RimWorld



Yesterday, I received a preview build of Tynan Sylvester’s upcoming Space colony game RimWorld. So I installed the game and sat down last night for a quick play through so I could get a feel for the game and the next thing I knew it was 3 hours later. The game is about some strange planet that seems to be randomly generated each time. You manage a handful of survivors of a crashed starship and slowly build a colony. All this is happening on a planet full of angry wildlife a planet with constantly changing and sometimes hazardous environment and ruthless space pirates.





We managed to catch up with Tynan and he agreed to a quick interview about his upcoming game. Which, I am now in love with.



Recnelis: Tynan, can you tell us a little about yourself?



Tynan: I'm Tynan Sylvester, I liked making video games and eating bacon. I started out making mods for Unreal Tournament many years ago, worked on BioShock Infinite for a few years, wrote a game design book called Designing Games, and now I'm working on a space colony management sim called RimWorld.





Recnelis: What was your some of your inspiration for RimWorld?



Tynan: I actually have a long list of inspirational games. FTL is on there. So is Dungeon Keeper. Most of all, though, I draw from Dwarf Fortress. A lot of people are fascinated by that game's depth of simulation, and I am one of them.





Recnelis: How far into development is RimWorld? How soon till we see a beta?



Tynan: I've been working on the game for something like eleven months now. I'm hoping to get something playable out to the public within a few months.







Recnelis: Theres an intelligent AI storyteller and you get to choose a different one at the beginning of each game. Could you talk about that a bit?



Tynan: So, if you've played some other management games you might be familiar with that feeling that once you've built a cool city or fortress or prison, there's not much to do. RimWorld solves this with the AI Storyteller. It's a bit like the AI Director in Left 4 Dead. The Storyteller watches what's going on in the game and produces "random" events to try to keep the story interesting. So if you're in trouble, some friendly traders might arrive, or a colonist might go into a fighting trance. If you're too secure, she'll throw a plague, a pirate raid, and crazy animals at you. The idea is to keep the story interesting by combining events in constantly-new combinations.





Recnelis: There were many animals wondering around outside my colony will I eventually be able to domesticate them for use in my colony?



Tynan: Domestication is definitely on the list of attractive features for us. I'd like to see players husbanding populations of animals who reproduce, or taming violent creatures to use as guard helpers.





Recnelis: What kind of weapons will we see in RimWorld? Will the combat system be expanded a bit?



Tynan: The RimWorld universe features a really wide variety of technological levels. Since you're on a world at the rim of space, travelers arrive from planets of many different levels of technical sophistication. So I'm imagining you'll see weapons ranging from present-day firearms to futuristic energy weapons, all the way down to bows and arrows and clubs.





Recnelis: You mentioned in previous email to me that you plan on redesigning the trade system, could you elaborate on that?



Tynan: I don't plan on redesigning it any time soon - just tuning it to make sure the traders come at appropriate rates and times.





Recnelis: Will we see starships actually crashing into the planet (for salvage/survivors purposes) or will they ever land for other reasons?



Tynan: Starship landing is another idea I'm interested in. It would basically mean printing a big group of tiles onto the map and letting the characters interact inside the structure. But this would be a tough feature. There's a lot of more basic stuff I want to try first.







Recnelis: Will the colonist eventually be able to leave the colony besides wandering off into the abyss to die? Like collecting enough scrap metal to build their own starship?



Tynan: Yes! I'm planning an endgame. You're marooned on this planet, so it makes sense you'd want to escape. I imagine colonists collecting a bunch of exotic materials and items by trade, theft, and manufacture to eventually build this ship. And then finding that they can't all go. I'd love to see a dramatic spike in the game just at the moment of escape.





Recnelis: One thing that is always lacking from games like this is multiplayer/coop. Is that a possibility someday in RimWorld?



Tynan: Theoretically possible, but unlikely. I'd need a team to have the manpower to do that.





Recnelis: What other features/Surprises do you have planned for us in RimWorld?



Tynan: Psychotic burning squirrel attacks.





Recnelis: Thank you for your time.



