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Author Topic: The Historian  (Read 2186 times)

Kagus

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The Historian
« on: July 17, 2008, 05:50:52 pm »

Since I am already bogged down with far too many projects, I release this one as a challenge to you all.

With the current version, people have become much more interesting.  They fight in wars, they have children, they lose their children, they are captured by oppressors, and they flee from oppressors.  All this we know, for it is written down by the timeless scribe that is history itself.

But that all seems rather impersonal, now doesn't it?


I challenge you, people with nothing better to do...   I challenge you to start an adventurer, and travel from village to village in search of heroes hiding in the mists of time.  You will speak with descendants, relatives and friends of the figure, and through questioning you will decipher what they did in their lifetime.

The winner of this challenge is the person who 1) Uncovers the most complete background, 2) Finds the most interesting/important figure, and 3) Best relates the story of the historian's travels.


I'm not sure exactly how much information you can get from just talking to people and looking at engravings, but there must be something.

If it is impossible to get any idea about a person's actions without resorting to the legends screen, then nevermind this.

valcon

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2008, 06:14:08 pm »

Sorry, NYPA
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Still doing Let's Plays, still got a gold toof. 

Adventure Mode:  The Movie!

Kagus

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2008, 07:55:36 pm »

New York Power Association?  No Yearling Ponies Allowed?  Nerdish Youths Pretty Annoying?    I don't know that one.

valcon

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2008, 08:37:47 pm »

Oh hey Kagus, how you doing man?  Didn't realize this was your thread  :-X
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Adventure Mode:  The Movie!

notxmania

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2008, 08:58:01 pm »

"Not your personal army"

Originates from 4chan where users would frequently request that /b/ attack a specified target. The original poster would then be told that /b/ was not an army to be used at will.

What valcon means simply is, "Why should I do what you say?" Although he used the term incorrectly, seeing that the situation is anything but an "attack", and that It's rarely acronymous.
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Screw this I can't think of a sig and this will be an eternal reminder of my writer's block and frustration.

KoE

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2008, 10:16:13 pm »

This sounds like an interesting idea, but a bit tedious and a total crapshoot. I haven't looked extensively through generated histories, but most people seem to lop off a few limbs / kill a couple of groundhogs and that's the extent of their glory. Still, I guess there are some that move around and do great things, and that's the whole goal of this topic.

I've looked around at engravings (mind you, only in a goblin tower) and they don't seem to reflect any actual history. I wound up stabbing a priest and then murdering him with a live turtle before I finished the entire area, leading to the inevitable death by well-placed pointy projectile, but the observation stands. Despite all my reservations I'll probably try it out, if for no greater reason than to flex my own writing muscle. Probably in a small or smaller sized world, to avoid having to trek through too much unknown territory and having my would-be historian murdered by cavorting wildlife.
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Dasqoot

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2008, 12:50:58 am »

Seems like a lot has changed with how the legends screen works in these new versions too though. Engravings at human temples never relate to history (havent tried dwarf mode yet, but I'd be shocked if anything changed with how engravings there work).

The legends screen basically already tells you everything off-the-bat now, so there is nothing to search for in the world, the NPC just tells you what is already printed in legends from the get-go.
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Kagus

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2008, 12:57:27 am »

Yeah, but that takes all the fun out of it.  The whole point is to see just how much information you can get from talking to people in adventure mode, and seeing what kind of story you can string out from it.

And as for it being tedious and a total crapshoot...  Have I ever done anything else?   It's not worth doing unless it's time consuming and uncertain, that's my motto.

My unofficial motto, that is.


And thank you notxmania, for adding another netcronym to my repertoire.  I think I prefer some of my versions though.

Keiseth

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #8 on: July 18, 2008, 01:07:41 am »

Hmm... I might be up to this sometime. Any rules on mods? I use a custom mod that adds a race and a pet, for instance.
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Kagus

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #9 on: July 18, 2008, 01:16:18 am »

No.  If you can get an interesting story out of it, it could be a rabbit for all it matters.


Hmmm....  Conan the Barhareian.

Keiseth

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #10 on: July 18, 2008, 01:31:29 am »

CROM! Alright, I'll be trying this tomorrow. Say, what does it take to fully uncover a person's life in the Legends screen? I assume it's possible. If we talk to Urist Fishplanks and she won't tell us all of the details, but we have unlocked them in legends, we may as well peek in and see. We had to talk to her anyway to get that to appear.
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LASD

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #11 on: July 18, 2008, 03:07:52 am »

Say, what does it take to fully uncover a person's life in the Legends screen? I assume it's possible.
If it wasn't limited to talking, killing the person would be the best way, because brutally murdering people reveals their whole history in Legends.

If we talk to Urist Fishplanks and she won't tell us all of the details, but we have unlocked them in legends, we may as well peek in and see. We had to talk to her anyway to get that to appear.
Based on my experience, if you talk to someone to know something about him/her, Legends only lists the stuff you found out. Unless you're going to do something like make two copies (revealed and non-revealed) of the same world.

In fact, the second thing I did with the new version was turning off the reveal all history option. I tried to find interesting people by talking, but it really takes a very very long time, so I failed, but I shall try again! With a new world!
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slMagnvox

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #12 on: July 18, 2008, 03:45:30 am »

On the next episode of A&E DF Biography, Tuli Glovewhispered, seductress or victim?  Did Ravi Swampbottoms really kill her husband?  And find out how she was really involved in the loss of her son Ovu's left toe.

I told him it was cold out there
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umiman

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #13 on: July 18, 2008, 07:34:29 am »

It's not worth doing unless it's time consuming and uncertain, that's my motto.

*is summoned by the logical failure*

But you're not the one doing it!

*vanishes before the wily retorts come*

Kagus

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Re: The Historian
« Reply #14 on: July 18, 2008, 02:04:35 pm »

Dammit, somebody get the wolf spray.  Umiman's got a Fenris infestation.


And for the record, the only reason I'm not doing it is because I can't do it.  This was something I had set out for myself, and then realized that I couldn't fit it into the schedule.  So I'm turning it into an open challenge instead.

...As alluded to in the first line of the first post.
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