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Need Help Displaying Dynamic Variables

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Fri, 01/13/2017 - 12:49
regniwekim
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I'm working on a truck driving game. Players will start in a city, draw some cards from a deck that show various cargo and destinations, pick one, and then start moving towards the destination.

The map is similar to Ticket to Ride, with major cities connected by varying amounts of spaces.

Since all the delivery cards are going to be drawn from one deck, and cards can be drawn while you're in any city, setting static values on the cards would not work. I want the players to earn money based on the distance of the trip, plus any multipliers.

I'm stuck on trying to figure out a way for players to quickly see how far their destination is when they draw a card, as well as being able to remember where they started that delivery since one delivery could take several rounds.

I am considering just have a chart in the rules that lists all the cities in a grid, and tells you how many spaces there are between them. This seems less than elegant, and still doesn't solve the problem of a clear origin indicator.

Any ideas, inspiration, or suggestions are appreciated.

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Fri, 01/13/2017 - 14:21
#1
Supafrieke
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I may not understand your

I may not understand your original issue, but I'm not sure there is a solution.... If the map is as open as TTR, the player can choose multiple routes to fulfill and you wind up with not being able to determine the length until they enter the destination city. And if taking a circuitous route yields more money, expect long/ strange routes...

If you want to restrict the players payout to the most direct route, no matter their actual path, then your chart idea might just be the best method of determining those values. In order to limit the chart, you could have a chart of average values for different regional areas (think.. 15 spaces from "the south" to "west coast" and so the player has to decide if that route makes sense from Miami, FL (22 spaces), or should they deliver to Baton Rouge, LA (14 spaces); then make that long ride out to Sacramento, CA.)

In any case, In order give the game a trucking feel, you could have the players keep a logbook of "miles" driven and cities they stopped in. This log would be exactly what you need to calculate distances traveled and could add to the route planning/trucking theme.

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Fri, 01/13/2017 - 15:46
#2
X3M
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Goodies are bad

The cargo could rot over time. Thus becoming less worth when a player takes to long.
The cargo could be relatively heavy. Thus making a truck slower, which also makes the player take to long.

If you manage to balance the above. Players will try to make fast, short route's. Because the cargo might get to rotten. Or the players simply take very very long before they can make another trip.

Good luck.

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Fri, 01/13/2017 - 16:00
#3
questccg
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Start with this...

Use a "fictitious" map... Like not of the USA... Some other continent, sea to sea.

Why? I'll continue to explain.

Maybe the roads in blocks of 100km. So from A to B, there are 10 spaces. Easy math 10 x 100km = 1,000km BUT you only calculate the spaces. So you score 10 Victory Points (VPs).

About the "delivery" cards. What I would put is a "Maximum Distance" per card. So say you are delivering Livestock, you could have a 5,000km distance (50 x 100km = 5,000km) but if you are delivering Fruit, you could have 2,000km distance (20 x 100km = 2,000km).

Something like that... Maybe this can help you generate more ideas...

Best of luck(?!) with your game!

Update: You could have different "trucks" with varying cargo capacity that allow you to carry "multiple" cargo... You could also have a fuel capacity and Gas Stations along the way to re-fuel. Re-fueling would mean waiting (or skipping) a turn (for example).

I think the KEY here is "MULTIPLE" cargo. This way you can compute your load in function of where and what you already need to deliver.

Could be FUN and interesting...

Update #2: This has to be one of the MOST interesting game ideas I have heard about in a while. This poses serious "organization" problems when having "multiple" cargo and trying to get everything you're hauling to the proper location.

To me it poses an interesting "problem" - and the odd thing is that I am sure it's a REAL WORLD problem too! A game that is FUN and is based on real world problems - why that's brilliant in my mind!

Keep us abreast of your development for this game... I'd really like to see where you take this "game idea"...!

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Fri, 01/13/2017 - 21:59
#4
questccg
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Using tracks to monitor the progress

I was thinking maybe I should post a few more ideas about how to "track" progression.

Each "delivery" card states the Pick up and Delivery points plus the cargo that need to be transported. It also states the "Maximum Travel" the cargo can endure without being "ruined".

Each "delivery" card would have a TRACK with values from 1-100 (for example). And you could use these "markers" to keep track as you travel:

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/parts/slider-clip-blue

When you move 5 spaces (or 500km), you reduce ALL your "delivery" cards by 5 spaces...

When one reaches ZERO (0), you have failed to make that delivery. Really an AWESOME IDEA.

I personally really like it. It could make for a very thematic Euro. Which is not usually the case for Euro (or German-Style games).

