Help With VERY Ambitious Game

[Mr. Quark]

Okay, so you might cringe at how ambitious this game is but here it is!

So I'm trying to make a 3D (Evolution?) Game where creatures mate (Not graphic just... Something shows up saying they're mating.) And they live on a 3D Procedural Planet that has a parent star that has its own physical properties and it's own simulation with solar winds etc,,, And every time they mate they change there physical and mental properties based on the current properties of there planet; and also it's not going to at-least with the current technology, going to have actual simulations of brains. And they also evolve based on which is better. Including to compete with different creatures. They also evolve to create there own technologies and this isn't like a supersped simulation, you have the option but if you have 3 billion years of free time go ahead and watch... As they slowly change form... But I hope I get some help of any kind (As you can see this is going to need a very great PC but this isn't a short term thing anyways) But, I know this probably isn't the right forums or something but I don't know where else to post an ambitious game without a bunch of not-needed criticism like "This is never going to happen" Or... Just not 90% that ALSO that was just the intro on what type of game I strive to try and create HERE COMES TEH QUESTIONS!:

Do you think this is possible?

Do you have any ideas on what to try and add?

Just to be absolutely SURE THIS IS A CONCEPT now back to the questions.

Do you know any game engines that are free or are cheap (As in less than $100)? Example for something bad: Havok Engine

I will post questions as I go along with TRYING to do this.

Also I know this is probably going to be nearly impossible. Especially for a 1 man team, but I don't really know anyone good at game creating or stuff like that.

And also I'm not someone who takes criticism that bad I just don't want it to be filled with stuff discouraging me that doesn't help me, Like the example That is Bolded and made Italic.

I also of course take constructive criticism.

That concludes this, I might sort this within the following days.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Mr. Quark
Grammar Edit

[Camacha]

Do you have any game development experience?

[Mr. Quark]

Just now, Camacha said:

Do you have any game development experience?

This is when I fell stupid... No I don't... I have 1 Prototype game called Occapella it's basically just a unity game where you walk around in a bad graphics map with a small hill, I'm hoping I will get it to a spherical planet, but I have trouble with changing where the gravity source is, I also currently don't know how to model a sphere to have mountains etc. Sorry if I'm really vague with my wording I'm not that good at explaining stuff.

[Superfluous J]

Read the press on the games Creatures and Spore. Then play them. Then vow to not go down that path.

Of course it's hard. It may even be impossible. All I can tell you is nobody's done it correctly before, so the expectation is failure.

[Mr. Quark]

1 minute ago, 5thHorseman said:

Then vow to not go down that path.

So I should halt this concept or what? (Sorry if what I say sounds like I'm mad and being rude, I'm not mad and not trying to be rude. I try and make sure people know I don't mean to be rude, I really don't want to seem rude. Wow my side note is already over 10X the size of the main reply)

[Superfluous J]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Quark said:

So I should halt this concept or what? (Sorry if what I say sounds like I'm mad and being rude, I'm not mad and not trying to be rude. I try and make sure people know I don't mean to be rude, I really don't want to seem rude. Wow my side note is already over 10X the size of the main reply)

No, no. I meant, "Don't start making a game where your genetically-defined creatures will evolve over time on a procedurally-generated world, and end up with a poor excuse for a pet simulator with none of the actual features you wanted at the start."

[Mr. Quark]

Well what do I do then? I really want to make a closest to realistic evolution simulator...

[Mjp1050]

This reminds me of a story I once heard about a guy named Felipe Falanghe. He wanted to build a game about little green men that shot rockets at the stars, and he wanted his game to use real orbital mechanics and accurate physics. It took a few years, but eventually he and a team made a product and released it to the world. It was an instant hit.

If you have an idea for a game, go for it!

But maybe hire a team to help you, because you will need to share the load.

[Mr. Quark]

1 minute ago, Mjp1050 said:

But maybe hire a team to help you, because you will need to share the load.

Well I have only $3... And like I said I don't have anyone who knows much about game creating or stuff like that.

[Camacha]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Quark said:

Well I have only $3... And like I said I don't have anyone who knows much about game creating or stuff like that.

You sound like the typical inexperienced developer, which, coincidentally, is why I asked about experience. Having little experience is both good and bad. It is good, because you do not let your fantasy be hampered by real world or technical problems. Do not underestimate the value of that. Too many games get made exactly like the others, simply because people rehash what they already know. The bad part is that you might have bitten off more than you can chew. Lack of funds means you need to do it all yourself. This makes it a very big project with a very uncertain outcome. Do not let that discourage you, though. It does also mean you get to learn a lot about many subjects. Even if the final product never materializes, you will certainly have learnt many skills that will prove invaluable in the rest of your life. This type of project is as much about the journey, as it is about the end result.

Let us see where this goes!

[Mr. Quark]

7 minutes ago, Camacha said:

Having little experience is both good and bad

Do you think the Good stuff outnumbers the bad?

[Camacha]

Just now, Mr. Quark said:

Do you think the Good stuff outnumbers the bad?

I see a project that will teach you skills that will serve you far beyond the project itself. That makes it a success in my book, no matter the outcome of the actual project.

What I think is irrelevant, though, It is what you think that matters

[Mr. Quark]

Also everyone I will be updating ya'll every time I have any small to HUGE milestones or points in development!

