Idea for end game: "Wonders" for MKS/Civilian Population

[kimiko]

Greetings!

While I was playing some Age of Empires I thought to myself. How about having wonder-construction as an achievable end game mechanic in KSP?

The idea is as follows:

1. Have a certain resource generated (e.g. wonder construction points) based on the accumulated production of all MKS parts on a certain celestial body (for Civilian Population it could be based on the growth rate variable).

2. This resource will then be be accumulated, and when reaching a certain point you complete the wonder and "win the game". Alternatively, you have to do this for a specific number of celestial bodies to win.

3. In addition, the resource points will also be used to animate a part, I.e. the visual representation of the wonder under construction (e.g. a pyramid, or a bio dome). To make it more difficult, the destruction of the part could lead to a reset of the "construction points".

To summarise. You build a wonder(s) by expanding your colonies on a certain number of celestial bodies, while being careful not to destroy it. When it is built you win.

Those who played any Age of Empires or Civilization game should immediately have a feel for what I'm trying to convey.

Links to related mods:

MKS/OKS by RoverDude http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/79588

Civilian Population by michaelhester07 http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/112142-1-0-x-Civilian-Population-1-4

Thought I'd share this idea since I don't really have any time to dabble with mod-making at the moment. If anyone feel innovative and entrepreneurial please go ahead with or without my consent (ahaha).

[kimiko]

To elaborate a bit on the implementation.

I think there are many different ways to make this work, and from an implementation perspective the different ways can either make it relatively easy to make or quite complicated.

One of them are the way in which the "wonder construction points" are accumulated. I think there are two overall ways to make this work. (A:) Through actual resources which are store-able in parts, or (B:) through an independent counting system accessible through a custom window. Both have merits and demerits. An independent system, for example, would be less easier to "cheat", I.e. sending "construction points" from Kerbin, but would require more programming.

On the other hand, by utilizing store-able resources, it is easy to just fly everything from Kerbin. However this could be counteracted by making the resource very heavy. Also, store-able resources would also favor a more "manual" approach to construction the wonder. I.e. you may have to pick up the resources generated in the base and drive/fly it over to the wonder to "store" it, as opposed to having it automatically construct itself.

Another implementation choice would be whether or not it should be contract dependent or not. By using contracts it would be easier to use for example the Contract Manager mod to determine the win variables (I think). On the other hand, by being contract independent you could also win in a sandbox game as well.

The next design choice would be how the wonder construction points are accumulated. Which variables determines the rate of points you gather. For example, you could either have a dedicated function for accumulating the resources. I.e. you specifically order your colony to start accumulating wonder construction points. On the other hand it could be automatically generated based on an algorithm that analyzes the overall "production" of the colony.

Just a couple of thoughts. Ideas, criticism etc. are welcome : D