This is the promised section for the plug-in guide I've been writing. I'm betting that this will be quite controversial so I respectfully request that you submit a list of criticism and a small amount of explanation but not start a long debate about it. Comments will be taken into consideration when I revise this.
C. What makes a good plug-in?
A question that should be asked by every developer of a plug-in of any sort is that one. It should be the fundamental question behind all your work, unless youre creating a plug-in for sheer enjoyment but even then, asking yourself that question will be helpful. As I pondered this question, I came up with this list of items that I feel, along with many others, are necessary for a successful plug-in. This is not a comprehensive list of what is necessary but it should provide a starting point for the design of your plug-in, whether it is a TC or one that adds a few missions.
The first thing you should know is that the entire concept of a good plug-in breaks down into three primary concepts: a good plot, visually appealing artwork, and a realistic universe. A truly good plug-in will not have one or two of those qualities, but instead have all three. That is the goal of this section of this guide, to help you get a sense of what people think is desirable within a plug-in.
Realistic Universe
We want to be in an immersive universe, which seems real. Sure, we have an imagination but even in a sci fi game like Nova, our imagination has a certain limit so try to keep it as realistic as possible. For instance, instead of giving armor to all ships at the same amount of space and cost, make it so that those costs vary based on the ships mass and size. Other examples would be to make sure that your governments dont operate on the premise that everyone just loves the dictator and follows him because of it, or having fighters that can kill any ship instantly. Also, dont include things such as the perfect character. The main character is as human (or alien) as anyone else so he shouldnt be the center of everything or never fail. People make mistakes. An interesting counter to this issue would be to create a few archenemies for the player and weave that concept into the storyline and have the player feel like the other side has heroes too. Overall, just make the people, places, and events seem realistic and not too out there.
Realistic Races and Governments
Everyone has a motivation and an agenda. Be sure to keep that in mind when designing your governments and races. Dont have a government just there for looks or to be just there. An example of this would the usage of pirates in plug-ins. They are realistic and/or still individuals. Pirates in the 16th century still had reasons to engage in piracy other than just for the sake of being a pirate. Some may want to experience the thrills, others may seek quick wealth, and many others may seek revenge. Likewise, dont just add random independent or minor governments for the sake of having them. They need to be given detailed motivations and issues. Perhaps they want more autonomy from the influences of a nearby power. They may have a very split populace on the issue and this creates the seeds for many desperate actions. Simply giving governments motivations and issues will vastly enhance the realism and give you quite a few mission hooks for you to work with.
Another issue Ive found with plug-ins is the constant number of cliché cultures of two types: the klingons and the Vorlons. For those who dont know, the Klingons are the war-like race obsessed with fighting that appeared in all five Star Trek series while the Vorlons were the superpowers of the Babylon 5 universe who were untouchable by the mortal races. The violent, barbaric race has been very overused as has been the concept of a God-like race, who just so happens to be quite benevolent or violent. The only exception to this rule would be if you managed to make them unique and be deeper. Contradictions in their culture would increase their depth as would splinter groups and unrest.
Additionally, dont make a fine distinction between good and evil. Add many shade of gray as they are present in the real world. In our world, people argue over the ethicality of the Iraqi War. Make sure that wars in your universe are even more argued over because thats how it happens in the real world and forces the player to make a choice about what they must do. Note that this may confuse may players and increase the overall difficulty of the plug-in so one must balance difficulty and realism.
Relative ship and technology balance is something I must stress. Do not include a super ship. Those do not exist in real life because someone will always find a way to counter it given the amount of time required to design and build such a ship. The actual technological balance can be skewed towards one side, it has happened in history with the centuries that China had over the West in terms of naval technology in the 15th century, but do not make it like the Polaris-Federation gap. Do not make it so a destroyer in a fleet can pulverize the best ships of another government. In a relative modern environment, it will not happen unless centuries of isolation between all of humanity occurs and a government values technological achievement far more than all others.
