1351
Computer Game Development - The Indie Alley / Game dev chatter
« on: January 04, 2014, 03:47:17 PM »
For discussing the trials, tribulations, and funsies of game design. 
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1352
Tutorials / Implementing Area-based recruitment
« on: January 04, 2014, 12:54:24 PM »
This is actually a lot simpler than it sounds.
You need exactly TWO files:
data/world/maps/base/descr_regions.txt
data/export_descr_buildings.txt
First, open EDB...
THE EDB STUFF
At the top of the file, before the first building, will be a line roughly like this:
Now, we'll assume we want to add a unit only available in desert. So now I add a new hidden resource called "desert":
Now, I go to the building that trains that unit:
And simply add that it requires my new hidden resource.
I could also make the building require the hidden resource if I wanted:
So that's great! You can now boot up Rome TW and your unit will be available for training precisely nowhere at all. This should not be surprising, since we haven't told the game where the desert areas actually are yet! Time for descr_regions...
THE REGIONS STUFF
This bit's really simple. Find all the regions you want to have your new hidden resource, look at their resource list, and add your new hidden resource onto the end. That's really all there is to it.
So (this is a Game of Colleges example):
If I want to add my desert stuff to this province it just becomes:
And that's it!
Hope that's all helpful, do post below with any questions and queries.
You need exactly TWO files:
data/world/maps/base/descr_regions.txt
data/export_descr_buildings.txt
First, open EDB...
THE EDB STUFF
At the top of the file, before the first building, will be a line roughly like this:
Code: [Select]
hidden_resources sparta rome italy Now, we'll assume we want to add a unit only available in desert. So now I add a new hidden resource called "desert":
Code: [Select]
hidden_resources sparta rome italy desertNow, I go to the building that trains that unit:
Code: [Select]
building some_building
{
levels a_building_level
{
a_building_level requires factions { greek_cities, romans_scipii, romans_brutii, thrace, parthia, seleucid, }
{
capability
{
recruit "desert ninjas" 3 requires factions { greek_cities, carthage, romans_scipii, numidia, romans_brutii, thrace, parthia, seleucid, }
}
construction 1
cost 400
settlement_min town
upgrades
{
}
}
}
plugins
{
}
}
And simply add that it requires my new hidden resource.
Code: [Select]
recruit "desert ninjas" 3 requires factions { greek_cities, carthage, romans_scipii, numidia, romans_brutii, thrace, parthia, seleucid, } and hidden_resource desert
I could also make the building require the hidden resource if I wanted:
Code: [Select]
a_building_level requires factions { greek_cities, romans_scipii, romans_brutii, thrace, parthia, seleucid, } and hidden_resource desertSo that's great! You can now boot up Rome TW and your unit will be available for training precisely nowhere at all. This should not be surprising, since we haven't told the game where the desert areas actually are yet! Time for descr_regions...
THE REGIONS STUFF
This bit's really simple. Find all the regions you want to have your new hidden resource, look at their resource list, and add your new hidden resource onto the end. That's really all there is to it.
So (this is a Game of Colleges example):
Code: [Select]
The_Backs
Kings
greek_cities
Latins
157 13 198
timber, hides, pigs, college, arts, science
5
8If I want to add my desert stuff to this province it just becomes:
Code: [Select]
The_Backs
Kings
greek_cities
Latins
157 13 198
timber, hides, pigs, college, arts, science, desert
5
8And that's it!
Hope that's all helpful, do post below with any questions and queries.
1353
Discussion and Debate - The Philosopher's Plaza / Michael Gove and World War One
« on: January 03, 2014, 07:04:40 PM »
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2532923/Michael-Gove-blasts-Blackadder-myths-First-World-War-spread-television-sit-coms-left-wing-academics.html
See this armadillo? This armadillo is unacceptable.
