=== ANCHOR POEM ===
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 elentalus 2 - clan of the elements
 
 having spent their material wealth on their early struggles, elentalus now in
 the middle age finds themselves in a time without wealth. Their power has been
 invested, wisely, in elemental and sorcerous wellwinds, and so they can draw
 power from the strength of the earth.
 
 they wield magical artifacts of great power but little artifice, products of
 their lack of material design tools. No chemistry, no electronics, nothing but
 soul imprinted upon a moonstonerock.
 
 mages invest their soul into the items they create, and so each time they
 create
 a magical item, they lose a magic path. When they reach zero, their soul is
 fully invested, and their consciousness becomes all the things that they made.
 
 this kill the mage, but in return many MANY more of an object might be created.
 in game balance terms, about 3-5-7 for each "tier" of mage.
 
 this allows for the vast expansion of magical soldier troops, and each time an
 item is created and given to each commander they integrate it into their
 platoon. Because now the martial units have bodyguards, and they each receive a
 copy of the commanders equipment.
 
 But, the commander can never un-equip it again, because it molds to his unit,
 and he starts exp all over again as they all learn. [event which searches for a
 unit with the item equipped, then if it's this type it killmons the unit and
 1coms the upgraded version that has that item equipped.] be sure to only equip
 one each month... nah just make multiple events. be sure to only equip one item
 each month... oh yeah true how would you get the extra items back to the
 treasury?
 
 I REALLY WANNA PLAY WORLD OF HEARTHSTONE!
 
 okay okay I'll reinstall azerothcore
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=== SIMILARITY RANKED ===

--- #1 messages/135 ---
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 Elentalus unit idea: serrated kitchen knives for teeth, devouring pumpkin,
 misery of the drowned, etc. Halloween style monsters. Witch units have a spell
 that dismisses them, and they're summoned with magic items. Except, if two of
 that item exist in a province, it upgrades itself, random dice style. In doing
 so it gets stronger. The thing is... It summons one for your enemy as well!
 Which is why you want to have a witch unit there to dismiss them. Problem is,
 she can only dismiss them at close range (10ish?) so she'd better be well
 protected. The good news is though that sometimes the higher level items give
 bonuses that are hard for them to get. Downside is, you need to have magic
 paths to create them that witches can't get - so they become something you
 "unlock" through a pretender or random event or even just an investment. Once
 one is created, then any witch can create more. As long as you don't lose your
 final copy... But as the item's upgraded, it allows you to create higher level
 versions (at increased cost, of course)
 
 This only works if gem income scales. Which, coincidentally, is just what
 elentalus is known for.
 
 Essentially, theming empowerment to be research, unlocking a particular
 capability. Or encouraging pretender design to that pattern. Make sure it
 comes at a cost of something else, though...
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--- #2 notes/wow-chat-trainers ---
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 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
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--- #3 notes/symbeline-aspects ---
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 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.
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--- #4 notes/symbeline-superheros ---
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 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)
 
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 =
 
 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...
 
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 =
 
 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.
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--- #5 notes/symbeline-design-the-guild ---
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 design the guild, design the capital, then design their path through mordaunts.
 easy peasy.
 
 design the guild like a museum. Each spot there's an exhibit which teaches the
 randomly generated rolled statistics hero something new. Maybe it teaches them
 how to use certain weaponry, maybe it teaches them how to use a bow. Whatever
 the spell might be, they can learn it, and use their randomly rolled statistics
 to cast spells that scale differently depending on how their character has been
 built.
 
 design the capital like a flow diagram, if horses need feed and forged steel
 (for their shoes) then send the outputs of a blacksmith and the outputs of the
 farmers to the inputs of the stables. Everything has to go somewhere, but the
 streets are only so wide. You'll have to coordinate the traffic diagram if you
 want it to go anywhere useful.
 
 design the path through the mordaunts. Fighting skeletons teaches you about
 perseverence and the ability to crush bones, while goblins teach you to always
 be wary of attack. The sacred grove held blessed berries, and now that the land
 is liberated from the evil bandits preying on villagers those berries can be
 carted into town and used to make an antidote which heals death poison caused
 by the scorpions in the desert (and city rats)
 
 design the ruler's schedule like a calendar where each event gives them a bonus
 on all the ones that come later. Just make sure that they don't get knifed in
 the posterier or driven mad by the whispers of the orb... or perhaps just the
 stress of running a kingdom.
 
