you give orders, and then real time showing the events of the turn.
Also let me build my own ships using the traveller design rules. That would make me so very happy.
I wouldn't be interested in another 'spitfires in space' game (like free-space or this), but something that feels like traveller, I would buy an ipad for..

 

[DFW]

Turn based would make more sense. Or turn based where you give orders, and then real time showing the events of the turn.

Yep, that'd work play wise & for visuals. Good idea.

Also let me build my own ships using the traveller design rules. That would make me so very happy.

Without that, the game is DOA.

 

[barnest2]

Or, of course, there is the option they went with in this PS2 game I had called "The Seed: Warzone", which was where you run it strategically, moving groups of ships around the battle-map. You also design the ships, inside and out, such as engines, small craft and weapon mounts, on a set of standard hulls (which is very cool). Then when two groups come in range of each other, they engage in real-time, over which the player has no control, but gets too watch, and is awesome.

 

[DFW]

Or, of course, there is the option they went with in this PS2 game I had called "The Seed: Warzone", which was where you run it strategically, moving groups of ships around the battle-map. You also design the ships, inside and out, such as engines, small craft and weapon mounts, on a set of standard hulls (which is very cool). Then when two groups come in range of each other, they engage in real-time, over which the player has no control, but gets too watch, and is awesome.

I could see the last part as good for huge fleet battles. Maybe pick strategic options before battle and the computer then does it's thing.

 

[barnest2]

That's pretty much how it worked, but the game did it with groups of three ships, and was very badly explained. So yeah, game was good, but needed to be done better

 

[nats]

I hope its a hit and they release an expanded 1st person version along the lines of Frontier Elite for the PC. That would be cool. Although must admit that much of Traveller's essense as an RPG game would be difficult to capture as a computer game - exploration and problem solving, unless you just concentrate on one element of science fiction such as spaceship trading and combat as Elite did. But then thats not what the Traveller RPG is really about at all.

 

[locarno24]

Or, of course, there is the option they went with in this PS2 game I had called "The Seed: Warzone", which was where you run it strategically, moving groups of ships around the battle-map. You also design the ships, inside and out, such as engines, small craft and weapon mounts, on a set of standard hulls (which is very cool). Then when two groups come in range of each other, they engage in real-time, over which the player has no control, but gets too watch, and is awesome.

Gratuitous Space Battles on the PC does something similr.

The "hours" part is simple. Compressed time turn based. Just like other computer based wargames. Missiles are visible. Ship hits aren't invisible. You cut from sensor/gunner display to target. Showing a ship maneuvering correctly isn't boring. Showing Traveller ships instead of modified Spitfires or A6's isn't boring. Getting rid of physically impossible asteroid belts won't hurt.

Ever played the PC version of Harpoon? It has 'real time' but with a speed up and speed down option, has essentially tactical radar display rather than graphics aside from a 'zoomed in' window showing weapons fire from the firing ship and striking the target ship but that's all. It works very well, and to this day remains the grand-daddy of naval wargames...

 

[barnest2]

Or, of course, there is the option they went with in this PS2 game I had called "The Seed: Warzone", which was where you run it strategically, moving groups of ships around the battle-map. You also design the ships, inside and out, such as engines, small craft and weapon mounts, on a set of standard hulls (which is very cool). Then when two groups come in range of each other, they engage in real-time, over which the player has no control, but gets too watch, and is awesome.

Gratuitous Space Battles on the PC does something similr.

It does, just... okayish rather than good. The customisation of ships is... very limited