Give everyone in your universe a personality. Do not make them bland and flat. They are comprised of individuals, each of them with a vibrant personality. Their governments should reflect that each government is comprised of individuals which means they will splinter, fail, make mistakes, and be prejudicial. For instance, in the stock Nova universe, the Aurorans werent made as klingons. Instead, they were divided into houses, had a distinct method of government, given ships that matched their style, and had people who were good and bad. This came together to create a greater effect. The same thing occurred with the Polaris. They arent the stereotypical, benevolent protector race with organic ships. They have a rather different caste systems, their hyperspace links symbolize their unity, they arent invincible, and they regularly wage war against the rest of humanity. The idea is to create a race, give them motivations, and then make them human by adding various qualities and imperfections.
Interesting Spatial Features
Our galaxy does not consist entirely of Sun-like stars with Earth-like planets orbiting them. Rather, our galaxy is full of wonderful phenomenon like neutron stars, dwarf stars, black holes, dark matter, nebulae, and red giants. Your galaxy should show the variety of stellar objects that are present in reality. Realism is one of things that makes people want to continue to play your plug-in, and hence one must place great importance upon it. Also to use a little common sense when it comes to the placement of the interesting phenomenon. For instance, a blackhole or a the remnants of a supernova are not going to be right next to an inhabited planet.
Creative/Realistic Naming
The primary concern with this is that you are consistent with your naming schemes for certain things. Dont name one system Bob and then another system nearby Alpha Centauri. Theres a certain lack of connection between the names and dont usually get associated together. You should however try to differentiate names between different cultures and governments though, to emphasize their differences. However, names like Bob probably shouldnt be used as anything except an easter egg. It detracts from the professionalism and realism of your plug-in. Summarized, try to keep consistency within a government, variety between governments, and realistic overall.
Good Graphics
Some would state that this is not at all necessary for a good plug-in but somehow I find that quite untrue. People will judge your plug-in on how good its graphics are, because thats the simplest way to determine professionalism of the plug-in. Ever wonder why people play Unreal Tournament 2003? Or half the games out for PC? Graphics quality. Many people simply dont care how good your storyline is if your graphical quality is dismal. I am not suggesting that you need cinema-quality graphics but I would recommend something on the level of the above average work on the ASW EV Image Gallery. If you must resort to graphics of lesser quality, be sure to use techniques like LASIK and such to at least maximize the quality of what you have. Also, dont be afraid of checking out the various free shipyards out there, many of which have high-quality graphics available. Remember to give the author proper credit though.
Innovation
Take a look at Sephil Saga for a very good demonstration of what innovation is. In the context of the situation, innovation is coming up with new ideas for features that creatively use the Nova engine. For example, Masamune and the Sephil Saga team are implementing a shipbuilding system that makes it so outfits affect your ships speed and such. Uncle Twitchy is implementing a way for ships to vary travel times based on their warp drive. Days of Glory (run by myself) is implementing a method for you to be arrested, jailed, and otherwise punished for carrying certain sorts of items. The point being that you dont want to limit yourself to what is documented in the Nova Bible or any other source. Think of ideas and dont forget about them because theres no straightforward implementation. Brainstorm possible solutions and then if its finally apparent that its not going to work, keep a record of it and perhaps someone else will figure it out or youll have a burst of creativity.
Quality Sound
I would say that this is one of the less important things. While having a realistic set of sounds and voices, the only real requirement is that they be clear and be free of static, and be reasonably realistic. Dont have a guy singing when a weapon fires or the like when dealing with this. While other games often have background music, Nova does not and that saves you quite a bit of work. However, the intro music is still an issue and the best choice for that is something non-pop and not too bright unless you want to create an image of that sort for your plug-in. Experiment with songs and allow others to give an opinion so that you can find a piece of music that is best-suited for your plug-in.
Engaging Storylines
Make sure your player feels involved in the universe and the storyline. Language has a major influence on the effect one receives from an idea so be sure to maximize the usage of personal pronouns like you and then minimize the use of words like one, thus, or anything of the like. They give the feeling of a professional essay or paper which is not appropriate for creative writing intended to provoke the players imagination. In addition, to having a personal feel, a good plug-in will give the player choices, not too much to make it too complex to implement but sufficient to allow the player to feel like that they are driving the storyline and that its not completely pre-written. An engaging storyline will also contain various hooks and surprise the player by making events happen like they would in reality. It all connects to trying to make the plug-in realistic overall.
