NFS World-ish game (Submit your Automation cars!)

Suggest edits to the doc here

Just to make sure I’m not missing anything, can you guys make sure all these mechanics are nice and good, and that you guys think they are adequate. Also, if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes make sure to point them out.

It’s a Google Doc so you can suggest edits and whatnot. Also please suggest new cars if you’d like, I’m running out of ideas. The name isn’t final either, but most of the cars are.

I know the formatting isn’t quite there yet, I may change it later. For now it’s going to have to do.

By the way, I’m planning on using UE4 and mostly Blueprints when I can. The visual style will be low-poly, but high-def, similar to this picture:


Hey by the way, the guy who made this amazing picture has a whole album:
http://lmhpoly.com/gallery/

To add suggestions to the doc use this button

EDIT: I know this isn’t quite at the level of LMHPoly’s work, but here is what my game will look like. Roughly.


EDIT 2: New car, WIP

(OLD)

EDIT 3: Finished this muscle car, called the Ace Hellraiser


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Can you describe, briefly, what’s the Unique Selling Proposition of this game? Perhaps I don’t have quite the right perspective on this, but most of what I’m reading here seems like very standard racing game type of stuff. What’s going to make me buy your game? Describe a unique experience that I can have in your game, and nowhere else.

It sounds like your Unique Selling Proposition is the MMO aspect, especially in regards to all traffic being player-based, with no AI. If that is the case, then please expand on this! OK, so it’s MMO, what can I do with this? Can I challenge a random passerby to a race? Can different races intersect or interact with each other? If there’s no AI traffic, will there still be police? Is there a virtual economy where I can make money by upgrading cars and selling them to other players?

Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing new video game ideas and I’m super stoked that you’re actually working on this! But if you’re trying to pitch your game to me, what I see in the doc here isn’t going to cut it. Focus on your Unique Selling Proposition, really think hard about what makes it stand out and what gameplay mechanics you can build based on that.

For example, BeamNG.drive is unique because it’s a sandbox driving simulator built on advanced soft-body physics. Its ground-up approach to car modeling means that every car performs based on the physical interactions of its parts, so every car is truly unique. Its freeform approach to gameplay means that the player is allowed to choose their own goals in the game and is given the freedom to do whatever they like with their cars, which encourages experimentation and emergent gameplay with the car parts and their physics. For instance, you can swap a 1000hp engine into a FWD hatchback or you can go drifting with a cargo van. Or you can crash a car hard enough to detach a wheel and watch it roll away, then manually re-attach it while in motion and continue driving like nothing happened.

Now, if you can describe your game like that, then we can help you with ideas and suggestions that will really have an impact on the overall experience. What you have there is well and good, but that’s the kind of stuff that people already expect from a racing game. I’m not going to buy your racing game so I can have an apartment or go gambling, I’m going to buy your game because _____ (insert something awesome here). You need to have a solid grasp on the fundamental idea first, then you can work on the details like car lists or racing mechanics.

That Hellraiser looks hella sweet though! :slight_smile:

4 Likes

Well I mean since it’s an MMO the selling point is the multiplayer, so yes there probably will be impromptu races and more interaction between players.
Yes, races can intersect if they’re Sprint or Drift races (point to point). Circuit races are on closed tracks.
There probably will be no cops but I was thinking of giving veteran players the option to become cops.
I mean, most of the experiences you will have in this game will mimic NFS: San Andreas on most fronts as a multiplayer online social racing game, just with a different artstic style.
The mechanics of this game are basically just my “dream game”, so it’s not very realistic. Stuff is all over the place.

So how important is car modding in your game? Is that going to be implemented? I don’t really care if you do or not but was just wondering what your plan is for that because having that modding can definitely be a selling point if it’s done well but if it’s not gonna be a main part of the game I’d say don’t bother. Also I assume it’s going to be 3rd person driving only, is that correct?

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This is the MOST important part of the whole concept. What kinds of interactions are there between players? It’s not enough to simply have an MMO, you need to have things for players to do. I mean sure you can race with other players but I can do that in any game. How can you interact with other players in interesting ways? Your core gameplay mechanics should focus on expanding this aspect. If you’re not sure, then that is the kind of suggestion you should ask for.

