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[Captain_Frisk]

I've got a bug in my head about creating a digital turn based space trading game.

The general idea is the players represent major galactic trading organizations purchasing things in one place, and shipping them to others.

Players actual actions will be easy -

1. Buy / Sell at various markets (pricing is public)
2. Load / Unload things into warehouses or ships
3. Negotiate trades with other players (trades are private)
4. Pay your upkeep (warehouse rent, ship upkeep, fuel?, etc.)
5. Launch ships (players fleet locations are semi public when they are at port, and private while travelling)

Travelling will take time.  I'm kindof expecting that each game turn will be like a month / year, and it will take multiple turns for a single ship to travel from one place to another.  As such, you might be able to sucker someone into taking a long trip to delivery a high value good, and find out that the market for the good has collapsed because someone else was able to get there faster.

To put a timebox on the game, I'm considering having some manner of event end the game.  (Alien conquest, advent of long distance teleportation eliminating the need for space freight etc.) 

The market system will be transparent, but probably fairly complex.  The game will have to be digital to handle hidden movement and mathy market fluctuations.

Anyway - it would work well as a "long" forum game, at least during early playtesting phases.  I'd assume something like 1-2 day turns.  The game at this point is in total "wouldn't it be cool if" stage... but I figured I'd see if anyone would be interested - and if so I might get off my ass and actually start trying to make it real.

[Ozle]

I am so in!
Or willing to help idea-rise it

[Ozle]

I always to start off simply and work upwards:

So, say there are 8 markets scattered at various Spaceports

Each has 8 goods for sale (out of 10 total)

Travel between them is time.

Each time a player sells a good there it drops by X
Each time a player buys a good there it raises by 1X

Players can trade goods if in the same station.

Throw in special events (raising and lowering prices, shorten and lengthen travel, pirates, etc..)

Cant work fleets into it without making massive amounts of space ports

The main problem here is balancing

[Jorbles]

This sounds really cool. I would definitely be in for testing stages.

[Galzria]

You know that I'd help out playing early models.

[Ozle]

Hows this coming? How can I help?

[Kuildeous]

Heh, I'm reminded of the old PC game, Gazillionaire. It also has trading and special events. But, all destinations take the same amount of time. I believe that in that game, distance (and ship speed) was only important in determining player order, which is unnecessary in a game you're proposing.

It was a goofy, fun game event if it was basic and swingy as hell.

I may be up for this. I'll put this thread on notify.

[Insomniac]

If you want help balancing/testing perhaps with ideas I'm willing to help. Throw me a pm.

[Ozle]

Did nobody play Blacknova traders?

Was a forum based game that dealt with space, trading and killing your opponents

Also, legend of the Green Dragon....

[Jorbles]

Did nobody play Blacknova traders?

Was a forum based game that dealt with space, trading and killing your opponents

Also, legend of the Green Dragon....

Tell me more.

[Ozle]

Blacknova Traders was a spaceship 4x game that ran on PHP, used pop up on forum hosted sites all over the place
Its a bit like the freemium games of today (except it was all free)
you got certain amount of moves over time, and could use that to trade, mine, attack build up planets on a big network.
Had travelling through hyperspace, but you could build tubes
Store up gold on planets and stuff
Was brilliant, no idea what state it is in these days


Legend of Green Dragon was a an Original thing, thats still up and running

http://lotgd.net/home.php?

Basically again, host it free on your site  and adapt as you wish

[Kuildeous]

I had never heard of Blacknova. I used to be really into Trade Wars--I was probably in five different games and kept notes on all of them. Blacknova definitely sounds like it took it a step further.

[Ozle]

Yeah, I think it was based on the old BBS trade wars, the graphics were pretty much non-existant in BNT (Was around in about 1997-98)

Probably still versions knocking around somewhere






PPE: yeah, here
http://forums.blacknova.net/

[Captain_Frisk]

My game has already been invented?

[Ozle]

My game has already been invented?

You can rebuild it, you have the technology!

[Kuildeous]

My game has already been invented?

I don't know. Yours has trade among players. I don't know if BlackNova had that, but I guarantee that Trade Wars didn't. Well, you kind of could with teammates, but that's different. You're cooperating with your teammates rather than trading against them. And there wasn't a way to trade with enemies.

[Ozle]

Nope, it was called Blacknova traders, but there was not masses of trading going on!

[Jorbles]

My game has already been invented?

I think there's still some pretty rich territory there for building your game with different (better?) mechanics to make it a completely different game. For example, there's like a zillion games about building a civilization, but 7 Wonders is completely different from Civ 5.

[DG]

Some of the suggestions sound a lot like the board game Merchant of Venus. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230/merchant-of-venus

[Insomniac]

You still doin this frisk?