My SpaceStationSim Designs!!

News & General Discussion
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So after more hours then i can count slogging away i have finally gotten my first “game” to an acceptable level, while still in prototype/early Alpha i have been nearing the end of implementing everything that i designed as a Core Mechanic (and once they are all finished i will move onto polishing/other additions)

So (as the title says) its a game about running a Space Station (Think StarTrek DS9. !I LOVE DS9! But also keep your imagination open to be able to see any Warhammer40k References, DwarfFortress references and Rimworld References)

Its a simple text based/turn based game that has no art (im a terrible artist).
Core Features/Mechanics
1, 2,3:Cash(currency), science(research unlocks),
4,5:Crew/Inhabitant happyness (Basically how Happy they are)
6: Dock Ships (Trade/Diplomacy)
7: build/repair stationparts: command deck, hab blocks, promenade(business area), Cargo Bay, Engineering, Science Bay, etc…
8: Hire Crew then assign them to rooms (helps repair, effects happiness, hygiene, science gain, etc…)
9: Upgrade/Train crew so they become a Special Crew member who is a specialized crew with his own gameobject and stats(engineer, doctor, scientist, Commander, Ambassidor
9: Recieve Income from happy inhabitants,
10: pay upkeep on rooms/crew
11: all station parts can be upgraded to massive sizes (doesnt seem like much in a text game) but its really important to think about, anyone who has read Warhammer40K law will tell you that even the space ships get so large that you can find whole cities springing up around core systems
12: Storyline Events
13: Random Events

So the final core feature/mechanic i need say is that in each station part there are also build slots, wether its in the habblocks,command deck or engineering you can access these build slots and build rooms such as: Apartments,Restaurants,Generators(food, oxygen, power) , etc…

Sorry if ive missed anything that seems important i was writing this ln my phone lol (if brought to my attention i will clarify ofc)

I just wanted to get other peoples opinions on this project? What do you like? What would you expect to see information wise? Is there any aspect to a game like this that seems standard that i have completely left out?

While its not a game that everyone would play (text based games seem so 90’s or limited to the realms of newbie developers still learning to code/make games) i am extremely proud over how far i have come with C#, It doesn’t look like much:
(4 Overall Panels, first panel is permanently open and shows all the Station Parts, Second Panel is the info on whatever station part you have opened, third panel is reserved for Special Crew/Ships (Ships in system) Information and Assign Crew to room button (gets accessed from the second panel of whatever room you are in) and the final panel is the end of turn panel, currently it only exists to assign special crew to there work positions and holds the End Turn Button

So fellow Unity Forum Browsers!! What do you think?

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Having spent the better part of 5 years building and running a MUD I can say there is definitely still an interest in text-based games. That being said, typically I wouldn’t describe what you are making as a ‘text-based’ game since it doesn’t involve imputing command that are parsed by the system into interactions. All the same there are still folks that enjoy a good click simulator now and then.

That being said, I think it is very important that you have a well designed UI layout that is easy to understand at a glance, quick to navigate, and pleasing to the eye. I would suggest that you don’t entirely forgo using some graphics. Using a simple colored image of face portraying a smile, or a frown, or neither, as a means of representing say, the happiness of a crew member, is much easier to understand at a glance than a line of black and white text that simply reads ‘Happiness: 82.3%’. That stuff gets taxing for eyes and mind alike - especially when you have a whole wall of it. Gradient bars are another great way of displaying status at a glance . There’s a reason almost every game uses them for health.

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Thanks Sluggy your opinion is very much appreciated!! I wasnt going to forgo graphics completely as what you mentioned about smily faces was the exact level of graphical detail that i was going to go to!

UI layout is possibly going to be the biggest issue i have (especially being my first real game that ive created), i try not to put any information on display unless its critical for the station part in general but when there is so much data going around it gets hard to distinguish what should be where. For stationparts we have: HP, Total Room Space for Inhabs+Crew (includes visiting or offstation people) Upkeep of room, upgrade costs, room happiness modify, Oxygen Level, Food Level, Squalor Percentage

Theres so much more little details im omitting (Inhabs get broken into employed/unemployed/injured, Crew get broken down into Assigned, NotAssigned, OnLeave, Injured) but thats just to simplify what im typing here on the forums

I guess i just need to have a good think on where to display alot of this information to the player!! Again thanks. Given me stuff to think about. Later when i get back to the computer ill upload a few images just to give this post abit of flair and to show examples of current work