You do not have to be left wing to realise that ordering men to walk in order across open country with machine guns on the other side is a horrific waste of human life. Nor do you have to be left wing to appreciate the catastrophic scale of losses on both sides and the deep wounds it left on many ordinary communities up and down Russia, Germany, Austria, France, Britain, the USA, and beyond. The exceptional bungles in leadership; the total failure to adapt rapidly to trench warfare and ensure that effective medical provisions were available and that men weren't living in wet mud. This is not an issue it's even remotely okay to place on the political spectrum.
And that is what the British education secretary just did. The man who writes our goddamn school curriculum.
*rage*
See this armadillo? This armadillo is unacceptable.
You do not have to be left wing to realise that ordering men to walk in order across open country with machine guns on the other side is a horrific waste of human life. Nor do you have to be left wing to appreciate the catastrophic scale of losses on both sides and the deep wounds it left on many ordinary communities up and down Russia, Germany, Austria, France, Britain, the USA, and beyond. The exceptional bungles in leadership; the total failure to adapt rapidly to trench warfare and ensure that effective medical provisions were available and that men weren't living in wet mud. This is not an issue it's even remotely okay to place on the political spectrum.
And that is what the British education secretary just did. The man who writes our goddamn school curriculum.
*rage*
1354
Writing, Poems, AARs, and Stories - The Storyteller's Hall / Little Miss Moffat
« on: January 02, 2014, 02:16:41 PM »
So, the origin of various fairytales has been the subject of much debate, scholarly and otherwise. In one particular case, I have recently decided that I have some light to shed upon one of our most classic nursery rhymes. I can, here, exclusively reveal from my extensive textual analysis skills that the author of Little Miss Muffet can be exactly pinpointed to one man - Steven Moffat.
Yep, it's him.
This classic nursery rhyme goes as follows:
It should be obvious to anyone who has watched Moffat's work that this is a classic example, bearing many of his most notable hallmarks - but lest there be any doubt, I shall go through an extensive, nay, exhaustive list of all the things that show that Moffat is responsible.
So there you have it. It's a wrap; there's simply no question. Steven Moffat has been wreaking havoc, and fans of classic nursery rhymes will soon start to grumble about the old days when at least there were properly developed emotional plot lines. Say what you like about Russel T Davies: at least Humpty Dumpty died a proper death.
Yep, it's him.
This classic nursery rhyme goes as follows:
Quote
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
It should be obvious to anyone who has watched Moffat's work that this is a classic example, bearing many of his most notable hallmarks - but lest there be any doubt, I shall go through an extensive, nay, exhaustive list of all the things that show that Moffat is responsible.
- The plot revolves around a female character who is totally plot central but otherwise has no independent non-stereotyped personality.
- It packs the plot into six lines when it's clear there should have been twelve. Better yet, just add another stanza; trying to squeeze it into such a short space has made things cluttered and confusing and there's no satisfying ending. Should've been a two-parter. Again.
- The spider gets no background development. Does it have motivations? What even are its motivations? Or is it just a hackneyed trope appearing for arachnophobe fanservice?
- Using an ordinary/everyday item and then making it extra scary is a classic Moffat trick. Though we'll probably find out in a few rhymes' time that the spider has come back for a ton of cameos, getting less scary each time, and Little Red Riding Hood can defeat like ten of them. Blindfolded.
- The whole plot is based around a single "scary enemy" concept. It's really just a less scary re-hash of Blink.
- The curds and whey is clearly another flat attempt at a zany foodstuffs joke. Well, you know what, Moffat. You can take your precious curds and whey and stick fish fingers in it for all I care.
- Monsters based around sight are a classic Moffatism. Weeping angels you have to keep looking at, Silence you forget you looked at, Spiders you look at and run in terror. The spider doesn't even seem to have any actually dangerous abilities; this rhyme's really trying to be a psychological thriller.
- Miss Muffet seems to have basically no agency as a character. She's literally just there to run away from things.
