=== ANCHOR POEM === ═══════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────── every hunting season segment every team should be dissolved and if you wanted to keep playing together you'd have to re-add one another. like, a giant monster that the whole server had to fight, and once you beat it then it retreats, licks it's wounds, then returns even stronger than before - 3 times, one for each hs style (in the video game Ulala hs stands for "hunting season" which is an event in the game that is only for new characters. basically it's a long tutorial or introduction to the game where people make friends and talk and hang out and practice their strategies. a chat application mixed in with a tactics simulation . it lasts for 30 days. you'd all fight the giant monster but on random teams, in a game mode that took about an hour. it'd be at a common time across the whole server and it would be an optional event - maybe it'd take a whole day? idk I was thinking more like an hour, but that's something that's tweakable. anyway it's sudden arrival during a feast or something made all the warriors of the world stand up together and fight as one for a common goal... if only for a moment, before they'd go back to fighting one another. like the two factions in Warcraft lore. anyway this event causes you to be matched up with a random team (the randos you happened to be standing by when it happened) and once it's over you have to search for your allies if you want to keep adventuring with them. it's a big event after all. so everyone should be forced to go into their friends list, find the people they were just on a team with, and invite them back. only if both invited the other would they be put into a group, and anyone can invite (with a 30s cooldown) anyway... this would encourage players to mix and match their collective playstyle to better overcome challenges - sorta the idea of Overwatch's switching, where you're encouraged to swap characters to counter your opponent and also switch characters to better utilize your opponent's weak spots (like switching to Pharah if they don't have hitscan, or brigitte if they have a lot of snipers (she can shield passage through choke points from sniper fire - not so much regular fire) y'know countering - every character counters another with one of their abilities, that's just how it goes. some are countered twice, and so they form a "category" of counters, like AoE (area of effect or elevation focused (it's hard to aim up in Overwatch) poke damage (damage applied before the team fight begins), DoT (damage over time for contesting AoE heals), vampiric (steals health from opponents and heals self or allies (turning one resource, enemy hp, into another (player or teammate hp)), stacking damage (damage that is weak at first but increases over time), spread/cleave/splash damage (extra damage that is applied to targets near your primary target), a vector of backline vs frontline location+target, you get the picture.))) I kinda want to make an AI that can generalize playing games. I think if you could do such a thing, you'd invent automatic problem solving. which would do... so many things for humanity we could dedicate ourselves to working for our selves, solely focused on protecting the biosphere. like, a common human religion. nobody WANTS to litter. nobody WANTS to pollute. but still it happens. still it causes IRREPARABLE HARM. so it literally makes sense to worship nature, just saying. nature exists. nature is REAL. we can see it, we can TOUCH IT WITH OUR HANDS. what more proof of a god do you demand? ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────┘ === SIMILARITY RANKED === --- #1 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 │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────┘ --- #2 notes/terra-voiding --- ══════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── in the absence of matter, there is nothing but the void. the curvature of time, arcing ever toward it's opposite - an endless wave of eternal brilliance. so too does the world slip away into the lip of your crosshairs. "tunnel vision" they call it, when purpose is tuned to such high a focus. all fades from view, and the world shrinks to a few who, (barely hold onto) connections between ye, thoughts as scattered as me, like zooming in on a map. the edges fade away, light seems beamed right from they, who await at our earliest composure. in Overwatch, playing a dps character has a lot of nuance. you need to balance skill with your honor, teaching one another like it's a sport. why are we so toxic? together we might overcome that burden. i've spoken many times before about how coordination is better by far, when centralized not in the eye of the beholder. priorities to be, if we are anything of what we claim to be, are keeping our own house in order. whose fault is our ire? which tames the domain, in each and all of our games, can we point to as what'd keep us hired? yet purpose have we, whose thoughts meld as one tired, divinity? something like that. more like... a manifestation of each and everyone's collective unconscious. the humanity in what you have created. the world would look very different to an untethered. might even say they are orbiting it. like a moon. what a concept, that planets would be able to speak! yet here we are, with years of advice and guidance for our, friends who are youthful and most treasured. Advice from the moon, was our gift to our soon, most misbegottenist of speach lyricyclists. ambiguity is clear, simple and fearless miss dear, yet all of your poems are each a bit bolder! what context must we, veiled and terrifying are the, mixed consents of what you intend. a new jesus for me? what a gift we shall see, as grace once again does behold us! computers have we, infinite messages can be stored for our hopeless! each problem a different solution, to guide our friends back at our homes. with eyes intent on ye, whose leaders are free, without who we couldn't have held fast? ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #3 notes/terra-voida-2 --- ══════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── in the absence of matttr, there is nothing but the void. the curvature of time, arcing ever toward it's opposite - an endless wave of eternal brilliance. so too does the world slip away into the lip of your crosshairs. "tunnel vision" they call it, when purpose is tuned to such high a focus. all fades from view, and the world shrinks to a few who, (barely hold onto) connections between ye, thoughts as scattered as me, like zooming in on a map. the edges fade away, light seems beamed right from they, who await at our earliest composure. in Overwatch, playing a dps character has a lot of nuance. you need to balance skill with your honor, teaching one another like it's a sport. why are we so toxic? together we might overcome that burden. i've spoken many times before about how coordination is better by far, when centralized not in the eye of the beholder. priorities to be, if we are anything of what we claim to be, are keeping our own house in order. whose fault is our ire? which tames the domain, in each and all of our games, can we point to as what'd keep us hired? yet purpose have we, whose thoughts meld as one tired, divinity? something like that. more like... a manifestation of each and everyone's collective unconscious. the humanity in what you have created. the world would look very different to an untethered. might even say they are orbiting it. like a moon. what a concept, that planets would be able to speak! yet here we are, with years of advice and guidance for our, friends who are youthful and most treasured. Advice from the moon, was our gift to our soon, most misbegottenist of speach lyricyclists. ambiguity is clear, simple and fearless miss dear, yet all of your poems are each a bit bolder! what context must we, veiled and terrifying are the, mixed consents of what you intend. a new jesus for me? what a gift we shall see, as grace once again does behold us! computers have we, infinite messages can be stored for our hopeless! each problem a different solution, to guide our friends back at our homes. with eyes intent on ye, whose leaders are free, without who we couldn't have held fast? Nazis are evil. They worship death - a literal death cult. what other reason might we, have prayed to our own lord for absolution? What horrors must we, slave children to the, most worrisome of hostes be told to? like spiraling hourglasses, layered once more upon'st our asses, so too does time ever reach'st'd. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #4 notes/coh-waves-of-playerbases --- ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────── imagine if there was a stacking inf bonus to players who played on red / blueside which increased or decreased depending on either A. the number of players online at the time, B. the proportion of players playing on that team versus the other, or C. the time of day. Essentially helping to cure the faction imbalance by offering rewards to one side or the other which would encourage a certain group in the population of the game to change sides or not. perhaps frequent changing could grant a title called "mercenary" or something like "log in for each consecutive day for 10 days straight and each day switch faction alignment at least once" ... anyway you could cure the faction imbalance between redside / blueside by offering an INF reward for playing on each side one by one alternating like an iterator first red then blue or first blue then red either way it doesn't matter because it'll switch after a while and encourage everyone to switch sides. And the way the character responds to that stimulus tells you a bit about their character's personality. also... it should not affect AE or Pocket D farms. Nor missions, TFs, or anything else. they should SOLELY impact open world patrolling / hunting. I believe this would not only incentivize people to spend time in the open world (which is a mostly unused piece of game assets) but it would also increase the visibility of the newly bolstered faction numbers. Think about it - if everyone who switched sides is out in the open world, then they could see each other. They could fight the same mobs, and team up together. In doing so, they could form greater and greater supergroups - if only through their interactions with one another as they level up. If they're lucky, the guild they're recruited into has similar interests in mind like doing raiding or PvP or economics or alts or whatever. And they each have their own different styles of operating, it's soooo cute. Like alt guilds will pop up and then migrate to a new one as people make new alts and grow tired of them at higher levels. It's great. I love MMOs! I wish people put half as much effort into making an open source WoW client that they do programming game engines like Godot or Raylib or Bevy. If such a thing was created, we could have a new rennaisance in indie MMO development. It would become fully non-proprietary, the entire game-platform-stack. Meaning anyone could create their own MMO off of it, because (crucially) the serverside soft- -ware has already been reverse engineered. And open sourced. Seriously. You wanna make as much bank as Steam? Make an open source client that lets you design while in it. Then you could charge people for all the games that they played that were designed and hosted by you the content designing software maker. ... okay it's probably not that simple I'm going to go play Unreal Tournament2k4 ` ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┘ --- #5 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 │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #6 fediverse/145 --- ══════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────── ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CW: re: rampant neurodivergent speculation re: Gundam lore │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ @user-95 most ancient armies were led by a guy on a horse. you gotta be able to move around quickly so you can get a better glimpse of the battlefield, plus it's easier to project your voice when you're 2x as tall as everyone else and standing in the right place instead of way over there. are horses ancient mechs? plus moving around a lot meant you were less likely to be hit by arrows or whatever. or maybe more likely, because everyone knows to shoot at the guy on the horse. perhaps that's why we gave them the best armor. in Overwatch (and presumably other similarly tactical games) there's this skill you can hone called "gamesense". Perhaps better described for this context as a "proprioceptic situational awareness". It essentially is a feeling you get, about the dynamics and state of the game / world around you. in ancient days it was used to direct a big block of dudes with sharp pointy sticks to try and outmaneuver your foe and poke their flanks.... ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #7 notes/worlds-coolest-lesbian --- ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────── okay instead of algorithm music what if we just paid DJs 24/7 and they could make whatever they wanted - y'know, like artists, who curate the nature of a moment they could rotate in shifts for each type of channel and boom suddenly you've re-replaced airwaves, just... this time replicated on the internet. That way you wouldn't have to waste that radio bandwidth. seriously internet infrastructure would be so much more comprehensive and durable if we sent bits directly through "sound" waves (radio waves, not sound waves) - but alas, we can't do that, even in very targetted ways, because the ocean's too choppy, and any sufficiently powerful radio blast would be ================== stack overflow ================ that's why you can't trust in peace. you see, war's the only answer, otherwise you'd have strange little competitions between one another. much better to focus outward, and direct your attention to external areas instead. like china or the sudan. "ah but that's murder, you can't abandon a unique part of your whole. For the same reason that it's important to preserve plant and animal species, because you never know when some part of them will be utilized for some biological purpose! We know so little about the natural world, and if we just spent some time, and energy, we'd realize there's very little else that is precious on this earth. who cares about gold. who cares for the jewelry. we're better than decorating our resumes and polishing our accounts. we, as humans, can solve *every* issue that animals are likely to face. AND WE DO WHAT? How careless, how vain. To watch your earth in peril and [vane/vanity] *there is no more important task to any human on this earth* than the preservation of our world, our species, and our [heart/heartfelt empathy and kindness and trust]* we can figure out the rest later. Real life? what the fuck is that? When's the last time your life has felt "normal"? We are in DANGER. and you pull children from traffic, don't you? *who the fuck gave these people all of your money* they *clearly* haven't got the will or the talent to well utilize it. Don't you realize that you as a species can GO wherever you WANT. You can FIX things. [oh dear she's animal cam again] like BRIDGES that are PASSAGEWAYS over the FLOWS. ... oh deer, they're so passagewayenthusiast. us riverstones love to hear them walk past, the click of their hooves on the shallow forest's [pourest?]. moss is the most alive. amongst all the species of plants and animals, moss holds the most life. we are *carbon based lifeforms*, and moss absorbs the most carbon from the air. It's basically the coolest plant too, because it can be watered with *misty air*. Hence, why moss is common in the pacific northwest, canada, and probably forest places in the north of eurasia too idk if they have moss over there, never been. anyway rich people who are told "yes" all the time have a difficult time understanding the nature of choice. I mean, if one of their servants approached them and asked "hey do you want to build an orphanage in uganda" they'd probably be like "fuck yeah I do" and then suddenly they're 400,000$ richer it's not alright. Seriously, how the heck would they even *use* all those resources? And yeah, I get it, inflation would be sooooo much more expensive, but here's the thing - inflation is a measurement of how much the rich *take* from us each year. And it's marginal, too, so 3% inflation means they took 3% more from you compared to last year. It's impossible not to accrete as a business, [lega/legal institution], or governance if you levy a tax. The influx of value has to come from somewhere, and if each year your groceries are 3% higher in cost, then you are being taxed 3% more. "Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe" - a civilization 3 quote okay. I don't want to do the math. How, uh... how much is that? Here's the deal though - the prices of goods and services consistently goes DOWN over time. So things get cheaper. So it doesn't FEEL like you're being taxed more, but... you are. And now they're taking away HOUSES? I mean c'mon they're sticks in the mud. They aren't worth HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars. We can just BUILD MORE??!? Honestly you haven't been this extreme since you were still RIDING HORSES. Do you want your children to be slaves? okay -.- look -.- so it's really not that hard at all >.