Building editor [Idea/concept]

WHen someone reaches far enough to build buildings in the game, then i think that they may want to a) use already made parts like in Spore, b) use a parts editor in game, so that they could make the objects themselves such as dragging polygons and vertices or c) Being able to import 3d models into the game. Actually this applies to clothes, vehicles and buildings but im just going to cover buildings here.

This means that in the game, you can choose from two or three options when it comes to making buildings, for the less advanced users you can simply use pre-made 3d objects and just throw them onto the model you wish to make your building of, for the intermediate users the option would be to use a in-game editor to first put in a pre-made 3d model of a object and then edit that object as the user wishes, and at last for the advanced users to be able to import 3d-model files such as 3ds. blend. and MAX. files.

Now some of you might think that this presents a problem, what if a user just out of nowere decides to make a "Supah-Dupah-Lazah-Gunh" that is a ultra fast sentry to defend the building? Well, that could actually be solved quite easilly. In the game, the parts will have parameters that is adjusted to fit the actions of the part. For example a part that provides a light value, the value of how much light it gives, should make the parameters automatically adjust the resource cost of that part to fit the use of the part. When the building then is completely designed to build it you would need to gather the resources that the paramteres have calculated out your building should require. That would remove the "Me is going from tribal to half space in 2 secs lul" thing players have been doing in spore. So a weak part should have for example a low cost of coal or wood. (also for wood and coal, i think that there should be a name generator to generate random names for each resource on the planet and give it attributes but that is another story). But a strong metal light source should require for example 1/2 iron bar (wich too would be a random name such as triqot bar wereas triqot has "strong metal" attribute). Once bashi is finished with a demo-engine i would be happy to try and implement this feature, i know some code, shouldn`t be too hard.

For example, i want a factory that should produce refined wood (wich then is a randomly generated name such as refined trezk) for other buildings and have these parts;

12Effective light source AKA "knarsk light"
4reinforced wood walls AKA "reinforced trezk walls"
2slow production device of strong metal AKA "slow production device made of trigot"

Lets say part 1 costs me

knarsk = coal = i need 12 knarsk
trezk = wood = I need 4 trezk
trigot = strong metal = 2 trigots

then 12 knarsk, 4 trezk and 2 trigots would be the final cost for me to build my building, so i would have to gather these resources. Or rather my population would need to gather these resources.

But maybe i would need reinforced trezk?!? That would require me to have another factory, of simpler demands to produce this resource. WIch in turn represent another problem. What fi the random generator generated a impossible production cycle? What we would need is to have the engine generate a list of "Basic resources" that should help build buildings to produce secondary resources. This i think would be out of my spectre to accomplish. But you get the idea (I hope).

To sum it up:

Random name generator for resources
Make the engine make a list of basic resources so no impossible resource cycles would come to be
In-game part editor
Import tool for the common 3d file formats (3ds. blend. and MAX.)

Please read before posting. Buildings will be created in the current Tech Editor.
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Here is for example a light source i just made in 5 minutes hurry.



Lets say this light source has a value of 10, and max value for the game is 100. (well obviously, as i came to think of, maybe my creatures doesn`t need such good light sources because they have evolved other means of sensing the world). They need 10 exactely to have maximum efficiency at the production facility. So then the game engine regocnises that it makes a value of 10 in light. And then since 10 is worth exactely 1 of the resource "Qwuarm" (yeah, new planet new randomly generated names ).

Here is qwuarm, it is a raw material that can be found in low land forests for example.



Well how would i get it? By myself? Not nesesarilly (eah wrong word, idc..), because maybe you could go send your tribe? Once they have gathered the resource, then you or they might build it.

But yeah, now i`ve pretty much done what i suggested in the upper post. SO thats the procedure right there.

Tenebrarum wrote:

Please read before posting. Buildings will be created in the current Tech Editor.
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