Mars Colony Frontier > Have your say on the new version
Suggestion for Improvement
LostMartian:
I haven't got around to playing Frontier yet (I've played plenty of challenger though), but I have some thoughts based upon what I've read.
Since the game doesn't do thing in terms of phases like its predecessor, players will probably be looking at the help section for information of how to produce specific goods, not general multi-purpose sections. Instead of looking for the biology section because they are on the biology phase, they might be looking for "How to grow fish", "How to grow algae", or "How to mine", etc. For instance, fish needs the fish processing and fish tanks modules, so you would need a subsection showing what base modules you need and why. Optional base modules like the kitchen (for storing and cooking of food) could also be listed. You also need items like fish eggs and fish food, so some mention of how to produce more and how to get more (if you run out) would also be handy. Then maybe do a subsection on what you need to do until you get a product. For instance, fish need to get placed in the fish tanks, given food, kept above freezing temperature, and then harvested when they come of age. Plants need a decent atmosphere, above freezing temperatures, planted in planters, and need to be fertilized and watered every so often, and then harvested and processed.
It might even be tempting to treat finding ores and mining ores as 2 different sections. You can't just put down an auger anywhere and just start mining. There is a whole process of finding ores before you can even mine. You not only have to do work to find the x and y coordinates to put the drill down, but you also have to figure out the depth too. Plus you can get credits for finding ores, so that is practically an end goal in of itself. You don't need augers and other stuff for that. You might save some confusion in the mining section, if the first thing you can say you need to find an ore deposit (see finding ores) before you can even start mining.
--- Quote ---5. Start to terraform Mars to make it more earthlike?
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That might be beyond the scope of the game. Maybe in a later in the series. From what I understand, there have been different games and prototypes for different stages of the series. One prototype (Explorer) starts you off with a rocket ship that just landed and you have to look for water as you're starting up the first base on Mars. Basically make a starting point where you can start the colonization process of mars and welcome people as they show up. Surveyor was unreleased but was about finding good sites for building new bases. Challenger involved making a base somewhere far from other bases, but with regular shipments of hardware and with most of the hard stuff figured out. You just had to build the base according to the blueprints (with some of it built between phases). Frontier is about what comes later once the shipments from Earth stop when Earth suffers from severe problems, forcing the Mars habitats to figure out how to survive without outside support.
You can look here for more info http://hyperkat.com/scratchbox/index.php?topic=895.0
--- Quote ---General Comment: 5000 credits to start game (allowing rover and 9 base modules to start) makes it too easy -- and too unrealistic. May want to have option of starting with less, thus having to work your way up more slowly. Some anyway will prefer this approach.
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Maybe. Or maybe its enough to prevent boredom. I find that even in Challenger that there are times when I had to sit in the base and do nothing for some reason or another. Maybe my radiation levels are too high and need to cool off before I start taking damage, or I'm still waiting for my plants to grow, or wait for anything worth doing. This is even with a fully functional base.
Mars_In_Ten:
Hi Lost, I agree Help sections needs attention in spots (partly along lines you suggest), but on other hand I've never liked it when everything was spelled out in specific detail. Part of fun on a new game is figuring out the details.
Phases of Game: It would be great if at some point, aspects of those earlier Phases (Explorer, Surveyor, Challenger) could be integrated into the Frontier game as start options. For actual Mars settlement enthusiasts (and there are many of us!), these earlier phases add considerable interest -- not necessarily in competitive multiplayer mode, but as a long term civilization-building game.
Initial Credit: Your point well taken. I was only suggesting lower amounts as game-start OPTIONS. Cheers, Andy
Mars_In_Ten:
Games Sales Table at Mars Society Conference: I'll be happy to set up a publicity/sales table for Mars Colony at this year's Mars Society conference, held this year in Washington DC, Sept 22-25, Catholic University campus.
LostMartian:
--- Quote ---Hi Lost, I agree Help sections needs attention in spots (partly along lines you suggest), but on other hand I've never liked it when everything was spelled out in specific detail. Part of fun on a new game is figuring out the details.
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I've watched some let's plays where some players really showed that they didn't know how to play these games. Some have thought that the separator was just for drinking water or that the sabatier was for making oxygen for the base. They didn't do well... Maybe watching those videos will make anyone think that all new players will need special help... Perhaps it is a coincidence that people who had trouble were the same ones making let's play videos.
Realistically, I think that competent workers and good help guides are important for any mission to Mars. The costs of sending a small team to mars will cost 10s of billions to 100s of billions of dollars. This number varies depending on the hardware used, what you intend to do, and how you intend to do a return trip (if that option is even on the table). With that much money involved, it pays to have people who know what they are doing and have the guides that the crew needs. Without, it would make the people in charge of the project look dumb. I think it would be more realistic if it wasn't hard for the players to get started as the people they are playing as should know this stuff. It is hard to make a good excuse for not hand picking the best. Maybe there should be stuff like a popup warning or reminder for players when they try to do something they should know better than do, such as trying to buy an auger before any ore deposits have been found. For instance, "You should try to find ore deposits before using an auger. See the help section for more details.", or something like that.
Edit: I don't mean to sound heavy handed, but I think it hurts immersion if characters don't seem trained for the job.
Hyper:
Adding web based help files now
http://www.hyperkat.com/marsfrontier.html hit the "Tech" button
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