tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post6860341318965985124..comments2023-09-28T07:23:51.376-07:00Comments on ProjectPerko: Unbounded Construction: Construction ElementsCraig Perkohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13173752470581218239noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-6539444015516474442015-06-05T09:02:25.682-07:002015-06-05T09:02:25.682-07:00Well, you need a good scaffold for simulating them...Well, you need a good scaffold for simulating them, and that's not something that exists. Yet.Craig Perkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13173752470581218239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-86305513298788445252015-06-05T08:58:09.470-07:002015-06-05T08:58:09.470-07:00Creating characters takes a step back from being i...Creating characters takes a step back from being immersive, in that I feel that many people haven't made the leap to the idea that construction games can be about more than first-person immersive construction. You have to step away from the idea that survival mode with your character vs. the game's challenges is the be-all-end-all of Minecraft-alikes. Once I realized that you could create your own challenges, or operate on a larger level, this started making more sense.<br /><br />Vanilla Minecraft mostly still has the block as the largest unit of meaning, with some slight emergent effects (villagers and doors, skeleton spawners, spellbook libraries, redstone machines). Other games, like you've been talking about, have concepts of a unit larger than a block or module: e.g. Kerbal's ships still operate by modules, but it also has the concept of the overall rocket.<br /><br />Now that you've laid it out, it seems like an obvious next step to have the players make their own NPCs, and use those as construction blocks. I'm a little surprised that I can't think of any games that have tried it (aside from Sims-type stuff).Isaachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09981225682631417415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-85987176318120561542015-06-04T09:48:59.518-07:002015-06-04T09:48:59.518-07:00True enough! I guess without internall pressure b...True enough! I guess without internall pressure being modelled (or with sufficiently strong materials), a Space Engineers ship made entirely out of glass would only suffer when it came time to collide with something. But it might be a beautiful and creative masterpiece right up until then.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08978346889799219766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-25188335286708151382015-06-04T09:45:11.529-07:002015-06-04T09:45:11.529-07:00That's kind of the point. The focus on the phy...That's kind of the point. The focus on the physics of the building is a big constraint.<br /><br />I can tear out literally every hull block and replace it with a window in Space Engineers. It's easy and forgiving.Craig Perkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13173752470581218239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11758224.post-16475115704587823572015-06-04T09:43:23.045-07:002015-06-04T09:43:23.045-07:00"This unfortunately means that if you are bui..."This unfortunately means that if you are building in "physics mode", you can't simply tear out walls to replace them with windows: the building will collapse between those two actions."<br /><br />Well, to be fair, I don't think you'd want to do that even if you could temporarily pause physics. I imagine a "load-bearing window" would be a bad idea in general, even with today's building technology. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08978346889799219766noreply@blogger.com