Also @Camacha If you have any game development experience, what game engine should I use?

[Camacha]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Quark said:

Also @Camacha If you have any game development experience, what game engine should I use?

It is probably best to see which ones are free to use, compare those and pick the one you like the best. If there is no obvious winner, apparently it does not matter that much It also is a matter of preference and everyone likes different things.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Camacha

[Mr. Quark]

Just got a GitHub account! It's MrQuark!

[nightingale]

Speaking as someone with experience of many incomplete games and mods and other projects (and a few completed/active ones to boot):

Be prepared to fail.  But more importantly: embrace failure.  Learn from your failures.  Fail fast.  Fail often.  Fail small and fail big.  Each time you'll come out the other side better.

What I mean by this is don't be afraid to throw away ideas if they turn out to be bad.  Don't be afraid to rewrite stuff from the ground up once you've realized all your mistakes.

Your idea is incredibly ambitious.  Probably 99.999% of individuals that attempt something of that scale will never finish it. But as long as you can keep your end goal in mind and you learn things along the way it's a worthwhile effort.

My personal advice - start with something smaller, but make it something that can eventually be fit into your grand design.  Take one specific aspect and build a small game or tech demo out of it.  For example, build out something that showcases what you have in mind for the evolution mechanics with an extremely simple UI (see: The Game of Life).

Another good option is to start with modding.  Again, you can do something with this theme that either helps you learn, helps you prototype different ideas/mechanics or even can be partially reused later for "the big game".

Being where we are, the obvious example would be a KSP mod.  Join the Kopernicus scene and make a planet out two.  Dog into the internals and think about what KSP did well, and what they did poorly.  Experience that would go a long way in procedural planet generation.

Good luck, I expect great things!

[Mr. Quark]

29 minutes ago, nightingale said:

Another good option is to start with modding.  Again, you can do something with this theme that either helps you learn, helps you prototype different ideas/mechanics or even can be partially reused later for "the big game".

 

 

How do I make a game modding compatible? Whenever I compile something, Bam it's gone you can't edit the compiled game any further. And that's a problem because you get the .exe when you compile the game.

Also, do you know any place I can learn how to do any of the stuff I listed that I would want in the final product?

Edited September 1, 2016 by Mr. Quark
Minor Grammar Mess-up

[nightingale]

6 minutes ago, Mr. Quark said:

How do I make a game modding compatible? Whenever I compile something, Bam it's gone you can't edit the compiled game any further. And that's a problem because you get the .exe when you compile the game.

Short answer: Dynamic Loading or Scripting.

6 minutes ago, Mr. Quark said:

Also, do you know any place I can learn how to do any of the stuff I listed that I would want in the final product?

I'd suggest starting with the basics.  Solidify your understanding of programming fundamentals before diving straight into a topic that people have written entire dissertations on.  Work up from there.  Also, google.

[Mr. Quark]

1 minute ago, nightingale said:

Short answer: Dynamic Loading or Scripting.

How do I input dynamic loading into (the) unity game(s)?

[Mr. Quark]

Nevermind! SWITCHING RAILS WERE GOIN' TO UNREAL POWERED BY A TOTALLY UNREAL ENGINE PUN INTENDED! 

That's right I don't care if It was a bad joke!

Edited September 1, 2016 by Mr. Quark

[Mr. Quark]

Now I'm going to start the research!

Typing in "Epic Games Launcher" Searches it for Cortana... But typing in "e" brings up the Program Epic Games Launcher? How...?

Edited September 2, 2016 by Mr. Quark

[Mr. Quark]

Expect a roadmap of features I might want to add soon! By the way, if you haven't already seen this is a CONCEPT this is just for features I will want for when/if it materializes but I will still do my best ABSOLUTE BEST to create this!

Edited September 2, 2016 by Mr. Quark

[Mr. Quark]

Sorry everyone I forgot/couldn't create the entire roadmap because of not being able to go onto the computer. Here you go!

Ordered By Time I want it done

Production:

Accurate Physics

Procedural Generation

Life

Closed Alpha: 0.1

Series Of Patches And Bug Fixes

Few Months - A Year Afterwards

Open Alpha 0.15?

Alpha: 0.1

Procedurally Generated Life

Accurate Planet

Closed Beta 0.2

Bug Fixes And Patches

Beta 0.2

Accurate Procedurally Generated Planet

Semi-Accurate Evolution

Accurate Evolution

Beta: 0.3

3D Life

Semi-Accurate Mentalities

3D Planet

Beta: 0.4

Accurate Mentalities

Simulated Organs

Simulated Planet Properties That Effect Life

Partly Accurate Brain Simulation ^{If it's possible}

Planet Editor

Cellular Life Editor

That concludes that... Sorry if it was not that good but I will try to update on it every day or so!

KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A CONCEPT THAT IS CURRENTLY IN RESEARCH!

[Camacha]

On 01/09/2016 at 4:40 AM, nightingale said:

I'd suggest starting with the basics.  Solidify your understanding of programming fundamentals before diving straight into a topic that people have written entire dissertations on.  Work up from there.  Also, google.

Working your way up from the basics will work and work well, but sometimes it helps to dive into something and find out that you are hopelessly ill-equipped, only to gnaw your way out of the situation by shear determination and a lot of late night Googling.