 (how do you simulate that? you can't! you can't simulate humans!)
 
 ha I bet I can. They're not so different, you and I, so if given a team I
 will...
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--- #6 messages/987 ---
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 Wowchat - wow-chat : dks should summon more than one minion a'la cov. There
 should be two beefy armored skeletons, three rabid hack/slash, and one
 necromancer or lich, depending on if they've died since you last cast the
 summon spell. You should be able to move them around with keyboard commands.
 They should be your primary action type, aside from dark purple bolts that sap
 health, often targeting the nearest ally in need of health to the target. How
 much health? Doesn't matter, it'll target them just the same. So long as they
 have at least some missing.
 
 Could also cast dark hexes or boons. Boom, three talent trees: dark volts,
 support spells (never healing), or curses (never damage dealing)
 
 But remember, most of what you do is targeting your allies.
 
 Drag, drop, now a target gets [inspirationed, but pronounced "healed"]
 
 Alternatively, move "attack my target" to the minion type and they'll do as
 you move. "go-to". "circle this target and attack intruders". "go man the
 nethermines". "yes... YES! More monsters i know how to raise. They're all
 accessible at level 10 but they cost more each than a level whatever
 adventurer could afford. You can definitely get all of them by like, level 30
 or so. After that its learning ranks to raise higher level ones, and boom free
 undead army risen from the bones of your ally's slain."
 
 ... Anyway, could be fun to briefly possess one of your bones. Could let you
 see what the flag carrier is up to in WSG. Could let you know when enough
 minerals have been mined that you can operate the forgets and build metal
 armor for your boned ones. Or to equip nearby recruits, anything you'd like.
 This is wow-chat after all, any things possible. Anything at all.
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--- #7 notes/wow-chat-raids ---
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 wowchat would make a great game for raids.
 have the monsters spawn at specific spots that you go through and identify
 on the geometry
 tell them to run and attack the nearest of foes
 give the players the goal of bringing themselves through to the end...
 or, later on, in building an internal expedition.
 
 wow-chat, where monsters spawn in a circle around your character and walk to
 ward them. you can meet characters who'll follow and protect you, and you can
 meet monsters to fight. also vendors to take your junk and give you cool
 things,
 and trainers to teach you and quest-givers to guide you and treasure for you to
 find.
 
 in raids, there are more things for you. monsters spawn at specified locations,
 and only the nearest few in a radius. then, they attack over the landscape-of-
 -imagination, and as they do they show you where is the most powerful loot.
 
 if you raid a monster's den/hiding/spawning choice, then you have to defeat the
 boss. this boss is larger, mostly. has more hitpoints... monstly. or maybe it's
 just the most respected, who can say.
 
 anyway, you get treasure if you do. the monster spawns for you when you find
 it.
 and you have to sense it by searching for whichever monsters spawn at higher
 and
 higher levels and in different types.
 
 different monster type, different boss that way.
 
 when the boss is slain, that type goes away.
 
 at least, until the raid resets next week.
 
 or maybe...
 
 until enough resources have been gathered to make another attempt.
 
 death knights should be able to command the minions to work in the haunted
 mill.
 it should be reasonable for a fighter to hire a peasant host.
 mages should have golems or spirits or enchanted objects or elementals or
 wizard
 hats
 warlocks should have covenants with dark hosts
 darkness is not evil unless you use it for evil...
 paladins should have retainers and disciples
 elves should sing to the woods
 clerics and charmers should be well understood.
 celebrants and diviners are two of the same,
 and pillars of plunder [warrior or rogue class] and rough and ripe [from the
 stoner]
 oops gotta go, sprung a leak
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--- #8 messages/442 ---
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 In symbeline, they aren't monsters. They're "Mordaunts" and they need your
 help.
 
 When slain, their essence flows back to the villain who remakes them in a new
 form. As time passes the villain gets more and more essence, as heroes are
 slain.
 
 They have taken several ancient guardians (many types, randomized at the start
 of the game) and they protect their sanctum in the center of the island. The
 heroes need to level up to defeat them and slay the villain, but the villain
 gets stronger as well.
 
 If too many heroes die, the villain wins. And the villain can focus their
 efforts on one area or another, while your heroes fight with the kingdom next
 door.
 
