I understand that Starbound has a lot more to do before we realize it's full glory, so this is based on my current understanding of the game. I feel like Starbound could feel extremely move vast and unpredictable if more things were procedurally generated. 1. Liquids -Color (Self explanatory) -Viscosity (How thick the liquid is) -Effects (Burn, Poison, Sticky, etc) (Maybe you could even find a planet that has some healing liquid that you could bottle up) -Boiling Point (Put a torch or something hot in the liquid, and maybe it will evaporate or something) -Clarity (Some liquids, maybe you can't see through) -Resistance (How well projectiles or something could travel through it These are just a few things I thought of that could all be randomized for different liquids. 2. Minerals -Color (Again, self explanatory) -Hardness(The rate at which the mineral is mined)(Also how strong armor is, if you choose to make armor out of it) -Resistance (Electricity, Fire, Poison, Ice) (Low resistance might mean good Conductibility/Combustion or energy storage) -Melting Point (Some metals should require more heat to melt it down. Which would make some minerals better as fuel.) -Malleability (How easy it is to craft the metal how you want it. The more malleable it is, the shorter amount of time it takes, maybe?) -Alloys (Mixing different minerals you find for better uses, constantly trying to make new alloys could be really fun.) With procedurally generated minerals, it makes crafting that much more cooler. You could craft an infinite amount of things depending on the minerals and alloys. This also gives the adventurer the feeling that there is always something better out there, driving them to keep going, in search for the next best thing. Also, with this method, it would get rid of the tier system you currently have in place. Which, in my honest opinion, feels very linear, and less fun. Don't get me wrong, I still really love the game, but I feel like the more things are randomized the bigger the game will feel. These are just a few of my thoughts, thanks for reading! Edit: As with a lot of procedurally generated sprites, you would have certain pieces created, for instance maybe 10 different variations of shoulder pieces, trimming, styles, etc. And it would just randomize,they would start off on the grey-scale, then the color palate would just depend on the color(s) of the randomly generated mineral. The cool thing about it being random is, they wouldn't have to reskin everything, the process would do it all for them. It'd be very similar to how they're doing mobs, just with armors and weapons etc. This would make it so there would be an endless amount of possibilities for anything crafted too.
Very sound idea. The more procedurally generated things on planets, the better. Even if the stats stay the same for certain metals, but the cosmetics change (e.g. A copper sword crafted from greenish copper on one planet would have the same stats as coppery copper from another)
I like the idea, but the problem with procedurally generated minerals is, how are the armor graphics to be done? Re-skinned versions of existing armors is still limited. I see flaws in the theory, but the idea would be pretty fun to have if it can be done / done right.
Oh that would be easy. As with a lot of procedurally generated sprites, you would have certain pieces created, for instance maybe 10 different variations of shoulder pieces, trimming, styles, etc. And it would just randomize,they would start off on the grey-scale, then the color palate would just depend on the color(s) of the randomly generated mineral. The cool thing about it being random is, they wouldn't have to reskin everything, the process would do it all for them. It'd be very similar to how they're doing mobs, just with armors and weapons etc.
I made a post on this exact same thing as well. Glad I have a partner who agrees lol. The liquids however, there are actually poison ponds, and stuff like that, but viscosity and healing liquid sounds like a great idea. Maybe even a quick sand liquid that sucks you under. The minerals and stuff were the focus of my post. I notice that someone here asked about how armors would work, and I thought it should be that the armor's color palette would be the same as the palette of the mineral itself, along with sharing attributes the random mineral should give. The actual look of the armor though would just be randomized as well, pulled from a bank of 100s of armor parts like how the weapons/enemies work etc.
Yeah, thats sort of how I imagined it. Like, if you've ever seen Borderlands, all of the weapons are made from a bank of a bunch of random different pieces.
I actually think the idea of different effects for the liquids is pretty cool especially some that you can bottle up and use for different things. Maybe poison you can apply to your melee(or even ranged) weapons. Not sure what you can use magma/lava for, maybe to speed up your furnace or something? And even a healing liquid for easily bottled "healing potions". Minerals I do see some issues, but still none the less very interesting ideas. Good job.
I can see this going pretty well if things are handled correctly. The various generations of liquids could be an interesting twist to the planets to make them ever more unique and, further more, I think it could result in adding some new intrigue to the game. If you would bottle up a healing water, why not one that harms? Why not produce poisons or effects that can be applied to weapons through those substances, allowing you to personalize your arsenal for a duration? It could be an easy way for players, early on, to gain an advantage where they may not have one and, later, make it so that you can create even better versions of those liquids (refine it with something, say, or use a station of some kind to make a more pure 'reduction' that has a stronger/longer lasting effect?) As for the metals this is another thing that could be done well as long as they make sure that certain metals 'share' properties on a more basic level. If you've got the chance of finding all sorts of metals but can't even find iron to craft an anvil then you'd be SOL! HOWEVER, if they did like Terraria in that certain materials can be substituted for others (lead for iron and what have you) then I could see this working out really well. It'd also be exciting to see how certain materials could, perhaps, have properties that make them better for crafting (you could use less of a material to make an item of the same quality, perhaps?) All in all it sounds like it'd add a lot more flavor to the title than it already has (and that'd be saying something.)
Take this idea and apply it to sectors for instance. With levels when you're done with a sector you never go back. But if weapons, damage, armor, monsters, minerals were specific to sectors, there would be an incentive to return or explore. Monster damage was based on the generated minerals that weapons were made of in a sector, armor protection was based on specific attributes to that sector, etc. Right now as the game stands, there are more planets and systems than I could ever hope to explore trapped in several sectors that I will never return to because I have no reason to. That feels like such a waste of space.
I hadn't thought of that, that would tie in very nicely to the original idea. Making the game even more vast. +1 But at the same time, that makes me think more, I just wish there wen't tiered sectors in terms of level. Rather, Leveled planets, 1-10, in each sector, you just have to be careful where you go. Each sector could have a slightly better chance at generating a certain type of mineral/weapon. So you constantly want to go back to random sectors. Not limiting yourself to the last one. Maybe everyone could even start in randomly different sectors too.
I rather like this. Having procedural generation apply to things you can make equipment, especially. That could make for much more interesting play, since there would be a good incentive to go exploring in not only finding materials with good attributes, but also ones that will give you the visual style you want. For example, "Wow...this metal makes really sharp, light swords! Why did it have to be red, though? I really want something in a light green...oh hey, I haven't been to that moon yet!" The one thing I can see being a concern is that someone could find a highly useful ore early on if their luck is good. Of course, that's where the "procedural" in "procedural generation" comes in, isn't it? It wouldn't be too hard to limit the potential bonuses for different materials based on threat levels, depth, sector, etc...
Maybe the progression could be handled with themed sectors, like FTL style. A pirate sector that has certain encounters and a type of difficulty but also contains certain loot. Then make sets of gear that are rare and random and themed so players have a reason to go looking for them. Like a gun armor set, or a 2h sword armor set, or a set that makes you stealthy, run slightly faster, jump slightly higher. That to me would be enough for me to keep playing. Would give people incentive to go back and forth between sectors. These types of sets could be useful everywhere, but have perks or a specific visual style and more could pretty easily be seeded with updates to keep people looking. Maybe the scope of the game is inappropriate to think about single items and instead think in terms of sets?
