ST:RTS

[Jadzia]

Do you think there would be much interest in an RTS game in the star trek universe? I don't mean space based as such, but ground based, cf starcraft.

But changing this a little:

Let's say we command a ship, and can fly around space, visiting star systems, we find a planet we like the look of and beam down a team to setup a colony there, mining the planet's resources, switching to the familiar RTS style.

Structures built on that planet could allow us to create land vehicles, and air craft and engage in the usual RTS play against any enemy mining facilities on that planet.

But we are also able to build shipyards, which we can use to build space ships, and launch these into space.

These can join our mother ship, and be taken to other planets to setup more facilities, to expand our empire.

Something like that. Comments?

 

[Darren2001]

This came out, it was called "Star Trek : New Worlds".

 

[Linklinker]

Sounds more like Star Wars: Empire at war.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Man, "New Worlds" was terrible.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Man, "New Worlds" was terrible.

Yeah it was terrible. It didn't even have a save feature, did it?

 

[Jadzia]

This came out, it was called "Star Trek : New Worlds".

Hi Darren

I've looked at some screenshots of that one... but it doesn't look much like star trek. It's could be any 3d game with an overhead view of little buildings and vehicles.

I was thinking along the lines of TNG style characters:

engineers - build and repair things
security guards - shoot things
medical officers - heal things
science officers - scan/detect things, and do research.
command officers - control vehicles. negotiate with enemy.

I'm imagining a little mission with a 7 person away team based on a selection of the above personnel types. You can use your science officers to scan the base for enemy units, or the energy signature of the object you're looking for. You can use your security guards to secure the area, and use your medical officer to heal any damage your security guards take in combat. You can move your engineers into an enemy facility and strip out the transwarp coil, etc.

I'm just trying to think of something new that could involve little TNG characters that we control from an overhead view. Any thoughts?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I have Star Trek: Away Team, but I don't remember how much like your idea it was. And it was turn-based.

A Starcraft-like RTS with Trek conventions would be pretty neat, though. It just seems there are as many really bad Trek games as there are really good ones.

 

[Jadzia]

I have Star Trek: Away Team, but I don't remember how much like your idea it was. And it was turn-based.

That one looks a bit more like what I had in mind.

but...
- make it more outdoors than indoors
- add the ability to build structures and vehicles (beam components down, which are then assembled on ground by the engineers)
- allow the player to own buildings.
- allow the player to "train" (beam down) more personnel.

- allow the player to choose between three different races:
The Federation,
The Romulan Empire,
The Borg Collective,


would that work do you think?

 

[c0rnedfr0g]

what??? you can't play as the talaxians??? could you at least create talaxian ambassadors to be slaughtered?

but in reality, the main flaw in a ST RTS game is that i've always struggled with accepting Starfleet Security personnel as trained soldiers. I mean, they're fine for an away mission or protecting certain areas, but in terms of being part of a land-based combat squad?? they don't even wear night-vision! (unless everyone was in vehicles, that might be believable-- you could even have that weird car thing from NEM be a quick exploration vehicle)

you would need to introduce marines as a fighting unit, similar to BSG. or u could use robots, just be careful they don't become sentient and revolt like the cylons!

this game would need tanks and heavy assault land units... which isn't really the spirit of star trek (optimistic future and all)

that being said, i would like to play it nonetheless. i just hope it is better than Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds

 

[tranya]

There were Dominion War themed Starcraft mods, I believe.

 

[Jadzia]

There were Dominion War themed Starcraft mods, I believe.

Are mods enough though?

I've never personally understood the mentality of people who belong to these modding communities. Any suggestion of a new game is quickly disregarded as being both superfluous and inferior; the mere suggestion of one is apparently laughable.

Unless of course it's the sequel to the game they're spending their lives modding, in which case their anticipation can lead to frequent bed wetting.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

There were Dominion War themed Starcraft mods, I believe.

Are mods enough though?

I've never personally understood the mentality of people who belong to these modding communities. Any suggestion of a new game is quickly disregarded as being both superfluous and inferior; the mere suggestion of one is apparently laughable.

Unless of course it's the sequel to the game they're spending their lives modding, in which case their anticipation can lead to frequent bed wetting.

