Thanks for the warm welcome, all. I'll be watching and dropping in as often as possible to answer your questions - if it ever takes a while, then please just assume that I have been
supremely busy in the land of Code.
That brings up an interesting question: How much will they be able to 'learn' from what you do? If you punish them from referring to you incorrectly, will they eventually learn to use the 'correct' pronoun?
Most (but not all) of the interactions between the player and the game characters are indirect, so the characters won't be able to infer a causal link between their actions and the consequences (that are initiated by the player); that side of it is very limited. I'm sure some of us are already familiar with games that have tried to incorporate neural-networks or machine learning in ways that don't feel satisfying to play - we don't want to be another one of those.
With Human Orbit, we're working hard to keep the scope tight so that we can set the bar high on the features that we do incorporate. It's difficult as an enthusiastic indie to resist the temptation to overreach, so we're exercising as much restraint as we can to prevent that.
What we
will have is systems allowing the game characters to learn from and about one another, as well as from other game elements and in-game media channels. What they learn will be evidenced in various channels throughout the game - in their personal emails and messaging systems and in the way that they react and respond to both the player and other game characters. We do also expect the ability for the player to create false information.
But I'm not saying too much about that for now. Keep your eyes peeled.
Please, pull a chair, grab a drink, and enjoy the madness. Also, what exactly IS the interface? I'd love to know what it's going to look like. I get the feeling it'll be a combination of SpreadSheets and graphics, but meh.
We aim to keep the UI as minimal as possible without hiding too much of the data that is being thrown internally. To achieve this, we're using a scalable level of detail on the HUD so that you can keep your screen clear and clean, or you can scale it up (on-the-fly) to be information-dense.
One of the key UI elements are the info cards associated with each game character. These will give a short breakdown on who the character is, the state of their personal well-being & their current concerns. These info cards are quite like the ones that can be seen in Watch_Dogs, except that they allow you to drill down much further.
We're putting a lot of effort into presenting complex and detailed information in a visually pleasing manner. There isn't much similar in our interfaces, but Limit Theory is an excellent example of good presentation of complex data.
Some particular UI influences are Destiny (clean, sharp, symbol-based) & Forza Motorsport (the clean, minimalist, overlaid look). I'd recommend googling some images of these if you've not seen them already. They're very attractive.
Screens will follow (anticipating your next question), but we only get one chance to make a first impression so we can't be showing anything that is too clearly a work-in-progress. You'll see them in time.
Thanks for coming by to answer questions! We will do our best not to overwhelm you with questions but no promises. Lots of interest so far
Thank you for making the thread and for inviting me so warmly. We've seen a huge swell of interest in Human Orbit over the last week and its very gratifying.
That is possibly the most respectable-yet-silly response to that question there is
I do my best.