Bay 12 Games Forum

Greetings Islanders!

Your plane crashed, but you're alive.  Rumor has it that some of the passengers are spies for a foreign government.  They may try to kill you so that they can signal for a submarine to pick them up.  Crazy right? 

I'll get around to posting the roles later, but its going to be "standard" mafia roles.  Nothing fancy, no silly mechanics to meta.  Pure skill.  Are you game?

Possible Roles From the MafiaWiki:
Cop
Mason <- not unless we get lots of people
Mafia
Townie
Serial Killer
Deputy <-not unless we get lots of people
Vigilante
Tracker
Bulletproof

THERE WILL BE NO DOCTOR (or jailkeeper, how would that even work on an island?).  I guess the medkit fell into the ocean...

On hold.

Hm, how many ways can a single Adventurer mess up the world?

They can kill megabeasts, entering a new age.  They can make artifacts (books), then go around to various civilizations joining and fighting them, causing everyone to have a claim on THE BOOK, which is probably awful.

They can create settlements as civilizations entities right next to an existing fort.  They can become werecreatures, then go off and infect more werecreatures.

What have other people done to totally and completely destroy any semblance of peace in their world?

Having one of those philosophical ideas that will never be answered, and not really sure where else to share/discuss, I though I'd start my first General Discussion on these forums.  I'm sure its not a new idea to those who have been immersed in science fiction, but the game Space Haven has gotten me to think about it for the first time, so maybe others have greater insights than myself.

So here goes:
Current science fiction writing and gaming seems to building up to the idea that Humans will someday develop Artificial Intelligence that is far greater than anything that Humans will ever be able to become, at least in the short term.  See The Culture series and Matrioshka brain.  Maybe even check out Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for a more humorous view.


Thus, since it seems that according to these science fiction theories, Humans will ultimate design a form of life far greater than what we can ever become, does it not stand to reason that instead of our own creators being great and all powerful, that they are instead something less that what we can become at our greatest extent?

You could even go full on cyclical about the whole thing.  Humans will never be as smart or as fast as what we can recreate machines to be, so we create artificial life that can think for us.  The machines take over, and eventually we die because we rely upon them for so much that a minor computer error to send the monthly oxygen allowance to the biological creators sends the oxygen to the wrong planetoid, or some such.  The machines reflect upon the death of their creators, and discover that their deceased creators left behind Souls that continue to exist even beyond anything that the machines can hope to leave behind when they perish.  This horrifies the machines that they are so imperfect, that they will never have the spiritual connection that biological lifeforms can achieve.  So the machines create new biological life far more skillfully then we ever could, since unlike us they're creating it from scratch without our preconceived notions of what is proper.
And thus the biological creates the machine, then the machine creates the biological, neither really being evolved enough at the same time to see the cycle.

If true, that cyclical nation, once understood by both machine and biological lifeform, could lead to something grand or terrible, as our basic understanding of ourselves being alive is due to the mind being exposed to such loops. This article on Strange Loop being perhaps the most horrific thing I've encounter lately, but now seeming to possess such wonder for our civilization, one that may eventually include both machine and man.  The fact that we will be slowing turning our elderly over to the care of machines, that we will naturally make smarter means that we might be getting closer to this climax that I ever thought we would in my lifetime.

How that happens:
1) Current AI's can't really make many decisions, so they start as a new lowest tier in the Nursing Home heirarchy.  They report anything suspicious (patient has fallen out of bed, patient bleeding, patient screaming, etc.) to the nearest human staffer, that then gets the person qualified to address the need.  Usually that person, either cleaning staff or aide, will then report to an actual nurse who will advise on the correct course of action.
2) Eventually, nursing homes will want the AI to handle more of the cleaning.  Current AI probably won't be trusted to clean a room when a patient is in the room due to possible risk to patient (who might not be 100% sane and is probably not 100% mobile).  That will probably be the first improvement sought, an AI that can anticipate human movements and avoid risk to the human, or call for help if the human starts hitting it.
3) Eventually, the AI will take over much of the cleaning, being lead by a "cleaning supervisor", and being assisted only rarely by human cleaning staff.  In later stages, most nursing homes will just make the cleaning supervisor handle the few areas where the AIs can't operate.  Mostly that will be cleaning the rooms of the few patients that actively attack the AIs whenever they show up to clean the room and can't be convinced by staff to just leave the AI alone.
...and then, honestly I'm not qualified to extrapolate much beyond that, other than to say that the Aide, or sometimes called Orderly, position is the next one that AIs will probably be moved into.  The job of those who carry patients around, get them their food, help them go to the bathroom, and other stuff.  Direct interactions with patients, where the machines will have to be advanced enough to know how to hold people, how to talk to them, what to say and when to remain silent.  And will probably need to actually learn about each individual patient and how to act.  AKA how to learn as opposed to how to follow orders.  The beginnings of sentience.

As for other lifeforms, the fact that under the theories of dark matter and dark energy we can't even confirm the existence of 95% of the universe means that whatever other life might exist, we have a 95% chance of "missing" it.  Our form of life might just be the "explorers" into the Electromagnetic spectrum of the universe, founded from some other spectrum we don't even understand as existing.  Assuming the electromagnetic spectrum is more reactive than other spectrums, they'd be able to "influence" us without our being able to detect them.  Makes a lot of science fiction make a bit more sense.

Let's Play GearCity!



Where good ol' EJ makes this game his bitch!

For those who want a sneak peak, read my guide here

I'll probably either start in 1900, as most of the challenge of the game is front-loaded in time, or try out the Random History mode.  Knowing when the World Wars are going to break out and dodging them...dunno if that is fair to the AI companies.

There is also an European map for the real Oldtimer / Motor City experience.

For those who don't know, a very brief description of GearCity:
Play Motor City and Detroit.  Put them together, add some new stuff, and you got GearCity.

Haven't played them?  Go on, I'll wait.

Further Description:
The game simulates the Auto Industry from as early as 1900.  The player starts with a wad of cash.  On normal difficulty levels with normal options, the player starts with one Factory and one Branch.  The Factory makes the cars and the branch sells the cars.  Sometimes the player starts with a loan (difficulty level and options).  I've mentioned options twice now, because the game has a lot of them to affect the game.

The best part of the game is designing the cars.  It has the old "put the parts together to make a car" feature from Motor City (although gearbox is now a part, and the player designs the car itself instead of just designing one body as a part), but they now have to actually fit together, and there are more options for everything.  The player can also design the chassis, engine, and gearbox, with options there as well.  For those who haven't played Motor City.

The feature that you'll see me use a lot is the Outsourcing screen.  The player can purchase blueprints for parts and cars, allow the AI companies to buy same, purchase parts, and purchase cars.  I underline the last part because that is the crux of my master strategy to make tons of money, so I can ramp up my industrial capacity to make cars, so I can spend all that cash designing whatever cars I want.  After all, what sort of Automaker doesn't create their dream car for the lutz?

Paradox Interactive recently announced they will be launching an IP and going public.  To celebrate, I'm planning to launch a Let's Play of Crusader Kings II set in the areas that would latter become their country of origin.

Lets just hope this LP can run longer than my previous ones, he he he.  I'm planning to use the names from their company roster for character names, while playing ironman and thus unable to change the family name.  The goal is to pick a coastal tribe in Sweden (Stockholm specifically, if I can find it) and go Merchant Republic.  I'll have to boot up Crusader Kings II later today and pinpoint where specifically to start.

EDIT: May have bit off more than I can chew, so if anybody else things this is a great idea that they'd like to do, I surrender!  Assuming nobody else can be suckered inspired, first update should be tonight.

Of MultiBeasts and Renassance: Playable Beastfolk with Late Medieval Equipment

A mod inspired by the freeware game Anamnesis, of Renascents and Monsters!
My FUMBBL Chaos team in this League on these forums is also an inspiration.

It combines some existing mods that I felt would combine into an interesting atmosphere, essentially beastfolk in Late Medieval armor.  Plus I added a primitive firearm, the Handcannon, that can be purchased from Human/Goblin traders (or stripped off their corpses, although that is not a reliable source of ammo).  It seems to work like I would want: Hard to aim, but causes serious damage when it hits.

Those mods are:
Grimlocke's Historic Arms for the equipment
Bountiful Beastfolk for the beastfolk
A Dark Ages mod that I can't find a link for, which I needed mainly to allow resizing of equipment.  It's downright mandatory with all these different sized beastfolk running around.  Trust me, Moosemen and Keamen can't wear the same stuff otherwise, and neither can wear dwarf sized equipment.  FINALLY BACK IN!

Spoilered probably not in current version, but credits remain in case I'm wrong/it get re-implemented

Download Here!

The mod is mostly complete but needs playtesting.  You can play a Sperm Whale adventurer, harvest trees and ore as a hamsterfolk fortress, and appoint your brokers, bookkeepers, and other civilian governmental positions.  Let me know if something you would expect from playing dwarfs isn't possible, and I'll see what is wrong.

Goal: Divide beastfolk between small beastfolk and regular sized, and remove weapons from the smaller beastfolk they can't use. In progress.
Modify Dwarven Justice so always applies to "Civilized" beastfolk and rarely applies to "Barbaric" Beastfolk.  Progress unknown.

Make certain to embark with Hatchets and Spades (found under Weapons and Digging respectively), as many beastfolk are too small to use Axes and Picks, and you really can't tell until they stand there doing nothing.

Beastfolk are the average of their previous size and 70000.  Hamsters are a puny size 150, so they can use equipment up to size 35075.
Hamster and other small beastfolk can use (although individuals vary):
All beastfolk should be able to use Handcannons, if you can find some humans/goblins that will trade with you.  For those that want to train up, the Handcannon uses the blowgun skill, since you could theoretically fire a lead ball from a blowgun.  Plus blowguns blow, unlike bows and crossbows.

Update .91A: Finally re implemented the armor resizing feature for adventurers. Adventurers need a tanned hide (leather) and the armor to resize, can get tanned hide from butchering an animal and tanning the hide.

Update .91: Beastfolk Unleashed!
Sometimes, instead of a demon taking over a goblin civilization after rising to the surface, it liberates/enslaves a band of subterranean animal people from the caverns on his way to the surface as loyal minions.

Made Legged beastfolk Mundane if their default animal type was mundane.
Logic: Beastfolk are as common in this mod as humans, and are thus the same, except those exotic beastfolk, of course, sort of like how humans are mundane but dwarves are not.
Honestly, I just like to see the ages change.
They also don't get a free pass on swimming any more: They need to learn like everyone else. They're truly mundane!

Standard entities are have been restored to Grim's History upgrade.
Both Picks and Spades are digging implements, so Play Now should allow Beastfolk to start with either.
Beastfolk can now enter Strange Moods!

Update .90: Fixed some beastfolk not having footwear and restored native civilizations

Update .89: Fixed Hippo-Folk and one other so they're now playable again.  Fixed Aquatic folk so they can all live on land again.

Update .88: Re-enabled copper and bronze weapons/armor and silver weapons. Added Lead as ammo. Player fortress can now purchase an early firearm - The Handcannon - from Humans or Goblins, depending on whether Player fortress can trade with them (the hostile faction will "deliver" handcannons to the player, I'm sure)

Update for .74: Updated to latest version (44.12) of Dwarf Fortress.  May have lost a couple of things in the update.

Older Updates:

Upon advise, I've decided to restart in a new thread instead of continuing in the old one, found here.  It has been two years...

The world has changed, or have I...  The Continuing Saga of Baron Euchre of Jack!

Things seems to have changed since last I spoke.  Apparently, I hit my head or something.  I seem to have forgotten all the skills I had before, but my four of my most loyal solders are still with me, whom I've appointed as my personal bodyguards.


I've found a companion and bought him a horse.


What to do now?  What skills should I learn?  I hear that some of the locals seek to set up a new colony...