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[Zonk]

First,a talk about pre-generated weapons...

In the not-so-near but not-so-far future,when a LOT of
pre-generated weapons will need to be added
could i help in definying the standard attributes
of the various weapons?Since i have a lot of spare time,i could
compile the files with the attributes of each weapon.I could
even write the description,if you wanted.

I suppose each weapon primary component will have about 9 things:

general weapon type
type of damage caused(Slashing,Blunt,Point)
base damage caused or maybe this is "auto-calculated"from weight
and other attributes OF THE WEAPON
dimensions(base weight,reach/height and width?)
speed
cost
balance?
Description.Maybe different description for different components,
when you look at an item you get the description of all components,
one under the other.

These are all BASE things,and all these attributes will SURELY change
depending on the material the weapon is generated.In a standard
universe the default material could be iron,right?

As primary i mean the blade/component usually used to attack the enemy,
though the other components could have less attributes(a sword handle
could have a cost,if one broke it's handle and wanted a new one,but i
don't think a sword handle will have some complicate things like
other weapons).Also,cost for weapons should be:

[(Cost of all components and materials used to build it,including
the raw material)+(Cost for the work of the builder)+/-(a % depending
on the quality of the weapon if the shopkepper is honest)]* 100%
normally,modified by varius factors and by a sort of "Haggling Skill"

Im willing to compile(i get the file with the basic structure
all the weapons and their attributes) the files with a lot of weapons,
even if there is no program editor and i have to edit some BIG *.txt
files.Also,we could divide the weapons in varius txt files and
different people could put the attributes for different weapons.Like
we couldhave a polearms.txt,swords.txt,macesandclubs.txt ecc.ec...

I think not only should we have long/short swords,club,maces,halberd,
daggers but also many variuous pre-generated weapons,especcialy
weapons typical of certain countries.Here's a little list:

Variuous Weapons:
Bastard Sword(a one-and-half sword),Katana(japanese long sword),
Tulwar(Indian deadly curved short sword),Kriss(Indian "snake-like"
knife),Gladius(short but large sword used by gladiators),
Rapier(not very good at damaging but very fast),
cho-ku-no(chinese crossbow),tanto(a bar of metal connected to
another bar of metal by a leather string,japanese ninja weapon?),
Sap(for knocking out opponents),Halberd with spike(useful againist
cavalry),Hook(useful for hand-less players and pirates),Clawed
Gloves.

Also,i think that some weapons could be used as tools and some
tools as weapons.For example,it would be possible to use a weaponsmith
hammer to fight,but it would be less powerful than a battle-hammer.
Also,for chopping trees,there could be different types of axe,including
battle axes,thus for a woodsmen it would be a good idea to become
expert in manipulating axes.

Another idea i have is to allow people to download text files with
new pre-generated weapons(or creatures or other things)
and paste them into the base files or just keep them in specific files,
and,when the world is generated, allow to choose from what files
will the pre-generated things be taken.

Also:

   Allow to choose how to use the blade of a weapon:
   for a slash or for a "point"attack.

   Lighting:Maybe if a creature is clad in metal armor
       during heavy rain...he could get struck
       by lightings/thunder.Might also be used
       to animate creatures like Frankestein.
       Or,if someone is about to get the killing
       blow from an enemy,the enemy could rise it's
       weapon(why don't they just slit the enemy throat?)
       and get hit by lighting!

   Sweat:If we have blood for wounded players,why not
   sweat for tired ones?Also,sweat stinks so one might
   stink if he doesn't clean/bathe himself,and the people
   might shun him.   

   DON'T remove the option to hit oneself,but make it so
   that when one does WANT to hit himself,he can hit
   himself in almost any part he wants(this way i could test
   the effect of having a knife in tjrskull)without any
   need to make rolls for hitting ecc.ecc...
   A different thing is if you are wearing a cursed sword
   that,while still in your hand,tries to behead you.

   I altready read about it,but will it be possibile to have
   some options for choosing not to kill a creature but just
   stun it?Like,for example,if there is a creature that i could
   kill for a simple blow,could i set the options so there's
   a chance based on my item wielding skill and other factors
   that i just stun it(of course he gets wounded).This way it
   would be possibile to make a mistake and kill a creature
   the player wanted to stun.

   AI:A basic thing is that if the player attacks members of
      it's race,they should react and attack the player.Also,
      rats should just run,and rats should be ignored by Humans
      and Red Ogres(unless Red Ogres eat rats).Homewer,10-15
      rats could try to to kill a gnome.

   Fighting/hitting multiple body parts:Might it be possible to
   hit multiple body part with one blow without bypassing them?
   For example,a well-done slash could cut one skull,broke
   several ribs and maybe cut a leg.
   Also making an hole a creature torax with a punch and grabbing
   his hearth,then the creature is dead and you have it's hearth
   in  your hand.By the way,powerful evil warlocks like to do
   this.
   
   Someone probably altready said it,but will it be possible
   to play oneself?Like you could have asked some questions
   during character creations,like if you practice sports
   and similar things.Also,the possibility to create
   "super" characters without any penality and to create
   pre-made scenarios(where the creator set's what pre-generated
   things will be used)and world editor were one could be
   able to create the maps...He could put random elements or
   things lice a bear cave ecc.ec..
   I REALLY mean that the player could draw the map,like he could
   make a scenario in a castle ecc.ec..I myself want to test if a
   VERY powerful  HEAVILY armed Warrior can kill an army by
   placing himself on a door thus killing the enemies one-by-one.
   Okay,im mad...

   Also,actually,you(Toadyone)said Attributes are "scaled".
   You also said you will put a number other than 150 as
   standard attribute...100 maybe?
   An Human with 150 Dexterity is faster than a Red Ogre with the
   same Dexterity.But,i have a question.An Human with Strenght
   250 is and 1.66 times stronger than an Human with Strenght 150?
   Or he is about 2-3 times stronger?I think the first option
   is easer to code,since you don't have to do strange bonus
   tables(like D&D,it's also irrealistic and does not allow for
   very high numbers,wich we could get with the random species)
   Also it allows for easier confrotation between characters
   for debugging.And it's better if we have spells/things that,for
   example,make you 10 times stronger.
   Even if,in the future,you will not be able to see your
   attributes as numbers unless you turn on some option.
   If 100 is the attribute of the average men,the Highest
   attribute an human could reach will be about 400 in a
   non-fantasy universe,right?Maybe this limit could be higher
   for Mental attributes and a bit lower for Strenght,Endurance
   and Dexterity.Maybe in the status attributes,for debug/testing
   purposes,you could see the "scale"of your race in that at
   attribute,in confront with the human average.
   Like a Red Ogre(Im always talking about them,they
   are my favorite race)could have on his status screen
   Strength(x5):High(150, IP:0)meaning the average Red Ogre
   is strong as 5 average humans.This is in a standard fantasy
   universe where humans are the scale(usually).
   In an "animal"world, the creature with a Strenght scale of
   x1 might be another.

   Magic items could change the scale of the attributes or
   just grant a "special bonus".

   Weight:How much weight can a creature carry?I think a good
   formulae could be (Weight of the creature)*(Strenght/100)
   Also,i think that it should be added the possibility to
   push/pull/drag items,allowing to move greater weights.

   Graphic:Could it be possibile to have a complete image of
   a creature by looking at it(including the player).
   It would be a big version of the image of creature,
   but with some "comphrensible"pictures for armor and weapons.
   Of course,these images would be 2d and would be optional
   (you could not download them if you wanted)

   Alchool:Could a player drink a HEAVY alchoolich beverage,
   then fart holding a torch to his mouth to shout fire to
   impress people or kill enemys?
   

A question.I put the game in full window,normally
it's VERY SLOW but this time the FPS was about 20.But the
ground was no longer green..it was the color of the sky...
is this a bug?If not,can i make it happen another time?
So i can play faster(at the expense of having light blue grass)..

Also,another question..if,in the future we will have a new 2d version,
will it be possibile to import universes/game file from the 3d version
to the 2d version?I mean,modifying the graphic involves modification
to the game(species/universe/ecc.ecc) files,right?

