A PvP game where the object is kinda-sorta survival, kinda-sorta Battle Royale, mix in equal parts Starbound.
Players start anywhere from "far" to "really fucking far" away from each other. They should generally start by taking natural resources and upgrading from basic armor and swords, to technical armor and guns, etc. before trying to cash in on another player's Ticket.
Tickets are how you get into the world- you're given one, but you cannot use it on your own. You must take it from another player- using it kills the player it's attached to unless they're already dead, and spawns equipment based on the player it was tied to and their tech levels. If a player dies by natural monsters (which start weak, get stronger over time), they respawn but lose... something. Not sure yet.
The fast approach, of course, works. Immediately trek across the world with minimal equipment, steal everything from another player when they're away and head back. You jump tech levels, possibly cause the enemy to fall in tech. You could also build a giant fort and wait for other players to come. You don't know what will happen, you don't know when. You can only communicate with other players when in talking range, or by building various communication devices. With higher tech, you'll eventually be able to do things such as build an automatic drone, load it with an item, and send it to another player as a peace offering. Maybe you could send them a bomb instead. Things like signal locks keep all but the craftiest players out of things- but, they can't easily be used for chests because they only work once. Maybe two players will trade after communicating, sealing the box until the other player confirms they have the box, then mutually unlocking each other's box... unless it's a bomb.
Trust no one, however, as the player who claims all other player's tickets is the winner- they ascend into godhood, and gain a Point of Influence. A player may then equip one, up to three Points of Influence, that change the way the world generates. A player might have the "Larger Deserts" point of influence. Assuming this point goes un-countered, deserts are larger in the resulting game world than usual. Points of Influence generally aren't that powerful, they simply allow players to push for certain things they may like. There aren't any points such as "More Ores" or other powergaming things, however, "Larger Deserts" could make a type of ore more common.
Custom games allow you to do silly things, such as create a biome of nothing but valuable ores, and then make it the only biome.
Everything has at least some element of randomization. Sometimes, an ore will be Exceptional, and smelting it results in double returns. Crafted weapons may be of poor quality or high quality, have unexpected effects, etc.
There are often multiple ways to craft something. To craft a handgun, I might have a fairly simple process that takes little time, it's easier to have poor qualities than good ones, effects are rare, and there's little control over what I actually get. A Gunsmith allows me to craft parts for the gun then make the actual gun, allowing me much more control over the model of gun, as well as increasing chance to get better quality and special effects. This requires more machining and time, and a little more material, but requires less luck to get a good item.
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One player winds up building a large wooden castle near the beginning. Setting up traps early, they then build a tech center underground, and get to radio communication and guns fairly early. No one nearby has really messed with him yet. Upon making his first rifle, he goes for an AK mold in the Advanced Gunsmith (gunsmith with more control). He winds up with a very good weapon, an AK with extended magazines and a small chance to do extra Fire damage. As soon as he's made it, a warning signal flares up...
Another player started underground, building deep into the earth, lacking in tech at first before beginning to craft high level items other than pickaxes and tools. He's well off, as while a marauder passed, they did not notice his base. Before anyone else, he was nearing Futuretech.
Strapping into his armor, with a backpack with huge rotors allowing flight, grabbing his gauss rifle and monoatomic razor. He's been picking up radio signals being sent out from the other player's base, and rather than respond, he's been homing in on it. With exact coordinates, he sends his two drones laden with explosives to the coordinates before heading out himself to take his first ticket.
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Player 1 is completely unready. The bullets are doing a surprising amount of damage to the hightech player, but even though he had a much better fight (dodging many shots, for instance) he was still doomed in the face of such high level tech. After taking a hit from the gauss rifle one too many times, his ticket fell to the ground as his soul returned to the nexus.
The other player claimed it, and got equipment that was mostly inferior to his own. He'd feed it through the Magic Rewriter later to fool the ticket into matching his tech level. Maxing offensive tech first had it's benefits. The drones showed up while he gloated, and left craters and smoldering wood where a castle once stood. Setting the drones to patrol the area, the high-tech player leaves to return to his base and claim the ticket.
While he was away, the marauder returning empty-handed stumbled into his base. An expierenced player, he managed to avoid most traps, and dug around the mechanical guardians. Stealing and destroying a good amount of equipment, he was just escaping as the player came back. The tech player, knowing no better, simply fired at the thief without thinking much of it, assuming his base had not been found.
And such it is with power struggles.