RTH Q&A thread

[Chomamonka]

How steep do you think the learning curve will be for the game? As in right off the bat, (assuming you have been adding to the game for a while) will there be a lot of things to discover and figure out how to survive? That is one thing I really love about DF, I've unfortunatly never got real far into the game because of the non-intuative UI.

[AngelWithDirtyHands]

Which area are you looking forward to getting your teeth into the most, design-wise? I know that terrain-gen and combat were not touched in BTW for good reason - are you looking forward to exploring these new horizons?

[FlowerChild]

How steep do you think the learning curve will be for the game? As in right off the bat, (assuming you have been adding to the game for a while) will there be a lot of things to discover and figure out how to survive? That is one thing I really love about DF, I've unfortunatly never got real far into the game because of the non-intuative UI.

Yeah, it's pretty safe to assume that the game will be more challenging with more factors for the player to consider than in MC.

Not sure if I'd say the learning curve will be steeper though, at least not initially. I've actually been devoting some time to considering the early game experience and how to make it more intuitive than MC's without having to resort to a wiki for recipes and such.

I'd very much like it if the player were reasonably capable of figuring out the game without external reference.

Keep in mind that much of the BTW tech-tree actually serves as a tutorial into vanilla redstone and such, so I'm not at all opposed to integrating learning elements into gameplay, and it is something I actively consider.

Which area are you looking forward to getting your teeth into the most, design-wise? I know that terrain-gen and combat were not touched in BTW for good reason - are you looking forward to exploring these new horizons?

Hmmm...it's not an unreasonable question, but not one I think I should answer at this time. I really don't want to get into too many details about the game's design both because it takes away from surprises I have planned, and because if I'm going to turn this into a business, keeping my ideas guarded until I'm ready to release them starts becoming a much bigger concern.

But yeah, it's definitely exciting to be starting with a "clean slate" and having no holds barred in terms of what I can tackle.

With regards to world-gen though, I am keenly aware that it's a potential double-edged sword. For example, if you take a look at the overabundance of ores in some of the other mods, you quickly get an impression for how "more is better" quickly falls apart.

Anyways, just to say that with new areas of design come new temptations for going overboard with them, and it's something I'll definitely have to keep in mind.

[Gilberreke]

Just going to pop in to say that I support your endeavor for RTH and wish you all the best in making it man :). Can't wait to see what you've got in store.

[Splee999]

Out of curiosity, to what extent do you intend to support multiplayer in RTH? Will we see multiplayer minded features and gameplay from the start, or do you intend to leave it as a single player experience?

I'm especially curious because you have been recently adding many features specifically designed to be most useful in a multiplayer (especially anarchy) setting, but before the Minecraft server/client "merge" you primarily sacrificed multiplayer features and functionality to let you develop new and interesting features rapidly and with much less hassle than you would have developing for both single and multiplayer.

TL;DR: Will we see multiplayer features and functionality in RTH from the beginning, later in development, or not at all?

[FlowerChild]

TL;DR: Will we see multiplayer features and functionality in RTH from the beginning, later in development, or not at all?

Later. I have a lot of experience architecting multiplayer games, so I'll be coding with it in mind from the start, but actual implementation will be left for later. My priority at start is to get base-line single-player functionality into the game and to stay exclusively focused on that until I feel the time is right.

Kinda like what I did with BTW actually. I said from the start I was coding with SMP in mind, and when 1.3 came along it was only a matter of weeks before the mod went from no multiplayer at all to full blown SMP as a result.

As I've mentioned in the past, it's only a small fraction of people that play a game that will actually ever play multiplayer. That fraction is still significant mind you, as they're often your core players that will spread the word about a game to others and whose exploits serve to motivate others to play, but still, in an endeavor like this, I can't afford to devote so much time to a small portion of players like that right from the get-go, whereas pretty much everyone playing the game will benefit from the work I do in other areas.

Oh, and in answer to an earlier related question about it: I'll be working on RTH entirely alone at the start. I may look into hiring other team members later in the development process if my income from it gets to that point, but it is important for me to maintain 100% creative control over anything gaming related I work on, so I won't take that step unless I can afford to put people on my payroll. That would likely be a very long time in coming though, so there's really no need to think about it now.

