quote: Original post by Iron Chef Carnage
I think some kind of infinite, but tangible, wilderness is a good feature.

I love this feature in Arcanum (just started playing, btw). After playing dozens and dozens of bordered worlds I feel as if I''ve finally been released from my collar. Morrowind does this for me as well. If you swim or waterwalk far enough into the sea, you get the location "Wilderness," along with repeating fish and draugh (?the fish people) encounters. I think for many players it staves of claustraphobia and prevents the game from reminding you that "it''s just a game."

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In Excape Velocity, which takes place in space, You could fly for a very long time before hitting the "edge" of a system map. I would often be just a little bit faster than pirates or police, and have to maneuver and sprint for a long time before I built up the elbow room to make a hyperjump. That space was very useful for me, although I did on more than one occasion actually run out of space, and hit the "wall". Most disappointing, and often catastrophic.

Ah, memories. Independence War 2, another space game, seemed to allow you to simply wander in one direction forever. Though I''m sure it had limits, I never found them. They seemed to drive you back to the action (just like Elite, I think) by making the space you were wandering into a void.

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In an isometric game like Fallout, being able to flee into a green "edge" field and escape the battle is something of a cop-out. I''d rather be able to see the radscorpions a mile away and modify my course slightly to avoid them (or to hunt them) than to find myself surrounded and fight my way twenty meters to safety.

It''s also irritating when it works against you for the sake of fleeing enemies. If you do implement these kinds of exit zones, consider helping to suspend disbelief by making enemies persistent on the over map.


I like many of the suggestions presented so far, but have you considered some sort of resource based limit that naturally keeps the players in check. For starships and vehicles, you could use fuel and border your world with fuel stations past which players simply run out of gas. For character based games, you could require some resource like water, and border your worlds with mountains, deserts and plains that simply have no watering holes. For this to work, the over map would need to link players to the nearest "refueling" source and alert them when they were getting beyond it.



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Just waiting for the mothership...

quote: Original post by Wavinator For this to work, the over map would need to link players to the nearest "refueling" source and alert them when they were getting beyond it.

You strike an important point that has been bothering me, especially with the "killer monsters as walls" idea. It is important, even when your "boundaries" are cunningly camoflaged, to let the player know that they''re getting close to or crossing an "edge". If you''re walking through the woods, lost or exploring, and stumble upon the invincible dragon "Terminus", then you''ll feel betrayed as he rips you to shreds. Likewise, if you''re cruising the galaxy looking for mineral-rich asteroids or planets full of beautiful space girls who are starving to death due to overly tight jar lids, you don''t want to think, "Okay, I''ve got a third of a tank, time to look for a... Hey! Where''d civilization go?" That''s a drag.

A map would solve both of these problems. Just mark certain areas "Here be dragons" or "empty space" or "no outlet" so that players know to make excursions into those regions, rather than trying to cross them. You can still hide awesome stuff there. In fact, it would be awesome to have a secret alien planet with refueling capabilities located so far out of "normal" space that the craft with the longest range can just barely get there, and if they miss it, they''re boned. But for the most part, make sure there''s a safety guiderail around the endless deserts and sarlacc pits.