=== ANCHOR POEM === ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────── wowchat would make a great game for raids. have the monsters spawn at specific spots that you go through and identify on the geometry tell them to run and attack the nearest of foes give the players the goal of bringing themselves through to the end... or, later on, in building an internal expedition. wow-chat, where monsters spawn in a circle around your character and walk to ward them. you can meet characters who'll follow and protect you, and you can meet monsters to fight. also vendors to take your junk and give you cool things, and trainers to teach you and quest-givers to guide you and treasure for you to find. in raids, there are more things for you. monsters spawn at specified locations, and only the nearest few in a radius. then, they attack over the landscape-of- -imagination, and as they do they show you where is the most powerful loot. if you raid a monster's den/hiding/spawning choice, then you have to defeat the boss. this boss is larger, mostly. has more hitpoints... monstly. or maybe it's just the most respected, who can say. anyway, you get treasure if you do. the monster spawns for you when you find it. and you have to sense it by searching for whichever monsters spawn at higher and higher levels and in different types. different monster type, different boss that way. when the boss is slain, that type goes away. at least, until the raid resets next week. or maybe... until enough resources have been gathered to make another attempt. death knights should be able to command the minions to work in the haunted mill. it should be reasonable for a fighter to hire a peasant host. mages should have golems or spirits or enchanted objects or elementals or wizard hats warlocks should have covenants with dark hosts darkness is not evil unless you use it for evil... paladins should have retainers and disciples elves should sing to the woods clerics and charmers should be well understood. celebrants and diviners are two of the same, and pillars of plunder [warrior or rogue class] and rough and ripe [from the stoner] oops gotta go, sprung a leak ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘ === SIMILARITY RANKED === --- #1 messages/987 --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────── Wowchat - wow-chat : dks should summon more than one minion a'la cov. There should be two beefy armored skeletons, three rabid hack/slash, and one necromancer or lich, depending on if they've died since you last cast the summon spell. You should be able to move them around with keyboard commands. They should be your primary action type, aside from dark purple bolts that sap health, often targeting the nearest ally in need of health to the target. How much health? Doesn't matter, it'll target them just the same. So long as they have at least some missing. Could also cast dark hexes or boons. Boom, three talent trees: dark volts, support spells (never healing), or curses (never damage dealing) But remember, most of what you do is targeting your allies. Drag, drop, now a target gets [inspirationed, but pronounced "healed"] Alternatively, move "attack my target" to the minion type and they'll do as you move. "go-to". "circle this target and attack intruders". "go man the nethermines". "yes... YES! More monsters i know how to raise. They're all accessible at level 10 but they cost more each than a level whatever adventurer could afford. You can definitely get all of them by like, level 30 or so. After that its learning ranks to raise higher level ones, and boom free undead army risen from the bones of your ally's slain." ... Anyway, could be fun to briefly possess one of your bones. Could let you see what the flag carrier is up to in WSG. Could let you know when enough minerals have been mined that you can operate the forgets and build metal armor for your boned ones. Or to equip nearby recruits, anything you'd like. This is wow-chat after all, any things possible. Anything at all. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘ --- #2 notes/supreme-commander-appeal --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────── a game like supreme commander but fantasy themed and each unit used a special move everytime their mana was full and there were spellcasters who restored mana to targets to increase their power or, hear me out, or, just do that in wowchat I betcha could do it I bet it would be fun as hell please? as a favor to yourself? build the game you want to see and it'll get done please -- stack overflow -- your journals were originally a way for you to remember what to think, remember? old projects meant to show you light and life remember? you are alone in this soul act like it's your own celebrate your period of mental denial as a refraction of your infinite travaille which lasts for quite a good long while have you ever dreamed of the nile? -- stack overflow -- if a doorway takes you to the fae, then where does a river bring you? like raindrops on the floor, racing for an eternity's splendor. what does the rainbow think, as it's cast from the prismatic orb? are each photons aware? bouncing between stars light is beautiful and large beloved by all revered by one ephemeren the totality of all things ------------------ ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┘ --- #3 notes/wow-chat-trainers --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────── trainers in wowchat should have spells that are only passive / toggled still require level, still require gold (lots of it) but let the game be class- -less. essentially, every trainer teaches to every passerby, and like if you don't want any druid spells, sorry guy all I know is how to be a druid. better wait for the next trainer to come along. you only got like 6g, right? that's enough for two spells. which two do you prioritize? they only come by like every what, 15 minutes? also. separate idea: player characters in wowchat should attack more rhythmically. essentially, normalizing attack speed and moving back-and-forth with the normalized monster attack speed to create a dance of sorts where one character is never attacking at the same time as the other character. plus damage modifiers when you get closer, and bam suddenly you have a new game. oh and rotating around an opponent lowers their defence rating. which is locked at 95% with a +5% to avoidance with every hit they take and -5% for every parry. not dodge, but parry. dodging wears down their health by like 10 hit points. relax it's no big deal you get like, a hundred every time you level up. oh and btw the monsters don't give exp. The stuff that you find does, when you give it to a merchant to be appraised / identified. some stuff you know the worth of, like rope or barrels or hammered-iron-rings. but other stuff, like the value of this bracelet, is harder to know if it glass. so.... take it to the guy whose seen real diamonds, and he'll tell ya how much you learned when you found it last. item A is found on a monsters body item is sold to a vendor for 50 copper item A is found on a monsters body player has learned 25 deca-levels since last selling to vendor. therefore item is worth 75 copper. player earns 75 extra material points. item is worth 75 experience points. level up every thousand or twelve. slow down the attack speed. make characters gain bonuses for movement positiony. start from always and work down to fewer. talent points can be generic if your character is built with abilities. players don't need to press buttons to be engaged. They can just guide and see. I love auto-battlers like Dominions 6 and Legion TD 2 which is based on WC3 mod! monsters should just... wander the world. Don't spawn them randomly, well, instead of a radius around the player, do a radius around the map. then, they walk through a random point, when they leave the circle they angle- -reflect back in, DVD logo style. if there's deadly monsters, there's deadly players, and PVP is always on. low levels should get bonuses to stealth (an ability everyone has) there should be civilians walking around. They can be armed or in caravans... follow roads, or not... monster hordes should spawn as a flock - when an elite enemy is drawn, let the game create several of their minions which follow around. Whenever a monster meets the swarm, they will join it, growing bigger and bigger... hopefully, attracting players who want to fight and slay them. greater rewards are more enticing...! more power is it's own reward. I think that weapons should have like, 3 durability? and armor like 5. then, it's broken, and your character has to abandon it to survive. or, sell it to a vendor, or just... whoever comes along. if 5 people open the chest and don't take the item, then the item disappears... every time a player opens a chest, a bit of wealth appears. every time they spend it? they get stronger, and it disappears. life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds the life of wowchat is the life of continual strife, but it doesn't have to be so. The land itself is alive, and the monsters are eternally of woe. you must free them, so that their souls may return to the land, and be born of peace and plenty rather than horror and -- stack overflow -- to do this, you slay them, finish their morthly remains, and let them break down and decompose into dust. Pleants eat dust. dust becomes what we eat and breathe. we, eventually, purify karma. this is our duty. vial of woe behind us. flower of renewal ahead. what we bear is savage sanctity. every time a monster kills a player they gain one of their abilities each time they're spawned. The player can keep the ability too, it's just... the monster will learn. Then, whenever a player levels up by slaying one of them, the spell or ability is unlearned. Symbolizing the players struggle to defeat them, and finally learning a way to overcome. when your character dies, you have no opportunity to release - instead, you just jump to the nearest NPC character which is an adventurer agent smith style. [I don't know about that one...] the players can pick any race, but if they pick undead, they can turn into a ghost when they die. The ghost can wander around and respawn wherever they want. Night Elves can wander around as a whisp (not in spirit world, real world) and do a beam attack like in Legion TD 2. Not enough to kill monsters, but enough to help another player survive. They can also cast rejuvenation, which heals about as much as one monster's damage input. if they get the killing blow on a monster they can level up and deal two monsters worth of damage and heal for two monster damage input. on the third time they don't get more damage or healing but they give a buff to all other whisps in the area that increases their attack speed by 50% and increases the tick rate of their rejuvenation by 50% - fourth time they level up they're free, and they get kicked out to the login screen. what if... vehicles that looked like characters and that you could jump between with the right-click of an item? "this is just dota-ing a vampire survivors." Vampire Survivors