Enemies with a face
One of my pet peeves is when the enemy presented is an anonymous group just there as a plot element. This makes the plot seem rather shallow and it doesnt make me feel like Im truly involved nor is it interesting. In real life, there is no black and white in terms of right and wrong or the enemy and your friends. There is much gray room. Take for example World War I, it was caused by every major country in Europe and was not the sole fault of the Germans or the Austrians. In every war that humanity has fought, the enemy has been human and therefore has human traits. Enemy soldiers and sailors had the same hopes and dreams as your comrades and they felt the same pain and joy. They were as human as anyone. In a realistic plug-in, you want to simulate reality and for this aspect, to simulate that you will want to make sure that the enemy has a personality, whether it be a culture built upon war and honor or one forced by necessity to draft citizens and defend itself. This all coincides with the need to provide background information on governments and groups to prevent the Enemy without a Face Syndrome.
Non-linear storylines
If anyone has ever watched Pokemon, Digimon, or any of the cartons based on trading card games, you will know what the epitome of a linear storyline is. Things happen in a linear path for the sheer sake of being in the plot. An example would be: Paul gets attacked. Paul gets a gun. Paul goes and gets revenge. The end. We dont want that sort of storyline simply because its not interesting and the player lacks the ability to influence what happens but is instead railroaded onto it and then through it, if the player even bothers to continue playing it. What we want is something like: Paul gets attacked. Paul is offered a deal for someone to get the revenge for him in exchange for a small favor. Paul has a choice between that or doing it himself. Along either of those paths lies more choices and the ability for Paul to switch options, plans, or such. In working for a government, non-linear storylines would mean irregular ways of joining the government services, extensive options to defect, extensive choices, and the ability to make a difference and then make their decisions on their own.
Minimal Cliches
Do not have another TC or plug-in with a corrupt Federation and then a rebellion group unless you can make it more original. That concept has been covered in both EV and Nova, and many more other plug-ins. Other clichés that should be avoided is the infallible character syndrome where the player always seems to win the battles, get the ladies, and beat opponents in whatever competition. It becomes unbelievable after a while. Even plug-ins like Frozen Heart have had this sort of syndrome. Dont continue the trend. Another cliché to be avoided is the Super Ship Syndrome where in the plug-in, there is a ship that dominates everything else, is cheap, and can be bought anywhere. Remember to always keep a sense of balance in the world to justify equilibrium and maintain a semblance of realism. Other clichés are things like the superpower race with organic technology or the mystical, alien race that is made of pure evil. If youve seen it in Star Trek, Star Wars, or lots of plug-ins, chances are that its become cliché. Avoid them at all cost since they just demonstrate a lack of originality.
Polish
The primary things involved with this are making sure that bugs are minimized along with spelling and grammar errors. Signs of a polished product also include appropriate content, clear descriptions, a decent read-me or the like, and a coherent, well-written storyline. Polish is often the difference between people continuing to play despite some issues or quitting. Who wants to play a buggy plug-in with mission texts that are full of grammar and spelling errors? I think I am speaking for most people when I say that I want to have fun, not try to decipher poorly written text. Doing a decent job of removing spelling and grammar mistakes is one of the easiest parts of plug-in development but many people will judge your plug-in on it, so just spend a hour or so using MishMash or equivalent fixing it by at least running it through grammar and spelling check.
Overall Realism
This topic is mostly a reiteration and summary of what has been said before. If youve followed the guidelines previously set forth, your plug-in should be overall realistic for a sci fi game but it is a good idea to go in afterwards with testers and make sure that the game is balanced, and that your stellar geography is reasonable as is your political and economic model. It doesnt have to be perfect but it should be decent.
Dynamic Nature
Last, but certainly not least, is the need for your plug-in to be dynamic in terms of galactic changes. If the player wins a major battle, change things in the scenario to reflect this change or show that the player has done something. Also, be able to simulate a relatively dynamic economy with crons and oops which again increases accuracy. Examples of further work along these lines would be to have borders change with events in order to emphasize the fact that planets in a region are engaging in an active war of sorts. An example would be to have minor or major changes in the borders of governments every few months or every few years representing the tide of battle turning back and forth or having a side just simply win.
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(url="http://"http://www.zhouj.net/days/")Days of Glory(/url), Upcoming TC for EV: Nova
(This message has been edited by zhouj (edited 03-16-2004).)
(This message has been edited by zhouj (edited 03-16-2004).)
