CarWars/AutoDuel MMORPG

Also see: Post Apocalyptic Driving for ideas inspired by this page.

Note: This set of ideas was not as fully hashed out as Ecliptic. However, there is information leading me to believe a driving-based MMOG might be much more marketable than a space-based game. Here CARpaper is the raw original whitepaper I drafted in Summer 02, after much of the discussion here fleshed out material below.

Istvan 4/5/02 - I asked for more specific marketing information from the source that originally asserted that an online driving game might be more viable than space. What I got back was mostly worthless and imprecise. I'm going to have to do my own research, and I encourage curious fellow SDx folks to investigate and form your own opinions. I'm downgrading the idea that "driving may be more viable than space" to "rumor" until I can prove otherwise.

Setting: Post-apocalyptic near-future.

Environment: A group of partially-devastated modern cities and the surrounding countryside.

Backstory elements: Numerous significant corporations, one or more local governments. One or more ongoing brushfire wars, or altercations planned to be in progress at any time, with city enclaves as "safe zones". Large-scope ongoing projects sponsored by nonplayer or even player Orgs which players can participate in and move toward completion.

Features:

• realistic driving model
• role-playing "cafe" environments
• modular vehicle design engine using prefab parts
• living economy including used equipment, equipment decay, player manufacturing, player-run services
  • salvage and scrap dealing a major segment of the economy
• sociopolitical engine dynamically adjusting relationships of non-player entities over time
• player organization support including incorporation of player orgs within the overall sociopolitical engine
  • several major organizations and racing leagues within each city-state
  • player-run businesses including
    • autobody / paint / window glass
    • chassis repair / replacement / used cars
    • tires / armament and armoring / electronics
    • gas stations / salvage
• interactive mission engine in which governments, corps, and individuals all create and execute mission tasks
• dynamic environment driven in part by cumulative mission result events
• vehicle systems/component damage possible as result of combat
• on-the-fly communication channels/groups
• limited custom paint/decals for customization of player / player org property
• hybrid skill system combining player control with a limited number o fcharacter "stat" skills
  • skills allow modification or construction of equipment, modification adds functional value
  • modification process is a puzzle "minigame", not an automatic or skill-driven function
  • driving and combat functions performed manually by player/interface interaction
• numerous modular outfitting options for vehicles and buildings, reducing "cookie-cutter" phenomena
• destructible infrastructure
• built-in gameplay "safety features" including
  • NO character death - player-object is an indestructible "cockpit pod"
    • if a car is destroyed, penalty is the need to purchase and outfit a new vehicle, and the time required to be retrieved back to where a vehicle can be obtained
    • BOTH player missions and non-player tow trucks to retrieve derelict vehicles for a fee
    • players waiting for pickup can link to businesses and perform online transactions - goods will be waiting
  • open city tracks for practice and for formal events; some players might spend all their time playing in the city leagues
    • racing tracks: practice would be like open time trials
    • dueling tracks: practice would be like open free-for-alls
  • player accounts are registered with a "license number" for in-game ID functions
    • each city-state is a licensing authority - choosing origin city part of character setup
  • non-player driven repair mechanisms for critical infrastructure, including as-needed mission spawns
• team driving features ("I got shotgun")
• "Downtown Militarized Zones" - non-policed areas within city limits
  • more challenging for new players than for veterans, but much safer than open countryside, with benefit of nearby refuges
  • fulfills need for graduated threat level

Issues:

• "Car Wars", "AutoDuel" and related concepts is probably intellectual property of Steve Jackson Games.
• if fuel is a primary resource, where is the supply coming from?
  • JDH In the MadMax vein fuel could be the most precious commodity and you'd need an escort of fighter vehicles to protect a tanker making delivrey to heavily fortified fuel supply depots.
• economy must handle wholesale and retail aspects
• modification of standard equipment requires a progression of diminishing returns
• infrastructure: one city, one server, plus additional "countryside" server
• what if some of the wars outside the cities included Ogre cybertanks? Might help pull in the SJGames license.
• running a business should include obtaining sanction form orgs which will recommend the business to their members
• what about "internal advertising" of real products?

Commentary

JDH Somehow I missed this when it was first posted. Of course I love the idea ;-) I've never played [Car Wars] but I guess it's an RPG of the MadMax post-appocalypse genre - right? If we could develop something and wanted to get heavy hitters and big money involved then I'd approach Hollywood and market it as a MadMax tie-in and not as an electronic version of Car Wars. This might prove to be a simpler project because there'd be a lot less "environmental questions" to answer than a space sim - and I agree that it could make a splash in the MMOG world - plus there's a lot less competition. Of course it's kind of counter to what a lot of others on the team want. Any other comments?

Wegiz The more I think about this game idea, the more I love it. Naturally, I'm a car nut, so that helps. Seems like it's a less busy market for a new game, perhaps a little more difficult in that the world would require more detail to make it realistic -- Outerspace is pretty easy to draw. The ultimate car could even be a "Spy Hunter" like vehicle, complete with oil slicks, inflatable tires for traversing over water, and a bumper mounted submachine gun.

DJH I'm more interested in working on an interesting game than I am interested in working on an interesting space game. Over on The Shape Of The Game I mentioned having worked on a semi-RP dice-based game we called Death Highway. It was only semi-RP because there was no GM - it focused only on the battles themselves, but the characters did persist from session to session and they gained experience / power. We had to deal with various issues of playability and physics. We had machine guns, rocket launchers, armor, computers, rams (this was lots of fun, particularly with spar torpedoes!), rocket boosts, drag chutes, ejection seats, and probably other things. It remained one of our favorites from high school through college. I think this sort of game could work well in the MMORG environment.

JDH Lest you think a car simulation be simple - check out the following [The Physics Of Racing]

Istvan [Car Wars] itself is a classic tabletop game not unlike Battletech. The "AutoDuel" RPG environment derived from it, but the "load up your chassis with some machineguns and hit the road" game came first. I deeply love the idea of creating an ideal space game about the near future of our solar system, for several idealistic reasons, but I'm nearly convinced that a MMORPG driving game might very well have more success - especially if there was a basic racing or dueltrack arena inherent in the environment (allowing players to avoid the "RPG world" in large part if they wanted to). Look at JumpGate, folks. Two servers, about 500 users online at peak hours, each. They can't be making money, they just can't. And Star Wars:Galaxies and EVE are going to rip their user base away in the not-too-distant future. Now, I think some of the design decisions about a space game can be carried into a car game - but the fundamental issue is going to be dealing with the folks who will want to get out of the car and walk around.... I would expect there's a hell of a lot more work involved in the 3D modeling and animation of people, than there is in the polys involving spacecraft or even cars... I'd try to restrict the gameplay to being car-based - just like the space game would be spaceship-based - but I don't know how feasible it really is to draw that line without instantly reducing the game's appeal....

JDH I think you're right about both wanting to restrict it to in-car only and reducing the game's appeal. Perhaps we could be post appocalyptic after a germ warfare and it's just too risky to get out of the car? (Kind of lame and really easy to shoot holes in I know). Personally I'd do a dueling demolition derby arena, a race track and a mission system all rolled together (or should that be role'd together?)