Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Leatra]

I have a question. In RPGs I try to do a little of everything. For example, I might start out as an assassin but after some time I could try being a general. Will this class system is going to have a big effect on the way the player plays? Once we we choose a class will that be the only thing we will do?

[Mephansteras]

I certainly think that culture and policies should effect military types. If you have a warlike neighbor, you're going to prioritize military a lot more than if you live on an island that's hard to get to by invaders.

Should be interesting to see what you settle on.

[Man of Paper]

Meph just shot something straight into my brain:

When traveling by sea, is there a chance of running up against rocks, rogue waves, and storms battering or otherwise destroying your ship/fleet? Because an island surrounded by cliffs and rough waters would be awesome if all that had effect. And in addition to that, if you get shipwrecked what will happen? Will you die, or is there a chance you'll wash up on a nearby shore without any of your equipment and possibly in a strange land. Because that'd make for some real interesting player stories.

And now I'm imagining leading a group of guys on a ship to scale a cliff face in the middle of the night to kill some peeps.

Will killing civilians affect how the world views you?

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

I have a question. In RPGs I try to do a little of everything. For example, I might start out as an assassin but after some time I could try being a general. Will this class system is going to have a big effect on the way the player plays? Once we we choose a class will that be the only thing we will do?

Hopefully the skills are such that whatever class you start as can be combined intelligently with other skill trees. Because each skill tree has its own EXP meter, rather than a global one, there is nothing stopping you from starting new trees at whatever point in the game you want. I'm hoping it'll strike a balance between specializing and generalizing, but only playtesting can say

I certainly think that culture and policies should effect military types. If you have a warlike neighbor, you're going to prioritize military a lot more than if you live on an island that's hard to get to by invaders.

Should be interesting to see what you settle on.

Agreed - 0.2.0 is well on-schedule for being released by the end of November, after which history and civilization generation can start!

Meph just shot something straight into my brain:

When traveling by sea, is there a chance of running up against rocks, rogue waves, and storms battering or otherwise destroying your ship/fleet? Because an island surrounded by cliffs and rough waters would be awesome if all that had effect. And in addition to that, if you get shipwrecked what will happen? Will you die, or is there a chance you'll wash up on a nearby shore without any of your equipment and possibly in a strange land. Because that'd make for some real interesting player stories.

And now I'm imagining leading a group of guys on a ship to scale a cliff face in the middle of the night to kill some peeps.

Will killing civilians affect how the world views you?

I had intended storms (there's a skill for the handling of ships in storms) but you've given me a load of interesting ideas about when a ship comes near coast! I love the idea of potential shipwrecks and the like. Yes, absolutely, that would be far too cool not to have.

Yes, if somebody sees you. And it will be CLEAR if they see you, unlike DF/Skyrim/every other game. I don't want people magically seeing you through walls.

[Sharp]

Yes, if somebody sees you. And it will be CLEAR if they see you, unlike DF/Skyrim/every other game. I don't want people magically seeing you through walls.

I dunno don't make it too clear. I don't like it when it comes up with a big !!!DETECTED!!! when you have been detected. I would like NPC guard to be like, 'hmm let that cocky shit think he is hidden while we surround him'

That's just my preference anyway

[Man of Paper]

Oh, and don't forget whirlpools! They are legitimately my only fear, and I have no reason why. Maybe they'd work like the swirling tiles force you x-tiles in the direction of the spin per tick (am I using the right terms?) while also moving you a tile or so inwards/downwards, and as you move closer to the center you begin to spin faster. Then treat the center like a singularity as punishment for annoying the ocean with your petty wooden craft.

[Edmus]

Oh, and don't forget whirlpools! They are legitimately my only fear, and I have no reason why. Maybe they'd work like the swirling tiles force you x-tiles in the direction of the spin per tick (am I using the right terms?) while also moving you a tile or so inwards/downwards, and as you move closer to the center you begin to spin faster. Then treat the center like a singularity as punishment for annoying the ocean with your petty wooden craft.

I have seen a whirlpool. Shit's scary.

[Leatra]

I have a question. In RPGs I try to do a little of everything. For example, I might start out as an assassin but after some time I could try being a general. Will this class system is going to have a big effect on the way the player plays? Once we we choose a class will that be the only thing we will do?

Hopefully the skills are such that whatever class you start as can be combined intelligently with other skill trees. Because each skill tree has its own EXP meter, rather than a global one, there is nothing stopping you from starting new trees at whatever point in the game you want. I'm hoping it'll strike a balance between specializing and generalizing, but only playtesting can say

As long as we can do anything we want, I'm game

[Rowanas]

That's always my biggest fear with classes, and it's been partly fueled by the old-school interpretation of them, whereby each class is a package of things you can do, or will be able to do, and if what you want to do falls outside of your given class, you're a bit fucked. If they determine starting stats, give you a little boost and the like, I don't see it being a game-breaker for me.

[Leatra]

Yeah, I mean look at Elona. Your class is basicly what you start out with. You can learn every skill and do everything if you want. Even races doesn't matter much, except for racial attributes. I really like the way how it is at Elona.

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

I dunno don't make it too clear. I don't like it when it comes up with a big !!!DETECTED!!! when you have been detected. I would like NPC guard to be like, 'hmm let that cocky shit think he is hidden while we surround him'

That's just my preference anyway

Hmm, interesting, and noted . Not sure how it'll work yet, but I'll keep that in mind.

Oh, and don't forget whirlpools! They are legitimately my only fear, and I have no reason why. Maybe they'd work like the swirling tiles force you x-tiles in the direction of the spin per tick (am I using the right terms?) while also moving you a tile or so inwards/downwards, and as you move closer to the center you begin to spin faster. Then treat the center like a singularity as punishment for annoying the ocean with your petty wooden craft.

I have seen a whirlpool. Shit's scary.

That would be amazingly cool. It's on the list! @ Edmus - really? How/where? I don't think I'd have them show up on the world map until you got within, say, a square of them on a vessel...

As long as we can do anything we want, I'm game

That's always my biggest fear with classes, and it's been partly fueled by the old-school interpretation of them, whereby each class is a package of things you can do, or will be able to do, and if what you want to do falls outside of your given class, you're a bit fucked. If they determine starting stats, give you a little boost and the like, I don't see it being a game-breaker for me.

Yeah, I mean look at Elona. Your class is basicly what you start out with. You can learn every skill and do everything if you want. Even races doesn't matter much, except for racial attributes. I really like the way how it is at Elona.

That's certainly the plan - each class should give you a specialty, but the exp system is such that you should be able to mix and match totally. It gives a boost to one tree, a special ability, and that's it. I've also just made the specialty tree highlighted in a different colour on the skills page now too, so it's very clear which one you get 50% off to. Which reminds me, I need to implement the exp modifiers for each class...

IN THE MEANTIME, two potential futures of the world map:

http://www.ultimaratioregum.co.uk/game/2012/10/22/map-colouring/

I'd like as much feedback as possible on this one - which one do you like more, and why? I'm very undecided...

[Edmus]

I was much younger and was on holiday with my family, when we saw it just off the coast. It spun at a speed that looked like it would suck you in and crush you, at least that's what I thought at the time.
@Maps: I think I prefer the first one to the second in that it's colour scheme looks more real. The second maps clarity is very nice too.

[Mephansteras]

Yeah, I like the brightness of the second one but the overall color scheme of the 1st.

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

Thanks both; I've overall had so many comments on various websites/fora on the maps that I'm not going to reply to them all at once, but just cover the outcome next week.  Either way, I think the outcome I'm leaning strongly towards now is one most people will find satisfactory!

In the mean time, after an AGONISING day, I've got saving/loading almost everything pretty much working! Trees and other "features" are still a bit buggy, but otherwise, you can save and load as much of the map as you want, and upon loading it'll stitch it back together. Now working on the load game screen giving you overviews of your saved characters...

[Nighthawk]

If we're going to have multiple saved characters, are we going to have to generate multiple worlds, like in DF? Because you can only control one Fortress/Adventurer at a time, since time is constantly passing in said world.

Are you going for the same thing, or are you going to just make each save a "parallel universe" of the same world?

It would be nice for characters to be able to claim relics of long-lost warlords (which you played AS, in the world's past), but it would also be nice to make multiple characters at the same time.

What are you planning?