I’m starting a new project. it will be an asteroid mining minigame. it will likely be 2d. it will also have similarities to “pipe mania” style games. I want this game to be something that could be added to 4x space games to make mining more fun (not necessarily directly, but rather by concept).
what I need:
- ideas
- tips and tricks for creating a 2d tile based game
so far, I only have two mutually exclusive ideas for how the game will function:
a. it will be like “pipe mania” and the fluid in the pipes will be “nano robots” that will dissolve the minerals.
b. the player will control some kind of robot that will dig it’s way into the asteroid.
“a” would be the easiest for me to design. the problem is that it wouldn’t be usable in all or most 4x space games as “nano robots” are often not used. “nano robots” are a can of worms that I don’t really want to open.
“b” could fit into almost any space game, but I have yet to come up with any ideas for that style.
Thanks for any help that can be provided 
I have always wanted to explore the idea of pipemania+tower defense.
Energy moves one way, resources other way.
Tile selection is limited. ( Part supply drop ship route is under fire, you get what you get… 
)
Some kind of mindless slugs attacking the base.
etc…
You should also produce a concept prototype first to get the feel about the subject first.
quick sketch i did.
Coding wise should be quite simple.
Bit path finding and placement checks.
what about something like Command and Conquer ?
‘collector’ units can be ordered to go mine a resource, when full they return the resource
you can have tower defence as well as RTS elements, and time constraints…
(capture middleground base location before the enemy, or amass a small army to wipe away enemy base before it’s secure)
MouseOver(map)-±Click and hold = box select (I have made quite a few)
MouseOver(unit)+click and release = select single unit
MouseOver(map) and click when units sellected = move navigation targets for all units to target location
once they collide with resource, just have a timer that stops when full, or the resource is empty,
and they auto path find back to the resource drop off point?
those are all really interesting ideas! I think I will go with a mix of RTS and “pipe mania”. the player will send out 1-3 little diggers. the diggers will look for the mineral chunks and either mine them alone, or build faster and/or more efficient structures that can mine the minerals and transport them back to the ship.
there may or may not be another presence in the asteroid. these could be other miners, autonomous mining drones, or some kind of creature(s). these things could be changed to adapt to whatever story I use for the minigame or whatever game I add this to. they could be the cause for a time limit and/or something to defend against.
I think I will use a much larger scale for the play area than what is found in games like “pipe mania”. three to four times as many rows and columns. maybe more.
thanks for the ideas! they helped a lot! I’m still open to whatever ideas/criticisms any one would like to add.