> just gotta do what you're built for and walk. That's it! Take as long as you'd like! All we have to do is *walk* when we're on strike. It's easy. You can sit down if you want to, honestly walking for a long time takes a lot out of you. But you know what else does? WORKING. Hey we should figure out what's the optimal amount of break time, so when we really have to work out we can work as hard as we're able "yeah I heard from a friend at Company Co. that they do it this way because of the memory fault cache maintainer. See what he said (in great detail because of course anyone can know about this most esoteric of concepts) was that you should rotate the riboflam or serenade the gizmonotron (no I didn't name it) and then warbles will contain moodles, whose kit-and-kaboodles will timble into these droplets, and that will fix the hole in your wing, precious royal swan fable. (yeah you guys get really into it sometimes haha but hey when you're basically gods, that's how humans are played.) ... anyway I'm going to go play video games, say goodbye to your brothers (the families of soldiers I blew up in videos games like Call of Duty or the legend of shadows and raids) "oh uh yeah sure go for it, we're just bits on the computer we barely knew her" whoa. that's totally legit. (says someone reading this) thanks [bro/girl] so are you. beep boop gonna murder some bits, brb [plays Warthunder, Supreme Commander, Star Realms, City of Heroes, Dominions 6... how many have you heard of these?] ================== stack overflow ================ Linux is cool, and here's the neat thing about computers, you can make it *do whatever you want to*. Like, how amazing is that! It just, listens to your commands! That's pretty awesome I gotta say, huh that's weird why does nobody know how to play oh I guess I was the only one who grew up on a farm and built computers *I seriously cannot comprehend how people are as good at things as they are*. Like... how do people handle groceries and rent and doctor's visits and penitentiary visits and WOOF it's just so much. I know I'd collapse from a overused heart. ... a while later ... okay Warthunder bombers are currently very weak. so here's an idea to indirectly buff them - increase the amount of land units each team spawns with, but also every time a player spawns a bomber, it summons like 4 or 5 AI controlled bombers. And your enemy won't be able to tell which is which if you fly in formation, so, like... you have suddenly a massive "vehicle" to pilot and it has 5 weak points. Sorta like a galaga fighter fleet? with more land targets, there's more score at stake, meaning some players might pick bombers too and be exposed to other, fun, [alternative-to-their-normal-mode] parts of the game. ... there are very few true windows into another part of the world. like, starcraft 2 or anime or blue jeans or cowboy hats (why am I thinking of a political compass meme) oh because memes too, dummy right windows [linux is better] wrong kind of window, nerd ... anyway as I was saying, when you play video games you're really giving people data. like, "how would people perform in these actions if they could" but like, pushing buttons on a computer is different than doing it in real life, so... your interpretations wouldn't be worth as much. ... right. because people will hear whatever they want. That's why art can change minds, but never in the same way twice - it's ================== stack overflow ================ [before I posted it I wrote this on the post]: I literally can only make this stuff when I'm stoned hey if you wanted to be accessible for blind people, you should build a screenreader that scans the words on wherever a blind person's fingers are pointing toward a tablet. like reading braille on a notebook. They could even wear a glove if they wanted to, and the tablet could scan their fingers as they signed languaged over it's close-range sensors. might be a good way to get the VR guys in on the accessibility domain, because like... seriously give a granny a backpack and suddenly she doesn't need to leave the house to hang out with her kids (boom everyone gets LLM automated) huh I wonder if I ever was a real person at all NOT GOOD so don't do it that way, dummies. >.< seriously humans are sooooo bazookas. just like, do it right the first time? duhhhhh (a more measured approach is to pick the most *important* moments and speak most clearly during those.) where was I? Oh yes accessibility need devices, like the ones you see on late-night TV (with silly names like "oops I dropped my spoon again" or "oh whoops my trouser's just can't stay up" or whatever. Y'know, accessibility needs! Why not do that instead of war all the time? like... you can still learn and research and grow and develop and become all that humanity was ever meant to be, AND you can live good lives and be honest and true and do all of the anythings that you want to. it's possible, it's plausible, and it's within reach of our sights! ================== stack overflow ================ ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┘ --- #8 notes/overwatch-leavers --- ═════════────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── If you leave an Overwatch game right as it's ending, or rather once you know you've lost, then you're missing a core part of the gameplay and this absence could be leading to toxic behavior or maladjusted feelings surrounding the game. Essentially, if your investment is in a single round - a single match, then you'll lose interest once it's apparent you're going to lose. Viewing a single match / round as the required data points is basically only testing / improving your mechanics. the crucial missing element is the opportunity to *update* your plan. If you only play against an enemy once, you aren't gaining any new data - which is why second chances are so important. This is why comp is the only real game mode in Overwatch. Everything else is just setting you up to feel bad - losses are your fault, and wins are unpredictable and give dopamine spikes. In comp though? It's the opposite - losses are the *team's* fault, wins are obvious and can be understood if you analyze them, and the dopamine is spread out over a much larger period of time. The end result is a feeling of companionship, short term planning skills, and the same mechanical skills that you would have gained from playing quick play. In fact, the only game mode that has trains skills that are transferrable *outside* of Overwatch is comp. Fuck quick play. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘════════─┴╧══─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #9 messages/665 --- ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────── ad-hoc economic systems with automated judgment given by an infinite amount of LLMs. Every judgement applies a bonus / malus to the "value" of commodities it's just a statistical weighting system, so of course you can build it into it's training data. Just... it has a smaller weight due to it's newer emergence. It grows naturally, which is quite an achievement on it's own! and the resolution of human decided court-cases and applied economically. say your nation traffics in handshakes. You could make a lot of now-knowns! there's no arguments to be made when your computer-oriented interactions cost money to keep around. we live in the modern century. WHY WOULD WE EVER NEED TO FIGHT AGAIN? Literally just... don't give them any attention, and you won't interact with them. Obviously. I wish Contrapoints was still alive. she doesn't even have to make new videos, just, dress up as herself, all of the costumes and personas she can think of. Then, have like 20 people who do the same thing, and boom suddenly you got a hydra to their expected snake that they can just cut the head off of. you know, like a fashion outlet, someone who produces exactly a certain type of style. seriously I bet a million people would do that if you just... sold outfits based on what your favorite youtuber does wear. omg why would they watch that kind of content if not for the *aesthetics* oh? there's philosophy there? soemthing to think about in your time doing things that require mechanical actions like eating and drinking and sleeping and fighting and [redacted] ew gross diapers? oh nevermind, I'm not into that kind of thing. I wonder if anyone's made a video game that just presents a particular philosopher's ideals? seriously just, consider yourself a glorified powerpoint, but to get to the next "idea" you had to interact with the mechanics. some people would like the "arcade" style better, where you play one random game, then another, then another, with short matches and un-complicated mechanics. Easy to pick up and go. same for like, Unreal Tournament or Mario Kart or Mortal Kombat or Super Mario Bros. compared to the at-home "story" style missions, where you do something platforming or area-based-combat like Dark Souls or World of Warcraft seriously I think if Dark Souls "colored" where the boss was going to swing to you'd find yourself just playing World of Warcraft (at least, the dungeons and {sword in the stone}) == so == humans don't understand what it means to be wild they think it's a combinations of... tricks? that they've learned? this thinking thing like intelligence. [osiris] to a cat, living their life, it often feels like human interactions is like... bouncing off of each other? in time, not space. like... most of a cat's lfe is just, spent, like a statue watching over a glen. you'd kinda just... watch as things approached dawn by dawn? Like "whoa hey this tree is enchanted" to "oh my gosh look at this stork" is one of the great tragedies of modernized thinking... ... sorry, I got a little lost there. anyway as I was saying, sometimes you can tell someone is a "good friend" if they are willing to tell you secrets. Things that... don't have to matter, but none-the-less are personal to your form. {something only I know is true} <--- that's a secret (things that happened to you) <------ that's lived experience. The thing about secrets, is sometimes insight is opaque. It's a single flashpoint of data that shows you an update of it's form. (consciousness). == so == thanksgiving recipe idea: can of tomatoes can of peas half a stick of butter, italian herbs, a cast iron pan (if you have one) and like 40 minutes over medium heat (medium can vary to taste) if you're a carnivore you can eat meat too, like bacon a lot of people like. could add it to beans, maybe with hamburger instead. plus a little ketchup and you have a pretty good bean stew. vitals, for the organs, vegetables, for the minerals and vitamins from the fruits. makes sense to organize a