I have just returned from a 3 days trip in Ferrara,in Northern italy..i also visited Saint Marine...just before the trip started i wrote a file with ideas for the editor and variuous other things...remember i wrote it BEFORE i read your ideas on "The second labour"..
Here's the file:
I think that these editors should have:
Possibility of an INFINITE number of stock species and materials...
infinite stock species = infinite empires..the only obstacle
to infinite species is the size of the world map...
We should have something like a "species/materials list"for each
universe and then then possibility to export/import species and
materials in them.This way we must not change the specis file with
another file if we have a lot of cool species/materials we got from
other players...we could just make a big file with all the cool
races/materials we like!
Possibility of defining the attributes of the "species"materials
like skin,muscle,bone,tissues...So we can create humans
with skin as hard as stone...These attributes should be decided
in the species editor,not im the material editor,because the material
editor is supposed to be for non-species materials.
By the way,you should also be able to import normal materials
in the species editor...so instead of human with skin HARD AS
steel you can have humans with skin MADE OF steel.
Also we could import "motif materials"in the species editor...
just in case you want to take "standard"mammal skin/bone
and modify it for your species...
A list of the things we should be able to decide in the species
editor:
Type:Is the species composed of castes,of sexes or of beings?
Or maybe it is unliving(see below)
Motif:Connected to the motif editor.
Average Attributes:Without limits!We should be able to have
Species with an average Strenght of 500
Average Weight
Average Height
Body Parts
Materials of the body parts:Connected to the Item and Motif Editor
AND INCLUDING BODY.
Growths:by the way the different teeths could cause different
damages...a wolf teeths are surely sharper than a man teeths!
Also the same thing for claws...
Humans don't have real "claws",we call them nails...
Also some things that could be added just for the motif and species
editor:
"Regeneration":What about a sort of "standard regeneration rate".
Just a % number that describes how fast wound heals.Of course
normal humans would have 100%.This does not allow to regenerate
limbs of course...it's only something describing the creature
metabolism...thinking to it...maybe we could replace the
"Regeneration" variable with a "Metabolism"variable...it would
also affect eating and drinking...Trolls would be ***VERY*** hard
to kill,but they would need to EAT A LOT...which is not a very big
problem,since they can eat raw flesh :-)
"Unliving":If we want to create VERY strange stock species,
we could add an "Unliving"flag.This DOES NOT mean undeath!
It's just a flag that we should put to have a "Construct"motif.
It means:
no possibility to get inconscious
no stamina
no wound regeneration
no sleeping
no growths/organs
no bleeding,but this could also be put without this
flag.
This way we would be able to test things like golems
...I mean...I don't think it's too hard to have....
We just have a "Costruct"motif that is set to "Unliving".
Then they have an humanoid(maybe also quadraped?) form and we edit
them normally...
They are "just"without bone,skin,blood,veins,artoas,brain,and other
organs and growths..They also have all mental attributes to 0.
Or maybe instead of blood they have some strange fluid or
molten metal...
Their "flesh"is supposed to be a metallic material.
When they get hit,little chunks of metal could fall on the
ground...
But there is a problem with attributes
They have no mental attributes,and this is right....
Dexterity is as for normal creatures...And Strenght?Well they have no
muscles!Maybe it just depends on the metal or the power of the magic
animating it...And Constitution?They have no "flesh" to speak of...
only a metal body...
I know it's irrealistic to be able to control mindless creatures.
You ALTREADY said it...but it would be funny!
And also a test for using weapon materials for species...
and i think it's easy to add :-)
Also think to this...in the Future/Mental section you can read this:
"Quest: Gain a null attribute (like the scare crow or the tin man
from the Wizard of Oz)"
Well you could also give a null attribute to others...
Think to a golem with a brain!You could play a mage who gives to his
most powerful golem a brain...maybe the brain he got from the dead
body of an ancient hero!
A golem character could have,in VERY short terms,a storyline like
this:
"In the Year 1231 you were forged and enchanted by [put-a-name-here],
a mighty mage.A few years later,he gave you a mind of your own.
Later on,you lost/killed [put-name-of-the-mage-here]
PowerPlaying and cheating:If you want to test having a super-heroic
character...Put Survivor Mode on,get in the midst of Norway Rats and
get attacked a lot of times,until the rats are tired.Then sleep.
Do this a lot of times.
This way you can get your Guarding skill up to something like 700-800...
After you remove the Survivor Mode and you can go killing Titans
and Behemoth Slaughter Beasts,without too much problems...
Personally i aim for the sense centers,hit BSB in the legs,they
fall to the ground and THEN i behead them!
Also you can save-cheat..but if you copy the save file of a character,
die and use the copy to restore the character to live,there will be
some errors in the game like items that change...
I had 2 long swords...after being killed and using the copy
of the save file...well..one of the long sword had become a
SHORT SWORD and the other..well..it had become...THE TONGUE
OF A NORWAY RAT!
By the way...i know savecheating is bad(and buggy)...but it's funny,
for me...
For Spelguru:You like big posts,like?Hope you liked reading
this.
For Alanor:When will we be able to download your nice space game?My
favorite game is Slaves to Armok but since i can't play Slaves
to Armok 10 hours a day,i think i will play your game also!
[ May 12, 2002: Message edited by: Zonk ]