=== ANCHOR POEM === ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════── Another ally could use the blaster cannons to your left and right that were beyond targeting range of your target. Basically... "shoot this bit here!!" the two overlapping field of view segments would divide their focus evenly on the parts that were venn diagrammed to be both within the target able field of view area and shared with the other targeting zone, the one controlled by the other operator, who also intended to fire on a target and used a field of view zone that intersected with the other viable turrets of another field of view zone. The ones which were closest to aiming at that target (they need time to rotate) were the ones chosen to fire that particular turret at that "closest to aim at" target. If there were more of the turrets pointing at one target than the other, they would get proportionally more/fewer on their other overlappings. If none others to distribute targeting to, then the system will move them anyway and move toward equilibrium as soon as possible. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─┘ === SIMILARITY RANKED === --- #1 fediverse/982 --- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────── @user-707 @user-708 using this to control the buttons in VRchat would be like a person with a prosthetic interacting with real life :O minus the physicality of course, but that's next. can't wait to play Warcraft 3 and think "select all healers" so I can point them at a dying unit with my mouse. or world of warcraft where your rotation begins to feel like a song. maybe even a text-based adventure, where you reading the text corresponds to the results of the simulation, https://www.spreeder.com/app.php style. could make it so that if you wanted something else to happen, you had to willfully think it while the words are flashing in front of your eyes - the game would pause if you blinked, perfect for phones btw... could be a locally networked thing, like four to six people hanging out and playing a game like pictionary or charades. except, a story that developed, and whoever wanted could change it while everyone was reading it at once. sorta like a competition to see who can make the best twists and false endings ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘ --- #2 notes/symbeline-design-the-guild --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────── design the guild, design the capital, then design their path through mordaunts. easy peasy. design the guild like a museum. Each spot there's an exhibit which teaches the randomly generated rolled statistics hero something new. Maybe it teaches them how to use certain weaponry, maybe it teaches them how to use a bow. Whatever the spell might be, they can learn it, and use their randomly rolled statistics to cast spells that scale differently depending on how their character has been built. design the capital like a flow diagram, if horses need feed and forged steel (for their shoes) then send the outputs of a blacksmith and the outputs of the farmers to the inputs of the stables. Everything has to go somewhere, but the streets are only so wide. You'll have to coordinate the traffic diagram if you want it to go anywhere useful. design the path through the mordaunts. Fighting skeletons teaches you about perseverence and the ability to crush bones, while goblins teach you to always be wary of attack. The sacred grove held blessed berries, and now that the land is liberated from the evil bandits preying on villagers those berries can be carted into town and used to make an antidote which heals death poison caused by the scorpions in the desert (and city rats) design the ruler's schedule like a calendar where each event gives them a bonus on all the ones that come later. Just make sure that they don't get knifed in the posterier or driven mad by the whispers of the orb... or perhaps just the stress of running a kingdom. (how do you simulate that? you can't! you can't simulate humans!) ha I bet I can. They're not so different, you and I, so if given a team I will... ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┘ --- #3 messages/1327 --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════── I think some of the coolest projects involve electromotors. For example, a VR game where you play as a corellian corvette (point defence ship, primarily targeting tie swarms) flying your ship like a submarine through the massive array of capital ships blasting each other's shields while also using a hardware electromotor mounted on your choice of chair (weighted or secured to minimize the possibility of flailing when the carshiptrain falls over out of your seat) while mounted in a virtual cockpit that swivels on a virtual base. (you don't need the motor and it doesn't need to swivel, that's just for people who really want to get into it like flight sticks or steering wheels) Anyway I'm thinking you could toss these big blobby laser blasts in dual-ship arrays like flying formation in WW2 sims or otherwise flying increasingly large airships to apply damage to a foe. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─┘ --- #4 fediverse/2678 --- ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┐ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │ ║ │ CW: cursed-but-useful-technology │ │ ║ └──────────────────────────────────┘ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ "the goal is to have multiple people piloting different sections of the drone │ ║ swarm. the image recognition technology will adapt and eliminate any hostiles │ ║ within range, while also attempting to place themselves in positions which │ ║ maximize the camera coverage of areas the others can't see. then, the director │ ║ can say "you 5 move east 1/4th of a mile" based on their vision from the │ ║ combined camera output from the drones. │ ║ │ ║ the "fog of war" should not be black, also, but rather it should be the vision │ ║ of the long-range camera style drone up above. if you have multiple, you can │ ║ take their vision and find the angle based on their coordinates and elevation │ ║ (soh-cah-toa) and then you should have another perspective which can fill in │ ║ quite a few blanks. │ ║ │ ║ in fact if you had at least 4 of them you could reliably cover every corner of │ ║ the city. notdownstrets │ ║ │ ║ depending on how the factory situation is going, could be used with infantry │ ║ too, but like... human conflict? in this era? how barbaric. │ ╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤ ║ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┴──────────┘ --- #5 notes/game-design-mech-commander --- ═════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────────── okay picture a game where you command a mech (supreme commander style) but from a third person perspective - you have enhanced sensors tthat let you visualize the battle area as a small arena - and you can build factories and give them orders and attack your foe from quite a distance. You could queue up orders for yourself, and use floating cameras to go back to previous areas and issue more orders. Basically the precursor / smaller scale version of Supreme Commander. build a factory, move on. Build a factory, move on. Encountered the enemy? Push forward and through. Build a factory, move on. Build some defences to slow down the enemy, move on. Establish resource extraction and defend it well, that your enemy may decide it's not worth the trouble and just focus on following you. Then, you have free resources available as long as it isn't destroyed. You can use this to snowball - the pursuer is also the pursuee, as it's sorta like a yin/hang thing around a central point. Like a spherical shaped map instead of a square. Every time you build a factory you have the choice of either sending the units on an attack-move order or having them queue up on your commander. You can use a map to plot the route they'll take, but you probably want to avoid their main force because MANYvONE = failure for the one. You could also tell them to wait, and protect the base they're in. Then, when the enemy approaches they could do raids on their reinforcements and attack the previous base the enemy built, or they could stay and slow them down. It just depends on what kind of defences you want to build (if any at all, sometimes producing units is enough) the commander decides when to push and when to entrench, they know where to target the enemy and they know where to shore up. They are the guidance of the army, and in command of the fleet. That's sorta what Planetary Annihilation was supposed to be, but it didn't really work out that way. You needed to be in too many places at once, and there was a real limit to the value of the "strategic zoom" replacement they had to deploy. Unfortunately it was just more difficult than anticipated, and that's alright. Lessons have been learned. the next approach should go the next direction - taking a page from the "factorio" book by having a roving commander who creates all orders and leaving behind a "factory" that produces toward an ultimate goal. It simulates pushing into enemy territory, it elaborates on the snowballing mechanic, and it makes meaningful decisions about what choices to make. It should be designed such that a prudent commander is always scouting. Always sending planes over enemy territory to gain knowledge. They can use this to sense weaknesses in the opponents defence - to prepare a counter-attack. But the enemy can outfox this, by building units and sending them from afar. Or even just building them there, in that factory. The enemy can't spy on that, at least not until it's probably too late. For they have to advance on their own and their attention is limited. But units can often be weaker, or sent off on an assault of their own. It's a balanced trade-off. infantry assault anti-air units, tanks approach tanks, artillery bombs whoever is standing still or defensive structures. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #6 notes/how-to-ai --- ═════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── first you gotta build an entire simulation of the game mechanics. Essentially, building the game from scratch without any of the graphics. Sorta like those aimbot games for Overwatch, or KSU or w/e the aim training game was. Then, map the relationship between various objects in the game to a table situated a level above them. So, like, a barrel can be climbed on or walls can be used as cover or w/e the game you're playing is. Have a table one level above that relationship (an abstraction, if you will) and record the conclusion. Then take one more step back, then another, and another, all the way to the present. Essentially, processing backward. Eventually you'll get to the present moment, and ideally you'd do it in one step - this is why it's important to map things on two dimensional planes, so that you can aim. Anyway here's the steps: 1. recognize the environment, 2. Take one step backward from each object in the environment (predicting it's motion, you might say) and on and on gathering ideas about how git'll move next. Draw a 2d line (on a map, as the crow flies) then another about halfway to the target and it'll be +/- a certain amount. So you'll add another dot on the graphed line at x=(1/2 of the distance) - x being of course the distance and y being concieved of as the distance from the shortest possible route. sorta like throwing a ball at a wall and making ripples. the projected cone is a field of perception - the interpretation of what's at stake. Life, and existence, is little more than a perspective applied on (or by ) a biological machine. What separates the man from the animal? Nothing but time, as all evolution teaches us. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #7 notes/symbeline-aspects --- ═════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 7-24-22 There are three aspects to this game. Broadly, they are military, economics, and diplomacy. More specifically, they are lateral problem solving and lane management, logistic traffic management, and a worker-placement bluffing game. These three aspects can be toggled on and off at will, essentially designating one or more as "AI controlled" and will require no input from the player. They will time their progression to be about at the same rate as the player, thus creating a balanced feel to the game. They also provide alerts and notifications to the player, for example if military is AI controlled and it needs a certain type of hero to progress, it'll ask for it specifically. Each aspect will develop and progress at it's own rate, and the difficulty increases as each milestone is achieved. This is to allow the player to create their own difficulty curve, mediated primarily by their drive to proceed. An analogy would be in Factorio, the game doesn't increase in difficulty unless the player builds pollution spawning factories - in the same way, in Symbeline the difficulty doesn't increase unless the player solves lane challenges in the military aspect, develops new trade routes / traffic paths in the economic aspect, or creates new treaties in the diplomatic aspect. In order to properly explain each aspect, a brief overview will be necessary. In Symbeline, the game plays as a factory might operate. The economic aspect produces heroes, items, and other deliverables that are consumed by the military and diplomatic aspects. There are various problems that need to be solved far from the capital, such as a particular type of monster that is weak or immune to various damage types which necessitates particular heroes or items in order to progress on the military aspect. All of the resources in the game operate on an "income based" system, where output is not measured in total amounts but rather in terms of how much is produced versus consumed. If the input cannot meet the demand, the output is slowed. If input exceeds demand it can be converted into gold which can be used to hire guards and heroes. Resources can be produced inside and outside of the city, depending on their type. But they need to be moved around to various shops for various processing and productive purposes, so pathways must be constructed to deliver those goods. In addition, each building must be supported by several houses for the workers to live in, and the closer they are to the building the better. The denizens of the kingdom don't mind being shuffled about, so they'll organize themselves according to what's most efficient. However they will not organize the paths they take to get places, which is the primary gameplay for the player - designing routes for each building and ensuring they don't overlap or cross too many times, causing traffic and disruptions to your income. Each choice the player makes is immediately reflected in the income calculation, thus allowing for the visual aspect of the game to be wholely separate from the economic side - in fact this is a common thread throughout all three aspects. Computation power is the ultimate enemy of scale, and this game flourishes with a massive scale. The gameplay for the military aspect consists of manipulating "lanes" that