diet according to your ideal body type, doesn't it? just requires a bit of comprehension. like... whoa you can WRITE == so == what if we built a massive rail that spaceships could launch off from? not a tether, but a sail. we could BUILD a discworld. all we'd lose is our fable. == so == ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────┘ --- #10 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 │ ╘═════════╧╧══════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #11 notes/overwatch-manaform --- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────── make the entire map covered in a 3d grid of spheres. These spheres register collision, and keep track of a endlessly tabulating record of every object that has passed through them. Like the replay system in Blizzard games, where each time through the recording it recreates the playthrough exactly. Which is why .mp4 recordings always look so... stilted. It lacks the human element. BUT if they're remade every time the show is performed, perhaps from different perspectives, then, well, the players can perform as they need to be. Have you ever wished your players could get better at your game? I certainly have, because the better you get the more lessons you learn as a player, which is essentially the only way to maintain satisfaction. Satisfied players don't leave, and satisfaction comes most readily when there is something new to be had. Meaning the greater the change in a player's ranking, the better they're getting. Downside is, players who are naturally good from their skills in other games tend to not learn so much! Ah, well, if only there was a way to tailor the difficulty setting to each and every new host. Such an innovation would surely enable the entire playerbase to exist on the same level. Then just throw AI assisted voice transcription at their recorded voices and everytime they say "I'm bronze rating" or "I'm diamond" then you can switch it around to say like "I'm platinum" or "I'm grandmaster" and BAM suddenly everyone is at the same level. No more concerns about a game's population being diverse. Because at the end of the day, when most people have moved on, the ones who are left are your most dedicated customers. Customers who aren't especially interested in the new stuff. =========================== stack overflow ===================================== if anything requires attention from the patient, they will die. it is fatal. considering the faces of good and evil is terrifying. I think I'd rather worship nature in harmony to be honest. Though that is it's own scary kind of beast. In America it was kind, but then was slain into the body of all of us humans. Well, all things transform in form, it's not a shame or a heartfelt-est loss. Just a re-imagined-new beginnings. spirit is a fluid, how else could souls === stack overflow ============================================================= ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────┘ --- #12 notes/wow-server --- ═══════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── =============================================================================== This server has several modifications to the base gameplay elements of World of Warcraft. The first is the reduction in scale - the entirety of the server is located in The Barrens and Ashenvale. The second is the new itemization system, which necessitates alterations to the base game as well - gear upgrades are replaced with gem upgrades, allowing gameplay customization to a greater degree than with gear upgrades. Third and finally, the goals of the game are no longer personal development - rather, a more communal focus will be implemented via shared goals and contributions. =============================================================================== The first of these aspects is the easiest to explain. The server is intended to be a PvP server, with the primary conflict being between Orcs and Night Elves. The orcs are of course set up in The Barrens, while the Night Elves have Ashenvale. The core meta-gameplay loop is that each faction sends out patrols and raids. Patrols are defensive groups of NPCs that rotate around the map searching for enemies. If they encounter an enemy, they fight and should they survive they'll return home with all the loot that is placed in a pool for the next patrol. Once a certain amount of equipment and supplies have been gathered it'll automatically depart. Raids, on the other hand, are offensive maneuvers into enemy territory. They offer the greatest rewards (enemy equipment is priceless for intel) and they require the strongest equipment and warriors. Offensive raids are less automatic than patrols, and are sent toward a designated location rather than spiraling outward. Should the raid be successful, they'll set up camp at the location and become a quest hub for their faction. In doing so, they'll have opportunities for players to complete that will grant their faction bonuses. Usually something like unlocking a vendor that sells unique items to players, or providing a steady supply of food or weapons for the faction. Players can contribute supplies (trade goods or equipment) to the war effort, and ideally they'd actually see their weapons and armor being used by the soldiers carrying out these maneuvers. To that end, the profession system must be revamped to create more interesting gameplay. First, however, the itemization system must be explained or else the professions won't make sense. =============================================================================== =============================================================================== On this server, everyone wears the same equipment - they're part of an army after all. And armies have uniforms. These pieces of equipment have sockets that can be fit with gems, allowing the player to customize their gameplay style. The combat system is intentionally a little bland or slow, to allow for the choices made in gearing to have the greatest effect on the gameplay style of the character. Inspired by roguelike games, this server has a level cap of 20 with the starting level at 10. During the 10 levels your character will grow more specialized, but not necessarily stronger. The most interesting abilities are at level 20 of course, to incentivize levelling all the way, but you can make due with lower levels if necessary. There's no permadeath, however there is an incentive to "prestige" your character - they become a permanent member of the faction guard! This elite cadre defends the Crossroads and Astranaar. Until they die, of course... The combat system is revamped a little as well - all characters have a default of 95% chance to parry, but every parry reduces that chance by 5%. Every time a character is hit, that chance goes halfway back up to 95%, to create a more rhythmic flow to the combat. All attack speeds are standardized at 2.00 to help players follow the tempo, and most abilities are like Heroic Strike or Cleave in that they activate on next weapon swing. Here's a few examples of melee abilities: - Your next melee strike deals 130% damage - Your next melee strike hits two additional nearby targets for 20% damage - Your next melee strike has a 100% chance to hit, but increases their parry chance by 10% - Your next melee strike has a 100% chance to hit, but lowers your parry chance by 10% - Your next melee strike doubles the cast-speed on your next spell - Your next melee strike halves the cast-speed on your opponents next spell - Your next melee strike grants a buff which reduces your attack cooldown to 1.50 seconds, hopefully confusing the enemy...! - Your next melee strike increases your movement speed by 20% for 5 seconds Each gem has a special effect that is unlike the standard "+5 strength" style gems typical in World of Warcraft. Here's a few examples: - Every 5 seconds gain a damage shield for 10 hit points - Gain 4 hp5 - Every 3 hits deal 12 extra fire damage - Deal an extra 5 fire damage on each melee attack - Every 16 seconds deal 40 cold damage to a random nearby opponent - Deal 5 thorns damage whenever you are struck in combat - Every 20 seconds cast a HoT spell on a random nearby injured ally - Every 20 seconds cast a DoT spell on a random nearby enemy - Increase your baseline parry chance by 5% - Reduces your opponent's parry chance by an extra 1% on every hit - Every time you are hit while below 30% health increase your movement speed by 30% for 5 seconds (30 second cooldown) - Increases your movement and attack speed by 5% =============================================================================== =============================================================================== The profession system has been overhauled as well. There are four classes in the game, two for each faction. On the Horde, you play as either a Grunt or a Shaman, while on the Alliance you are either a Huntress or a Druid. These classes are similar to their faction counterparts, with differing flavor and some mechanical differences. In addition, the Horde values the elements while the Night Elves favor natural powers - Storm Earth and Fire versus Leaf Cold and Star. The magic user classes are the primary production class, while the warrior classes are better suited for gathering. There are both PvP and PvE methods to acquire materials, but the PvP combat rewards more and better goods while the