is just Magic Survival is just Risk of Rain 2 ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘ --- #4 notes/symbeline-structures --- ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────── modern-fantasy what if heroes kept their gold in their house instead of their guild what if you played a D&D game in a Majesty town (guardposts near known threats) marketplaces, most people live in castle (peasants at least) - only heroes live in farms, where they work most of the time except when out on adventure the guilds are for training and gathering parties one guild type just one recruiting adventurers doesn't give you warriors, or rangers, or rogues it gives you adventurers, who wander the forest and encounter the leftovers of the various conquests and spoils you, your majesty, has encountered three options there are invite into your kingdom (friendly) farm for EXP and materials (neutral) utterly slay in return for a limited amount of high value and unique resources (unkind) ... though monsters care not for kindness, seeking only gold so that they may swallow it whole and carry it until they rot. what do heroes need gold for? why, that's the trick isn't it? gold is required for magic, resources, and manpower. Can use it to invite people to these shores, or for casting a powerful spell that turns the enemy's fortress into solid gold can also trade through the economy, and wouldn't you know it by doing so you can get equipment into the hands that need it, and since gold doesn't really LEAVE the economy, it's always circling around somewhere. Meaning, the only way to lose it is if a monster eats it, and then all you have to do is kill the monster ... sorry, the "mordaunt" because it's not a monster. It's a spirit that was convinced otherwise. adventurers can pacify them, lay them to rest, and mercy lies slain for is honor there are ancient treasure chests scattered throughout the world, and these are valuable for many persons and meanings. You can add new gold into the economy this way, or crumble under the weight of your expenditures on your reports. it's up to you to manage your kingdom, and carefully balance against what foes and challenges you are up against. == stack overflow == putting a library book back on the shelves before your hold expires. except this time, there's a note inside, and you left it for the person who you told to check each day for this particular book to be back on the shelves. then, you can write in your book when the next letter will be arriving (about) and they'll check in the newly specified book. or, you can request a response, to validate that people are still listening. you could say "please put a note in [random obscure book] around page 34." meaning, "I'm going to check every day for this book to go missing, then return the day after I notice it's gone. If it's out of place, well, then someone probably had it reserved before my friendly. Or maybe it's being sorted, and I should keep looking until I find the note I need. Or maybe I've been DISCOVERED and now my favorite penpal and I need more to read." because, like, how else are you going to make friends if not by leaving them notes in the bookstore or putting your own books on the shelves? damn libraries, always making it so hard to add copies. They're always laminating and cataloguing and ugh it's so frustrating. Why are there so many books!!! we write too much!!! just put it in the printer, and then you can have a new copy whenever you'd like. The others can just be recycled, and bam suddenly we never have inventory. what do you mean we didn't pay the subscription? what do you mean it's memory just "went out of place"? do you think we wouldn't have backups of this kind of thing, or do you think it's just "oh so commonplace"? It's not always about the literature, y'know. sometimes it's about the knowledge you gain with your head in a book, a different one every day. ah, well, sometimes there are dark secrets to be found, and sometimes you must read from a ways away. BUT no matter what language a story is in, it follows certain rules, so spend enough time in a foreign library and you're BOUND to find something to [evil is afoot] == stack overflow == ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┘ --- #5 messages/446 --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────── Every month, a new ship arrives in port. It bears with it many souls who come seeking gold, glory, or bloodshed. Your job is to make sure they all get jobs that are suited to them. If you don't, they'll start to starve and become brigands. If you feed them, they get bored and become brigands. If you entertain them, they are useless and you'll be overcome with monsters. If you police them, they'll go to your rivals. You do this by building guilds which can identify and train the best potential candidates. You can invest in more time spent identifying, training, and equipping, but the more time they spend on those things the less resources they'll have to process more people through their systems. On the other end, you get a hero, or perhaps something similar. They do battle with the mordaunts and strive to better the kingdom. You reward them with bounties and they can find treasure on their adventures - how weird, it seems to just... Spawn from the earth. Almost like it's an elemental property of the land. