In-Game Economy Assignment

Within The Project, the human response to an unwelcome alien race, there are three ways to make “money”, or rather; there are three ways to procure economic gains. As a military robot pilot there is little need for cash, yet opportunities to obtain skills and upgrade equipment are available. The economic system has these features:

Combat skill points – Combat skill points are earned when a pilot engages in combat with enemy units. Points are earned from every successful weapon hit on an enemy, for instance, if three out of five missiles fired strike the target, the pilot will get points for the three missiles that hit. A player will earn more points for a “kill”, but combat skill points will also be issued for “kill assists”.

As these combat skill points are earned, they are “spent” for the player. First, when a player reaches a specific, predetermined point, the player’s pilot will “level up”. Secondly, at predetermined levels the player will receive a skill specifically aimed for his chosen combat role. An example of this would be: if a player chooses Scout/Recon for his combat role, the specialized skill of Stealthy Passage will be acquired when they have earned enough points to reach level 3. Later, when they’ve earned enough points to achieve level 8, they will attain the skill Fighting Retreat. In this way, points earned by a player will be spent for them.

Armory Points – To purchase weapons, weapon upgrades, system upgrades, armor, and cosmetic upgrades, players will go to the Armory and spend Armory Points. Armory Points are earned by each player directly relating to time invested in combat. These points are issued at regular intervals, (800/hr, or 200/ every 15 minutes) and can be spent by the player in any way they see fit, limited only by availability and any pre-requisites an upgrade may have.

Side-quest Bonuses – The final way a player can receive economic gain is by completing side-quests. At different intervals throughout the game, quests will be presented to the player. By completing these quests, players will be rewarded in a variety of ways. (Details for all three systems can be found in the attached spreadsheet.)

To answer the questions of balance, I will address them point-by-point.

-Fairness: Players do gain advantages when purchasing upgrades from the Armory, but by no means is it an unfair advantage. Depending on their combat role, Guardians can be tailored in a variety of ways but one Guardian will not be substantially different than another. The only questionable instance would be a Sniper with the Telescopic Upgrade combined with the Combat Skill Assassination, but still, they would not be impervious to death and destruction. There is no unfair way to earn bonuses. The Side-Quests that do provide bonuses become available to everyone at the same levels.

- Challenge: The techno-alien race has unknown weapons and systems technologies, (the Side-Quests are set up to discover some of these mysteries).

They are dangerous and difficult to defeat, but upgrades allow an easier time of dealing with these enemies, not too easy though. The challenge to earn Combat Skill Points, Armory Points, and bonuses from Side-Quests remain constant for everyone. Combat Points get increasingly more difficult to accumulate, and Armory Points are dependent only on the amount of time in combat.

- Choices: There are three ways for a player to earn economic gains, (detailed in the first paragraphs). Players can freely spend earned Armory Points, and Combat Skill Points are spent for them. Quest Bonuses are earned through achievement. There are many options available for pilots in each chosen combat role, (detailed in attached spreadsheet).

- Cooperation: Players cannot combine their Combat Skill or Armory Points. Combat Skills are learned at specified levels, and Armory Points can only be spent on upgrades and cosmetics applied to their individual Guardian robot. The opportunity to steal advanced alien technology is presented to the player in Side-Quests. This is the only opportunity to steal and is, in fact, the very purpose of three of the quests. By accomplishing the quests, they are not helping or hurting, but fulfilling the game’s economy and enhancing their personal economic gain.

- Time: The time it takes to earn Combat Skill Points will level up players fairly quickly in the beginning and become more difficult at higher levels. The actual Combat Skills given at specific levels are designed to interest the player early enough in the game, but make them work longer and harder to keep themselves invested. Armory Points are given at the same regular intervals throughout the game. The items available for purchase with these points though, are priced to allow a player to spend on good items early, but to obtain the great items they will have to dedicate more time. Quests open one by one so that quests will be available throughout the game.

- Rewards: The rewards to earning Combat Skill Points are actual combat skills. These skills will enhance the ability of a player to perform his specific combat role. For example, when a scout/recon pilot earns the skill of Keen Eye, it will increase their chances of spotting enemy targets at a greater range, allowing them to perform their function as a scout more dutifully. Rewards for spending Armory Points are in customizing their Guardian’s abilities and appearance to have a completely unique Guardian. Finally, rewards for accomplishing quests are gaining unique cosmetic badges, and reverse engineered alien-tech weapons.

- Punishment: There is no punishment that would keep a player from earning Combat Skill Points or spending Armory Points. The only thing that would keep a player from engaging in a Side-Quest is not accomplishing the necessary previous quest to unlock the following one.

- Freedom: Players will earn Combat Skill Points and unlock Combat Skills directly related to the combat role they have chosen. Meaning that, as a Fire Support specialist, they will not be rewarded with Scout/Recon skills. Players are absolutely free to spend their Armory Points on anything they wish. The only constraint, and a temporary one at that, would be if a player needed any pre-requisites to utilize the item or upgrade. The bonuses received from accomplishing quests are set; no choice is involved. Yet, a player would be free to pick or not pick a particular quest. Some are necessary to unlock others and some are not.

Accompanying this Word document is an Excel spreadsheet that details the levels and skills of the Combat Skill Points, the weapons and upgrades available for purchase with Armory Points, and a layout of the Side-Quests, and the bonuses gained for accomplishing them.