Also,what is the italian translation of motif or some english words
wich describe it(i tried on the english/italian dictionary but i did
find it)?Motif are a kind of "enlarged"kind of species right?Mammals,
Reptile,Fishes,Amphybies(Frogs,Toads,Salamander),Insect,Birds and
others.
Will we also have "vertebrate"and "invertebrate"?Maybe insectoid
creatures are treated in a particolar way because they have a
"chitine"armor.Maybe insectoid creature could,growing,shed their
old skin and get a new skin.When without the skin,the creature
would be very weak.Also lobsters and skakes shed and change skin.
Maybe body familiarity skills could also be useful for cooking
animals/preparing them/skinning and other things(including
extracting poison).A snake-hunter could be expert at cooking
them(he would have a normal cooking skill but a high body familiarity
skill about them)

Necromancer/Corpses:what about rotting making you unable to recognize
the race of a corpse?After 3 days,the corpse of an human called
"Guy" might just become an"human corpse"and after 6 days just an
"humanoid corpse".Of course Body Familiarity skills help.Maybe
you could treat a corpse to make it last longer.Useful for trophies,
i think the pratice is putting straw in a creature body(can't remember
the verb).Also (realistic)mummyfing could preserve corpses.By the
way,i was thinking...with the fantastic body part/function system,
it would be a lot easier for undeads,right?A normal human could be
transformed into a mummy just by killing it,removing some organs,
putting bandages and oils on and casting a spell/ritual.If the organs
aren't removed,the mummy rots...and stinks.By the way,if a mummy
bandages are removed,the flesh under them is greenish/blackish
but not rotten.Also,you could make "Frankestein"type monster
using the body of an humanoid(especially ogre).Also organ/limbs
transplant.You could loose your natural arm and get a metal artificial
/demon/something arm.Or,for pirates,you could get a wooden leg!

Exercies:We surely need it.I read it on The Future page,but i also
thought about weight-lifting and pushups to train Strenght and
Endurance.

Swimming in Blood:If a player kills MANY creatures in a small closed
place,maybe he could REALLY swim(and drown)in their blood

Some ideas for pre-made test scenarios to play-test varius
features:

   Bar's Brawl:Yu start in a Bar,all the weapons you can
   use are your strenght and chairs/tables/bottles that
   you can break on tables.The enemies are varius drunk guys.
   Maybe the player is also a little drunk?
   This is to test the effects on alchool,using various items
   as weapons and item breakage.

   One againist all:You must conquer a castle ALONE.The player
   is some sort of monster/giant.Maybe a titan?Toadyone said he
   tested a Titan and they are 150 tons and 1000 times the size
   of an human.This is to test varius things including the
   possibility for the Titan to attack the soldier on the castle
   walls(Titans are VERY TALL)or break the gate with a kick.

   Run the Gauntlet:In this scenario you just have to run
   bypassing the enemy lines.Maybe you have an horse.
   Allow testing of riding(with the horse),ranged weapons
   (enemy soldiers shooting at you),and fighting from
   horseback.

   Military Training:A simple scenario.You have to pass varius
   test,including jumping a small pond of water,crawling,
   climbing ecc.ecc..This allows to test movement stances.

   
   
      

Attacking ANYTHING:What about allowing to attack anything(not only
creatures)with a all-attack/wielded item use mode(pressing number 3).
In this way you could attack(DIG)mineral veins with your pick,or break
a bottle on a table(thoug i would prefer to break it on an enemy,so
the first blow does more damage).Of course,unless it's dark/you are
drunk/blind you nevers miss items.Other things could be chopping
a tree by "attacking"it(you could use an axe but maybe an halberd
would also work)or cutting plants by attacking them with a Machete.
Or just to smash items to have fun.Maybe,by the way,you could also
aim at the items choosing what component of the item you want to
attack.If you select a VERY small component,you might also miss and
hit the larger component.

Also another question about bug/features...could you make a
debug menu or don't remove the varius debug keys that you put
in the game(until a more complete version)?They could
be useful not only to you(Toadyone)but also to the various people
who test the game...I got the idea when i read in the old December
news the fact that,about one year ago, you could make creatures fly
up 10 feet by pressing Y.

By the way,im also trying to download the OLD 2d version,since it
was a bit more stable and faster.Also it was cool and some nice
things,so i can play while i wait for a faster Slaves to Armok.
Could somebody send me the Directx 2d (or directx-less r both)
version at zonk1000@yahoo.it?And is DRAGSLAY be avaible for download?