Keep in mind that the big reason I became disenchanted with the game industry was the lack of creative control in an increasingly commercial industry (it could even be argued that lack of such control is one of the reasons I'm wanting to leave MC behind), so it's exceedingly important to me to maintain that if I start my own thing.

Also, I'm a big believer in building a business from the ground up, so whereas my c.v. might afford me the ability to seek out venture capital or whatever for starting up a business in the regular manner, that's not an option I want to pursue. Total control and ownership of anything I build up is a fairly fundamental guiding principle for me.

[ImSheroPsu]

Basically, I don't desire to get rich off my efforts, just be able to get by so that I can work on what I love full time.

Its very much been my life experience that if you are able to devote yourself fully to something you love and that thing also involves a monetary stream you will do more than just get by.

Now the question part since my business experience is no where near this. I'm curious. What do you see as the biggest challenge in undertaking this project?

[Kazuya Mishima]

I assume there will be the ability to build structures out of resources, materials matter after all. Will you attempt in any way to advance the rather simplistic, "lego-like" mechanics of MC building and design RTH's construction mechanics to be more than a matter of pointing, clicking and sticking?

[Xaedblade]

Hey FC!! really excited to see RTH!!!!! and i totally agree if you go C++... best language I ever learned... I saw a question about this but no answer... will I and other modders be able to mod it in the future? Like what MC promised but never did... lol...

[johnt]

Is the lore going to be a clean break from minecraft/btw? (ie, should we expect to see the nether, redstone, etc or close analogs?)

[jorgebonafe]

I wonder (if I can ask without spoiling anything) is RTH the actual name of the game you are gonna make, or is it just a placeholder? Since you are gonna make a whole new game, separate from minecraft, the idea is still making a plot/lore link with BTW?


Ps. Since the first time long ago you mentioned the possibility of making your own game, just by looking at what you made to improve MC I was pretty excited to see what you could do with complete autonomy. I'm really looking forward to this. I'm pretty sure it will be awesome, whatever you come up with. So, just wanted to say kudos for taking that leap, and I hope you have as much fun making this game as we'll all have playing it :)

[FlowerChild]

Sorry guys, I'm a little burned out on questions right now, but I will answer this one:

I wonder (if I can ask without spoiling anything) is RTH the actual name of the game you are gonna make, or is it just a placeholder? Since you are gonna make a whole new game, separate from minecraft, the idea is still making a plot/lore link with BTW?

Yup, the idea is still to continue the "story" from BTW in RTH. And yes, RTH is still the name I'm planning on using, as it has a lot of meaning at multiple levels, both for the mod, and for myself as a developer. I think it sums up the spirit of what I'm doing pretty well :)

[kaos78414]

This is all very exciting! I still lurk these forums from time to time, though I've had a waning interest in MC lately, so I haven't been playing all that much.

But I just wanted to say this: Flowerchild, your ability to stick to your guns and just generally stay true to your ideals is what, in my mind, makes you such a great game designer. You've taken a lot of undeserved shit (BWF, etc) in the past, and so I'm happy to see you moving on to something where you will generally be more appreciated for what it is you do. And I truly can't wait to see what RTH is going to be like.

Anyway, I don't have any questions. Just wanted to show my support :)

[Thorium-232]

Sorry guys, I'm a little burned out on questions right now

It's actually great that you've even opened up a formal line for something like this, so please take your time with it.

I was curious about your ideas for villagers. You had mentioned that you had plans that could, if used, take a month+ of your time to implement. That sounds like a huge idea set and its been one of the main things I've been waiting to hear about, if at all. Are these ideas compelling enough to carry over to RTH, or will you be removing the NPC concept completely? I'll be honest, there was a certain atmosphere to vMC that disappeared the day we were no longer "alone" in the world, and I was curious if you would be going back to something like that, or if Home is more populated than where Steve happens to be trapped at current?

Thanks for doing this, I haven't been this excited about a forum post in a long time!

[chaoticneutral]

I was curious about your ideas for villagers. You had mentioned that you had plans that could, if used, take a month+ of your time to implement. That sounds like a huge idea set and its been one of the main things I've been waiting to hear about, if at all. Are these ideas compelling enough to carry over to RTH, or will you be removing the NPC concept completely?

