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G2G vote: Endless Space 2 Quest Creation Contest, Step Two!

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8 years ago
Jun 15, 2016, 5:28:39 AM
Frogsquadron wrote:


No problem with your structure. Maybe you could beef up the narrative part? For the moment there's the gameplay bit of your event, but not much of the substance that would make it compelling. :)




Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking about a story. The problem is that the story I had in mind didn't fit the criteria. I have come up with with an alternative though.
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8 years ago
Jul 6, 2016, 8:42:44 AM

Comments will from now on be posted directly on your entry (we'll be moving the leftover comments here shortly if they haven't been addressed yet).


EDIT: Make your submissions in the Contest section of the forums! :)

Updated 8 years ago.
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8 years ago
Jul 5, 2016, 8:45:11 PM

I edited my post after suggestions from Frogsquadron, I just wanted to know if any additional changes need to be made to qualify, will the requests be posted here or at the new forum?

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8 years ago
Jul 5, 2016, 8:01:29 PM

Hi there,

I'm wondering if my entry has been deleted or just lost?

(I still can see it in my profile)

Updated 8 years ago.
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8 years ago
Jul 5, 2016, 4:15:16 PM

The contest is still going forward. However, we will now ask you to make your submission over here, where people will be directly able to comment on them!


The deadline is this Friday, at noon. We'll update you guys on social media to keep everyone informed!

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8 years ago
Jun 18, 2016, 7:40:08 PM
Frogsquadron, I edited my original post with changes, please let me know if I need to change more, thanks! :D
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8 years ago
Jun 17, 2016, 3:00:17 PM
I don't think we can afford creating a whole new tech line specifically for this event. However, it could be possible to fit this within the current tech tree. I will have to ask quaedam how we can work with this idea and get back to you. (Not sure about some of the objectives either. We'll see! :) )
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8 years ago
Jun 16, 2016, 12:10:23 PM
Froggod wrote:


Should I unlock a TYPE of support module on ships? OR can I add a support module to all the ships in the fleet (this too much?)

Also are there fleet technologies? Like the ones in ES1 that added tonnage to ships etc? or should I make that a random Industrial tech unlock?




There is no tonnage/capacity or anything, but there are fleet-related technologies. In general, I'd recommend you just suggest something and we'll adapt it as close as we can. :)
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8 years ago
Jun 15, 2016, 3:15:37 PM
Hey, other Frog..

I edited mine but I'm not sure about the techs and fleet mechaniques in the game. any help would be appreciated :)
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8 years ago
Jun 15, 2016, 1:39:40 PM
Lynx_gnt wrote:




Objective 4: (Your smiley: science production must be >(x) to choose this option)





Cool idea, but prerequisites to choosing an objective are a bit too restrictive, so we'll be doing without them.



Your quest is pretty neat and not much to say on issues it has, except the following two:

- You offer 3 choices, one in chapter 1, and two in chapter 3. Even if the player is effectively confronted to only two of these, that's still one too many for the boundaries of this event. :p

- "+ Diplomatic relations increase" with another non-AI faction would be problematic (there is no way of forcing a human player to like your empire), so +Influence or an improvement with a Minor Faction would be a more suitable alternative. :)



Hope this helps!
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8 years ago
Jun 15, 2016, 10:15:02 AM
My first post is updated. If something story-wise or gameplay-wise must be changed, please point it out.
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8 years ago
Jun 15, 2016, 8:59:08 AM
duo_ wrote:
i never considered using a minor faction because i don't know how minor faction interaction would look like. also i liked the consequences and physiological questions that this posed and i tried to set the quest up so that while some things changed the plot went back to were it started. how about this can i submit another version in the same post, only one could be entered but both could be viewed to see which it better?




If you are looking for feedback from others, you can have both versions in one post, but eventually before next Wednesday you'll have to make a choice, as we won't make it for you. :)







EndlessCrashes wrote:
Perfidious Probes: Part 1





Amplitude, please let me know I my quest has any issues and I will try to fix them. Thanks! :D






Oh boy, that's a dramatic turn of events! However, there are a few issues with your quest. Nothing that can't be changed, but these probably mean we explained things in a limited manner.