For example, I really like the idea of having some players be cops. It’s not totally unique (it’s been done in The Crew Calling All Units, among others), but if you can combine that with a freeform and seamless gameplay integration, it would could offer some unique experiences. Imagine going into a street race and having no idea that cops are going to show up, and then realizing that the cops are intelligent human players who will stop at nothing to shut you down. That’s the kind of open-ended gameplay that would really make a race more intense and rewarding, and it would only be possible in your game.

5 Likes

@Sillyducky Read the doc for info on car mods. There are lots of them.
Yes, the game will probably be third person only, but if it was the interiors would have to be really basic, since I’m not the most skilled 3D modeler out there.

@phale Think of NFS World if you want a general idea of the interaction. Text and positional voice chat as well. You should also be able to change channels (for example talk only to your crew, or locally, or globally). I’m not sure what else to add in order to expand the amount of ways you can interact with players. Maybe a system that allows any player to sell anything on the auction (e.g a custom livery they made or a performance part) would be cool, but I don’t see the appeal of buying it off the auction rather than in the regular shops. I guess I’m going to have to up the price of everything in the regular shops then add a cooldown to the auction so it’s not the only thing people use to buy upgrades, and if it was, it would defeat the purpose of the regular shops.

On the topic of player-cops, I don’t want it done the way it was in NFS Rivals, since it felt redundant and bloated to have two different careers at the same time. It will probably be an option either at a very late stage of the game, at the start, or both. Also yes, they definitely will be able to interrupt street races and they’ll have a blip on their minimap so they know where the race is.

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Sorry for the double post, but I want this to be separate from the above one.

The current brands and cars have officially been scrapped - the models I already have will be used to make vehicles for Blockland. Please PM me at least a side, front, and back view of your car, using the Kee engine since there are buttons to make the camera move to these exact locations. You can also just give me the car’s file if you’re lazy like that.

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Can we give you an entire lineup? What about older cars? I have a few 70s and 80s ones that I think would fit in well

Sure, go ahead!

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You could do a hood cam just as easy as 3rd person. No need for inside cam in my opinion, but I always use hood cam if it’s available

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Sorta off topic, please include mirrors of some sort or a way to see behind you if you do a hood cam.

Yes, sure. Hood cam and bumper cam will be there and will probably be easier to implement than the chase cam. Also, mirrors will be there but most likely look similar to the one from Hot Pursuit 2010.

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I’m getting serious F2P wibes from how the game is structured, although many of the stuff that would cost a lot of in-game cash in F2P games is free here. You’re making an actual priced game without microtransaction bollocks, right?

I love the apartment idea, it gives the player some customization besides their car. Are you thinking to expand this idea to the garage, where the players could show off their cars and whatnot? Also, will the players have unlimited garage space, or is there a limit? If there is a limit, will the player be able to expand their garage space by buying more/larger apartments/garages or by upgrading the old ones?

Also, all kinds of small stuff like the car meets and gambling give a nice touch to the game. They give something blended in between the racing and tuning and cursing at the cops. I’d like to see more of this small side stuff. Be wary though, if overdone, they’ll take the center stage instead of the racing and tuning. (sorry but I actually don’t have any ideas for these side activities)

Is controller support possible? I prefer a controller with my car games.

I’m already thinking about what cars from my company I could suggest to you, not giving anything yet, I’ll have to fix them up a little bit :smile:

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Also, what about actually mixing your car ideas with Automation cars?

Here I currently have two cars, made by me. You can choose them together if you want separately, how you want (and if you even want to feature them) :stuck_out_tongue:

Will add also more cars too in time.

Also, this EDIT 2 yellow car is just beta Ace Hellraiser, yep?

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A question for submitting our cars, what info do you specifically want? Like do you just want screenshots of the design and the stats? Cause if so, tempting to send over some Volta’s

You already got a Conan! XD I will be submitting some of the designs for sure. :slight_smile:

I have a perfect car for something you might buy at the start of the game. My little Fahrzeug C1 from 1973!

In game it would probably be like $500

Yeah I didn’t realize Conan was already a car company in Automation, lol

Specifically I want a front, back, and side view of your car. Maybe some stats would help, but it’s not required.

EDIT: Yes, the yellow car is an old version of the Hellraiser. It won’t make it into the game, neither will the new version.

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Do you want the cars submitted by DM or some other way?

I don’t have a preference.
EDIT: Damn, I guess it died. I’ll just model one of mine.
This one: