Fate's Developer Journal

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Often when I'm playing Lost Souls (and sometimes when I'm not), I'll get hit by bouts of inspiration on projects I'm working on or features/mechanics I'd like to change or implement. Instead of leaving them to stew and eventually be forgotten, I've decided to write these down in a journal so that I will remember them later and hopefully actually work on them. The entries tend to devolve into rants or fantacising on my part.

-

The journal is in org-mode format, separated into headings for convenience. Please keep in mind that this is not so much a list of stuff I will actually do as a collection of my thoughts on the game from a developer's perspective. Maybe I will work on the entries some day; hopefully another developer will read some of them and be inspired in turn; and most likely they will sit here to be interesting exercises in wishful thinking and naught else.

-

== * sensory acuity traits <2014-01-21 Tue> :traits :new:

-

Add five traits for acuity in the five senses, to use in room

-

description detail / searching / quests, etc. Value should go from 0

-

(don't have that sense) to 10 (localized omnipotence), with five

-

being the average using humans as a reference. Traits should increase

-

in value with skills/attributes like CF/OF, 1 per 100 awareness and

-

perception.

-

== * mounts <2014-01-21 Tue> :mechanics :revamp :rant:

-

Overhall the mount system to make more sense and be less broken. With

-

low riding skill, directing a mount should be difficult and

-

imprecise. For example, complex go commands should be badly

-

interpreted, directions should mix up. Have mounts keep going in one

-

direction until you issue a stop a command; only implement current

-

system of stopping after go command is fully executed for really high

-

riding skill. Add the chance of mounts throwing you off during

-

movement and combat. Using a mount should train riding/equestrian

-

(props to Agun for this). Give mounts the ability to carry containers

-

(saddlebags, sacks, etc) and to pull stuff (carriages, ploughs, etc);

-

alternately create a separate module for this (mule). Using a mount

-

for too long in too short a time should tire it out and make it less

-

effective (temp negative mods to skills/attribs), dependant on how

-

well the rider understands the animal (animal lore, equestrian,

-

biology, etc) and the mount's own skills (stamina, running, possible

-

new skill specifically for carrying people). Since the game is

-

already a simulationist fantacy, why not set up a system of stable

-

outposts for exchanging tired mounts for fresh ones (I.E roman postal

-

system)? The mule system can be taken further too; have a network of

-

carivans between the major towns to ferry passengers on horse-drawn

-

carriages. These carivans could experience random raids from bandits

-

and the like; this could lead to a new slinger-like association for

-

fighting them off? On the other side of the coin, players could

-

attack and steel from trading caravans for plunder (melange shipments

-

from the desert, magical gems from Liathyr, etc). Maybe Shatterspire

-

could have like huge flying steam ships pulled by drakes and powered

-

by Hellhounds to move their troups! The possibilities that this

-

system would open up are pretty awesome. I can just imagine it now;

-

the whole island of R'lyeh tethered to Cthulhu's back as he flies

-

into combat against the collective forces of Aedaris, who wait on a

-

fragment of the Exoma that has been shifted into the Prime and

-

materially tethered to Puff.

-

== * flight <2014-01-21 Tue> :mechanics :revamp:

-

Our monolithic flight system is actually pretty nonsensical and

-

should be separated out into different functionality. This thought

-

came from another of Agun's complaints (about levitator not granting

-

a boost to flight). The game currently uses one skill to govern all

-

forms of flight. However different flight mechanisms require

-

profficiency in completely different fields. For example, magically

-

directed wingless flight doesn't require knowledge of wind drafts,

-

how to rise with thermals, how to take advantage of slipstreams,

-

etc. On the other hand, even though dragon flight is partially

-

magical, they will use skills involved in muscle manipulation that a

-

bezhuldaar has no need of. So, the flight skill should really be

-

turned into several different skills that affect different forms of

-

flight, or use a wider range of skills (I.E somatesthesia might

-

control how well a faerie can flap hir wings; or willpower might

-

affect a Bezhuldaar's ability to direct its levitory).

-

== * Arborlon descriptions <2014-01-21 Tue> :new :areas:

-

Previously I've been trying to make the room descriptions in the

-

Arborlon revamp really descriptive. Too descriptive, I've decided

-

after some thought and reading some articles on area

-

creation. Instead of trying to be really flowery, room descriptions

-

should have a single sentence for each sense. This should be enough

-

to be fairly descriptive, and make the rooms accessible to

-

blind/deaf/anosmic players. The room summaries should also have

-

different values for different senses, so that you can for example

-

explore while blind while still getting an idea of where you are from

-

your hearing. A system of sensory acuity traits could be used here to

-

determine how much information each sense would contribute. For

-

example, a player with low hearing acuity might be able to only get

-

the auditory room summery but not the auditory description elements;

-

or be able to see the latter but not see the auditory elements of the

-

individual element's description. The idea is to make Arborlon's

-

descriptions offer complex multi-sensory descriptions, rather than

-

just really flowery visual ones which nobody will appreciate while

-

slaughtering everything with brief depiction on anyway.

-

== * room generation simplification :new :utility:

-

Write a python script to make writing rooms less tedious. Currently

-

the bulk of room code is the really lengthy map feature function

-

names and the abstract item nested descriptor structure. Instead of

-

dealing with all that, the room generation script should ask for

-

abstract item identities, long descriptions, summaries, day/night,

-

and flags for the different senses, in a dialogue format. After

-

everything is entered, the script generates the room code with

-

correct descriptor nesting and indentation (because indenting

-

descriptors past the second level becomes a big hassle to deal

-

with). I should probably write this script before I get back to

-

Arborlon, to make it less dull and tedious to work on (the idea here

-

is to focus on the content when creating an area, rather than the

-

code itself).