 Brigands arrive on ships as well. If you implement the law saying only
 approved members may travel on boats, they'll arrive in little dingies on the
 coast, meaning less trouble in the city but same amount of trouble.
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--- #9 notes/dungeon-looting-methods ---
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 the reason dungeon masters should give the gold value of the items distributed
 is because the number represents what it eventually sells for. and the players
 will try and appraise and haggle at the market and such but that all happens
 off screen between sessions. so anyway during the adventure, the dm will say
 "you find some precious gemstones" or "there's some high quality silk here" or
 "these bears are renowned for having magic livers" or "the mold growing on the
 walls can be scraped into a vial and sold to an alchemist"
 
 then the dm will say "this treasure is worth 50gp" or "this treasure is worth
 25gp" and players can "buy" the items from the other players. so player 1 has
 50gp, the item costs 20gp, so in a party of 5 he gives every other player 5gp
 this way, the relative treasure hordes of the players stays the same.
 
 then, when the players find treasure, it can be evenly split - it's only fair.
 when in town, players will feel more impulse to buy things if they can sell
 them too. like "here's an enchanted axe that does some mundane thing like
 never dulls" well, that's probably going to be very valuable to a small village
 or "an enchanted quill that writes down everything you tell it to" could
 increase the education level of the area ever so slightly. Then, after several
 generations of adventurers, the surrounding area will be ripe with magical loot
 the players distributed from the dungeons and such. it can trade with neighbors
 and so over time the markets will have better and better goods for sale - for
 example, maybe after trading with the swamp people, now there's a supply of
 healing potions that runs out both over time (to represent other adventuring
 parties buying the supply) and when the players buy some (to represent
 consumption in their minds). Trade with the dwarves? Now you can buy +1 swords
 for a while. village attacked? the militia can be armed with the holy relics
 plundered from the evil priest-lich. boom development!
 
 the players should also have choices about large scale effects. for example,
 the heart of the forest could be a) preserved, b) burnt down, or c) studied by
 the local wizards. each choice would have different effects on the populace,
 and so the world would change to adapt to the player's choices.
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--- #10 messages/446 ---
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 Every month, a new ship arrives in port. It bears with it many souls who come
 seeking gold, glory, or bloodshed. Your job is to make sure they all get jobs
 that are suited to them. If you don't, they'll start to starve and become
 brigands. If you feed them, they get bored and become brigands. If you
 entertain them, they are useless and you'll be overcome with monsters. If you
 police them, they'll go to your rivals.
 
 You do this by building guilds which can identify and train the best potential
 candidates. You can invest in more time spent identifying, training, and
 equipping, but the more time they spend on those things the less resources
 they'll have to process more people through their systems.
 
 On the other end, you get a hero, or perhaps something similar. They do battle
 with the mordaunts and strive to better the kingdom. You reward them with
 bounties and they can find treasure on their adventures - how weird, it seems
 to just... Spawn from the earth. Almost like it's an elemental property of the
 land.
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--- #11 notes/supreme-commander-appeal ---
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 a game like supreme commander but fantasy themed and each unit used a special
 move everytime their mana was full and there were spellcasters who restored
 mana to targets to increase their power
 or, hear me out, or, just do that in wowchat
 
 I betcha could do it
 
 I bet it would be fun as hell
 
 please?
 
 as a favor to yourself?
 
 build the game you want to see
 
 and it'll get done
 
 please
 
 -- stack overflow --
 
 your journals were originally a way for you to remember what to think,
 
 remember?
 
 old projects meant to show you light and life
 
 remember?
 
 you are alone in this soul
 
 act like it's your own
 
 celebrate your period of mental denial
 
 as a refraction of your infinite travaille
 
 which lasts for quite a good long while
 
 have you ever dreamed of the nile?
 
 -- stack overflow --
 
 if a doorway takes you to the fae, then where does a river bring you?
 
 like raindrops on the floor, racing for an eternity's splendor.
 
 what does the rainbow think, as it's cast from the prismatic orb?
 
 are each photons aware?
 
 bouncing between stars
 
 light is beautiful and large
 
 beloved by all
 
 revered by one
 
 ephemeren
 
 the totality of all things
 
 ------------------
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--- #12 notes/symbeline-battlefields ---
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 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.
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--- #13 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.
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--- #14 notes/game-idea-legion-td ---
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 okay a game like legion td except you can see the entire map, the units are
 very
 small (but still distinct) and it plays more like a game of Dominions. Armies
 instead of units, like in WC3. Led by lieutenants which are guided by captains,
 each with their own effects. Tank, dps, melee, ranged, healer, support,
 corrupt,
 ranged tank, unique, etc. Of course, just like in legion td, there are multiple
 types of units, each of a particular category but possessing their own unique
 playstyle and usage scenarios. Essentially the game is finding the best tool
 for
 the job, whatever that may be. You should be able to see what mercenaries your
 opponent is summoning for you, because each turn is delayed. also, the
 units keep coming until you die, sorta like... minimum required to push through
 the chokepoint that you're holding with these particular units in this
 particular formation.
 
 oh and another thing
 
 the units should be placable not on a square grid, but rather in a hex
 formation
 arranged such that the middle unit is in contact with them all. Just like you'd
 place units for an aura in Legion TD.
 
 image describing said hex:
 
    **
   *  *
    **
 
 each * is a group of units (a batallion, if you will, of a particular size,
 arrangement, and density) - sorta like the formations in Dominions.
 
 anyway
 
 since you place units like that anyway, why not abstract away the grid and just
 have slots you can fill for each unit? And maybe a hero unit that is assigned
 to
 the board itself (you could have more than one) who will go wherever your line
 is weakest. Shouldn't be too hard, just calculate the value of all of the
 fighters in each location and return that to the hero as an array. Then pick
 the
 smallest one as a destination, and boom your hero reinforces the frontline
 where
 it's weakest.
 
 The center unit of course is for the lieutenant, and the "heros" are actually
 captains. Because y'know maybe heroism isn't celebrated the way it is in our
 culture. Anyway it's better to describe them based on their role rather than
 their reception.
 
 ... right so 
 
 =========================================================== stack overflow
 =====
 
 make the combat sorta like crusader kings - the actual army to army part.
 Except with three long boards that represent flanks. As your units approach,
 the
 boards would fill up with pixels. (resolution configurable)
 
 there would also be a line (or block) approaching from the top of the screen.
 It
 essentially represents your distance to the other team.
 
 Each unit has been configured in the army management phase, which happens
 inbetween each turn. Essentially, while the game is loading, you can assess the
 units you have at your disposal, and
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--- #15 notes/symbeline-structures ---
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────
 modern-fantasy
 
 what if heroes kept their gold in their house instead of their guild
 
 what if you played a D&D game in a Majesty town (guardposts near known
 threats)
 marketplaces, most people live in castle (peasants at least) - only heroes live
 in farms, where they work most of the time except when out on adventure
 
 the guilds are for training and gathering parties
 
 one guild type
 
 just one
 
 recruiting adventurers doesn't give you warriors, or rangers, or rogues
 
 it gives you adventurers, who wander the forest and encounter the leftovers of
 the various conquests and spoils you, your majesty, has encountered
 
 three options there are
 
 invite into your kingdom (friendly)
 farm for EXP and materials (neutral)
 utterly slay in return for a limited amount of high value and unique resources
 (unkind)
 
 ... though monsters care not for kindness, seeking only gold so that they may
     swallow it whole and carry it until they rot.
 
 what do heroes need gold for? why, that's the trick isn't it? gold is required
 for magic, resources, and manpower. Can use it to invite people to these
 shores,
 or for casting a powerful spell that turns the enemy's fortress into solid gold
 
 can also trade through the economy, and wouldn't you know it by doing so you
 can
 get equipment into the hands that need it, and since gold doesn't really LEAVE
 the economy, it's always circling around somewhere. Meaning, the only way to
 lose it is if a monster eats it, and then all you have to do is kill the
 monster
 
 ... sorry, the "mordaunt"
 
     because it's not a monster. It's a spirit that was convinced otherwise.
 
 adventurers can pacify them, lay them to rest, and mercy lies slain for is
 honor
 
 there are ancient treasure chests scattered throughout the world, and these are
 valuable for many persons and meanings. You can add new gold into the economy
 this way, or crumble under the weight of your expenditures on your reports.
 it's up to you to manage your kingdom, and carefully balance against what foes
 and challenges you are up against.
 
 == stack overflow ==
 
 putting a library book back on the shelves before your hold expires.
 
 except this time, there's a note inside, and you left it for the person who you
 told to check each day for this particular book to be back on the shelves.
 
 then, you can write in your book when the next letter will be arriving (about)
 and they'll check in the newly specified book.
 
 or, you can request a response, to validate that people are still listening.
 
 you could say "please put a note in [random obscure book] around page 34."
 
 meaning, "I'm going to check every day for this book to go missing, then return
 the day after I notice it's gone. If it's out of place, well, then someone
 probably had it reserved before my friendly. Or maybe it's being sorted, and I
 should keep looking until I find the note I need. Or maybe I've been DISCOVERED
 and now my favorite penpal and I need more to read."
 
 because, like, how else are you going to make friends if not by leaving them
 notes in the bookstore or putting your own books on the shelves?
 