Quests are, like in Endless Legend, things that you have to want to progress through, otherwise they'll just sit in your quest book and go unheeded, simply because the risk for them to mess up your life in a big way is too strong. We want quests to be engaging, and for players to want an extra chance of doing something cool. There is potential with yours, but we gotta take a look at these first:



- Your quests has one choice to make, but absolutely no objectives to accomplish. Objectives are "go there with a fleet" or "get at least 1000 Science per turn for 5 turns" or "build a ship" or "colonize a planet" or "assign a Hero there", etc. Things that actually lead the player to do an action. Choices are fine, but they should be between "investigate the threat while preparing for anything [BuildtwoSciencebuildingsandatleast3militaryships]" and "prepare for peace [Buildapprovalimprovementsandenactatrade-favoringlaw]", not "prepare for peace [clickthatchoice]" or "prepare for war [clickthatotherchoice]", because then it requires no investment on your part. :)

- Your rewards are mostly effects, not rewards. See this post by quaedam for an explanation (I have to say I got her to write it because it can be tricky to wrap your head around the difference, but there's one!)

- You get to ally with another empire without giving them a choice. That is a bit of a problem as this quest wouldn't allow the other player a choice, which would be an issue in multiplayer!

- The end result is super hyper mega dramatic. If I got the bad ending as a player, I'd just let the quest sit in my quest log and never want to complete it again, so just not make a choice in the first place. A pity! :)



(but we like any and all references to sci-fan, historical fiction, even actual history and pop culture, just to make that clear!)



Hope this helps!
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8 years ago
Jun 8, 2016, 2:29:14 PM





Quest Creation Contest, Part Deux


The first question we asked you to answer in order to narrow down the scope of the contest was: what type of quest do you want to create? The vote was clear, all you space explorers were interested in creating a Solo quest!






Because a solo quest involves a little less interaction and should present fewer implementation challenges than co-op, we've decided to give you more leeway, with a quest comprising up to three chapters. What's a chapter? A chapter is basically a step, it has objectives that you need to accomplish, sometimes gives you choices. Let's look at an example:



[table="width:800,align:center"]

Title

The Price of Freedom


Description

"In the midst of a small asteroid belt, your scouts have discovered a tiny, abandoned space station. You find no clue as to the identity of its creators, but as your ships approach, you discover that the station is repeatedly broadcasting a single, cryptic, message.

The message is a crude holographic star chart, indicating a distant point in the galaxy. The point is labelled "Free Rocks Here."


Free rocks here?"


Objective01

Reveal the indicated Node.


Outcome

You've reached the location marked on the map. As promised, there are free rocks available. Hooray?

Gain 10 Titanium

Title

The Price of Freedom: Part 2


Description

"While loading up on free rocks, your crew decrypted another signal--this time originating from a nearby barren planet. Take Rocks And Go Away, it reads.

Something tells you not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, but your scanners are picking up strange signs of activity on the planet. Perhaps you owe it to your crew to find out who these mysterious rock philantropists are."


Objective02

Send an Expedition to the indicated Curiosity on [targetplanet]… if you think it right.


Outcome

Searching the planet has proved rewarding: you find a small cache of Dust, but the barren landscape appears to hold nothing else of interest.

Gain 200 Dust

Title

The Price of Freedom: Part 3


Description

"As your expedition party prepares to leave, your camp is finally approached--by a solitary, eight-foot-tall Plume. As your men and women gather around, the friendly Plume reveals that the planet is home to a vast subterranean population of Plumes, only a decade or two into spaceflight. He explains the largest ecological issue facing their generation: they believe that the growing population of Plumes is making the planet too heavy, causing it to inch closer to the sun. Plume climate-change activists are urging for increased offloading of the planet's heaviest rocks.


Before he can finish, a loud rumbling heralds the arrival of more Plumes--and these don't seem nearly as friendly.


"Get off... my… PLANET!" bellows the leader. He hefts a large boulder and hurls it at you, scattering your crew."


Objective03

Survive the battle… if you can!


Outcome

Your forces have slain a few of the most aggressive Plumes and driven off the rest, but your friendly Plume seems to have slipped away in the confusion. You depart the planet in a pensive mood, your ship laden with an extremely heavy "metal thing" that your friendly Plume left you as a parting gift.

Gain 150 Hyperium

[/table]


This is a fairly straightforward type of quest, with linear narration. You can choose other types of scenarios, up to a limit of 2 choices per chapter in 2 chapters.




The event above follows the narrative structure of the picture on the left.





