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Starmourn Roadmap
Ilyos
Administrator, Moderator Posts: 96 Starmourn staff
Starmourn is a unique game in the Iron Realms ecosystem, and a unique game in the world of muds in general. As a science fiction text game with an active, hardworking development team, it is important to us that it be a standout example of the genre - and quite frankly, it is! But we have plans to take it even farther.
A few of the features we are the most proud of are:An intricate economy system
An engaging, fun hacking system
The magic of space and everything about it
Ship piloting, ship battles, ship resource gathering
New innovations in our unique PvE experience
A PvP system that is quite different from the other IRE games
Over the coming weeks, months, and years of development, we want to double down on these features and make sure they reach the level of polish and stability they deserve. Transparency is important, so we would like to make sure the playerbase of our game is fully aware of what we've been planning!
One of our main goals is system integration. We want our unique systems to feel less like distinct entities, and more like a seamless whole that works together like a well-oiled machine. It is important to us that the playerbase, whatever their main areas of interest (be it exploring, fighting, spaceships, etc) feels as though they can participate in the "whole Starmourn experience" without worrying that they are missing out on anything the game has to offer.As a standout example, we eventually want all areas of performance to link back towards what we understand as the game's economy. Colonizing an asteroid and setting up a refinery there would give you significant manufacturing boosts, but might also draw the attention of your competitors. Performing certain PvE tasks for your faction might give you mining bonuses for a while. Getting involved in PvP events that require you to hack into a corporation’s servers might allow you to funnel resources out of their accounts and into your own.
The above is just an example, one of many such concepts the development team has been discussing and experimenting with avidly since Starmourn's launch. These features, however, are not something that can be accomplished in a day or a month, but will grow over time as we update our existing systems and implement new ones. The development team strives for steady forward progress, while constantly tuning the existing game and adjusting things based on player feedback.The goals in the categories below are not in any particular order of importance, but we have determined that they are the things we would like to accomplish to provide a solid, CORE experience to the game. If something isn’t listed here, it doesn’t mean we aren’t thinking about it, discussing it, or planning it, but it would be impossible to put everything we have discussed or thought about into a "Development Roadmap" - there would be no end in sight!
So, without further ado, here are the "outstanding" development goals on our radar.
PVE
Make cover more appealing and useful
Improve evasion
A focus on social play (better crew/group dynamics, dynamic scaling)
Expansions to the main story line
Dynamically scaling instances and zones
Quest reward expansions
Daily quests/collaborative activities with factional implications (generally, ways to engage max/high level players who want an alternative to bashing but still want to remain within the PvE sphere.) (First batch implemented)
LEVEL UNCAPPING!!
Naturally, an ongoing expansion of areas and visitable planets
Cosmpiercer improvements (First batch implemented)
On-demand PvP areas/games - starting factional/individual conflict without the need of setting up/coordinating a large team to do so.
Open PK high-reward incursions
“Cargo mule” missions that allow piracy
Class improvements that would allow for more diverse stat setups
General WW improvements
ECONOMY
More uses for commodities
Improvements to the way you gather and availability of comms to better reward the time you spend doing those activities (Implemented)
Improvements to the MARKET
Better Faction strength and relevance in the economy of the world through activities that bolster/facilitate crafting and manufacturing
Improvements to the Economies of the world to make them more appealing and diverse and encourage you to leave the safety of the Omni processing area
TRADESKILLS
Shipmodding (for real!)
Modding in general to be revamped into a fun/useable system
Storefront improvements (Implemented, still a few to go)
Extra tradeskills based on what a lot of you have requested
CUSTOMIZATIONS
Ship customizations - really put your personal touch on how your ship looks and show it off to others (Implemented)
Weapon/Armor customizations
SHIPS
Space grouping and fleet systems for players
Extra ship modding and variety
More flexible PK rules
Economy-based NPC ships and police forces
Possible social elements for ship usage
HACKING
Level uncapping
More challenging hacking games - extra encounters, multi word passwords
Hacking being involved in factional conflict (see OnDemand PvP)
Hacking being involved in discovering the world’s lore and obtaining information
Hacker vs hacker PvP
COLONIZATION
Colonization of asteroids/planets for player worldbuilding
Bonuses offered to holding certain aspects of economical life on said colonies/establishments
Involved activities for colony expansion/maintenance
Conflict options for colonized space (takeovers, raids, hacks)
Starmourn will never stop evolving. We are aware some of the systems and improvements we are planning may turn out to look very different from what we originally envisioned based on your feedback as we develop them. However, it is important to us that you know we have goals we wish to achieve and a solid roadmap towards the future of the game. Ultimately, Starmourn is the player's game. We want it to take the shape which the majority of you will enjoy. We know it would be nothing without you contributing to making Starmourn a unique experience!
Thanks for reading, Starmourners. We’ll see you all in space!
- The Starmourn Team
Comments
PvE and PvP changes look good, especially with regards to group content. It's hard to do group content right now that isn't CPs/RP, and that's not good for a multiplayer game. Definitely support extreme incursions. If there's one thing aside from the economy (which isn't really my focus) that is killing retention, it's lack of crap to do beyond grinding alone.
Given IRE's style of uncapping, that doesn't worry me.
Ship customizations - I hate the limited ship room titles :<.
Although it's been confirmed in the past, I want to mention that quests/mule stuff should also include humdrum legal/nonpvp quests in space (find the lost dude, move the cargo, hack this thing in space, etc).
- Ilyos (August 2019)
Back then we had a small amount of brainstorming in the thread:
https://forums.starmourn.com/discussion/713/armormodding-corner
Regardless mods would provide a decent boost to the player economy and should gain priority in my opinion. They can be a solid reason for high level players to pay marks to low level players if some of the glaring problems with the skillsets are resolved.
- Ilyos (August 2019)