designate where each hero will adventure. These lanes are scalable to the player / AI's whims, with a careful balance required - too thin, and the heroes might not encounter enough monsters to level up. Too thick, and they may find themselves patrolling a vast wilderness full of dark and evil monsters. At the end of every lane is a "frontline", where progress has essentially been halted. These frontlines can develop as a result of meeting a foreign kingdoms front or finding a monster type or puzzle that is particularily difficult for your heroes to overcome. The lane / frontline can be scaled not just laterally, but linearly as well such that heroes will be a certain level when they reach the end - think scrolling on a mousewheel translating into deepening level zones. In addition, each monster zone can be set to a certain "security level" meaning how many monsters are there for your heroes to defeat. It's important that they have ample targets for training, however it's always more effective to train on monsters near their level so you have to be careful not to wipe out the native skeleton / goblin / troll population. Each monster zone can have a relationship with the kingdom, on a 2x2 matrix - cultivating / desecrating the land, and fostering / exterminating the monsters. The land produces monsters and treasures, while the monsters provide experience and danger to the heroes and kingdom denizens who live there. However by desecrating the land, farms may be built and by exterminating the monsters, those farms may be safe and require fewer guards. As ruler, you must balance the development of unique magical and alchemical productions with the need for food and other mundane requirements. Diplomacy is a careful balance of internal and external matters, played out through feasts, tournaments, and faires. Each of these events will require input from the economic side and military side, and will involve "courting" other nobles from neighboring kingdoms to sway them to supporting your edicts. When hosting an event, you may pick a particular topic of conversation for your nobles to discuss with their guests. You may also assign your nobles to attempt to engage with a particular foreign noble. Each member of your court has a differing personality (including you, the Majesty) and depending on how you assign them you may experience better or worse results - such as assigning someone who's kind to talk with someone who's cruel would impart a malus to their conversation. Unless the kind person has the trusting trait, in which case they'd succeed in this encounter but fall sway to them in future conversations... Complex interactions that all boil down to a single pair of d12 dice - one for your noble, one for the enemy. This represents the charisma of the two conversants on that particular day, and whoever wins the roll sways the other to supporting their edict. Speaking of edicts, they may include trade agreements, non-aggression pacts (lasting for a short time), and other regulations - perhaps your greatest rival utilizes necromancy, so it would behoove you to attempt to regulate the practice and limit it's effect. By swaying the nobles of their kingdom, you may be able to enact a mutual agreement to limit the usage of dark magics, essentially hamstringing their progress. But in order to learn of their necromantic usage, you'll need espionage... Which brings us to spies. Spies are similar to nobles in that they can be assigned to various roles, however they take a more passive role, acting in the background. The information they gather is compiled into a report that is presented at pertinent parts of the game, such as when preparing for a feast or inspecting an enemy frontline. These reports are considered the diplomatic deliverables, giving information and mechanical bonuses to many different parts of the game. They may be given three possible roles - information, defence, or offense. Offense involves placing cursed artifacts (creating through economy) in enemy lands, which debuff their heroes when used and bind themselves to them preventing their removal except through extraordinary means. Defence is essentially countering that in your own kingdom, and uncovering disloyalty in your nobles. These three aspects fit together like interlocking puzzle pieces, but each is able to be utilized or ignored depending on the preferences of the player. It is important that the game doesn't progress unless input is received. The simulation plays in the background, but each stage of development must be considered "stable" such that nothing changes. There are three different exceptions to this rule, one for each aspect: The military side encounters raids from enemy kingdoms and the dark lord. The economic side encounters raids from ratmen and moss trolls and bandits. The diplomatic side has a rolling schedule of events that must be attended. These three "exceptions" are recurrent events that require attention, but they don't *increase* in difficulty unless the player takes an action that causes it. Meaning, if the player overcomes the rock golems, then they are displaced from their home and join the dark lord in his conquests. If a new district is built new sewer connections must be built as well, creating a larger attack surface for ratmen to exploit. As time goes by, various foreign events must be attended, as absence causes your future events to attract fewer foreign nobles. By addressing these threats, your kingdom may grow and eventually overcome the dark lord at the center of the island. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #8 notes/computer-graphics --- ════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── draw a line from every single pixel straight outward. The first thing it hits is what you render. okay it's more complicated than that, but it's the gist. here's a more detailed explanation: your monitor is 2560x1440p. that means there's 2560 pixels left to right, and 1440 pixels up and down. okay so define a 3d scene programmatically - it's not hard, just "draw cube here with this size and rotation" and "draw a sphere here with this position and rotation" etc. Something simple. then, draw a ray trace straight out from your monitor. Not to the nearest light source, but to the nearest other camera. Use the length of it to determine distance, both indirectly (through the center node) and directly (pythagorean theorum style). Why? I dunno. Okay back to the original idea, if you make an array with 2560 elements and store arrays of size 1440 within it, then you have a simple boolean checkbox for each pixel. Then, whenever you create a visible entity, make sure there's a single boolean ticked right on the top of the entity when it's stored in the graph mentioned above. Find the center of the entity, draw to the top, and one more, and switch a boolean to "true". Then, every tick / update, cycle through the entire list and the first one you find that has a "true" value is where you draw the entity stored in the array. Each "sprite" has an odd shape - it doesn't exist on it's top line, except for one single dot right in the middle. Sorta like this: o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o ->X<- o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x when scanning left to right from the top, it'd bump into the X right there in the middle. Inside the X is some data - an id corresponding to the sprite that needs to be drawn, and a displacement value - like 500 pixels or something - and the scanner with drop down 500 pixels, draw the sprite there (assuming a centered origin point), jump 500 pixels up, and keep scanning. each tick, right before this, the "list of entities" will scan through itself and for each entity it'll change the "render graph" mentioned above to have an X wherever the entity is stored. Whenever the camera moves, it updates the list too. