NODE SYSTEM
Inspired by the Atlas from games like Path of Exile 2 and the world of Albion Online, we are building:
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A procedurally generated map system containing player-capturable plots of land.
We build the world from reusable Node and Region templates rather than generating everything from scratch. Each Node has a seed that determines its biome, terrain layout, POIs, resources, enemy camps, roads, and player plots. Unreal's PCG Framework can populate the selected layout with foliage, rocks, resources, and other environmental actors. Player plots are predefined gameplay volumes within each Node, with ownership stored as lightweight server data. The same templates can therefore produce many different maps while keeping generation fast, deterministic, and inexpensive.
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Regional economies centered around major hubs encourage transport, escorts, and PvP encounters in the open world.
We give each Node a lightweight economy containing its available resources, item prices, demand, and connections to nearby Nodes. Major hubs act as buying and selling centers, while resources generated in surrounding Nodes create physical trade routes between them. Players carry goods through the world using inventories, mounts, caravans, or similar actors, naturally producing transport routes and PvP encounters. The server only needs to track economy values, inventories, ownership, and transactions rather than simulating every individual item in the world.
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Node-wide weather events to re-populate the map with loot and enemies.
We treat each weather event as a server-controlled Node state with a duration and random seed. When an event starts, the Node changes its spawn tables and activates predefined spawn volumes, allowing Unreal's PCG system or reusable spawn managers to populate the area with enemies, resources, and loot. When the event ends, those temporary actors are removed and the Node returns to its normal state. This allows the same locations and assets to repeatedly generate different encounters without permanently filling the server with spawned actors.
The Node System is intended to be a highly-replayable primary gamemode to drive content for the game.
Player-Generated Quests
In discussions with design leadership, I was tasked with designing a system that heavily incentivized social interactions across the various types of content found in-game.
To fuel UGC social interactions between various types of players while stimulating the in-game economy:
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Players can visit a faction NPC at each of the major hubs to create quests and rewards for other players.
We build the system around a server-authoritative Quest Manager that stores quests as lightweight data rather than spawning permanent actors. At each major hub, a faction NPC opens a quest-creation UI where players select from predefined objectives tied to Node activities, such as transporting resources, defeating enemies, capturing plots, or completing PvP objectives. The system validates the objective, duration, location, and creator-provided rewards, then publishes the quest to a shared quest board. Other players accept and complete the quest, with the server tracking progress and distributing the deposited rewards.
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Fame or infamy increases and decreases depending on the types of quests completed.
We give each player a simple Fame/Infamy value per faction that changes when the server confirms specific quest completions. Each quest objective has a predefined reputation value, allowing positive or negative changes based on the activity. The player's faction standing can then unlock NPC dialogue, quest options, rewards, cosmetics, or access to different Node activities. Since the system only needs to replicate the player's current values and quest results, it remains inexpensive even with many players participating.
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The Player-Generated Quest System categorizes the primary meta-game actions players can take to progress their faction's influence on the Node System as options to choose from when creating quests.
We represent every player-created quest as a compact Quest Data Asset/struct containing its creator, faction, objective, Node/location, expiration time, reward entries, and completion requirements. When the creator posts a quest, the server removes or locks the offered currency, materials, and items from their inventory and places them into the quest's reward record. On completion, the server transfers those rewards directly to the player who completed the quest and closes the quest. This prevents duplication and keeps the system flexible while allowing players to create economic incentives using existing game items and currencies.
Players creating quests can then populate the rewards table with their own liquid currency, materials, and items as incentives for other players.
RESOURCE AND EQUIPMENT-BASED ABILITIES
Focused around four primary archetypes, players are empowered to change each archetypes' playstyle through our Equipment System.
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Each of the four archetypes can modify each ability slot on their bar with equipment to augment their effects.
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While the base-version of an ability may illuminate an area in front of the player to provide vision for their allies, equipment can augment that beam of light to heal over time, deal damage to enemies, or recharge ally equipment.
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To fuel their equipment, a universal (Name Omitted) Alien Resource acts as the primary source of currency and fuel for abilities.
We build each archetype around a base ability set with modular equipment modifiers. Each ability slot references a base ability and an equipment data object that modifies its gameplay effects, allowing the same ability to produce different results without creating separate abilities for every variation. For example, a vision beam could have equipment that applies healing-over-time to allies, damage to enemies, or equipment recharge. In Unreal, this can be handled efficiently through Gameplay Ability System (GAS) Gameplay Effects, Gameplay Tags, and Data Assets, with equipment defining which effects are added, removed, or modified when the ability activates.
The (Name Omitted) Alien Resource serving multiple functions was designed to simplify the game rules. Expeditions outside of the major hubs require Alien Resource as:
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Constant fuel for equipment necessary for survival
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Beacons for looting and enemy AI focus.
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Resource management for combat.
We use the Alien Resource as a single replicated resource component shared across equipment, exploration, and combat systems. Equipment consumes the resource continuously while active, while beacons can consume or emit it to attract loot and enemy AI. Combat abilities can also spend the same resource, creating one consistent resource-management loop across the game. The server owns the resource value and handles all deductions and regeneration, while GAS abilities and equipment check the value before activation. This keeps the underlying system simple because equipment fuel, exploration requirements, beacon behavior, and combat resource costs all use the same resource type.