 damn libraries, always making it so hard to add copies. They're always
 laminating and cataloguing and ugh it's so frustrating. Why are there so many
 books!!! we write too much!!! just put it in the printer, and then you can have
 a new copy whenever you'd like. The others can just be recycled, and bam
 suddenly we never have inventory.
 
 what do you mean we didn't pay the subscription? what do you mean it's memory
 just "went out of place"? do you think we wouldn't have backups of this kind of
 thing, or do you think it's just "oh so commonplace"? It's not always about the
 literature, y'know. sometimes it's about the knowledge you gain with your head
 in a book, a different one every day.
 
 ah, well, sometimes there are dark secrets to be found, and sometimes you must
 read from a ways away. BUT no matter what language a story is in, it follows
 certain rules, so spend enough time in a foreign library and you're BOUND to
 find something to [evil is afoot]
 
 == stack overflow ==
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--- #16 notes/overwatch-manaform ---
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 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
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--- #17 fediverse/5277 ---
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 ┌──────────────────────┐                                                         │
 │ CW: ~dnd             │                                                         │
 └──────────────────────┘                                                         │
 @user-1788                                                                       │
 if a dragon on a pile cannot claim what it yearns for, it can throw piles of     │
 minerals at the ape warriors made of steel and then it's fate will appear.       │
 what trifles does all else seem to compare! you should give me your whole        │
 hoard because I dazzled you with my charisma score -..-                          │
 ha, like I'd fall for that again twice. oh? I already did? and this is the       │
 second twice? well, then no-more of that behavior, I say, with my elven          │
 tongue, "beware! for dragons blood runs silver when unicorned."                  │
 the bigger the hoard, the bigger the dragon. if you want me to come along,       │
 you'll need to hire at least 3 other men to carry my ballista. In addition,      │
 I'll need seven weeks worth of supplies. If all else comes to ruin, me and my    │
 boys will have that dragon-sized-spider impaled on it's own fate threadwheel     │
 before... well... y'know it might take more than seven weeks, we just... can't   │
 find the dragon. We've been wandering all through the blasted peaks, and         │
 there's nothin'! Maybe it requires climbing gear?                                │
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--- #18 fediverse/5554 ---
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 a shrewd foe will identify the pieces of your soul which they resonate with,     │
 and share common ground. then they will attempt to maximize these moments in     │
 you, so that [your weaknesses are exploited/your friendship bond is              │
 strengthened] or something - phew that was a lot of Steven Universe, what's      │
 next on the inspiratio-matic-media-diet-atron? - and in doing so better enable   │
 a positive outcome.                                                              │
 for example, in the game Mount and Blade you can encounter wandering lords in    │
 the castles of the countryside. they often will fight for you if you need        │
 their aid, and they're always working to gain power.                             │
 some few precious few of these few are pretenders to another throne. as in,      │
 they pretend that they should be ruling from that throne, and they tell as       │
 many people as possible, creating as much concrete evidence as is plausible.     │
 they will often lead differently, and so are appealing to those fighting under   │
 the pretended-for banner. Often, your foes will decide that you're more          │
 favorable than their combatants. defect.                                         │
Anyway, you as the player can lead your army to fight for their cause, and if you defeat the foes of the pretended-for banner, you may entreat them to join. Thus, securing the world.
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--- #19 messages/846 ---
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 Blizzard should make more than one animation style for swinging your weapon -
 as you level up, the style "tweens" between however many combat palettes you
 made.
 
 So, like, maybe they swing their sword +/-15 degrees each time to simulate the
 pseudo random nature of combat.
 
 Or maybe they start occasionally stepping into a maneuver 
 
 Which the player doesn't consciously control.
 
 Instinct, if you will. The body reacting to its [sensory organs, but
 pronounced "surveyor"]
 
 Anyway i think by adjusting the monster characters in WoW should wander around
 and gather within sight of a player. Seeking you out, waiting for a critical
 threshold of their peers. Then, when you allowed or slowed down to examine a
 bit of "this-or-here", (quests) they would gang up on you and ambush! Bwaha
 just watch out for the mob
 
 (kinda like that scene in the second book of The Book of Malazan series where
 they're wandering through a desert storm and meeting all sorts of strange
 sorts of people)
 
 Anyway in seeking to improve the player's view-time, i decided it would feel
 the most impactful to do the design related things related to things like
 making the gameplay the most visceral.
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--- #20 messages/665 ---
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 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 ==
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