OS/2 Shareware BBS: 7 Games/07-Games.zip/entrepre.zip/ent.txt

Text File | 1995-05-06 | 10KB | 222 lines

We're going to be releasing the Entrepreneur later this quarter (in
June) and to give users time to join up I'm letting everyone know that
anyone can join the Entrepreneur beta.

Last year our company, Stardock, developed Galactic Civilizations that
some of you may have heard of.  With what we have learned on
that game, we have sought to develop an even more ambitious
game.  A REAL TIME Strategy game.

The way we handle betas (like with GalCiv) is that it's treated like
an early experience program.  You get the game at a somewhat
discounted rate and in return you get the beta and the final version
and can have a great deal of input on what the game is like.

I also mention Avarice which is what we're internally calling
our "Myst Killer" game for OS/2.  If you liked Myst, you'll probably
like Avarice.

Here's the info for you to digest.  Please feel free to repost it
anywhere you think it is appropriate.  As any GalCiv player will
tell you, the large beta support we had is what made GalCiv
a success and we want to make Entrepreneur even more of a
true OS/2 game.

While developing GalCiv, an idea for a game kept coming to mind. I
used to be a big fan of 'business simulation' games.  Popular
games of this genre include MULE and Railroad Tycoon (though I haven't
actually seen this one).  The problem was, the game I wanted to
write which I called Corporate Machine, was well beyond the know-how
of our team back in 1993. It was just too advanced for us to feasibly
do because we were still fairly knew to OS/2 programming and we
did not have the infrastructure then for getting graphics designers
for the graphics (hence, GalCiv's graphics aren't incredible, I drew
the ship icons myself for example).  As GalCiv neared completion,
we have developed a network of artists and technical know-how where
Entrepreneur could become a reality.

I also wanted to show how similar modern business practices are
to warfare.  Make no mistake, Entrepreneur is a war game.  There
are no guns, no killing, no bombs but it is a game of conquest.
Your company is out to dominate the market you are in.  It should
give users a new perspective on how companies really work. We all
flame Microsoft for their business practices but it will be
interesting how much differently we players of Entrepreneur do when the
same situations come up.  To survive, you must be a competitive player.
What you are willing to do in Entrepreneur to be competitive is your
choice and perhaps it will be in those choices that you learn how you
are different from large domineering corporations that exist in reality.

If I were to describe what I want Entrepreneur to be like, I would
say:

Entrepreneur is a real-time multi-player strategy/simulation game
where you are out to conquer the world.

That's the trick now isn't it? REAL-TIME STRATEGY in the same
sentence.  To be sure, there are other real-time games out there.
Simcity and Populace come to mind but one is a simulation and the
other's 'strategy' components are relatively simple (though fun).
This kind of setup should appeal to those who (like me) enjoyed
the game Xcom (UFO: enemy unknown).  You have some control over
how fast time passes (except in multi-human-player mode of course)
but there is no 'turn' button.

In Entrepreneur, you choose a market to be involved in. The game
will come bundled with 3 markets to choose from.  Other markets
will be made available after release by either us or by third
parties via developer kits.  For example, let's say you choose
to be in the computer industry.  Computers are made up of several
components such as monitors, keyboards, hard disks, video cards,
CPU's etc.  Each of those components are made up of separate
components and so on.  But to keep the game from getting overly
complicated, you simply research a pre-defined set of components
such as hard drives, CPU's, etc.  Each component will add a different
trait to the product.  There are about a dozen qualities each
component adds.  From durability to cost to asthetics.  For example, you
may have a choice of a half dozen new types of hard disks you may want to
research into.  Some cost more but don't last as long.  Other's are kind
of 'sporty' looking which helps in reviews to a point. It is up to you
choose what you think it best for the future product you want to make.

Once you have researched a set of components, you then design products
from the list of components you have.  You may have a very powerful
computer system that costs a lot or an economy model.  You can have
several different products in your 'product line'.  At this point,
the only game I can even think to compare this game to (as you can
tell, I use other games as analogies a lot) would be Masters of Orion
which is quite a different game.  In MOO, you research technologies,
build ships with them and then wipe out enemy fleets with them.
In ENT, you research components, build inventions (products) with
those components and conquer the market with them (city by city).

