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Author Topic: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.  (Read 909 times)

antymattar

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Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« on: June 12, 2011, 02:03:42 pm »

So right now dwarves mine and Elves are pussies because nobody gives a flying **** why. I suggest that there be an entity tag that says that, for instance, this civilization will learn the secret of mining and living underground at some point in worldgen. Or stuff like, this civilization will learn the secret of building towns and fortresses.

thunktone

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2011, 02:30:13 pm »

It is a fair suggestion but I am opposed to it. Tolkinesque fantasy is based on these bizarre racial characteristics like dwarfs dig and drink, elves are slender yet still somehow able to fire more powerful longbows than muscular humans, goblins steal babies etc. I think it would change the nature of the game too much to procedurally generate these traits.
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Megaman_zx

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2011, 05:06:07 pm »

i don't think he wants them procedurally generated, or generate them from a list labeled human traits....maybe do that for each civilization not basing the gen on races as a whole, that way there might be a race of humans that farm... and another race which has fortresses, then if you make the trade little more realistic there could be a working economy.
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Moonshadow101

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2011, 11:19:34 pm »

Mining is a bit off... mining is hardly a secret that can be stolen. Elves live above ground because they prefer it, not because they don't know how to dig holes.

Certain other things, like the forging of steel, would be interesting secrets.
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FallingWhale

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #4 on: June 12, 2011, 11:49:23 pm »

Just gonna say it, make fewer threads.
Or plan them.

All the good ideas in your threads come from different people.
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antymattar

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2011, 01:26:58 am »

Just gonna say it, make fewer threads.
Or plan them.

All the good ideas in your threads come from different people.
ah....no. I make them all up.

Antsan

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2011, 06:10:04 pm »

Mining is a bit off... mining is hardly a secret that can be stolen. Elves live above ground because they prefer it, not because they don't know how to dig holes.
I think you underestimate the complexity of mining. Mining is far beyond just digging holes - safety measures are an integral part of mining as you cannot proceed without them beyond certain depth/materials. I am certainly no expert in that regard but I think mining is very well worthy of being considered a secret.
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loose nut

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #7 on: June 13, 2011, 08:06:38 pm »

Are you talking like a Civ-style tech tree ("Oh, snap! My dwarves have Banking and Representation!") or sort of like how it is now with the kinds of clothing civs have access to?

I like the idea of certain trade goods being limited to certain civilizations. Want oil paintings? Gotta talk to the humans who live by the coast.

I don't know that the history generation system is really long enough most of the time to support tech advances. It'd suck to have to gen 1500 years of history just to make sure your dwarves could make steel, for example.
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Vattic

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2011, 08:38:20 pm »

Has Toady not mentioned having to deal with things like knowledge and technology in the future? Similarly fighting styles / attacks will be learnt from other people like secrets.

Fake edit: I searched Toady's posts but found only one mention of the "knowledge system". I remember him saying a little more on the subject but I might not be searching for the right things.

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Will all the secrets be big, special things like raising the dead, or will there eventually be less large secrets, such as the secret of making a musical instrument or how to cook something special?
I'm not sure how the knowledge system will end up being extended or if secrets are the way the mundane things are going to go.
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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2011, 06:57:02 am »

As I understand, antymatter suggests it goes as such:

You gen a world. Within the world, civilizations are generated. Each of them gets certain secrets - i.e. elves learn how to be at peace with nature and how to harvest wood from trees without harming them, humans get some interesting weapon and armor technology (or something anyway), and dwarves know how to work steel and adamantine, as well as creating mechanisms and other fun things.

While history rolls onward to the end year you've chosen, civilizations interact, and will occasionally learn secrets from each other. This could result in Elves with crossbows, steel wielding humans, and dwarven civilizations that are friends to all animals and swing around greataxes.

If so, I approve greatly.

antymattar

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Re: Have civilization skills be secrets that can be learned.
« Reply #10 on: June 14, 2011, 07:14:45 am »

As I understand, antymatter suggests it goes as such:

You gen a world. Within the world, civilizations are generated. Each of them gets certain secrets - i.e. elves learn how to be at peace with nature and how to harvest wood from trees without harming them, humans get some interesting weapon and armor technology (or something anyway), and dwarves know how to work steel and adamantine, as well as creating mechanisms and other fun things.

While history rolls onward to the end year you've chosen, civilizations interact, and will occasionally learn secrets from each other. This could result in Elves with crossbows, steel wielding humans, and dwarven civilizations that are friends to all animals and swing around greataxes.

If so, I approve greatly.
Yes, that Is what I suggest. But not just that. I think that civillizations should also be able to unlock secrets that nobody has yet(Like finding a new plant/medicine/procedurally genned weapon/ cat. This applies mostly to technology but magic is out there on the horizon.)

Also, I was testing out all the UNIQUE secrets you could have with all the different spheres. I got all the way to 50 in just 5 spheres. Like the secrets of life and death are NOT just immortality and raising the dead. They can also be reincarnation, possessing someone and embodying someone(different that possessing because the soul is lost(Perhaps)). Also, talking to the tress man. :o