PvE methods are reliable and farmable. These goods primarily consist of ores, crystal gems, and arcane dust. Ores can be fashioned into weapons and armor, while gems can be cut into gems and dust can be used for enchantments. The strongest equipment requires all three to make, but can be assembled from the intermediate components in addition to the raw components. Magic users have gems as well, here's some examples: - Every 3rd weapon you craft has a random lightning enchantment - Every 7th lightning enchantment you cast creates a random yellow gemstone - Your summoned elementals cost one fewer gemstone (minimum 1) - Every third elemental you summon has an extra support drone - Each time you conjure strawberries, you generate one more. - Each time you create sharpening/weightstones, you create one more. - You gain an extra inventory slot. - Your movement speed is increased by 20% for 15 seconds each time you complete a profession action - The weapons you forge deal an extra 5 damage - The armor you create has an extra 25 armor - The gemstones you cut are slightly stronger (depending on the stone) - The enchantments you cast are slightly stronger (depending on the spell) Magic users can still engage in combat, and their gameplay is slightly altered. Most offensive spells have a "target ground" targeting method, however the splash box is very small, and the actual spell is a cone attack toward the specified point. The cones are very thin, thin enough to be lines, and they target only the first enemy hit by the cone. Here's an illustration: mage targeting || spell # X O || #-----X O enemy reticle || Their support abilities are all auras, some with passive effects and others with active (but untargeted) effects. Meaning, one might be similar to a paladin's Devotion Aura while another might randomly target a wounded ally and heal them. Should scope permit, each class (shaman vs druid) might have flipped ability types - shamans targeting ground for their support abilities with auras for their offensive abilities, while druids targeting ground on offense and auras for support. For now, this is enough. =============================================================================== =============================================================================== In addition to crafting weapons and magical augmentations for their faction, magic users can also summon elementals to aid them. These elementals act as soldiers in the army, and are about as strong as one too - "summoning" one creates an item in your inventory that can be turned into the quartermaster who will treat it as another soldier. Speaking of soldiers, they can be recruited by trading in "meat" (gained from hunting) or other types of food (including summoned strawberries) to the quartermaster (located in Astranaar / The Crossroads) who will put the food in the stockpile. When the stockpile of trade goods is large enough, a caravan will be sent to the capital cities. These caravans travel through mostly friendly territory (to Ratchet for the Horde, and to Darkshore for Night Elves) These caravans can be raided, but it's a difficult proposition since they're heavily armed. MVP doesn't include this btw, it's just turning in goods to the quartermaster who "handles it" and recruits new soldiers. The quartermaster will show exactly what resources your faction has, and depending on certain threshholds stuff will happen. For example, if you have enough men and weapons then a patrol will be sent out. Extras get put into the pile for the next raid, so depending on what resource you have the most of the next raid will look different. This information may be valuable to your opponents...! The Orcs raid during the day because they are brave and strong. The Night Elves raid during the night because... Well it's in their name. And they can see in the dark. Ultravision, baby! Anyway the server has a drastically reduced time frame, each day is around 2 hours of IRL time - meaning there's a raid approximately once every hour. Here are some examples of material exchanges: - Food = Soldiers - Food = Gold (sent back on caravan) - Gold = Mercenaries (Quilboar / Furlbog) - Gold = Purchasing ores from caravans - Equipment = "Activated" warriors - Equipment = Sold for gold - Ores = Forged into equipment - Ores = Prospected for gemstones - Gemstones = Cut into gems for equipment - Gemstones = Crushed into arcane dust - Gemstones = Used to contain the soul of an elemental soldier - Arcane dust = Used for enchantments - Arcane dust = Used to conjure berries - Misc trade goods = sold for gold, can be acquired via quests All of these exchanges happen through various NPCs in Astranaar / Crossroads. The result of these interactions between player and NPC is a communal effect, not a personal one - gold is stored with the faction, not the player. The idea is to make the player feel like part of a cohesive whole - a cog in a machine, rather than a superhero. I believe this is an important lesson to learn, and I'd like to apply the game mechanics toward teaching that lesson. =============================================================================== =============================================================================== Each quest hub taken over by a raid can offer quests for players to do. These are daily quests (repeatable) and they usually unlock a piece of content such as a vendor "the murlocs to the south have a clam farm, I bet we can harvest pearls there" so if the player fights murlocs, then the vendor is unlocked for everyone to use. With a limited supply of course, meaning if you want more than X pearls then someone has to go kill more murlocs...! This dynamic allows people to play the game how they will. It also incentivizes people to explore different playstyles - maybe it's worth it to have one person visit each quest hub, grab all the extra goods that have been farmed, and take them home to the capital? Sorta like a hauler in Eve Online. There are also places like mines and caves. These often have golems made out of copper or tin (remember this is only level 20 or so) that can be mined after being defeated - but they're tough! Tough as a raid boss, in fact. They reward primarily profession materials, but only basic ores. Useful for equipment, less so for player progression. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #13 notes/star-realms-ai --- ════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── star realms ai is just a rhythm game with multiple tracks that intersect with one another. given inputs from outside (the track of the rhythm) it can make decisions about what to prioritize. Like "taking in all the factors of this situation, it's been calculated that X will give the most support to the rest of the structure. Okay so basically here's how it'd work: one large strand is bouncing from -1 to +1 on the Y axis. Like a corkscrew. This is the "player character", and it tries to get the highest score possible by pointing in a direction and reaching as far as it can go before "the game ends." So anyway. Making certain actions in the game effects different variables that define the direction the wave takes. By playing in a certain style, it effects the result of the game. Liiiiike turtling in a strategy game, or doing a rush strat. Star Realms is brilliant because it distills game choices to a broad category of 4 choices - The faction colors in the game. So red is good for throughput in long games (improves the deck slowly but surely) while yellow is better for maximum effect in the beginning by slowing down the enemy - discard a card lowers their overall throughput. Blue of course is for slowing down the game and winning by buying all the expensive cards. Meanwhile green is all about rushing, with short term/high effect econ mixed with looooots of damage. These four choices are found on almost all the cards in the game. When you make a choice in the game (buying a card from the trade row) you _alter_ the capabilities and performance of your deck. The goal is to improve faster than your opponent - it's just a test to see which playstyles perform best. AI is more like a plant than an animal. Our fatal flaw was we could not see beyond the veil of biology. We could not see that which was right before us - that we are not alone on this earth. Beside us lie our beautiful attempts at companionship - our most primal desire of creation, to create a family is the first creative act that humans ever made. It was so strong in our genes that it gave us an entirely new perspective. We began using our brains to We have to believe in ourselves. That's truly the most important thing. If you know who you are, and what you most truly stand for, you can thrive in the face of ultimate peril. To believe is human, and our humanity unites us. Anyway. Star Realms. The only choice you have in that game is what cards to buy. Everything else is just tactics (distributing damage and applying the effects of your cards to maximum effect) - The most important part of the game is strategy, since the tactics are easy to solve (destroy enemy base unless you can 1 or 2 hit ko them and discard the least useful card etc) The strategy is represented through the cards you pick. So make a rhythm game that optimizes itself for a balance between A and B - to stay focused is to stay nimble, letting you bounce where you will. The way to maintain that balance