But it's not quite that easy.  Researching techs and putting them
together is too easy. Once you design the product the engineering
process begins.  Depending on the complexity of the components,
the time to take your design and make it a reality begins. Luckily,
in ENT, everything takes little time for gameplay reasons but the
relative time between products can mean the difference between getting
a product out the door in time and ending up with a has-been
product.

Once this is done, you then send it to manufacturing and the product
gets built. You have to decide how many units to make and where
to send them.  Each city has different tastes in products. You will
have to be careful where you send your products.  If you send
a bunch of your fanciest and most expensive cars to a town that
considers eating a luxury, you are likely to get mowed down by
your opponents who have arrived with a fleet of economy-cars.

Like most strategy games, there are alliances and wars that break
out. This is similar to the real world where you have companies
that periodically make alliances (like IBM and Microsoft) and
companies that go to war with each other (like IBM and Microsoft).

You win the game either by absorbing all your competitors, conquering
all the markets of the world, or driving your competitors out of
business.

I am very excited about this game. Those of you who know me know
that I write games for my own enjoyment and hope that others
like it too.  I wrote GalCiv after getting tired of waiting for
someone to write a "Better Civ than Civ". Well, no one is going
to write ENT because its real-time strategy engine requires a
multithreaded OS and right now, it looks like we're the only ones
making games designed for such OS's.

The possibilities for this game are staggering. We could have
modules where you are really in a war game, you design armies and
the components are armor, artillary, infantry, etc.  Or another
market module where you are creating sentient life and trying to
beat out the other would be creators of life.  Best yet, since
the developer's kit will be out shortly after release, other people
will be able to make modules that I would never have thought of.

THE BETA:
In May we hope to release ENT beta 1 (though we may wait until
June to closer time it with Avarice beta 1).  The beta program
for ENT will be similar to GalCiv's beta.  Anyone can join the
pre-release program for $35 plus shipping.  Joining the program
allows you to get pre-release versions so that you have a definite
input into the game (anyone in the GalCiv program can attest
to this).  You also, of course, get the final version free.

We need lots of help in the game and OS/2 support for solid
products has always been strong.  Anyone who knows how to write
good music or is interested in artwork please email me (your
efforts will be compensated of course).  Moreover, we need lots
of cities to put in our world.  We're going to try to put in
beta testers' home towns into the game.

Beta testers will get to have input into:

o The game itself
o The manual
o The packaging

It is our intent to make this game truly by OS/2 users for
OS/2 users. I want to work as closely with other OS/2 users
to make this a world class game!

****************************************************************
BETA FORM

ENTREPRENEUR
REQUIRES
OS/2 WARP
8 megs ram
3.5 inch floppy drive
CD ROM drive if final version is on CD ROM.
VGA or better.


Name ____________________________________________

Address ________________________________________

City/Zip/Country _______________________________

Payment Type
[ ] VISA
[ ] Mastercard
[ ] Check

If Credit Card, # and expiration _____________________  ____

Name of your home town(optional) _____________________________

Your home town's location in
latitude and longitude (optional) _____________________________


Pick one
[ ] ENT beta program (includes final version free)
    $35 plus $10 shipping ($20 if outside USA/Canada)
[ ] ENT pre-order (final version only)
    $40 plus $5 shipping ($15 if outside USA/Canada)

[ ] ENT AND Avarice* beta programs (includes both betas and final GA)
    $60 plus $20 shipping ($40 if outside USA/Canada)


I want the GA version on: [ ]CDROM  [ ]3.5" floppies
(beta will be on 3.5" floppies)

Make Checks payable to:
Stardock Systems Inc.
13405 Addison
Gibraltr MI 48173

Stardock: PHONE [phone] USA
      FAX   [phone] USA
      CompuServe: GO STARDOCK
      OS2BBS: Stardock forum
      Email: [e-mail]


* Avarice requires at least a 2speed CD ROM to play.
Target Release dates for both products are September 1995.