Geneforge 5 - April Update

[Student of Trinity]

This may be a bit premature, but:

 

intense e-mail discussions between Jeff and a group of early pre-beta testers has made it probable that G5 will include a certain simple multiplayer option. Discussion began from the fact that Jeff was going to include both the traditional Shaper classes and the rebel classes from G4, with separate starting points for Shaper and Rebel PCs and parallel plots strongly reminiscent of Nethergate. It became clear that two essentially separate plot threads would be relating to each other, and stored in parallel in every save file. At which point several of us simultaneously pointed out that there was no real need for the same player to complete both halves of the tale. At first Jeff balked, but at some point late last night, he suddenly took the ball and ran with it.

 

Many details are naturally still to be hammered out in testing, but this is the basic concept. Two players can take opposite sides of each chapter, then merge their save files before starting the next one. (Arranging a centralized server to handle this might be one side-benefit of the coming board overhaul.) Then each player can continue, with the other player's previous actions affecting the events they experience in the next chapter.

 

It's not clear how far this will eventually go. With more than two factions, perhaps several players will be able to combine. It may also be possible, at least on higher difficulty levels, for one or more players to die, permanently — in a sense. They will always be able to save-load and continue their own games, with the default plotlines, but their actions will have no further influence on the games experienced by the other players.

 

The last idea raised was that the final climactic battle would be a chapter all to itself, with preparations and basic tactical directions submitted in the final merged save file. So you would still only be fighting the AI, but it would be running the parties built up by your fellow player adversaries, including some of their basic strategic choices.

 

That last save file merge would be pretty complicated, especially with five factions competing. But Jeff's great brainstorm last night was that, once UBB is retired from running these boards, it will be available for repurposing as the multiplayer engine of Geneforge 5.

[Randomizer]

Jeff's still going to have to have a separate server for the players that go with the expert option areas as opposed to the basic game. Since those sections of the game allow you to gain the information and parts to build a GF1 type Geneforge you will have a much different game than the ending where you play with only traditional Shaper and canister enhanced Rebels.

 

Still this will quiet down the players that are demanding a MMORPG.

[Nioca]

If it wasn't for Randomizer, I might have fell for that. Still, it's nice to dream, right?

[Sudanna]

 

Jeff, thank you. Thank you for making the last Geneforge special.

[Lord Safey]

This would be great if it isn't an April Fool's joke(though I strongly suspect it is).

[Igor]

Not believing it.

 

For one, it's not Jeff. For two, it's 4/1.

[Enraged Slith]

All I could think while reading this was that Jeff was getting way over his head way too early in the project. Then, I realized what a fool I was. Booo!

[John S]

I started at the bottom of the thread and read upwards...

[Brock The Archmage]

*stares madly, then pinches self*

 

OMG I am not dreaming! SWEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nioca]

Brock, Nalyd: This was posted on April 1st.

[Sudanna]

Nalyd prefers to be disappointed. So this is believed.

[The Ratt]

I first believed this, but the common sense stuffed somewhere in the back of my head started saying that all the new work Jeff would be doing is rather unlike him, as well as taking a ton of programming.

[*i]

April Fools is now over...