- Nobody dies. Nobody even comes close to dying. All anyone genuinely loses in this rhyme is curds and whey, which just doesn't cut the emotional mustard.
- NONE OF THE PLOT HOLES GET RESOLVED. Okay, so this needs a second list in itself.
- Spiders don't have easily accessible bums to sit on. How does a spider sit down? This is a real unexplained deus ex machina for the spider, guys.
- So little Miss Muffet is frightened away. Where to? Does she just get to exit the scene at random? Is this a satisfying plot conclusion for anyone?
- Where did the spider come from? Is this part of a wider plot? Unexplained villains that appear out of nowhere - definitely a Moffat job.
- For that matter, what about Miss Muffet? We didn't even get any prior indication she was an arachnophobe. It's like he suddenly added that to her character when his precious plot needed it.
- She'll probably turn up in the next rhyme sitting nonchalantly on that damn tuffet as if nothing had happened. And she won't even have lost her curds and whey.
So there you have it. It's a wrap; there's simply no question. Steven Moffat has been wreaking havoc, and fans of classic nursery rhymes will soon start to grumble about the old days when at least there were properly developed emotional plot lines. Say what you like about Russel T Davies: at least Humpty Dumpty died a proper death.
1355
Adventures of Soros / Start Thy Questinge: Soros needs YOUR help!
« on: December 20, 2013, 03:49:54 PM »
This thread will be for any job ads or ways people can help with Adventures of Soros
GAME ARTISTS
Anyone who wants to join the art team is very welcome! Applicants are welcome regardless of art style, though preferred style may influence what task you get given within the team. Zone one - the core area of the game - currently has no artist, which is a crucial gap to fill ! More character/monster art may also be useful.
SOUND
We haven't done much defined stuff wrt sound yet, but if you're a sound editor/composer interested in the project I'd definitely love to hear from you!
MANUAL WRITER
I'd quite like someone to write walkthroughs and a player's manual for the game, particularly in helping people to get the hang of combat and other basic commands. Apply/ask questions here or by PM.
Playtest and provide feedback, the download thread is here: http://www.exilian.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1962.0
Answer threads on the forum, particularly ones where I'm asking for ideas!
Spread the word, by liking our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventures-of-Soros/583083731711279?fref=ts) and telling your friends!
~Positions vacant~
GAME ARTISTS
Anyone who wants to join the art team is very welcome! Applicants are welcome regardless of art style, though preferred style may influence what task you get given within the team. Zone one - the core area of the game - currently has no artist, which is a crucial gap to fill ! More character/monster art may also be useful.
SOUND
We haven't done much defined stuff wrt sound yet, but if you're a sound editor/composer interested in the project I'd definitely love to hear from you!
MANUAL WRITER
I'd quite like someone to write walkthroughs and a player's manual for the game, particularly in helping people to get the hang of combat and other basic commands. Apply/ask questions here or by PM.
~Other ways you can help~
Playtest and provide feedback, the download thread is here: http://www.exilian.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1962.0
Answer threads on the forum, particularly ones where I'm asking for ideas!
Spread the word, by liking our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventures-of-Soros/583083731711279?fref=ts) and telling your friends!
1356
Adventures of Soros / Quest and minor task ideas?
« on: December 16, 2013, 10:53:00 PM »
Anyone got good ideas for minor and simple quests for the player to do?
