At this point in V5, I am taking a break/pause to collect my thoughts, clear my head, read a book, etc. It is always good to step back and let the dust settle then come back and get a fresh perspective, seeing bugs and things you missed before. Also, I need to settle on a theme. I thought I was gonna do a pure fantasy sandbox game but I think I will get bored with it since it is what I been doing the past decade with V1/V2. So, I am taking some time to research a futuristic theme, like Galactic Venture.
- year 3000, space flight practical, a single capitol ship arrived (warped, folded, whatever) at an unexplored area of the galaxy with you and other NPCs on it
- system maps where you pilot a ship around. Stars, planets, nebulae, asteroids, comets, etc. all scale to show up in one space.
- celestrial body maps, like planets 400x400, have player movement
- ships, stations, bases, etc, have smaller maps, 20 to 100, with player movement. Moving player to a "pilot control" panel/desk/seat gives system map mode
- ship to ship combat would cause damage to tactical maps?
- still a simulation world where NPCs act like players and everything has an origin and consequences like:
- a space station can starve if no one delivers food to it
- nothing can be built unless the appropriate resource is mined/gathered
- every human NPC encountered started at mothership
- dynamic, custom ship design, add/remove components, like arming a player?
Would still have the feel of V1/V2 with skills.
Anyways, just some quick thoughts.