[Toady One]

Weapons:  The list of stats is a bit different, because there isn't really an item type called "weapon".  There are just items, made from components, and some are better weapons than others.  Some of the properties listed, such as weight, are determined by the material (and later perhaps by the craftsmanship as well).  So there aren't really "base" stats for weapons.  I wouldn't mind delegating some of these tasks once the editors are usable.  The primary component as you call it doesn't have any more or less stats than any of the others, although the item itself has a flag that indicates which component is normally used by creatures to attack with.  I still have to figure out how to do bows and crossbows with the component system.  It won't be hard, I just haven't made the basic components for those items yet.  Since there aren't really "item types", all tools can be used as weapons and vice versa.  Yeah, people should be able to mix and match any stock files of pre-generated items on their computers.  And I'll also have to set up the basic (styleless) moves such as thrusts and slashes for different basic component types (blade, disk, rectangular solid, etc.).

Lightning:  There will be weather and lightning.  I suppose the lightning will follow more and more rules as time goes on.  Frankenstein-style animation depends on the current universe metaphysics.  I wonder how that would work...  "Option -- Corpses Animated By:  Lightning, Full Moons"  Maybe even air in really messed up worlds...  so they need to be buried well.  He he he.

Sweat:  Hmmm...  perhaps when I put in growths (like hair) I'll eventually add a growth (often in skin tissues) called "gland".  The glands excrete certain substances and certain times.  Then we could have poison glands that coat the skin with goo when the creature is injured.

Hitting oneself:  One might have cause to do that.  If you have a cursed limb or something you might want to wack it off.  And if you have more time, you should have the option to process your own "corpse".  Then you could saw it off with fewer problems.

Stunning vs. Killing Strikes:  Hmmm...  what would this depend on?  When choosing the strike as above, for components like a blade you could choose to strike with flat or edge which would help.  You can already choose to use the hilt instead of the blade.  You will also be able to set your strike power from zero (touch) to the maximum, and in that way increase the chances of stunning the creature.  I suppose if you are familiar with the creature in question, you should also be able to set a strike flag like "attempt to stun" and thus aim for certain areas of the creature that would likely stun it.

AI:  I know it's trashy right now.  The rest will just depend on how much sense I can put into these creatures.  Rest assured, all those friendly townspeople will not take your attacks without a hostile response forever.

Hitting multiple body parts presented a few difficulties as far as the coding is concerned, but I had hoped to do it at some point.

Ripping somebody's heart out with your bare hand goes under wrestling, because it involves a grip on a creature.  A more common situtation might be when a large quadraped bites your head and shakes around a bit, tearing your head off (which stays in its mouth until it swallows).

Character Creation:  I hadn't really considered adding a "play yourself" option, since it's hard to gather that kind of information correctly with a questionnaire.  You should be able to enter your characteristics directly.  That applies to super characters as well.  We've discussed the impact of super characters on scoring a few times before.

Map editors:  Since my brother had really wanted to make an "earth" world map, there will mose likely be an editor of this kind.  Maps will be handled much like other stock files during world generation.  I'd hope the army would stop assaulting the door after enough of them died, and try some other way of dealing with your hero, but that depends on the AI.

Attributes:  I think attributes currently work as you say (250 is 1.66 times as good as 150), so every point you gain is worth as much as the previous point.  I also think I put in attribute potentials (maximums) for each creature (depending on race, but not always exactly the same).  I could display the scale...  hopefully it isn't too messy.  Some of the scale numbers come from sheer size, some from the race.  This way, you can still be a human, but if you undergo an enlargement spell, you will enjoy some strength benefits (and probably some speed decreases).  Your size also influences how much an attack damages you (the breadth and depth of the wound are scaled by your size).

Weight:  I don't know if I added a total weight limit yet.  I know that each item's weight is set up against the strength of the grasp (right when you hit a creature it increases the item's apparent weight, increasing the chance of dropping it).  I'm not sure about what the formula should be, since I haven't tried it.

Creature Pictures:  It might get tricky with the random creatures to prepare the 2D pictures accurately.  The 3D model picture could be projected on a 2D surface to create such a picture, although a pre-prepared 2D picture would probably look nicer.  The 3D projection would be much easier.  I'm not sure what you mean by comprehensible pictures of armor and weapons.

Fire Spitting:  Any flammable liquid or gas will burn if exposed to a flame, and you'll probably be able to spit.  You'd have to be able to spit a cloud of it (by pursing your lips together I guess)...  I suppose it depends on how many spitting options their are.  He he he...