If you are interested in getting in early and helping fund RimWorld you can do so at the link below. 20$ gets you in the door folks.. its worth it!



http://ludeon.com/blog/rimworld/ Yesterday, I received a preview build of Tynan Sylvester’s upcoming Space colony game RimWorld. So I installed the game and sat down last night for a quick play through so I could get a feel for the game and the next thing I knew it was 3 hours later. The game is about some strange planet that seems to be randomly generated each time. You manage a handful of survivors of a crashed starship and slowly build a colony. All this is happening on a planet full of angry wildlife a planet with constantly changing and sometimes hazardous environment and ruthless space pirates.We managed to catch up with Tynan and he agreed to a quick interview about his upcoming game. Which, I am now in love with.Tynan, can you tell us a little about yourself?I'm Tynan Sylvester, I liked making video games and eating bacon. I started out making mods for Unreal Tournament many years ago, worked on BioShock Infinite for a few years, wrote a game design book called Designing Games, and now I'm working on a space colony management sim called RimWorld.What was your some of your inspiration for RimWorld?I actually have a long list of inspirational games. FTL is on there. So is Dungeon Keeper. Most of all, though, I draw from Dwarf Fortress. A lot of people are fascinated by that game's depth of simulation, and I am one of them.How far into development is RimWorld? How soon till we see a beta?I've been working on the game for something like eleven months now. I'm hoping to get something playable out to the public within a few months.Theres an intelligent AI storyteller and you get to choose a different one at the beginning of each game. Could you talk about that a bit?So, if you've played some other management games you might be familiar with that feeling that once you've built a cool city or fortress or prison, there's not much to do. RimWorld solves this with the AI Storyteller. It's a bit like the AI Director in Left 4 Dead. The Storyteller watches what's going on in the game and produces "random" events to try to keep the story interesting. So if you're in trouble, some friendly traders might arrive, or a colonist might go into a fighting trance. If you're too secure, she'll throw a plague, a pirate raid, and crazy animals at you. The idea is to keep the story interesting by combining events in constantly-new combinations.There were many animals wondering around outside my colony will I eventually be able to domesticate them for use in my colony?Domestication is definitely on the list of attractive features for us. I'd like to see players husbanding populations of animals who reproduce, or taming violent creatures to use as guard helpers.What kind of weapons will we see in RimWorld? Will the combat system be expanded a bit?The RimWorld universe features a really wide variety of technological levels. Since you're on a world at the rim of space, travelers arrive from planets of many different levels of technical sophistication. So I'm imagining you'll see weapons ranging from present-day firearms to futuristic energy weapons, all the way down to bows and arrows and clubs.You mentioned in previous email to me that you plan on redesigning the trade system, could you elaborate on that?I don't plan on redesigning it any time soon - just tuning it to make sure the traders come at appropriate rates and times.Will we see starships actually crashing into the planet (for salvage/survivors purposes) or will they ever land for other reasons?Starship landing is another idea I'm interested in. It would basically mean printing a big group of tiles onto the map and letting the characters interact inside the structure. But this would be a tough feature. There's a lot of more basic stuff I want to try first.Will the colonist eventually be able to leave the colony besides wandering off into the abyss to die? Like collecting enough scrap metal to build their own starship?Yes! I'm planning an endgame. You're marooned on this planet, so it makes sense you'd want to escape. I imagine colonists collecting a bunch of exotic materials and items by trade, theft, and manufacture to eventually build this ship. And then finding that they can't all go. I'd love to see a dramatic spike in the game just at the moment of escape.One thing that is always lacking from games like this is multiplayer/coop. Is that a possibility someday in RimWorld?Theoretically possible, but unlikely. I'd need a team to have the manpower to do that.What other features/Surprises do you have planned for us in RimWorld?Psychotic burning squirrel attacks.Thank you for your time.If you are interested in getting in early and helping fund RimWorld you can do so at the link below. 20$ gets you in the door folks.. its worth it! Comments No Comments have been Posted. Post Comment Please Login to Post a Comment. Ratings



Please Rating is available to Members only.Please login or register to vote. No Ratings have been Posted. Login Username



Password







Not a member yet?

to register.



Forgotten your password?

Request a new one . W3C validation