The Ecliptic Project

Setting: The actual solar system, about two centuries into the future.

Environment: Solar system "orrery" as accurate as possible using the 10,000 largest bodies, adapting NASA data in the public domain. Random or interpreted asteroid surfaces. Potentially random trans Neptunian objects, or include the 500 largest substituting for smaller asteroids in the database.

Backstory elements: Several major political entities, numerous significant corporations, including an Earth government, a Lunar Colonial Authority, a Mars Colonial Authority, a Belt government, and one or more Outer system governments including one governing the Jovian moons and one governing Saturn and beyond. One or more limited wars, police actions, or altercations planned to be in progress at any time. Large-scope ongoing projects sponsored by nonplayer or even player Orgs which players can participate in and move toward completion.

Physics violations: Basic instantaneous communication by nonphotonic "ansible". A limited "paraspace gate" network to drastically reduce travel times between hubs of activity. Minimal network to include gates located: Cislunar space serving Earth-Luna, Mars orbit, three in the main asteroid belt at 120 deg orbital separation, one in Jovian orbit among the Galiliean moons, one in Titan orbit. Potential additional gates at Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, with gate creation and opening being a normal game activity making new regions easily accessible. Paraspace explained in technobabble as a spacelike domain with nonlinear relation to Einsteinian space. Einsteinian gravity wells "expand" paraspace, absence of gravitic effects "condense" it. Ships enter paraspace through a gate, and travel across paraspace to another gate, where they exit having crossed potentially considerable distances in realspace. Geometric relationships are maintained, so motion of gates in realspace affects relative position in paraspace. Interstellar paraspace gates are possible, limited in that gates may only be opened from realspace to paraspace. Therefore, interstellar missions pushing a small gate facility to nearby stars have already been launched. Others are being constructed and will be a potential focus of player activity. Arrival and activation of gates at Barnard's Star and Alpha Centauri planned to occur subsequent to game release as player population pressure crowds Sol System, creating a "new frontier" effect as needed.

Features:

• Newtonian flight model limited by output of drives and fuel tankage
• stations, orbital platforms, and satellite facilities scattered throughout environment
• modular ship design engine using prefab hulls but including prebuilt designs
• sociopolitical engine dynamically adjusting relationships of non-player entities over time
• player organization support including incorporation of player orgs within the overall sociopolitical engine
• limited custom paint/decals for customization of player / player org property
• living economy including used equipment, equipment decay, player manufacturing,
• 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
• tactical but non-joystick-based ship-to-ship combat, with ship systems/component damage possible
• on-the-fly communication channels/groups
• basic player roles of vessel owner/captain or station administrator
  • players may choose to commit their vessel to a military tour, or operate as a civilian
  • privateering and piracy possible, also criminality features relating to political engine
  • military option creates more constraints on behavior, but is action-oriented and potentially temporary
• numerous modular outfitting options for vessels and stations, reducing "cookie-cutter" phenomena
• destructible infrastructure, including the paraspace gates themselves
• built-in gameplay "safety features" including
  • BOTH player missions and non-player towships to retrieve derelict vessels for a fee
  • optional character death, default is retrievable escape pods, player may choose to pay another player or the nearest government for pickup
  • map edge governed by reasonable travel times, not physical obstructions
  • purchasable insurance for ships and equipment
  • ship transponders for identity and other records, deactivatable if player wishes to be treated as potentially hostile
  • non-player driven repair mechanisms for critical infrastructure, including as-needed mission spawns
• under consideration: non 1-to-1 timescale relationship with realtime clock

Ulterior Motive

By attempting to build a playable game using (A) as accurate a solar system model as possible, (B) choosing to build a near-future background, and (C) using realistic physics whenever possible (using realistic, feasible weapons and motive power, rather than "gee-whiz" fantasy stuff), it was my hope to characterize the game within the entertainment spectrum not too terribly far away from "teaching tool". Compare Sierra's "Caesar" and "Pharoah" strategy simulations, which combine historically accurate elements into playable games, and which might inspire interest (as well as provide some cultural instruction within their encyclopedic help systems). My motivation was not only to make a great game, but to potentially inspire a generation of game-players to be space enthusisasts, and for the younger ones, perhaps to be scientists and engineers.

Part of my thinking was to collaborate with nonprofit organizations such as [The Planetary Society] or [The mars Society] for semi-free mutual publicity. Information on their organizations would be linked from the game sites, while the game's technical and scientific accuracy might garner mention on their sites or other publications. If nothing else, public donation of some small fraction of game revenues might generate some meager publicity, on the order of "$1 from your monthly subscription to the game goes to support space science and real space programs".