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-Often when I'm playing Lost Souls (and sometimes when I'm not), I'll get hit by bouts of inspiration on projects I'm working on or features/mechanics I'd like to change or implement. Instead of leaving them to stew and eventually be forgotten, I've decided to write these down in a journal so that I will remember them later and hopefully actually work on them. The entries tend to devolve into rants or fantacising on my part.
-The journal is in org-mode format, separated into headings for convenience. Please keep in mind that this is not so much a list of stuff I will actually do as a collection of my thoughts on the game from a developer's perspective. Maybe I will work on the entries some day; hopefully another developer will read some of them and be inspired in turn; and most likely they will sit here to be interesting exercises in wishful thinking and naught else.
-== * sensory acuity traits <2014-01-21 Tue> :traits :new:
-Add five traits for acuity in the five senses, to use in room
-description detail / searching / quests, etc. Value should go from 0
-(don't have that sense) to 10 (localized omnipotence), with five
-being the average using humans as a reference. Traits should increase
-in value with skills/attributes like CF/OF, 1 per 100 awareness and
-perception.
-== * mounts <2014-01-21 Tue> 				  :mechanics :revamp :rant:
-Overhall the mount system to make more sense and be less broken. With
-low riding skill, directing a mount should be difficult and
-imprecise. For example, complex go commands should be badly
-interpreted, directions should mix up. Have mounts keep going in one
-direction until you issue a stop a command; only implement current
-system of stopping after go command is fully executed for really high
-riding skill. Add the chance of mounts throwing you off during
-movement and combat. Using a mount should train riding/equestrian
-(props to Agun for this). Give mounts the ability to carry containers
-(saddlebags, sacks, etc) and to pull stuff (carriages, ploughs, etc);
-alternately create a separate module for this (mule). Using a mount
-for too long in too short a time should tire it out and make it less
-effective (temp negative mods to skills/attribs), dependant on how
-well the rider understands the animal (animal lore, equestrian,
-biology, etc) and the mount's own skills (stamina, running, possible
-new skill specifically for carrying people). Since the game is
-already a simulationist fantacy, why not set up a system of stable
-outposts for exchanging tired mounts for fresh ones (I.E roman postal
-system)? The mule system can be taken further too; have a network of
-carivans between the major towns to ferry passengers on horse-drawn
-carriages. These carivans could experience random raids from bandits
-and the like; this could lead to a new slinger-like association for
-fighting them off? On the other side of the coin, players could
-attack and steel from trading caravans for plunder (melange shipments
-from the desert, magical gems from Liathyr, etc). Maybe Shatterspire
-could have like huge flying steam ships pulled by drakes and powered
-by Hellhounds to move their troups! The possibilities that this
-system would open up are pretty awesome. I can just imagine it now;
-the whole island of R'lyeh tethered to Cthulhu's back as he flies
-into combat against the collective forces of Aedaris, who wait on a
-fragment of the Exoma that has been shifted into the Prime and
-materially tethered to Puff.
-== * flight <2014-01-21 Tue> :mechanics :revamp:
-Our monolithic flight system is actually pretty nonsensical and
-should be separated out into different functionality. This thought
-came from another of Agun's complaints (about levitator not granting
-a boost to flight). The game currently uses one skill to govern all
-forms of flight. However different flight mechanisms require
-profficiency in completely different fields. For example, magically
-directed wingless flight doesn't require knowledge of wind drafts,
-how to rise with thermals, how to take advantage of slipstreams,
-etc. On the other hand, even though dragon flight is partially
-magical, they will use skills involved in muscle manipulation that a
-bezhuldaar has no need of. So, the flight skill should really be
-turned into several different skills that affect different forms of
-flight, or use a wider range of skills (I.E somatesthesia might
-control how well a faerie can flap hir wings; or willpower might
-affect a Bezhuldaar's ability to direct its levitory).
-== * Arborlon descriptions <2014-01-21 Tue> :new :areas:
-Previously I've been trying to make the room descriptions in the
-Arborlon revamp really descriptive. Too descriptive, I've decided
-after some thought and reading some articles on area
-creation. Instead of trying to be really flowery, room descriptions
-should have a single sentence for each sense. This should be enough
-to be fairly descriptive, and make the rooms accessible to
-blind/deaf/anosmic players. The room summaries should also have
-different values for different senses, so that you can for example
-explore while blind while still getting an idea of where you are from
-your hearing. A system of sensory acuity traits could be used here to
-determine how much information each sense would contribute. For
-example, a player with low hearing acuity might be able to only get
-the auditory room summery but not the auditory description elements;
-or be able to see the latter but not see the auditory elements of the
-individual element's description. The idea is to make Arborlon's
-descriptions offer complex multi-sensory descriptions, rather than
-just really flowery visual ones which nobody will appreciate while
-slaughtering everything with brief depiction on anyway.
-== * room generation simplification :new :utility:
-Write a python script to make writing rooms less tedious. Currently
-the bulk of room code is the really lengthy map feature function
-names and the abstract item nested descriptor structure. Instead of
-dealing with all that, the room generation script should ask for
-abstract item identities, long descriptions, summaries, day/night,
-and flags for the different senses, in a dialogue format. After
-everything is entered, the script generates the room code with
-correct descriptor nesting and indentation (because indenting
-descriptors past the second level becomes a big hassle to deal
-with). I should probably write this script before I get back to
-Arborlon, to make it less dull and tedious to work on (the idea here
-is to focus on the content when creating an area, rather than the
-code itself).