YOUR SUBMISSION MUST HAVE

  • A name (50 characters max). The name will be the same from one chapter of the quest to the other, like Event X, Event X Part 2, etc.
  • A description (500 characters max).
  • Up to three chapters, comprised of only one step (objective) each
  • An objective, or a choice between two objectives to accomplish per chapter. The objective is a descriptive text ("Explore planet X") (150 characters max per objective). You have up to a limit of 2 choices per chapter in 2 chapters.
  • A description for the outcome of each objective, with a target and duration if applicable (instant, or X turns; on hero, system, planet, fleet, empire, etc.), eg: +X approval on System for 10 turns (250 characters max)
  • Please provide a graphical representation of your event showing its narrative structure. Feel free to inspire yourself from the two structures shared above. It doesn't need to be pretty, we just want to make sure we don't misunderstand what's going on. :) 




GUIDELINES & ADVICE

  • You are limited to one submission. Please also note that we will only accept submissions posted in English.
  • If you want to modify your submission, please edit your post (don't repost your submission)
  • This quest can have several possible outcomes. If you offer several outcomes, make sure there isn't an obvious "worse" choice!
  • KEEP THE CHAPTERS AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE! If your quest is convoluted because you're trying to fit in an 8 chapters quest in 3 chapters, it won't work.
  • It's a solo quest. Outcomes should only involve the recipient of the quest (no "eliminate X population on random enemy system").
  • Outcomes should be limited to one per step of the quest. Find what your event is about and make it count.
  • You cannot participate if you have already won a previous Endless Space 2 creation contest. The list of winners so far is o0ber and Epikuros. Feel free to give feedback on one another's events! 




DEADLINE

Submit your ideas before June 22nd. We’ll be closing the thread at midday (CEST). We will then put all submissions that meet the required criteria to a multi-entry vote (where you can support several ideas), from which the three most popular will be selected for the G2G vote.



PRIZE

The lucky winner will receive the following:


  • Your name in the game credits.
  • An Endless Space 2 t-shirt that will be the envy of your friends.
  • Two copies of the game when it comes to Early Access, for you and a friend! 


CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR SUBMISSION



Please note that Amplitude reserves the right to modify the proposals and will work with the winners to finalize the design and adapt it to development constraints. Modifications might affect descriptions, scope or outcomes. 



Good luck to everyone!




EDIT : Answering questions on the contest:



HappyHead wrote:
Can there be an element of chance in one of the chapters?
Like, say there's a coin toss in the very first chapter and the result leads down one of two different paths.



Yes, you can have an element of chance. :)



Lynx_gnt wrote:
So, objectives are not supposed to be only "do something / sometime / somewhere / somehow", but player can just choose between two options? (like a Dilemma)



There can be options, but these options lead to something that the player has to accomplish. In this case, for instance, the objective to accomplish is paying something, which could lead to having to gather said resources, etc. In general if there's an element in your quest you're not sure about, just put the question at the end of your message and we'll try to address it ASAP. :)


quaedam wrote:
Hey guys ;D
Some clarifications on differences between Quests and Events.
As you know, Quests have objectives, which means that the player needs to do something to complete the quest, contrarily to Events, where the player can only suffer the effects.

About Effects and Rewards: this is probably the most confusing part.
Events, indeed, have effects: increase or decrease FIDSI production, spawn an enemy fleet, immobilize a fleet, etc.

Quests however, have rewards:
Because the player completed an objective, they receive something (interesting and useful preferably :D )
This something has no “duration” (contrary to the effects :) and the player is able to decide where and when they want to use this reward.

Some examples:
•Technology
•Strategic Resources
•Luxury Resources
•Ship modules (support/defense/attack)
•Star System Improvements/ Buildings or Wonders
•Armies
•Hero Skills (very rare)
•Hero Modules
•Dust
•Influence points
•Diplomatic relations increase
Updated 8 years ago.
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8 years ago
Jun 14, 2016, 5:15:30 PM
Frogsquadron wrote:
Thematically however, we might change the story's setting to be that of a Minor Faction asking for help, or something else, as the events depicted in your quest have far-reaching consequences in terms of plot (city levelled by an asteroid, civil war..) but no bearing on gameplay (no bad stuff of any kind). I could see this more easily happening to a neighboring Minor Faction since in terms of gameplay you are more detached from events happening in their society.




i never considered using a minor faction because i don't know how minor faction interaction would look like. also i liked the consequences and physiological questions that this posed and i tried to set the quest up so that while some things changed the plot went back to were it started. how about this can i submit another version in the same post, only one could be entered but both could be viewed to see which it better?
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8 years ago
Jun 14, 2016, 3:09:23 PM
You could fairly easily rework this quest into something keeping most of the plot intact, and just doing away with the seed gameplay idea. If you want to keep the original idea, you can put it in a spoiler tag so it doesn't take up space.