Currently there is for quests:
1x carry a letter
1x kill 12 goblinoids
1x get enough logs to fix a bridge
1x fetch water for a dying goblin
1x go and break into a house in Dorudor, kill a guard, then answer riddles to obtain a sacred Dwarfen orb
And other moneymaking:
1x pit fights
1x cutting corn
Thoughts for more quests and tasks? Preferably they shouldn't involve adding new locations (so no "epic dungeon crawl quest of epic death" ideally)
Currently there is for quests:
1x carry a letter
1x kill 12 goblinoids
1x get enough logs to fix a bridge
1x fetch water for a dying goblin
1x go and break into a house in Dorudor, kill a guard, then answer riddles to obtain a sacred Dwarfen orb
And other moneymaking:
1x pit fights
1x cutting corn
Thoughts for more quests and tasks? Preferably they shouldn't involve adding new locations (so no "epic dungeon crawl quest of epic death" ideally
)
1357
General Chatter - The Boozer / Jubal's Christmas Project-Work
« on: December 12, 2013, 07:01:12 PM »
Okay, I want to do one (but only one) of these things over Christmas this year:
- Get Adventures of Soros really neatly released
- Get a full draft of the Guns, Swords, and Steam rules done
- Get the Exilian site properly overhauled
I doubt I have time for more than one, and I'm not sure which I should focus on. Thoughts?
- Get Adventures of Soros really neatly released
- Get a full draft of the Guns, Swords, and Steam rules done
- Get the Exilian site properly overhauled
I doubt I have time for more than one, and I'm not sure which I should focus on. Thoughts?
1358
Announcements! The Town Crier! / CHRISTMAS COMPETITION 2013: MOUNTAIN
« on: December 12, 2013, 05:29:42 PM »Okay, it's time for another site competition!
THE RULES
- You can enter anything you like. Any part of time or space, any poem, song, short story, mini-game, game scenario, artwork, piece of drama, monologue, whatever.
- Up to two entries per person, and no more than one entry in the same format (so a song and a game would be fine, two poems wouldn't be).
- Entries will be judged on:
----- a) interpretation of the prompt
----- b) originality/creativity of idea, and
----- c) excellence/execution of the project/piece
- Marks will be given out of ten for each section by a team of three independent judges (who is still to be confirmed)
- There is no real prize except kudos, publicity and bragging rights - the top five entries will be featured in a ranked post on the Exilian front page, non-citizen winners can obviously put it in citizenship applications, admins may choose to give triumph points for good entries, and top entries will also be featured on our Facebook and Twitter.
THE PROMPT
Is...
MOUNTAIN
Is...
MOUNTAIN
Please submit your entries in this thread by no later than the 7th January 2013.
1359
Announcements! The Town Crier! / Non-Binary Gender Option Added
« on: December 10, 2013, 02:50:59 PM »
This is just a brief public service announcement to tell everyone that as of now onwards, any member of Exilian who does not have a standard binary male or female gender can now select an "other" gender option on their profile fields. The citizens have after much discussion and deliberation passed this measure in the hope that it will make the site more welcoming to new non-binary Exilianites and furthermore will allow us to keep reasonable and accurate statistics. The gender field is, as always, entirely optional to fill in, and we hope people of all gender identities will be happy with the new system.
Hope you're all having a good start to December!
Jubal (Megadux)
Hope you're all having a good start to December!
Jubal (Megadux)
1360
General Chatter - The Boozer / Impossible
« on: December 03, 2013, 01:30:07 PM »
I've been having a look at this site/app recently:
http://www.impossible.com/
Basically it works by people posting "wishes" that others can commit to working on or helping with. The aim ultimately is for it to help with social economics; in other words, people gaining by doing things for each other for free. It's a really neat concept and is backed by Jimmy Wales (of Wikipedia fame) and Lily Cole (actress & model, also got a double first or something similarly brilliant from my own dear Uni).
There are some issues - mostly people not understanding the concept and being like "give me an xbox lol", or at the other end being more on the lines of "I wish for smiles and love and rainbows". That said I think it has a lot of potential, though to be really effective the network probably needs a higher density of people. It seems to be most effective around London, for probably obvious reasons as that's where they're based.
I also just wished that more people would find this place, so we'll see how that goes.
http://www.impossible.com/
Basically it works by people posting "wishes" that others can commit to working on or helping with. The aim ultimately is for it to help with social economics; in other words, people gaining by doing things for each other for free. It's a really neat concept and is backed by Jimmy Wales (of Wikipedia fame) and Lily Cole (actress & model, also got a double first or something similarly brilliant from my own dear Uni).
