Check Out Flat Universe's Nav System & New Screens (August 20, 2017)

ChrisReid

Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
Here's an exciting look at the next iteration of Wing Commander Flat Universe! For starters, there's a peek at the depth of the game's navigation system. The Maslas Brothers have created an entire database out of the Prophecy universe map for pilots to explore. Check out this cool zoom animation (8 MB gif) to see it in action. There's also a brand new batch of screenshots from around the game from the latest build. Enjoy!



















What we've done is that we have taken the whole map from Wing Commander Prophecy and we have digitized it in QGIS. This way we have the whole Wing Commander universe not just visually but also in database format which we are implementing in game. As you can see in the animated .gif we can zoom from galaxy view down to system view seamlessly. The information for each system include all the information expected from a Wing Commander game: Jump points, Undiscovered jump points, Nav points, Bases/planets, Hidden bases/planets (e.g pirate bases, retro planets), Asteroid fields, Mine fields, Anomalies (e.g. Scylla), & Many others...

The systems for which we have information (e.g. the ones in Privateer, Sol, Vukar Tag etc.) we will try to recreate them as they were. For all the rest we are preparing a procedural mechanism that will "fill the gaps" based on various parameters like number of jump points, type of Sun, proximity to the sector capital, proximity to military bases and others. We already have one of our friends (and Wing Commander fan) here in Greece implementing a dynamic trade route system that will make the whole thing look alive.

Finally the whole system allows for dynamic changes in game like change of ownership for a system, base or planet and for condition variables like if there is a battle and/or blockade in the system, affecting the world around it. Soon one could make (or attempt at least) a travel from Venture in Argent across the galaxy to Jugara in Vukar Tag or recreate many historical battles in various known locations.

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Original update published on August 20, 2017
 
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Very nice. :)
Have you guys also thought about how to handle the sectors missing from the Prophecy-map, specifically Landreich and Hari?

I also remember from the chat last night that you intend to use some sort of procedure to fill in missing information regarding star systems.
Perhabs you could also use info from other fan-projects to fill some gaps, especially Capi's RPG or "Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn". The latter features a database in which you can see many of the Vega Sector's star systems in their entirety.
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(With the fact that the WC-franchise is small compared to other sci-fi ones, this is good opportunity to have a consistent fan-made "expanded universe", which features Standoff, The Darkest Dawn, From the Jaws of Defeat, Flat Universe, Unknown Enemy, Defiant Few, Capi's RPG and many more.)
 
Have you guys also thought about how to handle the sectors missing from the Prophecy-map, specifically Landreich and Hari?

We had several discussions with my brother and we haven't reached a conclusion yet. The Hari "sector" (if you can call it a sector) it's more appealing with its string of barren worlds. On the other hand Landreich seems geographically a mess and probably would seem awkward gameplay wise. The jury has not reached to a decision yet.

Perhabs you could also use info from other fan-projects to fill some gaps

Oh absolutely! All these projects have amazing attention to detail the we could use if the respective creators have no problem with it. However it is a lot of manual work to gather all the info catalogue it and add it to the system which might take a while to complete. Here we could use the help of the community.

We could also probably start a fan campaign called "Design your favorite system". Each fan could design his/her dream star system, populate it with bases, planets etc. write a small backstory and submit it. The approved ones will have a planet/base/whatever in the system named after the designer!
 
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