I'm making a 3D space trading game with newtonian physics + lightspeed limit. However, apart from trading, it should also have combat, I mean, without that it'd be terribly boring. But a problem is: I can't imagine a non-boring way to implement realistic 3D space combat: the Newtonian physics mean that you and your opponent must have a similar velocity to be able to combat each other. If a group of pirate ships is floating still and you come by at half of the light speed, they won't be able to do much. Only if they happen to have a velocity to yours will they be able to follow you and attack. That's not the part that makes it boring, what's boring is: space ships would probably have laser weapons because bullets are too slow. Space ships are apart many kilometers and will be able to shoot each other at that distance (like today they can hit satellites in the sky from the Earth's surface). Also, in such "realistic" combat scenario, it seems logical that not the human pilot, but a computer will do the aiming (or in the satellite scenario of today, is there really a human aiming the laser at the satellite? will he be able to do it fast enough if the satellite were a fast moving spaceship instead?). The computer sees that pixel that a ship at 100km is and shoots the laser at it. The ship with the strongest laser or shields, wins, simple. No human skill needed. But without human skill, it's boring! Another addition to the boringness factor: in a realistic scenario, it doesn't happen often that ships fighting each other will ever actually go near each other. So you'll never see more than a few pixels. So no nice renderings of ships either. And one final thing before the question: the spaceship's stats are RPG-ish (that is, weapons have a strength, hull has a strength, gaining money allows you to buy stronger weapons and hulls, so: typical RPG-ish). Now the question: Has anyone got an idea to keep realism, but make it fun? One idea I thought of was: In the manual say that combat happens like described above, but, that for the human pilot it's simulated via a 2D interface. When in combat, you switch to the 2D interface, and shoot 2D enemies. Why? Because combat in 2D space games seems to be much more fun and fast paced than in any 3D space game. The RPG-ish stats can also be nicely integrated with this, and the enemy space ships can be nicely shown nearby. So if you encounter an enemy, you switch to a 2D combat mode (could be integrated in the interface of the spaceship), then when the battle is done the 2D combat closes and you get the battle result. Would such idea be fun, or would it be very weird?

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Original post by Lode That's not the part that makes it boring, what's boring is: space ships would probably have laser weapons because bullets are too slow. Space ships are apart many kilometers and will be able to shoot each other at that distance (like today they can hit satellites in the sky from the Earth's surface). Also, in such "realistic" combat scenario, it seems logical that not the human pilot, but a computer will do the aiming (or in the satellite scenario of today, is there really a human aiming the laser at the satellite? will he be able to do it fast enough if the satellite were a fast moving spaceship instead?). The computer sees that pixel that a ship at 100km is and shoots the laser at it. The ship with the strongest laser or shields, wins, simple. No human skill needed.

All the sattlites that I know of having been shot down have been shot down with projectiles. Second lasers get weaker with distance. Finding a laser that will create an acurate dot(just for aiming not even getting near cutting strength ) at a few hundred feet is quite expensive.

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Another addition to the boringness factor: in a realistic scenario, it doesn't happen often that ships fighting each other will ever actually go near each other. So you'll never see more than a few pixels. So no nice renderings of ships either.

If you are going to have lasers that can hit a target a hundred km away why not use sensors to display the target "larger than actual size".

And another boring thing about space games: if you want it to be realistic, then there should be no sound in space...since, as we all know, sound needs a medium to travel through, and space is a vacuum, therefore there's no medium for sound to travel through and everything is silent!

Then don't simulate the reality. It is a game, make it fun.

A Realistic Sci-Fi game wouldn't have shooting sounds like in Star Wars or Star Trek or like in any other Sci-Fi Movie.

And because the universe is so gigantic it would be extremely rare that you even encounter any other ship. For pirates that might intercept a cargo transporter that is on light speed, use a system like they use in Freelancer.

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Original post by Shakedown And another boring thing about space games: if you want it to be realistic, then there should be no sound in space...since, as we all know, sound needs a medium to travel through, and space is a vacuum, therefore there's no medium for sound to travel through and everything is silent!

I disagree to this one :)

There is silence outside of your spaceship. But if your spaceship gets hit by a torpedo, imagine the creepiness of the soundwaves of the metal of your hull being malformed transported by the air inside the ship!

Plus if you fire yourself you'll probably also hear something.

It's maybe a bit like in a submarine, without the bubble sounds.

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Original post by Lode There is silence outside of your spaceship. But if your spaceship gets hit by a torpedo, imagine the creepiness of the soundwaves of the metal of your hull being malformed transported by the air inside the ship!

True. It depends on where the user is located. If it's supposed to be inside of a spaceship, then there will be sound inside the ship. If the user is located outside of the ship, like a 3rd person view, then it would be silent.

Same goes for firing a weapon: if you're inside the ship you would hear something, but if you're outside of the ship you wouldn't hear it.

Just in case I'm wrong, I claim to think I'm only 95% sure on this.

Pirates radars detect the transporter 10.000.000 km away. Their computers set a intercept course. Interceptors acceleration is a lot better, and they might get very close to it before the target even detects anything, because they arere small and light.

Pirates want to loot the cargo or the transporter itself, probably both, so they'll get closer. They get close enough and adapt their speed to be able to use their beams and missiles, destroy the turrets, disable shields and engines and come aboard.

Don't copy me, but I'm doing something similar to you.

I'm thinking of having 2 combat environments.

1 Hyperspace.
2 Normal Space.

It's easy to find/intercept and see people in H-Space.

It's easy to drop out of H space into Normal Space where the game goes more Sub-Combat. i.e. Tense, strategic (use of terrain) and sensor based.

Das Boot in space is my aim.

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Original post by Shakedown True. It depends on where the user is located. If it's supposed to be inside of a spaceship, then there will be sound inside the ship. If the user is located outside of the ship, like a 3rd person view, then it would be silent.

Hopefully the player will be in his ship. (and not dead in space :) )

If course don't go for simulation if you are doing a space game or else it will turn like flight simulator and will take you hours flying in straight line to get somewhere. Games are there to be fun, not to be realistic. Make to most action you can have out of you fighting and the funner it will be.

I got to say that I don't really like how most space shooter are (you keep turning around and around an enemy until you finally see it in front of you to take a few shoot, then start again turning around to find him again), but it's difficult to invent something else. A 2D game could be great, but yeah it would look strange.