Colonial Sea Trader

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#1

I’ve been working on this game for some time, and the timeline has kept increasing with time, partially due to me now knowing more of what goes in to it, but more because I have been putting it off.

The game is a historical sea trading game, inspired by a number of Sid Meyer type games (Civilization, Colonization, Pirates!), along with a few other games that aren’t as well known, but mostly focus on trading with space ships.

The key features of Colonial Sea Trader that I am hoping to create are

  • Trading goods in a way that keeps the player engaged
  • Historically inspired, circa 1550
  • Goods will be produced based on the time of year. Will also incorporate missions
  • Semi-realistic economic model
  • Support for at least basic modding.

I’ve been blogging about my adventures in getting the game running, some on the community blog site (http://blog.gamedev.tv), and many on my own site (http://blog.colonialseatrader.com).

The current status of my project is:

  1. The gameplay is still lacking. I’ve been finding that one of my core mechanics isn’t quite developed, namely the buying and selling of goods. It just needs a lot of work to get things to where I need it to be.
  2. The UI is somewhat well advanced, probably too far considering the state of my gameplay.
  3. I feel like I’m at a good stage towards identifying the style and feel of the game that I’m wanting to get to.

With the work that I’ve been doing in this class, I’m planning on being ready for at least an Alpha quality release by the end of this year. The goal of that is to have at least sufficient graphics, good gameplay, sufficient UI, and basic modability.

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#2

Your project has come on so far Ben, I remember when I first said “hi” to you, it was around this time;

Do you ever look at your previous blog entries and compare what you had, to what you have now? Looking good! :slight_smile:

#3

Occasionally I do. I’ve actually been able to find bugs because of old images, looking through old blog entries I narrowed down when a bug appeared to a few week window, and was able to figure out what caused it pretty quickly.

I don’t look often enough at where I have come from and realize just how much I’ve advanced, I should do that more often. I certainly have made quite a bit of progress, although if often feels 2 steps forward, one back.

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#4

Sounds like keeping a blog of your progress on this has actually be really useful, not just for other people, but in that scenario for yourself. I don’t think it would have even occurred to me to look at my own blog for something like that! It’s a good idea which I shall now squirrel away in my subconscious for the right time - thanks :slight_smile:

I would imagine a little comparison from time to time would be a great way to get a bit of a buzz, could be something which in turn drives you through that list :wink:

I appreciate this is only visual and doesn’t necessary reflect all of the other hard work that you’ve put in to your project, but from here;

Capture.PNG615×580 76.4 KB

to here;

Capture-1.png1244×631 623 KB

Woah! :slight_smile:

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#5

Yeah, maybe I’ll make a video or something of all of the screenshots I’ve done to show the progress over time, it could be fun. I’m hoping to do at least another step forward in some of the visuals at some point in time, right now I’ve done everything with my limited artistic skills, one of the things I’m putting off is figuring out how to get a graphic designer, and getting them. I kind of want to wait until the game is fun without the art, because then I know my investment will be worth it.

#6

I’d like to see that video as and when :slight_smile:

Maybe having this video, including some examples of the gameplay may help with the search for an artist to, as you’d have something to show and explain your game/idea/concept?

#7

I know the style of artwork I am looking for, and have even shown samples to a few people. For instance, I’m pretty set on the way the land looks. I am not sold on the button images. I like the bottom left icons, and the wood background. I really want to change the ship/sea seen in the upper left dialog. But I’m just not quite there, I’ll get it figured out, when I’m ready…

Will post a link with the video when I make it, but it won’t be for a little while.

1 Like
#8

One for the list :wink: :smiley:

#9

Hi Ben,
Thanks for sharing and good luck with your project!
I like the idea, I’m curious to see your game develop further!

Greetings,
Wouter

#10

Hey Ben, have you reached the “Event Based Milestone” section of the course? From what you are saying, you need some cool event to plan for and work towards.

#11

Looks like I haven’t quite got that far yet. It does in fact sound like something I’ve at least started in my head, I look forward to seeing more of what you have to say on the subject!

#12

Cool. :slight_smile:

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