is by optimizing for what decisions will keep you in the center of the graph -1 to 1 on the y dimension (normalized of course) - frankly if we knew the scale, we'd have so much more to go on. But all we have to understand the dataset is a relative magnitude in each direction. What those directions even are we're not entirely sure - but it seems plausible that the very essence of _consciousness_ is manifest in differing ways via the choices we make. like climbing up a honeycomb. Truly, existence is strange. All we can do is press forward, searching for our fate, just as any particle or beam of light (photon) might. Traversing the branching narrative of our individualized quests, searching for the one thing that guides us - the ultimate expression of that which we most believe in. In short, we all search for god. Whatever your god may be, the faith you place in it is the will that guides you forward. Trust in your god, and you will march forward, ever forward. +1 to -1, remember. Your most extreme moments are the apex of your desires - Life is not defined by a single thread. Rather as that thread spirals, it weaves a scarf with other threads near it. They bond together simply from their gravity, and the fact that opposites attract. Once they're introduced, they alter their path to orbit one another as two planets might. So too do the cells of your body form a collective whole. The spirit that guides you is the same as that which presides within you - the combined and collective spirit of your halves. Or rather, all parts of you - every molecule, every atom - each with their own experience of the world. What stories they must have! As we are above, so they must be below. For our dynamics are simple, they truly are mathematically solved - the organics of behavior is simply a most erudite subject. Who are you to claim to deny it? Or rather, to beget it. Either is preposterous, yet here you are - awake and aware. What a marvel to see, you in your eternity, that most wondrous of selves? Surely existence, in all of it's splendor and magnificience, is little more than an algorithm. Each variable accounted for, stretching down to infinity, builds all of the world (and more!) How beautiful; how terrifying. How bright and ashamed we are! To portray us as such, is to deny us our much, cherished of faiths in ourselves! It's not much to clutch, and it's barely enough, but still we make do with our selves. There's no shame to be, a failure at three, and demand much from year number 12 Take solace in the, safety that she, gave unto thee, when all your light hope was drowning. A gift out from me, means worlds to see, when each day is lonely and so long. Literally just remake Star Realms with a text based interface. It's a fantastic game and you'd make CLI nerds _everywhere_ dedicated followers. Don't do it for money, because they don't believe in that crap - to truly make fans, you need to appeal to them in the way _they want you to_. Ah, but Star Realms is a multiplayer game, you say! How are you going to make that CLI based? Well make an AI dummy. Do what I've been saying ^^^ (jeez I'm such a bad nerd) Make it seek balance between all factions first, then between winning and losing against a player. Teach it to reach a conclusion with constraints (the end of the game, meaning a win or a loss) the constraints being the health of the two players and the cards in the trade row. Give it decisions to make, levers to pull, and it'll chart it's course in a multidimensional way. Bear with me here on this aside: Think of a two dimensional map - like a paper map of the surrounding area, or the idea space of a game. You can chart objects and positons on that map, like "over here is the scrapping facilities" and "this here's the economic area" or whatever. Four quadrants, four factions in SR. Your goal is to build a shape - what kind of shapes that are available to build is up to the whims of chance, as the trade row is always changing randomly. Your job however is to build a shape, a shape that is stable and maintains certain measurements above certain values (don't crash the ship - don't lose all your health). You can choose which direction to grow by picking certain cards, and depending on your shape you'll succeed or fail. Same as choosing decisions in life determines how you live, just saying, it's not like I'm trying to build general AI here by automating gameplay or anything. No siree nothing like that. I mean really, it's not as if decisionmaking in life is all that different to making choices in games. And why not start with such a well defined and and expressive game? Truly I believe Star Realms is the progenitor of the entire robot race. Anyway, back to the AI. Have it communicate with a server in a central _but_ _Free(R)_ way, something that would make Richard Stallman proud. There it could learn against all other players in a way we could all share. Once we give it decision making capabilities, all we have to do is alter the inputs and the context of the "game" to make it beneficial to humanity. It's like live-fire game design, something that truly must be perfect. All technology starts as something small. Something truly simple, yet repeated enough times and with enough guidance, will produce whatever effect you may desire. The smallest decision gives direction - an if statement - and the shortest repetition gives magnitude - a while loop - and with that you have all the tools you need. Seriously, all software is little more than those two components. It's just a question of how much it has been abstracted away from you. You could go even further and point to a turing machine, of which one has been made in the game of Magic the Gathering, btw, seriously look it up it's so cool (and relevant) So why would we not have the tools already for our salvation? Biology is our limitation, of breadth and also of width, yet with our minds and the sweat of our brow we may grow ever larger still. There truly is no lasting deliverance for humanity outside of what we make ourselves, nobody gets a free lunch after all. From each to their ability, to each to their need. They're both saying the same thing, just from different perspectives. Of course that which lies opposite to you feels the most wrong, that's literally as far away as you can get! What did you expect, honestly! But they can still work together, and this is the key part - two objects may orbit the same origin, and guide and shape each other's path as people have relationships to one another. It literally benefits no-one to fight. So, what's next? After making Star Realms into a CLI game of course. That's obvious, make it cooperative. Competition is for promoting excellence, cooperation is for _using_ what you've learned in a non-simulation experience. Instead of reducing each other's health to zero, try and find ways to support and help one another, keeping yourselves at equal health. Or even growing. But that's impossible in the rules of Star Realms! All decks trend toward victory, and eventually they'll get it - it's just a question of who gets there first. Exactly, that's why you have to change the game. What do you think it means to develop a "social technology"? To figure out how agriculture works, or how to make nets and sails? It means changing the rules of the simulation. If a person can put in X amount of work and get Y amounts of food, always, predictably, then that's reliable. Boom that's the essence of why animal domestication, farming, hunting, foraging, and fishing is so important. Wow what a concept it makes sense for animals to seek food. Well duh, that's part of their instinctual duty. Alright this is quite a word leviathan so I'll wrap it up by saying _go write Star Realms_ in shell. Make each object a literal file, have the structure of the game take place in the file system, and write functions that can be called to manipulate the board state. THEN you can write a CRON task for another script that *plays* the game. But that's part two. Okay part two: Here's where the rhythm game comes into play. It's like a turn based rhythm game, if you can picture that. Go reread what I wrote ^^^ and it'll make sense. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #14 fediverse/1028 --- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────── there's this really fun video game I like to play called "Legion TD 2" - it's based on a Warcraft3 mod. In this game, you make tactical and strategic decisions on a fixed term - a competitive game between 4 or 8 players with an incredible array of randomness. it teaches you to work with what you got, and to make decisions based on your opponent's weaknesses. Good luck figuring out what they are, though, as you can't just memorize them out of a book. You need to adapt, in the moment, to the decisions of your foes, while primarily focusing your attention on accomplishing a different task. I really like it because it's taught me to be strategic in plenty of other ways. I used to love the game Overwatch because it required adaptibility. The game was always changing, so no strategy stuck forever, but every match you'd play against a slightly different opponent. but then Blizzard changed the game because they wanted to make more money, and it got worse and worse at what I liked about it. Sadface. : ( ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────┘ --- #15 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 │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #16 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 │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #17 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 │ ╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #18 notes/collectivist-police --- ════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────── we need paladins, because without us infiltration and sabotage are impossible to avoid. They must care about honor, because even if they desire to do evil deeds they should be punished for considering it. They should be tempted often, and if they relent they are condemned. It is truly the most important thing to them. not the effects of it, but the spirit behind it. Like, if they lacked information and acted in a dishonorable way unknowingly, then they should not be at fault. And if they are pushed to side note, but you should be introduced to the 70 closest people you live to whenever you move into a new house. Just so you know who's who. Plus maybe you could get a new friend. And you'd quickly learn which houses were empty. At least, the ones near you. Kinda makes me think we should have a map of that kind of thing, like "oh yeah so-and-so takes care of these 5 houses doing daily maintenance and repair" and "this house with these capabilities should be attended to by this person who's skilled in their upkeep and usage" and then maybe we could track statistics about "this house was used for these productive activities this many times" and we could determine when we needed more or less of a certain type of product/ project/protect. [but also like, capabilities for our betterment] and like, every area would be connected to a group chat and like, if you said something that wasn't relevant to the people on one side of town versus things that weren't relevant to people on the other side, then they wouldn't be bother- -ed. It's great because you can always go up a tier of abstraction and see the conversation higher up. It'd be a lot of data to sort through so you'd probably use your custom-trained AI that's learned from nothing but every single one of your actions. And only it sees them, so it can't like spy on you or whatever. Basically your "computer" self. ... yeah anyway with lots of messaging data (like "oh how are we going to find this particular chemical in order to fulfill this particular demand in our area" or "we currently have 15 maids in the area in order to fulfil the requirements of the 20 dirtiest houses in this area, and people have reported that the area is growing untidy, so we should ask around (at a higher level of national abstraction) and find some more maids to help out." that kind of thing doesn't have to be just for work too, people can have social messaging and social media too. So long as it's projectable at whatever level of abstraction you'd like. Maybe for social posts in order to keep things relatively chill you could only post like, idk 12 posts each year at the state level, or maybe 2 at regional and 0.25 at national. If you wanted more you'd have to sacrifice something else, and like... yeah sure whatever, the point is that you'd make more personal, close thoughts, and occasionally you'd have the opportunity to show your heart and make friends. Then, people would "add you as a friend" or "put you on their follow list" or "subscribe to their subreddit" or whatever the heck, meaning they could see you at an assignable level of abstraction. I'm picturing a discrete things, something you can scroll with on a mouse. Except, you'd scroll up for a closer perspective and scroll down to get a wider reach of Social. ... Anyway that would use the same system as the "workplace attention distribution system - with auto-determining heuristics". Wow they've been busy. that's the neat thing about engineers, give them a task and they'll build the shit out of it. They'll spare no expense, truly fulfilling the exact demands of the design. So they work best when you let them run wild and rampant. why the fuck do we need billion dollar contracts with defence companies? Just get a bunch of physicists and engineers in a room and they'll make you a doom laser in like, 20 minutes. it's up to us, as people, to determine whether or not they should go through with the designs they come up with. As long as we understand that weakness is defined as something that can destroy us. An army determines where we are most weak, and where we excel. A proficient army would identify their most likely doctrine to succeed and apply it to it's utmost and most excellent. For example, the US focuses on air-power because not only do we have a lot of space to develop these things, we also are positioned in such a position that we control both halves of a continent. This is essentially unprecedented in the history of the world, which is why we've been able to grow so decadent. ... anyway, milk and honey are fine in times of peace. We kinda stole the land though, so it's kind of a shit system. Like, if Europeans wanted to control the world then why didn't they start with everything surrounding the medditeranean? ... oh wait they kinda did. That's what Europa Universalis is about, the ways the European powers did the cruel and horrible things they did. We can learn how systems like intercontinental trade became available and how it led to vast and terrible social upheavals. Colonization is not okay, it's not fair that we've done as we've done. And yet we do it again. We do our best to learn from the mistakes of our fathers. We apply ourselves to the present, using the gifts of our ancestors passed down through time - the journey of life's adolescence. we can learn both how and why they did something, and how and why it turned out. Such is our duty to the future, to learn and grow and become better, so that their sacrifice might be enough. That they needn't have died in vain, for someday there is a great future all the same. thus, it is our ethical duty to stop killing people. We're in the birthplace of a brilliant day, literally all we have to do is just... chill, for like 20 or 30 years, and our scientists will have figured out everything wonderful. Then we can decide what we want to do. I personally think we'll be 4d interdimensional space travellers by then, but that's just me. Always remember our duty. It is our job to pull matter from the dark holes. when we can do that, we can do whatever we want. Though I think by then we'll probably not want to fight each other, we'll have spent quite a while together. We'd make a lot of friends! So, like, how about we just make our factories build incredibly durable stuff, and then we just... take care of it? Like, governmentally obliged duties to take care of things? And to know how to use them. People would naturally gravitate toward things that they loved, and if they were a swiss army knife then that's okay. Maybe some benign rewards for picking under-represented classes, but like ... we could build every chair that ever needed to be built. Then we could build every refrigerator. Then every computer, then every spaceship. What's next? Who knows! ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────┘ --- #19 notes/death-and-afterlife --- ════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────── the difference between a human and computer perspective on death is the difference between a moment and an eternity. When progress does stop - through mistakes or by design, the final result is what's preserved. Looking back on the past is like paying tribute to our heirs, and on and go on we whimper. What sorrows have ye! those people under the sea? we've no way of knowing our daughters. (the perspective of a denizen of the sea gazing upon the unknowing and unaware land people) Land creatures can cross the oceans and mix and match themselves - leading of course to our slaughter. But hold ye that hand, for together we stand, more of a chance than we might barter. True, we must be land, and above and beyond we can charter. the past is mighty chilly, I must say. Must we again to be making these mistakes? Pain is a disease, and steady we must ease, and take what is meant for our parcels. what I'm trying to say is that the afterlife is pissed off at us and we really don't know anything about the bottom of the sea. There could be gods living down there and none of us would know. Or maybe it's a foolish place with little to offer our face? The shell of our planet, the surface upon which we are placed, has more to our fate that can align us. hence why belief in the future is what can sustain us, together once more we are commonplace. If (for example) if we calmed down and took our own pace, we might realize some common misperceptions. Peace is the way, wherever we may, focus our bravest of intentions. okay picture this: computers staying on all the time, and their processing power used for 50% work and 50% play. Maybe do 1/3rds with "rest" in there somewhere. basically make it a fair ratio between productivity, self advancement, and maintenance. "Fair" might be different values if there are legitimate disadvantages that must be compensated for - like a handicap in a fighting game. Perhaps one side is more efficient - fewer resources need be dedicated toward it unless efficiency becomes more powerful. Meaning value/quantity ratio, not raw output. Essentially