The Universe Project [video] | Hacker News Reader

The Universe Project [video]

launch2.universeprojects.com

16 pointsEmperorlou32 comments

There is a tendency for wannabe game designers who are not programmers to "design" this game.

"It's the MMO where you can do anything" is something I have heard so many times.

The interesting thing is that a lot of these people think that the idea is somehow original. As if the concept of modelling reality hasn't been considered before.

I'm not necessarily accusing this particular project of not being programmers or thinking that the idea is original because I don't know that, but it's something I have observed so many times.

Thats fair. I haven't even hinted at anything particularly new or novel because I'm afraid we're a bit too early in the project to go to that depth. The video is meant to find those interested in the concept. We'll be revealing more about how it works when we're closer to a release.

Sorry I can't divulge more just yet. :/

But you can divulge how many people are in "we" and what your backgrounds and past experience are like. That should help bringing some credibility to the project.

I almost never respond negatively to a proposal on HN, but this seems like a bunch of BS. They're claiming to build a full-world simulation, and all they have to show are some doodles and a voiceover. MAYBE if I heard that the world's 5 biggest game studios were working together on this I'd believe they might get close, but as a indie project this is not possible.

You're right, the purpose of the video is to garner interest while the game is still in development. We're releasing this video as a means to find those interested in such a game early so that when we have something more to show in a year or so, we'll be in a much better position.

As for whether or not we're capable of doing it, I time will tell. :)

What if you had unlimited budget, programming talent, art assets, scalability, and an infinite supply of fun/novelty/etc without even needing NPCs.

Wouldn't that be awesome?

heh

The biggest problem with games like these is the fact that people aren't on enough to guard their creations. I have played on and helped construct many minecraft servers trying to do this, and one-man midnight raids supported by deeply hidden bases quickly become the only viable strategy.

The only reason civilization was able to arise in real life is the fact that people can be "exploited" by moral obligation and imbalanced fear to put the common good above their own. This doesn't work in a video game.

Having control of a group of semi-automated characters (think Age of Empires) could be one way to guard your creations when you're not playing.

Exactly.

This problem has been solved on paper(though will require some experimentation to get right).

Totally disagree with the reason why civilization has arisen though.

>This problem has been solved on paper

How?

Ambitious? How about impossible?

How do you create a truly dynamic ecological environment? The only option in video games is to program in each and every option. Lets say I wanted to make a bow and arrow. Game engines are not nearly as far along to make that organically available. Someone has to program it in. And that's the problem with ideas like these - for the time being, you can't just get a universe filled with tools, structures, and skills for free. You have to build them. And this is very hard, especially if you're trying to make the game balanced. So I don't see what's advertised in this video coming out of a kickstarter campaign

I understand what you're saying but its not nearly as difficult as you make it out to be. The exact mechanic we plan on using for inventions like the one in your example is a novel one and I'll have to be vague until I'm farther along in the project.

As for balance issues, IMO, that's a silly notion that have evolved from poorly constructed MMOs; MMOs that have been constructed from obsolete mechanics and limitations. There wont be balance issues (of that sort) in this game. Just to step back a bit, I still like playing MMOs of today, they're great fun, but balance issues are a natural issue in their design, not ours.

There will certainly be shifts in power as technology breaks a barrier in one place and not the other. But equally, shifts in power can emerge in other ways like, via a well controlled government or army.

Three possibilities for this project:

1. Vaporware.

2. A project pivot that retains a few qualities resembling the original idea.

3. A software prodigy achieves the holy grail of MMOs.

Will technological progression necessarily follow what a historically similar path as our own? Or are there multiple directions that technology could take...

Ex. Perhaps we develop more steam punked tech, develop alternative fuel sources, etc

So. Short question. Can technology progress in different ways than it historically did?

This would be more interesting if the authors provided anything to suggest they were capable of making more than a video.

Was this not what Spore was intended to be? You evolve a life form into a civilization. It seems as though the OP is going for something a little more open (and therefore ambitious) than Spore's rigid 5 stage structure.

Good luck! You're going to need it. If this game gets finished, I'll be first in line.

Spore was intended to be singleplayer, but interacting with AI driven NPCs based on other player's creations.

Yea I would hesitate to draw any resemblance to spore. Spore seemed more about the evolution of a species than a simulation of humanity.

How will time progress? Are the first people in the game going to be playing in a primitive era, and people who join later on (2+ years down the line) playing in a high tech future world?

Very interesting and highly ambitious. Looking forward to seeing how this goes.

Yes, it would be as you say. Although "high-tech" likely wouldn't happen for more like 10 years, maybe more.

And if you think that is a long time, consider how long we've been getting expansions for WoW. :)

What is ambitious, is the thought that any tab (which I usually open in the background) starts playing automatically video and/or sound won't get closed immediately.

Sorry but you got to respect your visitors.

What I find would be interesting is how the virtual world would differ to ours today. Would we still have world wars, would we have different social expectations in the game?

Mechanics would be in place to assist with the organizing of players to make large scale wars possible. Although, especially at the beginning, the logistics of doing so are still a feat in itself.

I'll stick with Xsyon, until this project has some real content to show. http://www.xsyon.com/content.php

It sounds exactly like real life. It sounds boring, for a game.

Well it depends on your life I guess. :p

Everyone plays games for different reasons because everyone gets a kick out of different things in life. Theres no reason why one game can't satisfy all and the best way to accomplish that is by creating a game based on the one environment we know _can_ be enjoyed by all personality types -- real life. (note: not that everyone _does_ enjoy real life, those who generally dislike everything have other issues and probably wont like my game either :p).

I think that a game in 1000 years is not going to be like this - its going to be basically the same games we have now only fully immersive - plugging into our brain etc. A virtual parallel universe is great, but it's not a game. It seems like within this universe you'll have an opportunity to start a game company. But why start a game company in world1 when you can start one in world0?

I definitely agree with you regarding the fully immersible quality of games in 1000 years. :) But how frustrating would it be to be in such an amazing experience where the gameplay is limited like MMOs are today? I would simply be unnecessary to cap game mechanics at where they're at today.

lol, that is ambitious.

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