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #9 notes/star-realms-balancing-tradeoff=2 --- ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─ what if I use equal signs instead of dashes, so prevent people from assuming they're duplicates? hmm okay. right so anyway the star realms balancing tradeoff between combat and authority is measured against the duration of a hand (does it fit balanced between other cards of it's playcost) instead of balancing it for the duration of the game (how long does the player want the game to go on for) one of which is just inverse combat damage / healing, and the other of which is an enablement of different strategems. put this in symbeline-gen-realms please ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════┘ --- #10 notes/symbeline --- ════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Code Name: Symbeline ----------------------------- gdd initial draft ------------------------------- 1. introduction to fantasy (elevator pitches) 2. kickstarter demands 2. introduction to core gameplay loop 4. tenants and core values of the game design 3. introduction to game modes 5. introduction to technical requirements 6. breakdown of core gameplay loop 7. breakdown of game modes 8. breakdown of fantasy 9. breakdown of technical requirements -------------------------- introduction to fantasy----------------------------- Symbeline is a macro based strategy game and city-builder based around the concept of indirect control. It's inspirations are Majesty the Fantasy Kingdom Simulator (2000), Supreme Commander (2007), and Hearts of Iron IV (2016). It is designed to appeal to fans of tabletop roleplaying games with it's focus on dynamic worldbuilding and sandbox playstyle. The gameplay consists of multiple playstyles depending on which aspects of the game appeal to the player, with choices between an economic focus via the GUI, longterm planning and resource allocation, or diplomacy and subterfuge a'la Ruinarch (2020). ---------------------------- kickstarter demands ------------------------------ 1. prototype 2. gdd 3. estimates for character and environment art 4. estimates for music and sounds 5. estimates for engine development 6. estimates for community management 7. breakdown of mvp, ideal game state, and stretch goals ----------------------- introduction to core gameplay loop -------------------- 1. management of lanes, both width and length 2. casting of spells and utilization of special boons 3. city building with placement, upgrades, and henchmen pathing routes 4. satisfying guild requirements of equipment, manpower, and special resources by managing shipments and local income (UI commodity trading) 5. placement of generalized bounties (think champion's guild from Majesty, not reward flags) 6. diplomacy with neutral, AI, or player controlled kingdoms. Capabilities include pacts and treaties, projects, subterfuge, and tournaments. The diplomacy system can be a stretch goal. -------------------------- tenants and core values ---------------------------- 1. always something to do, but nothing falls apart without your attention. 2. gameplay should be focused on macro rather than micro. Longterm planning and strategic decision making are favored over tactics and skill. 3. defeat should feel avoidable until the last moment, and only as a result of longterm continuous failures rather than short-term mistakes or being blindsided by a cheesy tactic. 4. victory should be gained through exploiting weaknesses and by using lateral thinking. 5. the careful balance of internal and external threats is essential. 6. rapid expansion leads to depletion of internal resources, while slowly expanding can lead to a lack of options 7. the world should feel alive and reactive to your decisions. 8. your kingdom should feel alive and reactive to your decisions. 9. your heroes should feel alive and completely ignorant of your decisions. 10. there should always be opportunities for cooperation with your fellow kingdoms. 11. the frontlines should feel peaceful outside of large battles. 12. everything is flexible and dependant on circumstance 13. there should be enough space on the map for multiple parties of heroes to pass each other like ships in the night without engaging in combat. It should feel like the real world, with canyons and valleys and rivers and mountains - room for lairs and wild animals to roam. 14. monsters are always more dangerous than other humans. 15. the art style should be rooted in classic medieval fantasy. 16. equipment should feel either mass-produced (kingdom), organic (monsters), ancient (lair treasure), or artisinal (enchanted). 17. heroes should feel campy, fun, and adventurous. Avoid dark, grim, and fearful. 18. This game is a toy. 19. This toy should run on any modern computer. 20. This toy should encourage modding. -------------------------- introduction to game modes ------------------------- 1. singleplayer - single kingdom against an island of monsters and neutral settlements. essentially the multiplayer game against zero opponents. 2. singleplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and neutral settlements. One player controlled kingdom against multiple AI controlled kingdoms. 3. singleplayer - scenarios, similar to MFKS 4. multiplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and neutral settlements. Essentially the singleplayer game with networking added in. 5. multiplayer - co-op scenarios where multiple players play as the same kingdom. A test of the core tenant "there's always something to do" 6. multiplayer - co-op island invasion. Essentially the multiplayer game with more than one player controlling a kingdom. 7. singleplayer - play in 3rd person as a hero in an AI kingdom. Mostly for the novelty since the core gameplay loop is focused on city-building. A test of the core tenant "nothing falls apart without your attention" 1 is mvp. 2-6 are stretch goals in order of ascending difficulty. They should build upon one another - the main steps are: 1. singleplayer island invasion (biggest step) 2. AI controlled kingdoms 3. scenarios 4. multiplayer (second biggest step) 5. cooperatively controlling the same kingdom 6. 3rd person perspective and character controller ------------------------ technical requirements ------------------------------- 1. this game will be written in lua (with Fennel support) and using Raylib. 2. the prototype will be made with Godot using GDscript. 3. if the performance demands are too much for lua or the engine is out of scope for the budget, Rust with the Bevy engine could be used. 4. the final product will include a custom 2d engine designed for large scale maps with an isometric perspective and a data-first design. 5. the game should be as concurrent as possible, to support large numbers of cpu cores and compute shaders. 6. the game will be data-driven, meaning the visual aspects are simply a representation of the interactions of the underlying simulation, rather than an intrinsic component of the computation. 