Idea Vikings in space, mythology based resource managing game (sort of)

Filkata

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Setting:

The game idea I have is about vikings stranded on a magical ship. The setting is a large field of planets and the ship can travel from the planet it is on to another that is within range. The planets are loosely based on the Nine worlds of Nordic mythology, e.g. there are lava planets (Musphelheim), ice planets (Nifelheim) and so on, but there are many instances rather than one.

Goal:
The goal can perhaps be to reach the vikings home planet/world Midgard, located in the centre of the 'galaxy'. I am thinking this goal can be optional and doesn't end the game, similarly to the space stage in Spore, provided there are enough other things to interest the player in the galaxy. The planets should not be uniformly spaced throughout so maybe some ship range and other upgrades are necessary for getting there.

The core of the gameplay should revolve around managing a few resources, positioning the ship in the 'galaxy', upgrading the ship and managing your standing with a few viking gods.

Resources:
Food:
Resource gathered by visiting fertile planets, (Terran and Oceanic perhaps). Food is spent every time when travelling between planets based on the number People in the ship and the distance. Food can also be sacrificed to a god to improve standing with them. Running out of food will cause you to start losing People when travelling.
People:
The ship starts with a number of people on it. Food consumption depends on the number of People. People are also spent fighting. Combat mechanics are not quite clear yet, but should be along the lines of "Loose X warriors to defeat enemies on the current planet", creative suggestions on how the combat can work are welcome!
Losing all of your people means losing the game. A big question is how to recruit more people?

Magic: I am also considering adding some magic as a currency/resource so there is an incentive to go to other planet types other than ones that give food as well (the main problem with this design so far). So maybe you go to ice planets to harvest it/fight for it, and go to fire planets on (some of which?) you can find Dwarves you can buy upgrades with? Perhaps in this way more planet types and all resources will tie in nicely together?
Of course, in the mythology Dwarves live in caves, but maybe they like the heat of the fire planets for smithing? Not everything should be strictly following the mythology, similarly as the Marvel movies and the recent God of War game do some of their own interpretations.

Gods:
There are a few Norse gods that you have a standing with, starting from 0. Sacrificing food to them can improve your standing with them, your decisions in some encounters can affect it too. Maybe there can be other ways to affect it too, for example, your lost warriors go to Odin in Valhalla and improve your standing?
After reaching a certain standing you get an upgrade/buff from the god, e.g, maybe you get Odin's ravens as scouts to tell you what exact resources are available on nearby planets.
Higher standing can earn more powerful buffs/upgrades, which can be lost if the standing is lost.
The other way to upgrade is buying from the Dwarves (potentially).

Encounters:
At some planets, you will encounter mythical heroes/creatures which you can interact with, e.g. kill them or give resources in exchange for something. An example: at an Oceanic planet you encounter the serpent Jormungander. Killing it will improve your standing with Thor as it is its enemy, but it will lower your standing with Loki, as it is his child.

Planet types:
Terran, Oceanic - these give food.
Barren - only good for stopping your ship before the next destination.
Fire, Ice - can be either tied in with Dwarves and Magic as above or maybe fire and ice Jotuns?
I feel like I need more types with incentives to visit them to make things interesting.

I feel I've got the basis for an interesting game combining mythology and a space feel. Have you seen any similar games or ones I can draw inspiration from? Also attached is an image froma very basic prototype I have built.
 

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I'm really liking this idea. As for your recruitment question, maybe there could be other ships out there with other Vikings that need to be rescued/recruited, or maybe the gods could gift you new units for being loyal to them, with more specialized units reserved for players with higher standing. Like maybe if you've maxed out your loyalty to Odin, you get access to Valkyries. You could also recruit people on planets you visit.
 
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