There are some issues - mostly people not understanding the concept and being like "give me an xbox lol", or at the other end being more on the lines of "I wish for smiles and love and rainbows". That said I think it has a lot of potential, though to be really effective the network probably needs a higher density of people. It seems to be most effective around London, for probably obvious reasons as that's where they're based.
I also just wished that more people would find this place, so we'll see how that goes.
1361
History, Science, and Interesting Information - The Great Library / Some news about Koalas
« on: December 03, 2013, 12:53:43 PM »
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25185236
I just thought this was pretty cool - apparently Koalas have extra throat flaps outside the larynx which is why they can make really low noises.
I just thought this was pretty cool - apparently Koalas have extra throat flaps outside the larynx which is why they can make really low noises.
1362
Announcements! The Town Crier! / TWC Mod Awards: Last Day of Voting!
« on: November 26, 2013, 02:36:48 PM »
It's the last day of voting in the TWC modding awards, and some of our mods have been nominated for Best New RTW mod - showing just how well we're doing at keeping RTW modding going!
The three mods nominated from Exilian are Warhammer: TW 1.0, Narnia: Total War, and Rome TW: Persian Invasion. To find out more about any of them, visit their forums:
One of the largest and most ambitious fantasy mods for RTW in existence, Warhammer: Total War has vast hosts of different fantasy races and units, a huge campaign map, and a huge selection of different playstyles, unusual special abilities, war machines and monsters to choose from. Enter the End Times - enter the world of Warhammer: Total War!
Persian Invasion pits the warring city-states of Greece against the great Persian Empire, at a time when the independence of the Greek world faced its greatest threats. Enter the world of Leonidas, Xerxes, and other famous heroes and march your city's troops to dominance and glory!
Based on CS Lewis' classic fantasy books, this mod brings a host of centaurs, talking beasts, and humans into a clash of cultures over the future of Narnia's world. Play as Prince Caspian's Narnian rebels, or the Telmarine kingdom - or even the mysterious Giants of Harfang or the mercantile traders of the Lone Islands.
Please support our fantastic mods and give our modding teams a good reward for their hard work over the years. If one of our mods wins the award it will be a really nice pat on the back and a boost to Exilian's whole modding community. Fingers crossed - and make sure you vote if you haven't already!
1363
Announcements! The Town Crier! / Another Birthday...
« on: November 23, 2013, 06:42:17 PM »
I think the time (and relative dimensions in space) has come to say a happy birthday - a happy fiftieth birthday - to a rather special person. Or persons. There's sort of twelve and a half of them or something. And we think they're rather awesome for saving time and space a few bajillion times.
Here's to adventures in time and space, wherever they may lead us.
Here's to adventures in time and space, wherever they may lead us.
Here's to companions found and lost, past, present, and future.
And here's to the Doctor, for all his sterling work over the last fifty years.
Enjoy the anniversary, everyone! Let's go save the day!
1364
Cepheida / Species File: Gruth
« on: November 18, 2013, 10:49:23 AM »The Gruth: Species File
The Gruth (pronounced gutturally; the "Gr" is most correctly done as a throat growl, with a short "uh" for the u) are one of the commonest starfaring races. They are the main species in the Verwynn Empire, ruled over by Verwynn knights, but many also serve as mercenaries and in other roles.
Biology
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Culture
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
1365
Doctor Who / The Grand Who Chatter & Discussion Thread
« on: November 15, 2013, 12:30:57 AM »
Whovianism abound!
The 50th anniversary is coming up! Speculate and stuff here!
And if you haven't done so, watch as the eighth doctor gets literally only his second ever visual episode...
The 50th anniversary is coming up! Speculate and stuff here!
And if you haven't done so, watch as the eighth doctor gets literally only his second ever visual episode...