Hello, i have done some programming before and i am just starting with python. I was bored so i decided to write a quick and dirty design document for this idea. It is a mud/online roguelike. I may do this after 1-2 years experience, you can tell me how realistic this is for one person in the comments.


MUD: Rats!

Premise:
Abandoned town circa 2015 USA. Everything you expect to be in the town. Supermarket, etc. but it is overran by a plague of rats that have eaten most of the inhabitants because they are no longer content with eating scraps. These rats are very weak alone but in packs of 10+ can overwhelm a victim. You and a small group of survivors(the clients) must survive in this town(server).

Things it sets out to achieve:
-fully python using libtcod or pygame(will decide later)
-maximum 10 players, probably tele-net based will look into
- roguelike, no typing look or north etc.
- 6 weapons: knife,
single shotgun,
.22 rifle,
axe
molotov
Kill a pest spray.
-5 consumables:
sandwich(randomly generated fillings! Makes no difference to stats),
baked beans,
soup(random flavour as sandwich),
Soda(again random flavor),
Morphine
5 kinds of collectibles, all random names:
- phones(used to chat to other players outside of 100 tile radius)
- magazines(boost stats)
- playing cards(in game equivalent of Pokemon, no plan for them yet)
-computers(same as phone)
-video games(again no plan, but in a later version could be played on the laptop)

How combat works:
With melee, you simply bump into a rat or player to attack them. The attacks are based like this
Strength * dx = damage

Dx is like d6, in other words x is the maximum value generated by one 'roll'. Strength is how many 'rolls' are done, which is the players strength stat(more on that later).

Ranged is dependant on weapon

For the shotgun and spray, a 90 degree arc is taken for where damage may occur( based on a random number, probably a number higher than 3 on a variable generating a number up to 6). Then a fixed amount of damage is taken. The spray is poisonous however, so the entity(poisonous to players too) take x damage for y seconds.

As for the .22 rifle, a shot is placed on the grid and a random value similar to the shotguns damage predictor is taken. Then fixed damage is taken.
Molotov is essentially a grenade sort of effect with a poison like damage to those caught in the blast for x seconds.

How consumables work: there are 2 stats: hp and fp. Hp is health points, there are 20, this is decreased by being attacked by players and rats, and is restored by morphine by 5 points. Fp is food points, which there are 10 and one is lost every 2 minutes. This is restore at varying rates by the sandwich, soda, soup and baked beans. Sandwich by 8, soda by 2, soup by 6 and baked beans by 4.

Rat ai: just run toward nearest player and attack, no strategy. Respawn utterly randomly. Minimum 400 rats at a time, 500 max, server respawns the 100 missing once it reaches 400.

Map size : 200 * 200 tiles
In other words small.

Generation of map: every month say, the server will regenerate the map. This involves placing buildings along a map with predetermined zones for roads. Buildings are simply husks with holes for doors that players go into and take generated items from.

UI: bump into to melee attack , f + numpad direction to shoot, numpad to move, g to grab, i for inventory, u for use

Stats: basically just strength 1-5


Expected development time: 8 months

This is just 0.01 plan so others stuff may be added later.
What sort of stuff do you think could be added to 0.01?

Also, do you feel i am missing anything that should be here, do you think i could of gone into more detail?

Finally, is there any particular design decision you disagree with, why?

I have proof read it but since i am using an on screen keyboard on my phone and my thumb is too big, i apologise for spelling errors
Thanks