Should time pass or should this be an extreme stealth opportunity? Stowing away aboard starships is one idea I'd like to implement for the sci-fi RPG I'm working on. Essentially, you hack a port computer and get a list of outbound vessels, their destination, and their timeframe for departure. A criminal, spy or undercover hero deep in enemy territory could then use this info to find and board that ship, provided they can hack its defenses and sneak into it. Once they do so, I could simply treat this as a level switch: You automatically get to the new location. The downside is that there's no flavor of hiding out, evading security sweeps, fooling internal sensors, etc. Or, it could be something you play out: Sneaking through compartments, hiding behind equipment, maybe even hijacking or partially commandeering the ship. There's alot of room for adventure with playing it out. The downside might be the core question of how fun is this really and how often you would end up using it. Which would you be more in favor of? QUICK EDIT: When you have a ship, random events will occur involving intruders and stowaways, some of whom are saboteurs. Turning this idea on its head, you could be one as well.

How about a compromise?(sp). Say when you first board a ship the you have to find a safe hiding place, once you find a safe place the level switches to the destination (at which you have to get off). That way its not an instant level switch but you dont have to play thw whole trip out.

Just a though. Hope it helps:)

Why not let the player choose? If they decide to let the computer sort it out, it makes a few stealth checks and decides what happens (If automatic always worked, everyone would choose it for that alone). Or they can play it out, possibly getting some stuff in the process.

One is statistic based, and the other is player skill based.

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Original post by Wavinator QUICK EDIT: When you have a ship, random events will occur involving intruders and stowaways, some of whom are saboteurs. Turning this idea on its head, you could be one as well.

That was what I'd suggest as well. Make the game skip forward until a random event, which might be a security sweep, or, well, something else that forces you to react.

But as long as nothing is happening, I'd hate having to manually sit around waiting behind a crate... :D

pretty cool idea, wavinator.

i have two random thoughts on the matter, one a variation of the other.
my first thought was based on the assumption that since your game is an RPG, you level up in various skills, whatever those may be. so, you could have certain items that concealed the player from everything, once the player took the time to find a suitable hiding place. there, you could have the option of simply skipping ahead to the destination, since (theoretically) noone would be able to find. this would force the player to be crafty in stowing away on the first few trips (since they won't be able to completely conceal themselves), while allowing more experienced players to have the luxury of getting on with their buisness if they were in a hurry.

my second thought was simply to have a "safe - zone" in each spaceship that, once found, allowed the player (no matter what level) to skip to the destination if they wanted. naturally, you'd want to change the location on each ship so that the player would have to work for it, but it would be easier on noobs who were anxious for landfall on a new planet ;) )

just my two cents.

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Original post by Spoonster Quote: Original post by Wavinator QUICK EDIT: When you have a ship, random events will occur involving intruders and stowaways, some of whom are saboteurs. Turning this idea on its head, you could be one as well. That was what I'd suggest as well. Make the game skip forward until a random event, which might be a security sweep, or, well, something else that forces you to react. But as long as nothing is happening, I'd hate having to manually sit around waiting behind a crate... :D

It's weird, but I kept seeing this as The Sims hiding out on a ship... but since you only have two needs whenever in unfriendly territory, and this ISN'T the sims (no Pee Need [smile]), your idea is much better.

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Original post by stormrunner my first thought was based on the assumption that since your game is an RPG, you level up in various skills, whatever those may be. so, you could have certain items that concealed the player from everything, once the player took the time to find a suitable hiding place. there, you could have the option of simply skipping ahead to the destination, since (theoretically) noone would be able to find. this would force the player to be crafty in stowing away on the first few trips (since they won't be able to completely conceal themselves), while allowing more experienced players to have the luxury of getting on with their buisness if they were in a hurry.

Actually, this could work. Maybe you buy a stasis shield or something then activate it to allow time to pass quickly. It then deactivates when someone comes near.

It could provide a good story reason why you're able to stow away, which is more satsifying than just a gameplay contrivance like a button. It would effectively pass time in game.

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my second thought was simply to have a "safe - zone" in each spaceship that, once found, allowed the player (no matter what level) to skip to the destination if they wanted. naturally, you'd want to change the location on each ship so that the player would have to work for it, but it would be easier on noobs who were anxious for landfall on a new planet ;) )

The only problem I have with the safe zone is coming up with a good excuse for why its there. If you don't have that, the game is less immersive.

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Original post by Dakar Why not let the player choose? If they decide to let the computer sort it out, it makes a few stealth checks and decides what happens (If automatic always worked, everyone would choose it for that alone). Or they can play it out, possibly getting some stuff in the process. One is statistic based, and the other is player skill based.

This could work but then you'd have to develop two rule sets. The problem with this is that if they don't match each other perfectly then there's a disadvantage to using one or the other. I'm not sure that you can get that without a good statistical analysis of the rule system, which would be a pain.

I like the idea of "safe zones", but don't make them all or nothing. Have certain areas of the ship rated with a value that describes how easy it is to discover a stowaway in that location. Then allow the players to wait it out, either by hitting the "Pass Time" button, or going to sleep, whatever. Then calculate, for the amount of time that passes, the chance of somebody or something discovering the player.

If the player is discovered, interrupt their time passing routine with the encounter.

If not, the time passes uneventfully.

That way you could have determined players seeking out the best hiding spots, and lazy players going to sleep in the main hallway behind a crate and getting ambushed by the sec forces.

Just some thoughts.

Take care.