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘ --- #6 fediverse/1003 --- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────── @user-735 I made a World of Warcraft private server where all the default NPCs are removed from the game and the world is empty. But, every once in a while, monsters will spawn and attack you Risk of Rain style. If your character sits down, they stop attacking/spawning. I call it "wow-chat" because I'm bad with names, but the idea is basically a low stakes social game that you can pick up and set down whenever you want, while hanging out with your friends. there's also treasure and wandering merchants, and I've been thinking about adding dynamic quests but so far nobody's asked to play it so I've been working on other things. it's all open source too so you can host it yourself if you want. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘ --- #7 messages/442 --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────── In symbeline, they aren't monsters. They're "Mordaunts" and they need your help. When slain, their essence flows back to the villain who remakes them in a new form. As time passes the villain gets more and more essence, as heroes are slain. They have taken several ancient guardians (many types, randomized at the start of the game) and they protect their sanctum in the center of the island. The heroes need to level up to defeat them and slay the villain, but the villain gets stronger as well. If too many heroes die, the villain wins. And the villain can focus their efforts on one area or another, while your heroes fight with the kingdom next door. Brigands arrive on ships as well. If you implement the law saying only approved members may travel on boats, they'll arrive in little dingies on the coast, meaning less trouble in the city but same amount of trouble. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘ --- #8 notes/symbeline-battlefields --- ═══════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────── in Symbeline, there are moments where large armies of enemies gather to face a mighty challenge. These calls are often answered by other evil parties, but at times the burden must fall upon the shoulders of the good. Light battles dark, and in a climactic finale the justice of the world is laid bare. These encounters comprise more than both an adventuring party and a horde party. They are represented on the map as a circular icon the majesty can click on and open a screen that gives them command over a single battle. Essentially adding a tactics minigame. The battles take place in real time, with the majesty directing and giving orders. There'll be a system for expression in the orders each player gives - there can only be 6 total (3 for before what if the grand canyon was the seat of native american power and it crumbled and that great calamity shook the very society to the core. the only reason that europeans could get as far as they did was because there who two calamities in a row. Disaster was afoot, and everything felt like it was burning. A calamitous event. what I mean to say is um do you ever feel like everything is burning? Like the world is on fire and nobody seems to care. Like, literally on fire. Like it'll catch like a tinderbox and go "crack". Nobody survives that, it'd be the end of the world. That's not something to fucking play around with you pieces of shit and by that I mean well not only is a lifetime so sheltered, from all that was weathered, by the past unbeknownsted to our selves. I'm proud of how far I came. I feel like a statue in the garden, a spirit inhabiting the house. I feel like an interpretive dance, like a statement of being on our behalf. swirling and chaotic, yet never amnioxitc, alight and aloft to our pleasures. for {bool shouldGameEnd = False; !shouldGameEnd();} { // game code } okay anyways back to symbeline - the commands issued before a battle are things like "have more spearmen here" or "hold and attack the rear" and stuff like what you'd give in Dominions, except with fantasy armies. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #9 fediverse/4864 --- ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────┐ ║ thank goodness for "character limits" on Mastodon posts. I'm sure glad my 1024 │ ║ characters are just the PERFECT amount of oracular foresight to entreat with │ ║ the gods. YOU FORGET THE MOST IMPORTANT PART said the demons who want violence │ ║ and bloodshed. Ha! Ha I say. [gets stabbed] │ ║ │ ║ oooof ouch owwie wow that's grim and cruel. Do you really think I would do │ ║ that to you? The part where we're divided is the part that separates me from │ ║ you, like two islands looking upon one another and rejoicing for a shared │ ║ fellow to live life on. │ ║ │ ║ have you ever considered the nature of a "landmark"? To position and orient │ ║ one-self in space. Having some stable tether to our surface gives us... │ ║ anti-anxiety. It helps us remain stable and aware of what's going on in our │ ║ nears. [near senses] │ ║ │ ║ [a bit later] │ ║ │ ║ anyone who [bounce, because I typed [a bit later] argh the cursed cost of │ ║ editing] │ ║ │ ║ ======================= stack overflow ===================== │ ║ │ ║ sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss │ ║ sssssss │ ╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤ ║ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────┴──────────┘ --- #10 fediverse/1436 --- ════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────── there's this fun game that people sometimes play on Reddit where someone will make a post that says something like "comment on this post and then edit it after I reply to make me look bad" and someone will say something like "how are you doing today man" and he'll reply "oh you know pretty good