Sector Map and Ranking System

2024-07-08

While I have not posted in the last few weeks, I have been hard at work implementing the meta-game in eXoSpace. The meta-game ties the combat encounters together and provides progression: unlocking new modules to build with and increasing rank to build bigger ships. This work has been a bit of trial and error before settling on something that really works and is fun to play.

Sector Map

First, the sector map is where you begin the game. You can see enemy fleets and bases, and choose your next target. I'm working on adding more variety here, such as incoming attacks and different types of enemy encounters:

Prestige and Rank

In addition, after completing an encounter, you can gain prestige. If you have enough prestige, you can increase your rank within the eXoSpace organization, which brings important benefits: authorization to build larger ships and a new module to build with (you can choose from one of three each time you rank up).

Ship Size Limit

I have implemented a limit on the number of modules you can add to a ship. This limit increases when you increase rank. While I know that having no limits is often more fun when building, a limit like this is needed to make balancing the game possible and provide a sense of progression.

Collecting Metal

I also added a resource to the game: metal. Metal is needed to build your starbase and ship and can be collected by destroying enemy ships (and as a reward for some special missions). Metal is best understood gameplay-wise as your "lives." If you run out of metal, you will be unable to fix your starbase or replace your ship (if it is destroyed), and it will be game over (or you will have to go back to simpler encounters to gather metal; I'm not definitive on that yet).

Big, Small, Cheap, or Expensive?

Having these gameplay mechanisms allows for some interesting choices when designing ships: will you go for a ship that is large and uses cheap low-level modules, or a smaller high-tech one? Will you manage to build a small yet cheap vessel that can be lost without costing you much, or will you go all-in and build a (nearly) indestructible battleship that you cannot afford to lose?