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Fri, 01/13/2017 - 22:29
#5
questccg
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And if you want it ...

MORE INTERESTING, make it that the "Bonus" you earn is a function to the "Distance Traveled".

So it's like a MAD RUSH:

-You've got CORN that can travel 2,000km (or 20 Spaces)
-You've got TELEVISIONS that can travel 8,000km (or 80 Spaces)
-You've got BOTTLED WATER that can travel 5,000km (or 50 Spaces)

Now the BONUS you earn is in function of the distance.

So if I travel:

-15 Spaces for the CORN = I get 5 Space BONUS.
-50 Spaces for the TVS = I get 30 Space BONUS.
-40 Spaces for the WATER = I get 10 Space BONUS.

Every single move can be correctly CALCULATED and finding the OPTIMAL solution is always a part of each "delivery" you take on. And then there's the BONUS which adds to the VPs... Making you have to be a real Hauler of a Big Rig!!!

It's a game that I would definitely want to play! :)

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Fri, 01/13/2017 - 23:01
#6
Evil ColSanders
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The previous card for your

The previous card for your trip is your placeholder. If I arrived in Houston, Texas, that card is my reminder that I started there. Use Ticket to Ride method of the colored rectangles, only make them mono-colored since color doesn't matter. In that case, you could just make big, fat, dots going from what point of interest to another, then just count up the dots to get your points and multiplier.

Another way to do roads is like Ticket to Ride, only the colors of the road represent the length. Green is 5 spaces, Red is 6, etc. Green takes 1 turn to get to, Red takes 2, or whoever your movement is in your game. Like TtR, have a legend in the bottom corner of the map to show the calculations of length as I just explained, along with scoring (and multipliers).

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Sun, 01/15/2017 - 18:27
#7
questccg
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More please! lol

regniwekim wrote:
I'm working on a truck driving game. Players will start in a city, draw some cards from a deck that show various cargo and destinations, pick one, and then start moving towards the destination.

I personally would love to "hear more" about this game idea! You should probably also have a "haul capacity" and each "cargo" to be delivered should occupy some space of your hauling capacity.

This is probably LESS "Euro" but if you have different "Trucks" ... maybe that can make for a more "thematic" game as opposed to vanilla Euros such as TTR...

Really want to hear more about this game idea!

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Wed, 01/18/2017 - 21:17
#8
questccg
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Bump!

Figured I'm probably not the only person who would like to know more about this real cool "Game Idea"...

Feel free to share with us other details and your thoughts on this concept.

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Thu, 01/19/2017 - 02:37
#9
X3M
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For further inspiration, you

For further inspiration, you could take a look at Transport Tycoon.

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Thu, 01/19/2017 - 05:33
#10
BHFuturist
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Random thoughts

What if the cards did not "care" where the player was or what city they needed to go to but instead only gave the distance? This would make the players need to find a location on the board that was that distance from where they were when they drew the card. Then it is just a matter of developing a web of connected cities so that each city is within one, two, or three "city hops" from every possible number that can be found on the cards. 3, 5, 7, 9 or whatever...

"Deliver Fresh carrots to a city 7 spaces away. X bonus if you pass through at least two cities"

City [][][] City (three spaces)

City [][][] City [][][][] City (seven spaces one pass through)

City [][][] City [][] City [][] City (seven spaces two pass throughs)

Then each city might have a bonus that will make drivers want to stay away from them in order to increase their chances of a job leading them to that city because it is X spaces from where they are "looking" for jobs. (x being the average number of spaces found on cards)

The driver might be able to pick between two cities that are 8 spaces in different directions (from where they are right now) because one of the cities has a bonus for the type of cargo the card has. (this would be best as matching icons for things like fresh produce, medical supplies, hazardous cargo)

Some cities might have icons that prevent hazardous cargo from passing through...

Drivers might also be able to deliver the goods to a city with a matching icon that is closer than the number on the card in exchange for half the normal card reward plus the icon bonus rather than deliver it to a city that was the right number of spaces for the full card reward but without a matching icon bonus.

I don't understand how knowing what city the job started in matters for scoring. If you need to track the distance for points, just have the players mark on a player aid what their current job is "worth" if they finish it. (number line with token). then they always know what the delivery is worth and don't need to remember where they started.

All in all, this would be Card distance score + Card bonus if completed + Cargo Icon if matched = Points

Just some random thoughts I had after reading your post. I hope something in this brain dump helps. (it is very late where I am, and I am tired as I write this)

-Eamon

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