To be believable and useful, NPCs need a really good AI, specially pathfinding, much like pets. This can be a huge development time sink, as FC himself proved - just check what Mojang changed in the game with better mob AI versus BTW first six blocks and you'll see the later, even consuming less dev time, were far more valuable for gameplay.
(...fuck, at least for me, "improving" the AI had NEGATIVE gameplay value. I still miss that dumb zombies falling off cliffs.)

So, I may be wrong, but I think he won't implement NPCs.

[MoRmEnGiL]

This is not exactly a question, but I consider aesthetics and gameplay 2 different aspects of an MC style game. Thus, would you find it reasonable to not tie up some aesthetic considerations to particular gameplay mechanics?

An example is monster spawning and light levels in mc, as I really would like to be able to play with light without being penalized by the mechanics.

Obviously there is a balance between the two, and they cannot be totally separate, and given you are primarily concerned with gameplay it obviously comes first. It's just that some core mechanics are pretty much set early on the development, so for eg, you cannot change vmc mob spawning and light interactions without it feeling a lot less like minecraft.

TL;DR: Gameplay/aesthetics and one not messing too much with the other.

[Thorium-232]

So, I may be wrong, but I think he won't implement NPCs.

Well that's great and all, but it's also speculation in the man's own Q&A thread which won't help anyone. I'm quite familiar with what goes into rudimentary AI having worked on a turn-based strategy game myself. That's not really what I was asking. I'm curious if he believes his previous ideas are compelling enough to warrant that kind of workload, or if he believes the game would be better off without that level of interaction. Working from scratch could very well result in something vastly different to the NPCs we're used to in Minecraft. It's a completely different ball game this time around.

[Eightor]

How do you see the water mechanics?
Is it going to be like minecraft or something different?

[Lars]

I do hope that as soon as you're done with BTW, you'll allow yourself a little well earned rest man =D
Ofcourse you are, and will be, working on something you love doing, so you might not actually need it, but still ;)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this. Somewhere on this forum I think I once made a comment saying I'd donate as soon as I'd finish my bachelor and find some work. I'm busy rounding up my scripture at the moment, so by the time you'll have a kickstart up or w/e I'm pretty sure I'll be able to toss in some coin!

[Mason11987]

Not a question, just a thanks

Thanks for doing this. RTH and this thread as well. It's really great to hear your input and it's really inspiring to me honestly.

Your stated schedule for RTH will line up nicely with my bonus from work. I doubt I'm alone but I hope that there is a kickstarter (or something akin to it) that I can use to show my support for RTH when able.

I'm very excited about this and there's never been a game effort that I've felt as confident in as this. So awesome :).

[BobSlingblade679]

What about monsters and wildlife? Will you be drawing from traditional fantasy lore (dragons, zombies, gryphons, demons) or do you have completely unique horrors in mind?

[Gilberreke]

What about monsters and wildlife? Will you be drawing from traditional fantasy lore (dragons, zombies, gryphons, demons) or do you have completely unique horrors in mind?

I think it's safe to say that IF he goes for existing fantasy creatures, it's not going to be gryphons, but rather a more vile, eldritch, dark deep, under-dark kind of creepy horror.

At least, from what we've seen so far, that seems to be the case :). I would not expect him to go Tolkien on our asses.

[Poppycocks]

Will RTH allow for addons?

[Sarudak]

Most likely not given what we know about Flower's feelings on bang for buck. If it's written in C++ even if flower were inclined to allow it decompiling and modding it would be far more impractical. Which means he would have to intentionally add some kind of framework allowing for people to include addons which would be a huge amount of work to support.

[DaveYanakov]

What about monsters and wildlife? Will you be drawing from traditional fantasy lore (dragons, zombies, gryphons, demons) or do you have completely unique horrors in mind?

I think it's safe to say that IF he goes for existing fantasy creatures, it's not going to be gryphons, but rather a more vile, eldritch, dark deep, under-dark kind of creepy horror.

At least, from what we've seen so far, that seems to be the case :). I would not expect him to go Tolkien on our asses.

I'm calling Hounds of Tindalos right now. Pressure to avoid right angles as opposed to dim lighting is right there in the mythos and it just feels like an FC thing.