Or make a new submission in a new post, the choice is yours. :)
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8 years ago
Jun 14, 2016, 2:48:37 PM
Frogsquadron wrote:
Not that I am aware of, and in the interest of keeping the events manageable I would ask that they not be used anyway. :)







So can I leave the previous Quest just for the record, in case this mechanic ever gets implemented and submit a new one in another post?
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8 years ago
Jun 14, 2016, 1:54:19 PM
Hey guys ;D

Some clarifications on differences between Quests and Events.

As you know, Quests have objectives, which means that the player needs to do something to complete the quest, contrarily to Events, where the player can only suffer the effects.



About Effects and Rewards: this is probably the most confusing part.

Events, indeed, have effects: increase or decrease FIDSI production, spawn an enemy fleet, immobilize a fleet, etc.



Quests however, have rewards:

Because the player completed an objective, they receive something (interesting and useful preferably :D )

This something has no “duration” (contrary to the effects :) and the player is able to decide where and when they want to use this reward.



Some examples:

• Technology

• Strategic Resources

• Luxury Resources

• Ship modules (support/defense/attack)

• Star System Improvements/ Buildings or Wonders

• Armies

• Hero Skills (very rare)

• Hero Modules

• Dust

• Influence points

• Diplomatic relations increase
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8 years ago
Jun 14, 2016, 1:53:17 PM
duo_ wrote:


i am a little confused on the choices can you only have 2 total or if chapter 2a and 2b have choices that counts as one chapter have a choice?



added rewards

made prerequisites more generalized



anything else?



Note: I don’t know what will happen if a person does not successfully defend or attack in the quest. Will they be given another go or will they fail the quest? Personally I feel that there should always be a possibility of failure, not one that makes the mission impossible.




Your current structure is fine regarding choices. :)



Thematically however, we might change the story's setting to be that of a Minor Faction asking for help, or something else, as the events depicted in your quest have far-reaching consequences in terms of plot (city levelled by an asteroid, civil war..) but no bearing on gameplay (no bad stuff of any kind). I could see this more easily happening to a neighboring Minor Faction since in terms of gameplay you are more detached from events happening in their society.
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8 years ago
Jun 14, 2016, 10:44:54 AM
Froggod wrote:
Snip








Your rewards are actually effects though, so that'll need to change. I like the star charts revealed, the "whole galaxy" seems way too good but we can strike a middle ground. :)
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8 years ago
Jun 14, 2016, 2:32:07 AM
Froggod wrote:


Forgive me for the flow chart. I know it's horrible.





if you have the time and if you want to, use a program called yEd graph editor. its free and is the program i used to make mine
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8 years ago
Jun 13, 2016, 1:18:47 PM
duo_ wrote:
here is my submission for the contest. please let me know it there are any problems





Your submission has a few issues. In no particular order:

- Please limit your description to 500 characters. This includes spaces! :)

- Outcome 3B is an effect, not a reward.

- Outcome 3C seems to be missing altogether?

- You have one too many choices in objectives (only up to two chapters with choices)

- You do need rewards, however small, to each objective completion. :)

- It is possible to have the prerequisites you specify, but that would reduce significantly the chances for your quest to trigger.



Hope this helps!
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8 years ago
Jun 13, 2016, 10:51:04 AM
Oduriel wrote:
Title: Honor and prejudice.





gain the hero Rahly'ek (class: Adventurer lvl 5).






Gaining heroes can really unbalance a game, as they are very, very powerful. However, your quest would require creating a unique hero for this specific quest, which is outside the scope of what we can do. Can you factor this limitation in? :)



You could say that this hero transmits his knowledge as a badass skill (a unique skill is possible), or gifts a unique module for his ship, or something along those lines.







p3fbahamut wrote:
Ancient Relics part 1



A team of explorers found some ancient relics of unknown origin. What will you do?



(hope the aftermath of 4B is allowed as part of 3rd chapter and not seen as 4th chapter. Otherwise make the outcome +5%smiley: science + scientists ideology)







No problem with your structure. Maybe you could beef up the narrative part? For the moment there's the gameplay bit of your event, but not much of the substance that would make it compelling. :)
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8 years ago
Jun 13, 2016, 10:33:39 AM
Brazilian_Joe wrote:
Multi-Game seeds



As I have proposed in previous mechanics, will a quest be able to set up flags for multi-game seeds?







