Weekly update from the Parsec Frontiers team — Details about Trading and Warfare.
This week we will continue our dive into how the game is being designed and our focus will be Trading and Warfare. Perhaps something about aliens too, how likely is it that we are the only ones in the universe anyway?
Trading
Every colonized planet has a local exchange, so habitable planets will serve as Parsec Frontiers’ trading hubs. Here players can trade any resource, component, ship or title deed. They are given convenient displays to see the local common price range of all items in the game, as well as graphs for the price- and availability history of the object.
Trading on any exchange is permitted even from a distance, meaning players can research- and put up sales- and purchase orders on exchanges far away from them should they wish. Since supply, demand and pricing can vary greatly on different exchanges, this allows players to seek out better prices, or find hard to reach components even from a distance. However, the items will remain at the exchange where they were sold. The player must either transport it or hire someone else to transport it if it’s to be used in a different system.
This will create a very dynamic economy based on supply and demand. It will also open up opportunities for players that don’t want to be pioneers, warriors or rulers, but that rather want to work in fields such as transportation, infrastructure or speculation trade.
Warfare
Not all conflicts can be resolved through diplomacy, and players will occasionally be put in a situation where they resort to armed combat. Players can attack and defend strategic plots, resource extractors, construction sites and outposts. And in the depths of uncharted space, piracy is also an option for those ruthless enough. But the cost of defeat will be high, and engaging in combat is not something that should be done lightly.
Parsec is a game of tactical decision making, and combat will occur at a pace slow enough to think every action through. Captains will distribute their power across multiple systems which will make them more powerful and unlock new abilities that can be activated. They have to direct their shields as well as maneuver the hull of the ship. Simultaneously, they have to aim all weapons at enemy systems and hull location and fire them at the most appropriate time. Captains will try to gain the tactical advantage while targeting exposed or vital systems on the enemy ship with various offensive systems. Range and speed is a crucial factor, allowing more agile ships to reach a tactical position or make a hasty retreat.
Since players will fight over things that matter, it’s natural for many parties to gather at the same time. When players hire each other or unite for a common purpose, giant space battles can form. We will ensure that every ship has a purpose on the battlefield. Smaller ships are more agile than the larger battleships, while the larger ships have pure strength and systems that can protect a fleet of smaller vessels. It will take not just skilled pilots, but also brilliant admirals to coordinate the efforts and get the tactical advantage.
As players explore the depths of space, they will occasionally stumble across the relics of an alien civilization.
Ancient drones and weapon systems are a real threat when you explore systems where humanity hasn’t settled yet. But they are also a source of profit if you manage to destroy them and harvest their components. The ancient relics serve as a PVE component in the game. They will not randomly spawn, but rather new systems have a chance of containing their presence. So they function a bit like a resource. Once all hostile relics are cleared from a system it will be free from their threat. The relics will not be hostile towards players until after the end of the ‘non-aggression pact’. The most likely explanation for this is that they incorrectly assumed that humanity wasn’t a hostile race.
That’s it from us this week. Stay tuned for more updates.
Disclaimer
Parsec Frontiers has an open development, which means that we share much more information than what is typically viewed as standard in game development. For a blockchain game where the network owns the game, we feel this is the way it should be. We also think it is an exciting and more productive way to make games. But this also means that we will potentially share things which we later have to change, adjust or that are just plain silly. If we were not open for changing and iterate on ideas, then open development would just be a bluff.
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