So, absolutely! I totally second the whole simulation thing. Please never change that philosophy!
I love that chaotic system because that is how the world works. This is actual simulation. And it really is part of what makes an X game.
Also, it is just what every coder nerd, such as myself, loves to do anyway, which in turn is why the game is so great and, I think, why you guys are able to pour so much heart and soul into it. At least, I would die to try out some "what ifs" to see how it plays out, if I were one of your devs
Although, technically, on a side note and if I may stimulate a discussion, I think, depending on the definition, top-down could also work in a sense that factions would act more like actual factions with their own goals and behaviors, rather than being a loose bunch of agents.
So you would have a tree in the form of "faction » station » subordinate" (simplified) or maybe also even "faction » subordinate".
Individual actors could still have their own set of rules, though. Example would be, the faction needs hull parts fast and thus sends out the most suitable pilot to get some. But then that pilot is being attacked and therefore cancels their mission which would lead to the faction re-assigning the job to another pilot.
Or maybe, they need to trade something but need to pass a dangerous sector of an opposing faction. Then they would pick a skilled pilot in a well-armored vehicle.
Also, that way, you could tell a Paranid from an Argon by their behavior alone. They could be more aggressive, for instance or have different dialog options. Maybe they're less helpful or more religious. It would probably also be easier to implement story missions and the like.
Economy-wise, it wouldn't make too much difference overall. But from a development perspective, I think, it would be much more manageable in terms of debugging and also implementing new jobs for the agents. Even though, this would call for the implementation of some priority system on each individual level of said tree. I think both approaches have their pros and cons.
But, yeah, that's just a thought.
By the way, when talking technology already, may I ask, do you guys use doubles in your engine or, if not, how did you overcome the floating point precision issue?
If you don't want to answer that, that's alright, I understand that. You won't lose a fan
I have one more question about the second part that makes an X game (at least for me).
Can you tell us anything about the story that's to come. I don't mean content-wise, because, obviously, I don't want to have all the fun spoiled.
But maybe how it's going to work and how much of a story we can expect (maybe in terms of playtime?).
Lastly, thanks for giving away some of the alpha footage. Really loved what I saw there in video
Thanks guys, keep on rockin'!