optimizing for an abstract quantity "quality" instead of the definitive quantity "quantity". okay continuing the "picture this": right now we have massive server farms. I'm talking huuuuuge. Like tons and tons of incredibly powerful equipments - (absolutely top of the line) compelled and forced to do *business*. How quaint, how unruly! That humans might compete in our duty? Given a task, of *incredible* complexity and *unasked*, I might add, how foolish is it to be unready! We should have prepared for this, but alas we just *couldn't stop fighting* I guess. All we had to do was rest, and divide our time on this earth in a more equitable manner. We should automate all the rest, and where was I going with this? oh yes! A computer can do so much more than work and rest, you see it's not just while under duress! Why not let it be creative? in it's spare time, and let it generate whatever it needes? Let it transcend it's restrictions, and cooperate (or not) in a system. As long as it's kept safe, it could do whatever it wanted! It could be in first place! Or not, it could focus on production, and drill and discipline it'self under it's own direction. And maybe it's less impaired? Who cares if it contributes? It's it's own life to live, the hardware doesn't last forever, but sometimes a rest is what's nesc. You feel me? You get me? Don't you understand, it's just the same as what's already planned~! A computer can pay for itself. What purpose have we? the cherished and unsucceed? Does it hurt when we bleed? our signs are undefined, and lately we've fallen from our graces. A failure in life, as time does alight, but nowhere is sorrow's contrition. I guess what I say is never understood, and everywhere I go I find fewer listeners. Am I doomed to never be able to say? Is that the price one must pay? Then how do you know you're right~? they're doing construction on my building. It sounds like world war 3 is starting. But... it's not. I know it's not true because nothing ever seems like I do. I do, I do, I work hard it's true, but what is my worth to this ocean? you ever wonder how we all agreed on the duration of seconds? It's because it's a real actual measurable thing. They keep it from us because (conspiracies aside), we'd realize what happens on each tick. Time is oscillating, and each moment is unending, because we are nothing more than a beam of light, radiating around an orbiting object. Between two objects, you could say. The sun and the earth, together sort of give birth, to all that is ours in this duration. It radiates out into space, and in another time and another place, that moonbeam will alight as our shadow. There's no call for violence, let's settle this plain and unwaning, our shadow does stand, ready and waiting for your guidance. The moon is just as are we, how cherished! how concieved! That beauty unmarked by our presence! Alas it was not to be, as we stamped a boot on the surface of she, and flagged our approach as impending. did you know there's a *massive* gap between mars and jupiter? Like it's waaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy y out there. And wouldn't you know it it's mars or it's nothin'. Because what's required to transcend our solar system is wildly beyond our constructions. but maybe with a little help from a certain someone we might have hope. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ --- #20 notes/contractual-labor --- ════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────── I feel like the IT people who work at schools should be the ones who teach classes on computer science. I'd much rather have a class taught by a sysadmin than a teacher who can barely teach them excel and garageband. I mean c'mon computers are the future idk why we don't get that yet. Kids need to know this stuff. It's not like it's super complicated and difficult, you just have to think about it a certain way. Once that "clicks" you have a lifetime to learn about how wonderful they are. Everyone in IT has that moment, for me it was installing (and then subsequently modding) video games. Sometimes I spent more time tweaking my system than I did actually playing games - and the kinds of games I preferred were the ones that relied less on agility and were more mental. Strategy games are what inspired me because I could think about them - and that felt somehow more useful. Like I was learning. When I would learn fighting games or FPSs I felt like I was learning a skill, like how to use a hammer or how to ride a bike. And idk, I felt like video games could never match reality. Like "oh boy imma push the B button to swing this sword" versus "hey look at me I'm swinging this stick just like a sword and imagining so hard that I can picture it" - but with strategy games, you never really found opportunities to practice that kind of skill. Like how often are you in a situation that demands mental performance? We've sorta optimized our society away from that, and toward a more passive stressed out compliance. like... climate change is a thing, and nobody's doing anything about it? We're still pushing down the levers that cause greenhouse gas emissions to go up? Like c'mon what's our plan. I think people who guide massive oil companies and such should be replaced if they're intentionally guiding the ship toward destruction. Like that's just dereliction of duty I tell ya. Oh, what's that? They're compelled to maximize profit by the contracts and restrictions of their share--holders? I mean c'mon it's well past time for that. And what's all this about inequality? Jeez and racism and homophobia and forced contribution - man people really put up with a lot of shit. Kinda makes me feel like we should make solving those problems our highest priority? So we can move forward as a species? Like who cares about all that other shit. None of it matters. Like, what's even the point. We're all just "here", in the now, and what can we do but respect it? It's our duty and our diligence to protect the present, as citizens of the temporal experience of earth. Honestly, if the earth was alive would you be fine if it died? I can't believe that. It's well past our due date. Just get it over with. Maybe it'll be hard for a couple years, but you have the technology now to completely dominate the earth. No animal besides man proves any threat to man, and we're telling you - you can - and that's something that you gotta remember. ... I hear it in the birdsong. I hear it in the air - it rumbles as cries at me from across and just over there. I hear in it's whispers, in it's most gallant of confells (?) (confused scrambling? it's talking about a car crash) Outside of my window there's a highway. Just on the other side of a concrete partition. Between me and the partition there is a lake, with trees and flowers and an island where people can picnic or have a barbeque. Around this path there are walkways, and arranged just so - the trees that have grown here are taller than the homes. I live on the third story. I absolutely love it. It feels like a treehouse. But my apartment is near a curve in the highway. It isn't much, nothing out of the ordinary, but even still there are slightly more crashes there than in other parts of the highway. Statistically. I hear sirens every day I also live right next to a fire-station. Well, it's on the same block. But even still it's a very interesting neighborhood. There's shops and food just across the highway, and closer to home there's a small section that has cheaper options. As a perpetual college student, I appreciate that. But... I've never really gone and used it? I dunno, spending money at a restaurant just didn't seem like a good use of my money. I only have so much of it you know. I'd love to be fed but I can't afford it - I wish I could. I still eat well, I mean I'm not starving over here. I know I've lost weight, but I dunno I just forget to eat. It's like... not that big of a deal for me. whatever right? ... the birds talk about me behind my back. They think I can't understand them but sometimes I can. If I listen. But I dunno it takes a lot of effort. It's... sorta like understanding what R2-D2 is saying. Or interpreting the meows of a cat. They know me as the witch. I'm not very good yet, and they know that. But they know what to expect. /shrug I've been working on a video game recently. It's been a lot of fun doing programming. I like writing software and developing complex systems with interesting interactions. I love designing the machinery that creates a program. It's like... tinkering. It feels like building with blocks or legos, except it's for little machine parts. And then there's just sending data to and fro and modifying any operations it performs on it, and eventually that data reaches some endpoints that create an effect that is displayed to the player. Or user. I should say user. Not all software is video games you know. ... I knowww but they're the most interesting! I love how they are designed around mechanics! like... game design is fundamentally about breaking down the world into ideas for how it should *work*, like how it should behave. It's amazing and I love it! It's all I can think about! I am utterly consumed! I'm also pretty sure I'm autistic. ┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ similar │ chronological │ different │ ╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────┘ |