Hello, I have come to these forums to request help a guidance on how to develop specific portions of a game that I'm working on. To keep it simple, I'm working on a text based space strategy game where players start with a single planet, and must construct structures, research technologies and colonize other planets to expand their empire.
I'm working on solar system formation at the moment. I could simply make every planet in the system random, and take the easy route, but I really ant to do this right. I obviously can't build a full-fledged simulation, but I can make it realistic as possible.
I know that every solar system should start with a certain amount of "Mass" and that most of the mass should be dedicated to the star, but what percentage should I use for planets, asteroids and other objects?
Also, should I divide this "Mass" into different gasses to create more realistic atmospheres? If so, what gasses should I include, and is there a certain way that I should spread these gasses? What gasses mix, and what does that mixture create? What gasses are naturally destroyed/consumed, if any, by the formation of the solar system?
I want moons and their atmospheres to be as realistic as possible, If a moon's atmosphere is a certain way in real life, I want to include that in the game to create more realistic formations. If there are less asteroids in a system because of the presence of a as giant, I want to include that as well.
I ask for some one who really know this topic well, that will explain things in a simple manner (not because I'm dumb, but because I need to code it in a simple way), or I can just continue to post on this forum when I need some help.
Thanks in advance.