7. Each "event" in the game (a character moves, a building is placed, a monster spawns, etc) will send a message to the visual processing side of the engine, which will present a representation to the user. 8. the map will be a hex grid with pointed-top hexagons. The visual representation of the underlying data may be continuous (non-hex) but the underlying data will be represented on a hexagonal grid. 9. there needs to be character portraits for each type of monster, henchmen, and hero type. You should be able to recognize what attributes a hero specializes in by their portrait. Mvp is 1 attribute, but more can be a stretch goal. 10. Each building, upgrade, and equipment type needs an icon. Stretch goals can be portraits. 11. each henchman, hero type, and monster needs 3 sprites for each action. more actions may be added if budget allows, but mvp is movement and attacking. Several additional sprites may be necessary, like dying, standing still, gathering loot, socializing, or any others. 12. each building needs 4 sprites for the construction process and 4 for the destruction process. Flame effects are stretch goals. 13. each building needs an animated sprite for when it is in use. 14. each lair needs a sprite and an icon. 15. each spell needs an icon and a spell effect sprite. Each projectile needs a sprite. 16. a stretch goal would be differing sprites for each piece of equipment. included with this would be engine work to allow for dynamic sprites. 17. each terrain type should have a ground material and sprites for doodads. 18. there needs to be several GUI menus. The precise number depends on gameplay breakdown. 17. each hero type and henchman needs to have pithy and unique voice lines. this is a stretch goal. 18. there should be music tracks for each part of the game - beginning, middle, and end. 19. there should be sounds for each action that takes place in the game including combat, UI interactions, and spellcasts. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #11 notes/symbeline-2 --- ════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────── Code Name: Symbeline ----------------------------- gdd initial draft ------------------------------- 1. introduction to fantasy (elevator pitches) 2. kickstarter demands 2. introduction to core gameplay loop 4. tenants and core values of the game design 3. introduction to game modes 5. introduction to technical requirements 6. breakdown of core gameplay loop 7. breakdown of game modes 8. breakdown of fantasy 9. breakdown of technical requirements -------------------------- introduction to fantasy----------------------------- Symbeline is a macro based strategy game and city-builder based around the concept of indirect control. It's inspirations are Majesty the Fantasy Kingdom Simulator (2000), Supreme Commander (2007), and Hearts of Iron IV (2016). It is designed to appeal to fans of tabletop roleplaying games with it's focus on dynamic worldbuilding and sandbox playstyle. The gameplay consists of multiple playstyles depending on which aspects of the game appeal to the player, with choices between an economic focus via the GUI, longterm planning and resource allocation, or diplomacy and subterfuge a'la Ruinarch (2020). ---------------------------- kickstarter demands ------------------------------ 1. prototype 2. gdd 3. estimates for character and environment art 4. estimates for music and sounds 5. estimates for engine development 6. estimates for community management 7. breakdown of mvp, ideal game state, and stretch goals ----------------------- introduction to core gameplay loop -------------------- 1. management of lanes, both width and length 2. casting of spells and utilization of special boons 3. city building with placement, upgrades, and henchmen pathing routes 4. satisfying guild requirements of equipment, manpower, and special resources by managing shipments and local income (UI commodity trading) 5. placement of generalized bounties (think champion's guild from Majesty, not reward flags) 6. diplomacy with neutral, AI, or player controlled kingdoms. Capabilities include pacts and treaties, projects, subterfuge, and tournaments. The diplomacy system can be a stretch goal. -------------------------- tenants and core values ---------------------------- 1. always something to do, but nothing falls apart without your attention. 2. gameplay should be focused on macro rather than micro. Longterm planning and strategic decision making are favored over tactics and skill. 3. defeat should feel avoidable until the last moment, and only as a result of longterm continuous failures rather than short-term mistakes or being blindsided by a cheesy tactic. 4. victory should be gained through exploiting weaknesses and by using lateral thinking. 5. the careful balance of internal and external threats is essential. 6. rapid expansion leads to depletion of internal resources, while slowly expanding can lead to a lack of options 7. the world should feel alive and reactive to your decisions. 8. your kingdom should feel alive and reactive to your decisions. 9. your heroes should feel alive and completely ignorant of your decisions. 10. there should always be opportunities for cooperation with your fellow kingdoms. 11. the frontlines should feel peaceful outside of large battles. 12. everything is flexible and dependant on circumstance 13. there should be enough space on the map for multiple parties of heroes to pass each other like ships in the night without engaging in combat. It should feel like the real world, with canyons and valleys and rivers and mountains - room for lairs and wild animals to roam. 14. monsters are always more dangerous than other humans. 15. the art style should be rooted in classic medieval fantasy. 16. equipment should feel either mass-produced (kingdom), organic (monsters), ancient (lair treasure), or artisinal (enchanted). 17. heroes should feel campy, fun, and adventurous. Avoid dark, grim, and fearful. 18. This game is a toy. 19. This toy should run on any modern computer. 20. This toy should encourage modding. -------------------------- introduction to game modes ------------------------- 1. singleplayer - single kingdom against an island of monsters and neutral settlements. essentially the multiplayer game against zero opponents. 2. singleplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and neutral settlements. One player controlled kingdom against multiple AI controlled kingdoms. 3. singleplayer - scenarios, similar to MFKS 4. multiplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and neutral settlements. Essentially the singleplayer game with networking added in. 5. multiplayer - co-op scenarios where multiple players play as the same kingdom. A test of the core tenant "there's always something to do" 6. multiplayer - co-op island invasion. Essentially the multiplayer game with more than one player controlling a kingdom. 7. singleplayer - play in 3rd person as a hero in an AI kingdom. Mostly for the novelty since the core gameplay loop is focused on city-building. A test of the core tenant "nothing falls apart without your attention" 1 is mvp. 2-6 are stretch goals in order of ascending difficulty. They should build upon one another - the main steps are: 1. singleplayer island invasion (biggest step) 2. AI controlled kingdoms 3. scenarios 4. multiplayer (second biggest step) 5. cooperatively controlling the same kingdom 6. 3rd person perspective and character controller ------------------------ technical requirements ------------------------------- 1. this game will be written in lua (with Fennel support) and using Raylib. 2. the prototype will be made with Godot using GDscript. 3. if the performance demands are too much for lua or the engine is out of scope for the budget, Rust with the Bevy engine could be used. 4. the final product will include a custom 2d engine designed for large scale maps with an isometric perspective and a data-first design. 