Every concept outlined in this section should be present in a MVP
Movement
Citadel leverages a ship movement system designed to enhance player engagement and strategic depth. The proposed movement system incorporates three main, interchangeable movement options: Vector-based Free Movement, Quick-Action Movements, and Environment-Based Movement.
Vector-based Free Movement
Direct Control: Players take direct control of their ship’s navigation system, experiencing a user interface distinct from the combat system. This primary mode of movement allows for precise and strategic navigation by defining a forward movement vector (X-axis). Once the primary direction is set, players can choose a secondary vector (Y-axis) to move the ship upward or downward relative to the primary vector.
Modifiers and Enhancements: Beyond basic vector setups, players can enhance their navigation with several modifiers, including:
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Move to Spot: Directs the ship to a specific coordinate or location
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Continue Indefinitely: Sets the ship on a continuous path along the chosen vector until manually stopped or redirected.
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Perform Evasive Maneuvers: Enables quick, reactive movements to dodge enemy fire or obstacles, based on the current vector paths
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Adjust Speed: Players can also control the speed of movement along the vector, allowing for gradual acceleration or deceleration as needed.
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Quick-Action Movements
Immediate Maneuvers: This subset of movement actions provides players with quick, time-efficient maneuvers that do not require complex vector configurations. These commands are essential for immediate positional adjustments during battles or tight navigational scenarios. They have a more streamlined interface for rapid responses.
Commands and Execution:
- Go Up, Left, Right, Down: Simple commands that adjust the ship’s position instantly in the specified direction based on a preset distance. This is particularly useful for dodging attacks, navigating around obstacles, or making quick tactical adjustments during combat.
- Distance Specification: Players are prompted with a single locked vector direction and only need to specify the distance to execute the maneuver.
Environment-Based Movement
Dynamic Environmental Interaction: The second major type of movement accounts for the surrounding environment, allowing pilots to interact dynamically with space objects and conditions. This mode is crucial for strategic positioning relative to environmental features and other in-game elements.
Actions and Benefits:
- Approach: Closes the distance to a targeted object or location, such as docking with a space station or moving toward an asteroid for mining.
- Keep at Distance: Maintains a specified distance from an object, useful for orbital maneuvers or maintaining a tactical position relative to an enemy.
- Move Inside: Enables navigation into structures or through tighter spaces, such as moving inside a nebula for cover or through an asteroid field for resource extraction.
- Environmental Adaptation: Ships can adapt their movement to environmental conditions, leveraging cover, exploiting terrain, or avoiding hazards
Travel
Short-Range Navigation: For moving around local areas, such as navigating within asteroid fields or docking with space stations, players use the detailed vector-based and quick-action movements.
Long-Range Travel: For traveling between distant locations, players set a direction and navigate towards unknown destinations or use shared way points from friendly players to reach specific locations efficiently.
Choke Points and Clearings: The game world is filled with natural and artificial structures that create strategic choke points and clearings. These features influence travel routes and require players to plan their movements carefully to avoid ambushes or take advantage of defensive positions.
Sector Diversity: The game universe is divided into sectors, each with unique characteristics. Some sectors are dense with mega structures, providing natural choke points and complex navigation challenges. Others offer more open space, favoring different styles of game play, such as hit-and-run tactics or large fleet maneuvers.
Fuel Management: Travel requires fuel, especially for long-range journeys. Players must manage their fuel resources, balancing between exploration and operational efficiency. Fuel nebula located in outer sectors provide the necessary resources for sustained travel and must be strategically harvested.
Exploration and Prospecting
Exploration is an activity primarily carried out with the help of a scanner module (see Scanning)
This activity involves scanning asteroids, structures, and other bodies to locate valuable resources such as minerals, gases, and exotic materials. The quality and quantity of detected resources can vary, requiring multiple scans and analysis.
The exploration rewards are still tbh