e437a18121
Vision, requirements, tech stack, and phased roadmap for the space survival game, plus Unreal-appropriate .gitignore/.gitattributes and Git LFS setup.
54 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Vision
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## Elevator pitch
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A multiplayer space survival game: crew a ship you build and maintain, warp across
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a galaxy of star systems, land on planets to explore and gather resources, and build
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persistent bases — both a space station and planetary outposts — as a shared base of
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operations with other players.
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## Reference pillars
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Three games anchor the scope. Each contributes a pillar; none should be copied wholesale.
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| Pillar | Reference | What we're taking |
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| Modular ship construction & survival systems | Space Engineers / Empyrion | Grid-based building, power/thrust/hull as real systems you maintain, not cosmetic |
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| Procedural galaxy & planet landing | No Man's Sky | Seed-based generation, seamless-feeling landing, exploration-driven discovery |
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| Galaxy-scale travel | Elite Dangerous | Star map, jump/warp travel between systems, a galaxy big enough to feel unbounded |
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## Scope reality check
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Read this before getting attached to any specific milestone order.
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**Persistent shared-world multiplayer**, **full grid-based ship construction**, and
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**seamless procedural planets** are each, individually, the kind of feature a funded
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studio spends 1-3+ years getting right. Combined, and solo, this is a multi-year project
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even at hobbyist pace. That's not a reason not to build it — it's a reason to be
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deliberate about sequencing:
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1. **Architect for the full vision, build the small vision first.** Every system below
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is designed so it *can* scale to persistent multiplayer and a full galaxy, but the
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early phases run single-player or session-based, with one hand-built system and one
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or two planets. See [04_ROADMAP.md](04_ROADMAP.md).
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2. **Cut scope at the hardest problems on purpose, not by accident.** The two hardest
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technical problems here are (a) truly seamless space-to-planet-surface transitions,
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and (b) a persistent world server that doesn't require you to run a 24/7 fleet alone.
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The tech stack doc calls out the pragmatic version of each (instanced landing zones,
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system-sharded servers) so you have something shippable, with a documented path to
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the more ambitious version later.
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3. **Revisit ambition at each phase boundary.** It is completely reasonable to decide,
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after Phase 3 or 4, that a session-based co-op game (players host, invite friends,
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world doesn't need to persist on your infrastructure) is the right final scope rather
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than a persistent MMO. That decision gets easier once you can see the game running.
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## Core pillars (functional)
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- **Fly & fight** a ship across open space in a galaxy of star systems.
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- **Build & maintain** that ship from modular components with real systems (power,
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thrust, life support, hull integrity) that degrade and require upkeep.
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- **Warp** between star systems via a galaxy map.
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- **Land & explore** planets on foot (or surface vehicle), gather resources, encounter
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hazards.
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- **Build bases** — a space station as a persistent home base, and planetary outposts —
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that you and other players can return to, expand, and defend.
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- **Play together** — multiple players sharing ships, stations, and eventually a
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persistent galaxy.
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