Not that I am aware of, and in the interest of keeping the events manageable I would ask that they not be used anyway. :)





colzer wrote:
Hello everyone! Here is the skeleton of my contribution for this contest, feedback will be hugely appreciated :)



Also I Have a question, Is it possible for a specific unit of smiley: population to have a unique special trait ? For exemple I have 3 smiley: population sophon on my planet and an event give a bonus to +5% smiley: science to only one of them.





Also at the end of every step there will be a smaller reward not enough space to write them down on the pic.



I will update this post when I'll write down the rest of it.






Your event has three steps with choices. Please limit the event to only contain two choices, as we mentioned in the first post (but somehow failed to state again in the rules, which I've now corrected). :)



I don't think you can track specific parts of a population, I'll get back to you on that.
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8 years ago
Jun 10, 2016, 9:18:17 AM
HappyHead wrote:
Can there be an element of chance in one of the chapters?

Like, say there's a coin toss in the very first chapter and the result leads down one of two different paths.




Yes, you can have an element of chance. :)





Lynx_gnt wrote:
So, objectives are not supposed to be only "do something / sometime / somewhere / somehow", but player can just choose between two options? (like a Dilemma)




There can be options, but these options lead to something that the player has to accomplish. In this case, for instance, the objective to accomplish is paying something, which could lead to having to gather said resources, etc. In general if there's an element in your quest you're not sure about, just put the question at the end of your message and we'll try to address it ASAP. :)
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8 years ago
Jun 9, 2016, 5:50:02 PM
Can there be an element of chance in one of the chapters?

Like, say there's a coin toss in the very first chapter and the result leads down one of two different paths.
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8 years ago
Jun 9, 2016, 9:54:23 AM
Basically, if you want an "X turns later" kind of thing, you have to make it the third chapter of your quest.



With an example:



The Nights of Knee

You receive a transmission from self-proclaimed space pirates. They say they have someone of great value to us and that they will only release that individual if we comply with their demands.

So far, the only thing they have asked for is "a shrubbery". Your scientists are puzzled as to what that is, but one of your poets describes the thing as being some sort of small garden with no food-producing purposes.



Objective 1

You give in to their demands and send them a shrubbery. [Lose50Dustand10CommonLuxuryResources]

Outcome 1

  • Text: One of the pirate ships jettisons a cargo container, and the fleet vanishes.
  • Reward: + 15 Titanium




Objective 2

No one threatens the lives of your citizens! You ready up for a fight. [Asmallpiratefleetappearsnexttoyourbiggestfleetandengagescombat]

Outcome 2

  • Text: Before the fight, you see the pirate fleet release a cargo container and leave it behind. After dispatching the pirates, you retrieve the container.
  • Reward: 50 Dust






The Nights of Knee, part 2

Inside the container was a dazed and curious-looking person. They're not from any species you've met, but upon talking to them, they seem well-meaning and, judging by the equations scribbled on the walls of the container, a prodigy scientist.



Objective 3

You quickly find a place for your new friend among your research department. [Buildatleast3SciencebuildingsonEmpire]

Outcome 3

  • Text: Now, he seems happy.
  • Reward: +50 smiley: science






[ANDNOWFORTHEAFTERMATHMYSTERIOUSBIT]



The Nights of Knee, part 3 -- 10 turns after part 2

You get the memo, late at night, that your new prodigy protégé has disappeared, leaving no clues as to their destination. A quick search of the scientific compound reveals that they have vanished along with a significant amount of the Dust stored locally, and a new prototype ship they were working on. You're more annoyed by the fact that they left without saying goodbye than by the theft, and decide to search for them.



Objective 4

You start an Empire-wide research, attempting to locate the elusive scientist and their ship. [Research3curiosities]

Outcome 4

  • Text: You find a note, pinned to the dashboard of your crashed prototype ship, in a small asteroid belt. On the note, these few words scribbled in pen "Molting season approaches. Farewell."
  • Reward: 50 smiley: empirepoint




Quest structure:









Hope this answers your question! :)
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8 years ago
Jun 8, 2016, 5:40:12 PM
I have read somewhere that quests will allow aftermaths, how exactly does that work? Can I just add a paragraph under my submission with an extra title and maybe the number of turns that have to pass for it to happen? Or are quests limited to instant consequences only? Sorry if it's stated somewhere and I've just missed it.
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