New Game Idea, Need some help though...

[neronix17]

Hey all, I had a sudden idea for a game, no web browser stuff this time, an actual 3D third person game, I'm not going to go into much detail here yet till I know I can get an engine for it for free, I was thinking UDK (Unreal) but I need to know if its possible (well I know it is according to their FAQ) and more importantly if anyone here can help me with it.

The basic idea I had was to make a game where the player is given an actual world, literally, a small sphere shaped world (more a moon really because of the size) and all the objective of the game is, make it your own. I will give it more of an objective once that part is made but to be honest I just want the original bit done before I start with all that. What I need is a good engine, which is capable of in game terrain moulding, and adding/removing stuff while playing, think of Far Cry's map maker but using that while you play. BUT as a pretty big awkward twist I want MMO capabilities too, like while being on your planet you can see other people worlds in the distance, be able to visit their worlds and them be there when you do (along with anyone else there at the time).

I don't expect to get this made in a small period of time, but I plan to be making the base game and providing updates regularly, fixing bugs and stuff but also adding new content and providing new features too. As far as I know nobody has done this before, not as a proper full on game like this at least, not with all this multi-player capability.

When a player is given their world, I want to give them the basic sphere, no hills, no canyons, nothing, just a smooth ball, the ground will be a simple sand, that's all they start with, they will be given the option to mould it to how they like or generate the shape automatically, there will be height limits of course but that can be decided later, they can choose the water level etc, then they choose what they want the land to be, do they want to keep it desert or change it to grass, or something else, if they choose grass does it have to be green? maybe purple or red? Then the sky colour? Colour of the sun? Then add trees if they like, decide what kind of trees? Oak trees? Pine trees? Whatever they want.

After the world has been made they need wildlife so how about a race of creatures? Humans maybe? You get the idea I hope. So if anyone can help me with the Unreal engine, I'm sticking to that. If there's a better, easier, preferably free, or even cheap, engine I can use then please tell me, I don't want to make a game and find out I cant have certain features I want in it. I am of course, open to ideas and suggestions for this that anyone has.

I intend to keep this game free, like no buying cost and no subscription, of course this could change a lot, so if you can help then expect a percentage of the profits if I decide to make it paid for. If I don't add a buying cost or a subscription then I might add something like a lot of FTP games do, paid content. In this case it would be packs of content such as alien trees, animals, fish, grass types, liquid types instead of water, buildings and stuff, but I might leave that free in the updates I'm going to have. Either way there will probably be a donation system in place, mainly to cover costs of running the game if it becomes big enough that I require that.

So any help is appreciated thanks.

UPDATE: Im working on making the idea a more realistic goal to begin with, get the basic features sorted out before going to the advanced part. Il be making a new topic in the appropriate forum sections about the details which I will update on a regular basis.

[neronix17]

Just like to add that I have a lot of detailed ideas for this too, I wont bother boring everyone with those but when I begin creating it I will likely post the more in depth game details here, I only just thought of this last night and haven't really got anything set in stone other than the basics I've posted here, I need player created worlds to be possible and I need interaction between players through an online server. I'm thinking about how to make limits to stop everything going mad, I don't want players to instantly have everything there to use, Id like it to be unlocked through some sort of means like producing materials like stone and metal and wood.

I've also thought that maybe the player should progress through tech trees and the like to unlock technology. With any luck I can figure out a system for building settlements/towns while staying in 3rd person. If anyone here has played the mod for fallout 3 called Return of the Settler then you will know roughly what Id like to have for this game in that area, but more complex in some areas and less complicated with other areas. Now I have all the stuff written down in a Word Document though so I will be able to refine the details and iron out anything iffy.

Sorry for the double post, I just thought that the first post was long enough without adding this making it even longer. (redundant since its going to be just as long but I think it looks better like this...)

[neronix17]

Serious? No replies yet?

[SpiritWebb]

That sounds awesome. Keep us posted on your progress. However, I am not sure what engine can help you there. I always suggest Unity, since they say if you can dream it, Unity can do it and its free.

[kaos78414]

It's interesting, especially since I started playing minecraft lately, and it's a similar thing (you go around and kind of terraform and build things, you should check it out, might give you some more ideas). I'm sure it's possible, but seems like a huge undertaking. Good luck with this! I'm definitely interested

[neronix17]

Well I looked and minecraft and thats what got me wanting to make a decent version of it really, I know people will just say ive ripped the idea but nobodys had an original idea since the first game of any genre really so I dont give a crap bout that. (Also minecraft copied some other game I cant remember the name of anyway). Im more aiming for looks in the engine as Im put off by the blocky look of Minecraft, looks horrible on a 32" screen haha, and the unity engine certainly doesnt do what I need it to, more graphic wise, I had a look at it and didnt think much of the feel of the engine to be honest. The Unreal Dev Kit is free so Im looking into it, even if an engine costs Il find a (obviously legal) way of getting it.

The CryEngine looked promising but they apparently hate indie developers so they can go *beep* themselves. So far Unreal is the best option, but I can only get it to work in FPS mode for now, since thats what its designed for, apparently it is possible to do anything according to the FAQ on the UDK site, but might include re-coding some areas, which will likely be a problem for me. Still, good to see some people are interested, told some friends at college and they might as well have been drooling (either from stupidity or awe, its hard to tell with them), theyre definately interested in helping out but they cant code a flash movie to play and stop using buttons so that wont happen

[kaos78414]

The game Minecraft copied (I think) was Infiniminer, though minecraft is infini-better haha. It would be awesome if we could have a similar game but with better graphics. Survival games are still a somewhat untapped genre IMO, there's room for tons more like Minecraft.

As for me helping, I'm really no good with Unity. I may be able to create some of the scripts but that would be it. Unfortunately time is the biggest factor for me, as I have a business to tend to. But this seriously seems like a fun project