5. the game should be as concurrent as possible, to support large numbers of cpu cores and compute shaders. 6. the game will be data-driven, meaning the visual aspects are simply a representation of the interactions of the underlying simulation, rather than an intrinsic component of the computation. 7. Each "event" in the game (a character moves, a building is placed, a monster spawns, etc) will send a message to the visual processing side of the engine, which will present a representation to the user. 8. the map will be a hex grid with pointed-top hexagons. The visual representation of the underlying data may be continuous (non-hex) but the underlying data will be represented on a hexagonal grid. 9. there needs to be character portraits for each type of monster, henchmen, and hero type. You should be able to recognize what attributes a hero specializes in by their portrait. Mvp is 1 attribute, but more can be a stretch goal. 10. Each building, upgrade, and equipment type needs an icon. Stretch goals can be portraits. 11. each henchman, hero type, and monster needs 3 sprites for each action. more actions may be added if budget allows, but mvp is movement and attacking. Several additional sprites may be necessary, like dying, standing still, gathering loot, socializing, or any others. 12. each building needs 4 sprites for the construction process and 4 for the destruction process. Flame effects are stretch goals. 13. each building needs an animated sprite for when it is in use. 14. each lair needs a sprite and an icon. 15. each spell needs an icon and a spell effect sprite. Each projectile needs a sprite. 16. a stretch goal would be differing sprites for each piece of equipment. included with this would be engine work to allow for dynamic sprites. 17. each terrain type should have a ground material and sprites for doodads. 18. there needs to be several GUI menus. The precise number depends on gameplay breakdown. 17. each hero type and henchman needs to have pithy and unique voice lines. this is a stretch goal. 18. there should be music tracks for each part of the game - beginning, middle, and end. 19. there should be sounds for each action that takes place in the game including combat, UI interactions, and spellcasts. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #12 messages/649 --- ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────── when playing co-operative strategy games, a build focused purely on self-defence and community organizing can easily fail your allies. You cannot win with a purely defensive build, you must have offensive capabilities as well. We've been trained from a young age to believe that offensive = bad, wrong, evil, but that's simply not true. You cannot execute a flanking maneuver without pushing forward behind enemy lines, where you can hit them in their sides or rear. Trust me, flanking is the best way to defeat a foe, because they are forced to split their attention not only between multiple enemies but also multiple directions. The more shots on target, the better your chances of success, because most of the time it only takes one hit to win. In addition, sometimes it's important to *intercept* your foes, either as they flee or to protect a vulnerable friend that is being pounced upon or flanked. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┘ --- #13 notes/game-idea-legion-td --- ══════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────── okay a game like legion td except you can see the entire map, the units are very small (but still distinct) and it plays more like a game of Dominions. Armies instead of units, like in WC3. Led by lieutenants which are guided by captains, each with their own effects. Tank, dps, melee, ranged, healer, support, corrupt, ranged tank, unique, etc. Of course, just like in legion td, there are multiple types of units, each of a particular category but possessing their own unique playstyle and usage scenarios. Essentially the game is finding the best tool for the job, whatever that may be. You should be able to see what mercenaries your opponent is summoning for you, because each turn is delayed. also, the units keep coming until you die, sorta like... minimum required to push through the chokepoint that you're holding with these particular units in this particular formation. oh and another thing the units should be placable not on a square grid, but rather in a hex formation arranged such that the middle unit is in contact with them all. Just like you'd place units for an aura in Legion TD. image describing said hex: ** * * ** each * is a group of units (a batallion, if you will, of a particular size, arrangement, and density) - sorta like the formations in Dominions. anyway since you place units like that anyway, why not abstract away the grid and just have slots you can fill for each unit? And maybe a hero unit that is assigned to the board itself (you could have more than one) who will go wherever your line is weakest. Shouldn't be too hard, just calculate the value of all of the fighters in each location and return that to the hero as an array. Then pick the smallest one as a destination, and boom your hero reinforces the frontline where it's weakest. The center unit of course is for the lieutenant, and the "heros" are actually captains. Because y'know maybe heroism isn't celebrated the way it is in our culture. Anyway it's better to describe them based on their role rather than their reception. ... right so =========================================================== stack overflow ===== make the combat sorta like crusader kings - the actual army to army part. Except with three long boards that represent flanks. As your units approach, the boards would fill up with pixels. (resolution configurable) there would also be a line (or block) approaching from the top of the screen. It essentially represents your distance to the other team. Each unit has been configured in the army management phase, which happens inbetween each turn. Essentially, while the game is loading, you can assess the units you have at your disposal, and ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #14 fediverse/1116 --- ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┐ ║ ┌──────────────────────┐ │ ║ │ CW: eye-contact │ │ ║ └──────────────────────┘ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ It's important to build self-hostable computing components of video games (as │ ║ in, old style games where you could host a server on any machine instead of │ ║ just the ones owned by the corporation) (as in, your machine, yes yours) │ ║ (something you can control and observe, something within your control) │ ║ │ ║ ======================= stack overflow ===================== │ ║ │ ║ there are two ways to play Unreal Tournament (capture the flag) gamemode. The │ ║ first is to run past all your enemies and fire at them as you pass, which is │ ║ what some of the bots are designed to do. The rest stay on defence, and defeat │ ║ any enemies that approach. │ ║ │ ║ however, they never push the borders of their "territory" forward - each │ ║ according to the different "lanes" or "directions of approach" │ ║ │ ║ I like the use 32 bots, to simulate a more consistent gameplay experience. It │ ║ feels more like ww1, fighting over ground, pushing forward and attempting to │ ║ outmaneuver your foes. │ ║ │ ║ some allies will approach from behind, and you let them pass forward while │ ╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤ ║ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┴──────────┘ --- #15 fediverse/5212 --- ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────── the reason you start with a game engine is because then you'll have tools to make however-many games you want. Tools that you know intimately enough that you can debug and improve them without breaking your creative flow by learning something new halfway through a project the whole point of individualized projects instead of viewing each computer as a complete and total whole (why do we need servers again?) is that you can paint a picture of where the design of the program is intended to go, such that all the considerations are in place and whatever issues or struggles you might face along the way are adequately addresssed, -- stack overflow -- [because I mistyped addressed] -- -- if you know what "stack overflow" means you have intimate knowledge of the technology, and can probably guess what it means in context when I say it. "nuts I lost that train of thoguht" -- stackl ov ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────┘ --- #16 messages/1451 --- ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─ first start to any sort of insurgency or rebel alliance is mobile factories. you gotta be able to make your x-wings in space. similarly, drones being built between wall-less semi trucks assembly line style. with a helipad on top, and networked with servo-motor struts that follow the exact path and momentum of the truck ahead of it, recorded and passed down to the past. what was I saying? oh yes they could exchange drone parts across these barriers and build an entire drone that could be deployed at will. well, so long as the roadsigns hold out (whoops) I think it works better for the Rebel Alliance, united against one foe as a state federation. (downside is then you forget who you're meant to be and you only remember the pack.) well it's probably fine so long as you fight for your patrons, or more ideally, for ideals that everyone can understand beware, Iran in the summer wear your white clothes ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════┘ --- #17 fediverse/3022 --- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────── instead of controlling a recon-droid in Star Wars Battlefront II, you should be assigned control of a random amount of drones nearby, to be used until you went back to character control I think a swarm is more fun to play as than a single little scout vehicle. in a game that doesn't really need scouting to find your foe - it's easy! they're that way ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘ --- #18 fediverse/3023 --- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────── I love the game Running with Rifles if you live for 5-10+ minutes, you can learn a lot of interesting things about how to engage a foe. like, the importance of cover at all times, until you successfully outmaneuver your foe. when an enemy approaches, don't step out to meet them wait for them to attack, and then throw explosive devices at them. easy peasy. or, y'know, bullets you cannot defeat an enemy head on - that's why the world wars were so devastating, we put ALL our soldiers at 100% on ALL flanks. We had to to contest the foe who was doing the same thing. it is mindboggling how many people died. The utmost scale of destruction that should ever yet be. because they were never allowed to outmaneuver their foe. a good way to strike is to feint your foe, and let your foe enroach on your edge, spreading their surface area across a large, thin, useless piece of land. basically, make them fight a bit of the land war in asia in your borders. then, you can strike at the hinge, where they are weaker ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘ --- #19 notes/symbeline-superheros --- ════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────── imagine low level characters in CoH/V playing a game of symbeline and you as the ruler can slot enhancements and dole out inspirations as they sweep the streets like you play CoX instead of a MMO it's a deckbuilding strategy with a slice of zachtronics for the economy wiring up machines in ever expanding deseagns like automating factorio's gameplay loop boxes within boxes of intrinsic delight like making a CPUter or designing a computer program while playing a video game ^_^ and the games that you make can be shared and played when unique so go for it and make that you're dreaming! =============================================================================== = the goal of each "level" is to solve a particular problem - like how do I make a 2 bit register - or something like that. When accomplished, it unlocks something for your heroes to acquire. And each playthrough will require a repeat until you have it memorized at which point you can unlock "perma-badges" that make it always unlocked at the start of the game. Like learning Kanji, you need spaced repetition. BUT ANYWAYS it'll be in magical terms like "unlock essence-stones" or "learn the ritual of desire" or whatever. And each of those terms roughly corresponds to a pattern in electrical engineering (designing CPUs and such) And you can learn advanced versions of what you already know by uncovering "lost secrets" (which is a reward your heros can find) - Basically it'd be like a "clue" that shows you a ghost version of something you haven't figured out yet - and it'd be a slow process because you need to slow down the learning process or else you'll forget. Basically teasing it out of the player when they seem to be stuck. Asking probing questions and whatnot, and eventually culminating in the final question, assuming the quest is succeeding. Because if you think about it all ancient quests were simply journeys for reason - searching for the answer to some ancient riddle or bastardized retelling. Looking for answers in an unknowing world. So ANYWAY as your heros discover things you as the ruler get answers to the economic puzzle - how to design transistors and whatnot. But they would be in theme appropriate terms, of course. You don't even have to know a lot about mechanical electrical design, because ChatGPT knows. All you need to do is build the basic building blocks, and BAM you got a great place to integrate chatgpt. Just prime it such that it's giving hints one by one each slightly more revealing until eventually after X amount of clues the solution is automatically shown (like a blueprint) and the player can remember it or not but each playthrough they'll have to build it again from scratch (reinforcement learning) so eventually they'll be able to do it real quick. Essentially, "Abstraction - The Game" great so you got your economic simulation, pretty easy too just some UI work and for the heroes you're playing an ARPG sorta (supcom anyone?) Think Bannerlord for the scaling on the map then think of 5+ different "themes" like fantasy or superhero or pirates each "theme" will correspond to like a faction in Mount and Blade and all you have to do is generate pictures using Midjourney and text descriptions a'la the magic scroll shown as "bubble pop-ups" on the map that the player can click never overwhelming, but descripting what's happening and also some more UI work because you gotta display all that to the player Maybe it could be a rolling story, news ticker style - like slowly scrolling lines of text about what's happening in the world and the player could have it open in one window and something else in the other and whenever they're waiting on something (say, a processing intensive AI task on their computer) they could just glance over and read what's going on in their fantasy world okay okay but also they could play as a hero it could be an ARPG experience except instead of clicking to fight you play a little automatic Star Realms game and depending on your deck choices you'd have a different playthrough. Again, not a game that requires much thought, but one you can have in the background. Also there'd be pictures, like a slowly evolving storyline of events - think of it like the artists of the time drawing paintings about what's going on in the story - major events would be highlighted and kept in the painting until even- -tually they get replaced - sorta like the Smash Bros scrolling painting (oh it's so good) =============================================================================== = it doesn't have to be an expansionist game maybe you guys just live in your little valley and the world turns around you maybe it's called "symbeline" because the people are of the forest and they live like elves in society monsters could wander in, and heros could tackle them but most of the time would be spent looking for trouble going on patrol you know, breaking skeleton bones and being superheros okay okay you know that superhero faction? What if they had MEDIEVAL TECHNOLOGY but MODERN DAY SUPERPOWERS at a cost - the society was beset by hordes of monst- -ers. Those few who escaped are now superpowered and they live as friendly and nomadic wanderers through their own territory. Always adventuring, and always searching for their life, finding whatever the road may carry them to. It's a great life, and life seems to flourish in their footsteps - they are like part dryad/druid and part wolf. Because sometimes there's evil threats, and they must be defeated by an equally strong good power. That's how it goes, and that's how it be. For imagery I'm thinking a mix of the tribes from Dominions (deer, wolf, bear, etc) but they're like, 1.5x as big as regular people and quite strong. The outsiders call them "giants" or "goliaths" but really they're just infused with the lifeforce of their people. They are radical individualists, but they all unite for a common cause. They know their bond is the strongest thing there is, and they use it to great effect when the time comes. AHHH THEY'RE SO COOL I LOVE THEM okay okay what about the other factions? PIRATES? Oh think about it like it's st patricks day WHAT IF THEY WERE IRISH PIRATES omg omg omg that sounds so cool I'm DIGGING this okay what about the other factions? You need 5+ you said hmmmmmmmmm good question I have 3 now so that's 2 more. yep... =============================================================================== = okay dude check this what if they were a nation of wizards that focused on the power of animation - what if they generated constructs, sorta like in Supreme Commander so they were EVEN MORE individualist - haha no they'd have a normal population it's just a few of them who would be wizards - because their output wasn't measured by manpower, but rather by brainpower. Whoever could design the greatest machine was exemplared, and eventually they became the best and brightest among us. They were put in charge of the golem creation factories, and they used them instead of heros. SO BASICALLY YOUR HEROS NEVER DIE they just have successes and failures JUST LIKE IN SUPREME COMMANDER okay the plot of this game is "what if all my favorite games were the essence of life and death in a fantasy game" like OMG KEEP EM COMIN' so. who is the player? THE PLAYER is the one who's overseeing it all. They have dominion over the entire kingdom, and they guide their people toward a bright future. They are vulnerable in their castle, but their people have their back. Together they fight for the future. They slot enhancements and dole out inspirations and solve the economic puzzle in the background. They also make decisions about what kind of equipment production to prioritize - because each game they have to invent everything from scratch. All their production is made with endless abstraction, and whatever you prioritize is what's magnified in your kingdom. You choose a style and it plays as well as it's guile, I dunno this seems like a lot, what would you need to make this a reality? hmmmm let's break it down: first you need to implement the star realms gameplay then you need to hook it up to a square grid and have multiple occurences at once. then you need UI for the character sheets and you need logic to open separate windows for each output type you need... a lot of things okay let's talk more broadly - what do you need from other people and what can you do on your own? hmmm good question. I can do the star realms gameplay, and the simulation for the wiring systems - because I have the VM. Make that into the gameplay somehow okay good idea like okay authoring vm package routing deliveries between the various nodes that you set up in the economic system - side note, the peril of Spore was that it took to little time to develop a species. it should have lasted as long as WoW takes to get to max level. That would have given them time to reiterate the gameplay loops to make sure they worked correctly. ANYWAY okay authoring VM package routing. The player could set up delivery patterns based on A MAZE OMG your kingdom is like a maze and you need to get deliveries out, or else how would anything function? SO you act as a trailblazer, finding ways through the labyrinth and "piloting" a car sorta like that game at Disney quest with the cars under the floor - except you can see both the top view of the maze and you're trying to guide the car in real time as it travels through the maze - the faster you can get to the end the better ofc. like talking to the delivery driver through the movement do I like that idea more or less than the first one? First idea being the idea that you're making lists of commands for a VM to execute. I don't think they'd be a good idea to mix. So which one gets it? The VM of course has the edge because that's what the technology is based on. But will it translate to good gameplay? Idk. This second idea is certainly better gameplay, but is it engaging? Idk! Idk. I'm not a miracle worker. But I do have good ideas, and I need to be told that sometimes I guess. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #20 messages/846 --- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────── Blizzard should make more than one animation style for swinging your weapon - as you level up, the style "tweens" between however many combat palettes you made. So, like, maybe they swing their sword +/-15 degrees each time to simulate the pseudo random nature of combat. Or maybe they start occasionally stepping into a maneuver Which the player doesn't consciously control. Instinct, if you will. The body reacting to its [sensory organs, but pronounced "surveyor"] Anyway i think by adjusting the monster characters in WoW should wander around and gather within sight of a player. Seeking you out, waiting for a critical threshold of their peers. Then, when you allowed or slowed down to examine a bit of "this-or-here", (quests) they would gang up on you and ambush! Bwaha just watch out for the mob (kinda like that scene in the second book of The Book of Malazan series where they're wandering through a desert storm and meeting all sorts of strange sorts of people) Anyway in seeking to improve the player's view-time, i decided it would feel the most impactful to do the design related things related to things like making the gameplay the most visceral. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┘ |