Plot Twist

What is your favorite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

I like that the players are fighting for survival in a maelstrom with physically based movement.

This could become a game which is very fun to play - also if you make mistakes.

What is your least favorite aspect? Why?

But maybe you could think a bit smaller about the water and weather simulation.

Especially synchronizing them over the network for all players might be really challenging.

Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

Don't make the water and weather simulation completely dynamic.

Maybe that would eliminate the use of networking for that part.

What is your favorite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

The setting in a huge maelstrom with a kraken on its ground fits really well for a battle arena game on ships. Also, the influence from the weather and the water on the ships creates an interesting movement dynamic.

What is your least favorite aspect? Why?

In my opinion, having two players on one ships is not a good idea. First of all, this means all tasks have to be balanced between both of them, because otherwise one player will feel useless while the other players is responsible for everything. Secondly, the two players must cooperate and communicate, while also fighting of other ships and this can be easily overwhelming.

Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

Creating a good game that features networking, water/weather simulations and a reasonable AI for the other crew members is probably not doable in the scope of this course for four developers. Instead, you could try to just focus on one of these aspects, for example with a static mesh for the water (the visual appearance for waves and foam could be done with precomputed textures or Unity’s particle system) and leaving out the crew AI, so that the player just controls the ship as a whole.

What is your favourite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

Team cooperation on a ship in PvP setting sounds very exciting and potentially fun to play. 

What is your least favourite aspect? Why?

The project description looks extremely over-ambitious for the time constraints that we have for this course.

What single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

Drop features like Story mode/Kraken/Burning ships/Complex weather simulation/... and try to realistically estimate things you can implement during this course so that it is still exciting to play the game.

What is your favourite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

The idea of ships fighting in a maelstrom is epic and sounds like a lot of fun.

What is your least favourite aspect? Why?

Your game idea sounds difficult enough even without multiplayer. With all the simulation etc. going on latency and net code might be a big challenge.

What single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

It would be a good idea to restrict the roles of the two players. Maybe one steers while the other one fires the cannons. And both can order the crew to do different things. Otherwise, it might be confusing.

Also creating NPCs might be very time-consuming so you can also just apply the wanted effect without having to have crew animations etc.

What is your favourite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

I like the very original Idea of fighting around the central vortex while trying to navigate the ship and arming weapons etc. because it requires the players to communicate in order to succeed.

What is your least favourite aspect? Why?

I think the simulations you are planning are way out of the scope of this course especially concerning the fact that you want the water and wind to realistically influence the ships movement and behaviour over the network. It is already hard enough to create one of these simulations correctly while not interacting with another simulation on a single high end machine. If you focus on all of the simulations from the start you will not create a game thats fun to play but rather a simulation that may be nice to look at.

Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

I would reduce the time you are trying to invest on "realistic" simulations and first of all focus on the gameplay around a vortex. Start with a movement system that rotates ships around a central point and and allows to control the distance from the center and the rotation speed. Now try to sync that movement including collisions over the network before doing anything else. Then add a simple graphical visualisation to the vortex and map the height of the ship according to its distance from the center. Also now add obstacles like rocks etc. Now you still have to create the movement on the ships themselves and sync all projectiles and weapon stats as well. If you still have time now you could try to improve graphics of the water and maybe add fluttering sails to your ships that are not synchronised over the network.

What is your favourite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

The act of commandeering a ship with NPC crew members seems very exciting. It brings strategy to an otherwise action-heavy game.

What is your least favourite aspect? Why?

The PvP aspect of the game seems to be limited to shooting each other. It seems most of your time will be spent maneuvering, repairing, or other PvE tasks. Think about shifting this imbalance in one or the other direction.

What single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

Concentrate on mechanics that need less or no explaining. That way, you don't force yourself into the need to provide tutorials.

What is your favorite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

Destructable ships. It sounds like a lot of fun fighting the enemy frigate while your own ship gradually falls apart.

What is your least favorite aspect? Why?

The simulations you are planning are way out of scope. even getting the water Simulation to work properly is A LOT of work. But having it influence the wind Simulation and vice versa? And adding networking? I just don't think all of that is feasible in two months.

Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

Concentrate on networking and one additional Task (water simulation, destructible environment, etc.).

What is your favorite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

The water and weather simulation. Might be a lot of work but should pay off. They don't have to be 100% physical but should feel plausible.

What is your least favorite aspect? Why?

The overall complexity of the simulations interacting with each other and objects could be too much work for this short time span. Especially if the ships influence the water in real-time, realistically.

Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

At first, NPCs are not really needed. Just letting the players control the ship should be enough. 

What is your favorite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

I love the idea of close range combat of ships in a vortex.  The Gamplay could be really fun.

What is your least favorite aspect? Why?

You are trying to archive so many things on top of this wonderful idea. I think you are planning to much with destructable environment, KI, networking, water and weather simulation and Assets.

I would love being wrong on this.

Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

Try to focus on the Gameplay more, less on sidefeatures that are nice but do not matter for the gameplay.

What is your favourite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

I like this idea of a changing and challenging battle arena. It can be lots of fun.

What is your least favourite aspect? Why?

I think it is hard to manouver around this vertex not seeing the complete map. It could happen that a ship is moving along the map, while not being able to see any enemies or items. Also, if the players do not know where the opponents are it is difficult to plan ahead. 

Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

I would suggest either not to focus the camera on the ship and allowing every player to see everything or having different symbols that show where everything is. It can be fun to strategize if you should go for a helpful item if you know that the enemy is nearby or if you should avoid it.

What is your favourite aspect of the proposed game? Why?

i like that your game combines cooperative with competitive play on a dynamic battlefield.

What is your least favourite aspect? Why?

it might be difficult to balance tasks between both players in a way that both are fun and engaging and should encourage communication between the players

Which single change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game?

focus less on the water & weather simulation and more on the gameplay, as it seems like a potential timesink