But can you design an RPG that can be played as RTS without sacrifacing/dumbing down several aspects of a great RPG? I don't recall even one instance of a designer achieving this. I guess this concept could used as an engine, so the developer can decide which client to use for his game. But all these in one game is probably an overkill.
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RPG and RTS are close cousins through Resource Gathering mechanisms. In the RPGs the Player gathers resources to Build-up their Character. Crafting/Mining in MMORPGs are a direct form of Resource Gathering. RPGs like RIFT's use what I suspect to be RTS-inspired mechanics for their Invasions that position/maneuver units and structures to secure areas of the map destroying the lands and people of Telara.
The concept I propose herein, is for the Player to decide on which client to use to interface to game (preferably a single 3D Client offers a configurable interface which caters to a particular genre and each genre can be be played in 5 popular game-perspectives: First-Person, Third-Person, Top-down, Isometric, and Side-Scroll).
[quote name='Krohm' timestamp='1326363594' post='4901950']
I honestly think this is very, very complicated. I'd have serious trouble in stuffing this in my current system.
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Its my belief that the Server/Client Engine would have to be designed from the ground up with this concept in mind, it would be extremely difficult to retrofit an existing Server/Client Engine. S3GP is designed and developed to support this concept. My design strategy is to consolidate at every level of the development process. Starting with the consolidation of the game mechanics within each Genre:
- Examine as many genres as possible.
- Identify common systems.
- Consolidate and Merge Systems that share similar features. (Some of these consolidated systems will be non-traditional or experimental.)
I'm taking a top-down approach (also known as step-wise design) breaking down a complex system to identify the broadest set of supported features. The motivation behind this philosophy is to consolidate systems starting with the most complex or elaborate systems. For example, using an Advanced Physics Engine for to provide all collision detection and physics simulation requirements.
Consolidation at higher levels can also be achieved. The Modular Entity Construction Hierarchical Sets (MEChS) is a 3D Entity Construction System originally conceived with the intention of creating various customizable static/animated 3D entities for RPGs by inter-connecting different modeled part combinations. It was realized that the system could also be employed in other genres to:
- Create `whole` pre-fab entities useful in other types of games.
- User Entity Customization
- Parts-based Model Packs System.
MEChS consolidates Entity Creation and Customization for RPGs, Racers, RTS, FPS, Fighters, etc into one system. Entity Creation and Customization also exist for games that normally don’t require it, which in itself can be exposed to present a new twist within the Game.