Full Window Light Blue Grass:  That's a bug.  Maybe the game is faster when textures are turned off.  It probably would be difficult to see contours in terrain that way.  When I set up the graphics options screen we can see what works best.

2D to 3D version conversion:  It depends on how the 2D version is implemented.  If you mean a 2D world without stairs, cliffs, etc. old 3D worlds wouldn't be compatible without some kind of flattening.  If you mean simply a two dimensional display of the current worlds, then all files would be compatible if I implement creature pictures right.

Motif in Italian:  Actually, a motif is just a reoccuring or dominant theme in a novel, artwork etc.  I didn't use words like "genus" or "order" because these creatures aren't always regular living ones (a motif in the game is just a reoccuring way of fleshing out a creature).  You might have better luck with the scientific terms (from top to bottom it goes Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, then Species).

We have invertebrates and vertebrates in the sense that not all creatures have spines.  I haven't really added in calculations of structural support, etc., because it gets very complicated.  I do have a variable regarding muscle attachments that can be used to set up the difference between exoskeletons and endoskeletons.

Right now "Body Familiarity" skill is actually your skill at using a particular body (so if you transform into a frog, you'll have to use the frog skill instead).  That way, transforming yourself can be very dangerous if you don't know how to use the target body.  There will be some other skills for evaluating and using other species externally (depending on the species, perhaps Frog Diagnosis to determine if a given frog is sick).  Body familiarity might still help a bit with the other activities you mentioned.

Corpse Recognition:  He he he.  Decreased corpse recognition over time would be fun, thought there might be a few tricks implementing it, depending on how I do decay.  I might be able to use the same code to make a horribly scarred or mutilated human hard to recognize.

Preservation:  I suppose there are a lot of different ways to preserve corpses.  And they're probably all on the internet just waiting to be discovered...

Undead:  Yeah, undead will be very easy.  There won't be monsters like "skeleton", but rather skeletons of particular type of monsters.  Any corpse can just be made into a creature that is no longer dead, and those will be (a subset of) undead creatures.  I think I wrote a bit about this on the future page, so I won't go into it more for now.  It might be under undead, or curses, in the supernatural section.  I saw an unwrapped mummy in a curiosity shop once, so I have a vague notion of what they should look like.  They also had an eight-legged two-snouted deformed pig.  Organ and limb transplants wouldn't be hard in the code, although I'd have to think of how the game should react to it (immune responses and all that stuff).  Having artificial items as limbs wouldn't take too much effort.  Weapon limbs would be the easiest.  Wooden legs would be a little tricky (having them on the stance screen, etc.) but still do-able.

Exercise:  Right now any physical activity exercises attributes.  We'd just need to add actual exercises.  There should probably be some kind of physical fitness or exercise skill for each creature type, since you can learn more efficient exercises etc.

Swimming in Blood:  Actually, as soon as we add swimming this will already be coded.  All liquids, including the oceans and the blood spills, are stored the same way.  When there is only a little bit of liquid in a square, it treats it like a puddle.  Once the liquid amount hits a certain number, it is treated as a "knee-deep" pool etc. until it fills up the map square.  Later, when the liquid reaches the pool level, it will flow out to adjacent squares if it can.  Liquid flow is one of the hardest remaining obstacles in the code, but I can at least make a simple system.  Anyway, swimming in blood or water or vomit or anything else will be a given -- you'll just need to get enough of it in an enclosed space.

Scenarios:  I removed scenarios a while ago, but they might be needed again.  It is certainly better to test things in a controlled environment.

Yeah, you should be able to attack anything.  I'm not sure I want to implement all skilled actions that way.  There is definitely more skill involved in mining or chopping down trees than just attacking the walls or trees, so you might have to declare in some way whether or not you want to use any relevant skill.

Debug Menu:  I suppose I could keep the most useful keys.  I usually put things in very briefly to try and handle specific bugs and they never come up again, but there are some things that don't work that way.

Alanor might have the old 2D version.  I don't think I have one lying around on this computer (the new one).

Dragslay has a number of bugs that are making it very hard to repair and upload.  Probably the reason I stopped it in the first place...  I've still been trying to reconstruct it occasionally, but I'm also trying not to let it eat up too much of my time.

[Alanor]

i will see if i can find an old 2d version that you can run around in :-)