WARNING: Long post ahead! Proceed with caution!
I think Mudrunner could use a better gameplay structure... as much as I love driving big trucks trough thick mud, I would like to have better/more reasons to do so other than just completing a limited number of maps. Would Euro/American Truck Simulator have become so successful if it was just about completing a map then moving on to the next and repeat until all the maps are over? I don't know, but it seems to me that the light business management elements (and even a touch of RPG) in ETS2 is what makes that game so satisfying and ultimately what made it a success.
That got me thinking about how a career mode for Mudrunner should be and so here's some ideas I had about said mode. These are kinda random and not fully tough-out, but I don't think there's any harm in sharing, so... here it goes:
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First, the basic thing is that the player would have to work for and earn everything. Vehicles, add-ons, parts (more on this later), workers (also more later) and more... all would have to be bought with money made from completing jobs
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We would start with a small amount of money to buy our first vehicle and maybe one or two add-ons. The "main screen" in the game would be our garage (like a "base of operations"). On that screen we make all of our business decisions in-between jobs like buying, repairing (also costs money), hiring (more later) and others, then press a button to "pass the time". When we do so, job offers will start to appear. For those who play X-Com, think of it like pressing the "scan for activity" button in that game. PS: Yes, I brainstormed this career thing while I was playing X-Com :face_with_stuck-out_tongue_closed_eyes:
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Jobs would be somewhat random. Meaning that, there would be a range of different possible jobs (rescuing, logging, transporting...) and they could take place across any of the existing maps. Each map would have different "spawn" points for each objective(s) and multiple possible starting points as well.
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Different jobs would have different difficulty ratings, depending on various factors, like the objective in question, the spawn points of the objectives (some would be easier than others), the distance between the objective and the starting point, and so on... the more difficult a job is, the more money you'd be paid, but the possibility of damaging your vehicles (even beyond repair) is also bigger so there should be a nice risk/reward balance going on
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You cannot take more than one vehicle to a job unless you hire workers, each worker you hire is one more vehicle you can take with you, up to a limit of 3 or 4 (this is a small local business). Workers would cost a salary each month. This should add challenge to the "business" part of the sim and make it difficult for the player to just hoard money.
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As you use each vehicle in more and more jobs they'll start developing some wear and tear (things become loose, rust starts to show up...) and eventually this will make your vehicles more fragile and the possibility of mechanical failure starts to increase. This is different from regular damage that you suffer by hitting things and stuff... it's more of an attrition "aging" process. To avoid this, you'll have to perform regular maintenance checks on your more used vehicles when you are in the garage. This will also cost money and time, meaning that, a vehicle under maintenance might be unavailable for a number of days, so you won't be able to take it with you for any job during that period. Another idea stolen... from X-Com :face_with_stuck-out_tongue_closed_eyes:
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Vehicles would have different mechanical parts, like engines, gear boxes, etc, that can be damaged individually. It's possible that one part might be damaged beyond repair and in that case you would need to buy another part to replace it
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Maybe during your jobs you would sometimes randomly find abandoned/junk vehicles. If you tow them to your garage these might have one or two parts to salvage and keep as possible replacements if necessary. Once these found vehicles are salvaged for parts you can sell them as junk for a small amount of money.
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Jobs will be offered to you by different businesses that might need the services of a company who owns large industrial vehicles. Each of this companies will have a name, logo and "personality". For example the company "Big Wood Co." cares a great deal about experience and rapport, therefore, they'll start paying you more for each successful job you do for them, on the other hand if you "abort" one of their jobs (aborting in the middle of a job would be a possibility) or screw things up (for example, by damaging the cargo) then you'll start receiving less offers from them, and for a smaller pay. Some companies would be more forgiving than others, among other possible differences of "personality".
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There would be both a "game over" possibility, as well as a victory scenario. Gameover would happen if the player goes bankrupt. "Victory" would happen if the player manages to make their company reach a fixed net-worth value. If the player manages to achieve that the player can then sell the company and retire (or he can keep playing... would be optional), which would be the "victory" scenario. Besides an achievement this might unlock some kind of stuff for the next career play trough.
So... i think I should stop writing now. I had more ideas but this post is turning into a novel already...
Would anyone like something like this? Would it work? If not then how do you guys imagine a career mode for Mudrunner should be?