Yay, posting again after a long time, thinking of making another RTD that will inevitably be abandoned~
So, um...
What do you guys think about mecha? You know - giant war robot things? More specifically, unrealistic anime style mecha (humanoid, fast moving, flexible, often wielding guns like an infantryman would, melee robot kung-fu), as opposed to western style realistic mecha (war walkers, slow, used like futuristic tanks).
You see, I'm having this huge anime mecha itch. I was going to play MechWarrior 4 instead, but I realized that it's too realistic and, therefore, not what I'm looking for (not that I don't like realistic mecha) and I was playing a lot of Gearhead II, since I finally figured out how to play it, but it feels kind of unpolished and has a sort-of-dying community, which is depressing.
This is sort of an interest check, because I want to know how much effort I should put into this, since it will be depressing if I try too hard and end up without players.
Planned features:
-Staying on the center of the freedom-vs-railroading scale : the game will be a sandbox type game, but stuff happens in the world without your intervention - plot as the game demands and as the player chooses.
-No forced player teaming. There definitely won't be a "you all meet in an inn" type beginning - two players may, for example, meet each other in a mission if they're in the same faction, know each other before the start of the game, meet by coincidence or perhaps not meet for the entire game. There will even be optional PvP: perhaps player 1 is fighting in a war for one nation and player 2 is fighting for another nation. Perhaps one of them is a mercenary. Perhaps player 1 serves a law enforcement organization and player 2 is an outlaw. Perhaps player 1 robs a convoy of a large corporation, which then hires player 2 - a bounty hunter, to hunt player 1.
-Nations and factions. As mentioned previously, there will be different factions, and lots of politics, competition and wars happening between them even if you don't interfere. Joining them is optional - why not fight for your own goals, be it wealth, ideals or simply adventure? In fact why not create a faction yourself? (I know a lot of people don't like faction-based gameplay, but I will try not to railroad anyone into joining faction politics.)
-Lots of focus on character interaction, be it between players or with NPCs.
-Focus on fun rather than rules and game mechanics. Like many RTDs, there will be some math and modifiers, but the most important rules are the "rule of fun" and the "rule of that makes sense". Focus on fun also means that the game will be not-so-serious and often over-the-top, but not entirely comedic silliness, meaning that I will let you play your HOTBLOODED character with cool shades if you wish so.
I may already be over-thinking this...