Do you know how difficult it is to make a game? There have been countless independent efforts to make a Star Trek game... it's MUCH easier to work off of existing architecture. MUCH MUCH easier. With a fresh game, you need an engine, entirely new assets, coding, modelling, scripting, animating... etc. etc. Making games ain't like dustin crops, boy.

 

[Jadzia]

Do you know how difficult it is to make a game?

Yes I do. I have experience of programming. I understand exactly what is involved.

With a fresh game, you need an engine, entirely new assets, coding, modelling, scripting, animating... etc. etc.

Yes, I hear you. All that would need to be done. But that's the whole point of it being a new game. I'd much rather contribute 100 hours to a new game than 1 hour to a mod. Because the opportunities for modding are always so limited. It never looks like a new game; it always looks like a mod.

It's the ugliest of work, the results are not representative of the effort that goes into them.

It rides on the back of a commercial user-licensed product, so after all that effort it isn't even your property.

Also, the act of modding can easily breach the eula, so one has to be very careful on what one is distributing.

If modding is always enough, then why would we want any new games? We could all turn back to the atari-2600 and live off pacman mods.

Making games ain't like dustin crops, boy.

And I'm not a boy

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Making games ain't like dustin crops, boy.

And I'm not a boy

It's a quote from Star Wars. It wouldn't have been the same if it had been changed to girl.

 

[tranya]

There were Dominion War themed Starcraft mods, I believe.

Are mods enough though?

I've never personally understood the mentality of people who belong to these modding communities. Any suggestion of a new game is quickly disregarded as being both superfluous and inferior; the mere suggestion of one is apparently laughable.

Unless of course it's the sequel to the game they're spending their lives modding, in which case their anticipation can lead to frequent bed wetting.

Yikes, what a weird reaction? I've seen exactly the opposite -- new games are interesting, but why would one ever go into an existing game's modding community to talk about a new game? The point of modding is to take something that exists, that people know how to work with, and try to do something new with it.

Anyway, sorry to hear you've had such bad, unrepresentative experiences. Perhaps you should seek out better ones.

 

[Jadzia]

Ah well then, I'll let him off this once.

But for the record, I hate star wars. As I hate most space/sci-fi stuff... except star trek for some reason.

Yikes, what a weird reaction? I've seen exactly the opposite -- new games are interesting, but why would one ever go into an existing game's modding community to talk about a new game? The point of modding is to take something that exists, that people know how to work with, and try to do something new with it.

Anyway, sorry to hear you've had such bad, unrepresentative experiences. Perhaps you should seek out better ones.

You're probably right, but as someone who'd never been part of a modding community, I thought that I'd find there plenty of intelligent, arty and otherwise creative people who'd jump at the chance of developing a new game engine.

But that weird reaction was what I got from more than one member. I think it's a case of them having their loyalties.

The trouble is that programmers are busy/interested with their own projects, seldom pulling together for a community project. It's also demanding of people to aexpect them to adhere to a team hierarchy, when they're contributing on a voluntary basis: They're submissive at work; they don't want to volunteer more time to being submissive.

 

[TEH BABA]

I would love a hearts of iron like game setting during dominion war.

 

[SPCTRE]

Man, "New Worlds" was terrible.

Yeah it was terrible.

Oh my. Just installed Starfleet Command - Captain's Edition again (the New Worlds trailer is played automatically at the end of the installation process) - and God, even the trailer looked terrible. This game didn't even have some decent eye candy to compensate for the god-awful gameplay

 

[LutherSloan]

Unfortunately it seems like no game has had ALL aspects of what you wanted:

-New Worlds: Ground-based vehicle combat ala Command and Conquer (the creators had to invent TOS-era ground vehicles, since none were ever really seen before). Result? Fail.
-Away Team: Ground-based 'infantry' combat from overhead perspective. A 'meh' game at best.
-Birth of the Federation: Turn-based empire management sim. Better than many ST games, but suffered from a weird problem where the game would get slower and slower after 100 turns or so. A great idea, just needed more polish.
-Armada: RTS starship combat, resource collecting, fleet building. Probably one of the best ST games made.
-Elite Force: One of the few first person shooters (FPS) in the ST universe setting (that was any good).

 

[Sean Aaron]

We could all turn back to the atari-2600 and live off pacman mods.

As much as Pac-Man on the 2600 was an abomination of a port, I think the idea of a Star Trek RTS based upon the 2600 version of Pac-Man is brilliant!