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QualityChecklist

tehhowch edited this page Nov 3, 2019 · 2 revisions

If you're looking to write content that will eventually become part of the main game, here are a few guidelines to keep in mind:

All graphics:

Ships:

  • Make sure the sprite is a single connected component so that collision detection works properly.
  • Define sensible hardpoints.
  • Balance the ship's capabilities with other ships in the same price range.
  • 3D renders should be post-processed to look grungier and less artificial.
  • Colored sections should span the range from red to yellow so faction-specific color swizzling will work properly.

Outfits:

  • Provide outfit thumbnails at normal and @2x resolution.
  • If the outfit is a secondary weapon, provide normal and @2x icons.
  • Decide which outfitters will sell the outfit.
  • An outfit's cost should reflect how good it is compared to other outfits of the same size.
  • Where possible, have outfits be better in some ways and worse in others, compared to existing ones, rather than better in every single way.

Landscape photos:

  • Should be photos or photo-realistic.
  • Include both sky and ground in the image.
  • Remove people from the image if possible.
  • Photos should be realistic (no exaggerated color / contrast).
  • Avoid foreground objects (trees, houses, people, etc.).

New star systems:

  • The planet sprites with city lights should only be used for inhabited planets.
  • Planet descriptions should roughly track whether they're in the hot or the cold range of the habitable zone.
  • System name text should not overlap when the map is viewed at 100%.
  • Try to put something funny or interesting in each planet description.
  • Planet descriptions must be short enough to fit in the landing UI.
  • New systems that are inside human space won't be accepted into the main game data unless there's a good plot reason for them.

New missions:

  • Text should be as concise as possible. Remember this is a game, not a novel.
  • The "yes, I want this mission" choice in a conversation should usually come first in the list (so it is the default).
  • Conversations should not imply that the player is a certain gender or use gendered pronouns for the player (call them "kid" or "Captain" or <first> instead).

New sounds:

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