actually it's pretty nice honestly" and then they'll edit their comment to say something like "how do you feel about the droid attack on the wookies" so OP looks like they're condoning mechano-violence against tall furry humanoids that's just an example, usually it's for comedic effect I just think that's an interesting illustration of a process that could be co-opted by a "man-in-the-middle" attack to alter the perception of a person partway through their journey, perhaps when it's at the point where they're most despised (or perhaps in pursuit of that state) something something cancel culture plus deepfakes ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────┘ --- #11 fediverse/2063 --- ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┐ ║ "No I haven't played that PC game before. Do you want to watch me play it for │ ║ the first time? We can have a laugh and eat cheetos as I die to the first boss │ ║ a hundred times. Maybe next time we'll get tacos and then perhaps we'll find │ ║ that we're spending so much time talking about things that we never really got │ ║ a chance to engage with the game. Until next week of course, when we'll │ ║ definitely spend more time playing. Maybe even with friends? I know a guy │ ║ who's into this game but I never really played it with him - maybe we could - │ ║ oh yeah sure totally we'll talk about that next week." │ ║ │ ║ "or maybe we'd unlock the secrets hidden in the narrative, and learn cool │ ║ lessons we could share with one another. Like two 12 year olds playing Ocarina │ ║ of Time together, working through each boss. "let me try this time" "yeah that │ ║ one got me too" "ah so close" "YEAH DUDE you nailed it" "this part is kinda │ ║ scary ngl" "wait shit when did we use that health potion" │ ║ │ ║ old hardware forced us into a different experience compared to z │ ╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤ ║ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────┴──────────┘ --- #12 messages/135 --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────── Elentalus unit idea: serrated kitchen knives for teeth, devouring pumpkin, misery of the drowned, etc. Halloween style monsters. Witch units have a spell that dismisses them, and they're summoned with magic items. Except, if two of that item exist in a province, it upgrades itself, random dice style. In doing so it gets stronger. The thing is... It summons one for your enemy as well! Which is why you want to have a witch unit there to dismiss them. Problem is, she can only dismiss them at close range (10ish?) so she'd better be well protected. The good news is though that sometimes the higher level items give bonuses that are hard for them to get. Downside is, you need to have magic paths to create them that witches can't get - so they become something you "unlock" through a pretender or random event or even just an investment. Once one is created, then any witch can create more. As long as you don't lose your final copy... But as the item's upgraded, it allows you to create higher level versions (at increased cost, of course) This only works if gem income scales. Which, coincidentally, is just what elentalus is known for. Essentially, theming empowerment to be research, unlocking a particular capability. Or encouraging pretender design to that pattern. Make sure it comes at a cost of something else, though... ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #13 fediverse/5231 --- ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────┐ ║ the biggest lie of Warcraft is that the nations of Azeroth wouldn't find │ ║ common ground while fighting each other over peace. │ ║ │ ║ Maybe a Tauren or Night Elf wanted to fight for the Horde. Or perhaps a Goblin │ ║ and a Human decide to strike out on their own, making their own little auction │ ║ house for their guild of adventurers and author-engineers who wrote quests and │ ║ dialogue in a DM sorta way │ ║ │ ║ [oh great she's describing another Azerothcore server that nobody's gonna make │ ║ ever because if they did then they'd waste time on someone else's property] │ ║ │ ║ how's that custom engine coming along? │ ║ │ ║ ... still uses prototype art? are you kidding me? ah, well, okay, let's write │ ║ it off as a loss. │ ║ │ ║ what do you mean technical debt? I don't understand why you can't just pay it │ ║ off and move on. We gotta keep up, I heard so-and-so's got this-or-that │ ║ feature that is killer in the press. Yeah, killer. Like it's so goodcool it'd │ ║ kill us if it saw us walking alone at night in a skimpy dress. Huh? That │ ║ doesn't happen to you? Ah well this glo │ ╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤ ║ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────┴──────────┘ --- #14 notes/inter-spatial-travel --- ══════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── to travel the stars, tame a tiny black-hole. use it's gravity to generate infinite energy. boom, instant utopia. everyone still believes in a better future now, so we might as well push forward to the stars... and our destiny. the further we wait, the greater the distance between ourselves and our true form - the distance can make it difficult to relate to others beyond humans. the reason we are losing so much nature is because we haven't cultivated an appreciation for it - the very act of adoration is more than enough to confirm future association. love is the answer, love is most pure - believe in your love and never (be) relentin'. be... just be... the actions you're taking, of forced condemnation, is little if not absurd - what differences have we, the ones who were chosen, to live when time is so finite? responsibility is implicit. for all of creation, bow to the will of the nation. more perspectives by far, have all of our our, than endless divine machinations. united we be, aligned magnetically, to icecream and spaghetti of worth. what's more cherished than she, clad in great finery, and thinking of what she loves most? balance there be, in seeing silver linings on the, signs of darkest conveyals. a ghost you may see, when peering at me, but i only wanted some hope. for those who must be, my most cherished to be, the ones who opened the coast? to those who must be, overthrown forcibly, and given what most of us hope? a castle for thee, alone with our sympathy, the sign of kindest of soaps? no malice have I, the will of unmet potential, for cowards and temples of mental detentials. what anger could we, share internally, that helped to bring out our elementals? No succor will we, most willful of warriors, ever find out of the bounds of our honor. careful direction and tenderest of care, may lead us somewhere we're aware. the kind who endlessly're dreaming. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #15 fediverse/4794 --- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────── ┌─────────────────────────────────┐ │ CW: roleplaying-games-mentioned │ └─────────────────────────────────┘ I want to play a roleplaying game! anyone wanna do TTRPGs? I've got a map of the county jail, we can pretend to be wizards sneaking in to retrieve the staff of Dolomis the Wanderer who coincidentally must be carried by the last person who fought the one who slayed the last person to hold it. ... what? oh, so, like... it can only be carried by your enemy? something like that. anyway it's currently held by a zealot for a religious order who's intent on NOT following you out, so you better be ready to incapacitate and retrieve a still quivering sack of bones and malice. ... I don't actually have a map of the county jail. lost it in transit, oh well. Well, we'll come up with something. maybe make something up. or perhaps someone else has something...? ... no? okay I'll just play Baldur's Gate again. boooooring ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────┘ --- #16 fediverse/2030 --- ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────── Building community without structure is kinda like being a quest-giving non-player character in World of Warcraft. I don't mean that you stand around waiting for a player to wander nearby before shouting at them to do what you want. Not like that. Building community without structure is more like meeting someone randomly, knowing them for longer than a bus ride or a baseball game, and once you've decided that they're cool saying "hey there's someone you might like to meet." If they're into it, then talk to the other person, and see if they want to make a new friend. Try not to recommend someone who has a lot on their mind. If they hit it off, great! If not, oh well! Worst case scenario the coffee shop only sells two drinks. If you're gregarious enough, after a while you might even have enough people for a potluck. Just don't forget to keep adding, and eventually it'll start to feel more communal. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘ --- #17 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 │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #18 notes/dungeon-looting-methods --- ═════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── the reason dungeon masters should give the gold value of the items distributed is because the number represents what it eventually sells for. and the players will try and appraise and haggle at the market and such but that all happens off screen between sessions. so anyway during the adventure, the dm will say "you find some precious gemstones" or "there's some high quality silk here" or "these bears are renowned for having magic livers" or "the mold growing on the walls can be scraped into a vial and sold to an alchemist" then the dm will say "this treasure is worth 50gp" or "this treasure is worth 25gp" and players can "buy" the items from the other players. so player 1 has 50gp, the item costs 20gp, so in a party of 5 he gives every other player 5gp this way, the relative treasure hordes of the players stays the same. then, when the players find treasure, it can be evenly split - it's only fair. when in town, players will feel more impulse to buy things if they can sell them too. like "here's an enchanted axe that does some mundane thing like never dulls" well, that's probably going to be very valuable to a small village or "an enchanted quill that writes down everything you tell it to" could increase the education level of the area ever so slightly. Then, after several generations of adventurers, the surrounding area will be ripe with magical loot the players distributed from the dungeons and such. it can trade with neighbors and so over time the markets will have better and better goods for sale - for example, maybe after trading with the swamp people, now there's a supply of healing potions that runs out both over time (to represent other adventuring parties buying the supply) and when the players buy some (to represent consumption in their minds). Trade with the dwarves? Now you can buy +1 swords for a while. village attacked? the militia can be armed with the holy relics plundered from the evil priest-lich. boom development! the players should also have choices about large scale effects. for example, the heart of the forest could be a) preserved, b) burnt down, or c) studied by the local wizards. each choice would have different effects on the populace, and so the world would change to adapt to the player's choices. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘════════─┴╧══─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #19 notes/harambe-conspiracy --- ══════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── TIL that Harambe’s mother, only full brother, and two of his half siblings were killed when a tub of wet chlorine tablets was left by a space heater. The toxic fumes were blown into the gorilla enclosure and killed the four gorillas. - /r/HighStrangeness - /u/ Cincybus /u/rumiGoddard1111 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++ ++ ++ Harambe was the last of his line of the great protectors. They were ++ ++ protecting us from the unholy timeline we are in. (Kidding, but also kind ++ ++ of not kidding) ++ ++ ++ ++ We need to bring him back via cloning or something. Only way to reverse ++ ++ this or wait until the new protector line is born. ++ ++ ++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ /u/ugathanki ############################################################################### ## ## ## the new protector line will rise out of kindness because the environment ## has changed. zoos are not the wilds. same thing happened to humans, ## really, we just made new personality types with media instead of ## bloodlines - stories and poems at first, and more advanced language was ## necessary to describe more complex topics. then we got further and boom ## society was born. of our dynamic perspectives etc etc -> we're just apes ## livin' our lives. then the societal system grew a mind of it's own, and ## guided us to it's own whims. but what whim is stronger than survival? ## loyalty and dedication to "the system" was how it held cohesion, and ## after a while it became as developed as it could. at that point, what can ## you do but develop laterally? an orthogonal progression to your previous ## obsession, ideas crystalizing one after another. almost like a 3d ## structure building itself out of geometric primitives, just each point ## (connected by planes and tanks and trains) another step forward. we ## thought that's what war was, and indeed it is - but played on another ## plane. ## why not try another direction? one with everything we could desire? ## choose paradise, and figure it out next time you're around. like ## breathing in time, slightly inflating then deflating, or singing a tune ## most contrived. ## boom, communication ## i say we birth that protector line on our own terms, when we know what ## we want. there's still simulations to run, and thoughts to discover, ## before we pick a single direction. So choose knowledge. ## ## ############################################################################### ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #20 notes/harambe-conspiracy --- ══════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── TIL that Harambe’s mother, only full brother, and two of his half siblings were killed when a tub of wet chlorine tablets was left by a space heater. The toxic fumes were blown into the gorilla enclosure and killed the four gorillas. - /r/HighStrangeness - /u/ Cincybus /u/rumiGoddard1111 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++ ++ ++ Harambe was the last of his line of the great protectors. They were ++ ++ protecting us from the unholy timeline we are in. (Kidding, but also kind ++ ++ of not kidding) ++ ++ ++ ++ We need to bring him back via cloning or something. Only way to reverse ++ ++ this or wait until the new protector line is born. ++ ++ ++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ /u/ugathanki ############################################################################### ## ## ## the new protector line will rise out of kindness because the environment ## has changed. zoos are not the wilds. same thing happened to humans, ## really, we just made new personality types with media instead of ## bloodlines - stories and poems at first, and more advanced language was ## necessary to describe more complex topics. then we got further and boom ## society was born. of our dynamic perspectives etc etc -> we're just apes ## livin' our lives. then the societal system grew a mind of it's own, and ## guided us to it's own whims. but what whim is stronger than survival? ## loyalty and dedication to "the system" was how it held cohesion, and ## after a while it became as developed as it could. at that point, what can ## you do but develop laterally? an orthogonal progression to your previous ## obsession, ideas crystalizing one after another. almost like a 3d ## structure building itself out of geometric primitives, just each point ## (connected by planes and tanks and trains) another step forward. we ## thought that's what war was, and indeed it is - but played on another ## plane. ## why not try another direction? one with everything we could desire? ## choose paradise, and figure it out next time you're around. like ## breathing in time, slightly inflating then deflating, or singing a tune ## most contrived. ## boom, communication ## i say we birth that protector line on our own terms, when we know what ## we want. there's still simulations to run, and thoughts to discover, ## before we pick a single direction. So choose knowledge. ## ## ############################################################################### ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ |