At this point, im content to sit back and wait for the new version to arrive. Suggestions are all well and good, but the mechanics of the game are changing and stepping into the unknown.
There is one thing i was thinking of though. The world generation deals with different "ages", there is the golden age and the age of myth and whatnot. That gave be an idea, what if we could set the game to take place in different periods of time?
The age of creation:
In the beginning, the different races that populate the world are young. The concept of technology is unknown and the thinkers of every culture are only just starting to delve into the worlds secrets. At this point, dwarves might not even live in caves!
Such a colony would be very interesting, you are shaping your people from the ground up, there is no greater society at your back. Tools and supplies would be composed what you can find and what you can carry on your back.
Instead of a party of 7 adventurers set to dig out a kingdom, you have a group of people looking to make a home. The group could be composed of any combination of age and gender. Livestock and pets would be composed of only what you can tame, or trap.
The land and its resources are completetly "virgin". There are no ruins, no forgotten tombs, just untamed wilderness as far as the mind can imagine.
The age of war:
Eventually, every civilization or species reaches a point where the total size of the population no longer matters. In essence, you have ensured the continual survival of your species... for now. The focus shifts towards improving and maintaining the quality of life for the existing population.
What does that mean? Expansion. When dwarves start claiming more and more ground they will invariably come across another culture that is willing to fight for what it has.
Imagine living in such a time. Most of the technology would be focused on war. Armaments like crossbows and the like would be invented out of necessity.
The roots of feuds and traditions would be planted in this age. Everything done would affect the future world. Attack a lot of elf settlements? The elves will hate dwarves for thousands of years. Defend elf settlements? The elves become buddies for thousands of years. And of course... you can annihilate the elves now and not have to deal with tree quotas, the choice is up to you!
Games set in this period of time would focus solely on survival. You need more, but you also have to defend what you have.
The golden age:
Eventually in any conflict, both sides will come to realize what a bad idea the whole thing was in the first place. Or there may simply be only one side left. Regardless, the major wars are over. Because people no longer have to sleep with sword in hand, they can focus on other pursuits, things like art.
This is where the "real" golden age happens. Empires rise from the dirt. Great inventors construct the wonders of the age. The races of the world spread out and live in relative peace.
A game set in this period would be focused on expansion. You CAN war with other nations, but only if you start a conflict, or have one forced upon you. In the meantime, you are still stepping into the unknown, your culture has a name, but not a collective identity.
The age of strife (or the dark ages, whatever):
Nothing lasts forever, the golden age would eventually end, and everything would come crashing down. Just look at rome during its height, and then the aftermath.
A game set juring this time could take many forms. You could be escaping the chaos, or being a part of it. War would be everywhere, knowledge is lost because the records have burned and the minds that once held it are now dead.
Which brings us to....
The age of myth:
THIS is where the current game takes place. You have a world, filled with people and dotted with ruins and forgotten treasures of ages past. Much has been forgotted and waits to be rediscovered.
The world begins anew.
The ages of legend:
The ages of legend are not actual epochs, rather they happen between. The events of the ages are best described as "shit happens". Empires could rise and be erased in the span of a few years. Heroes made and forgotted. Artifacts constructed and lost.
Games would not be set in this time. It is the baseline, "random factor" that must be present. In part, this represents the entrophy of time. It also allows the game to put forth a "living world". The most important factor is that it prevents metagaming, or playing the game with knowledge that you should not have.
Say for example, in the age of war, you create 10 swords that can cut through a tree without stopping, and bury them in secret tombs. All well and good, but it would be too easy if you could just remember where they are on the map and dig them up. So a bunch of things would happen to those 10 swords:
1. The tombs they are in are discovered and looted, others are destroyed or forgotten.
2. Swords end up in the hand of mighty champions and are handed down and wielded to the present day.
3. Swords are lost in remote places, such as dropped into a chasm, waiting to be found.
4. Swords are broken, in combat or otherwise, and the pieces scattered or stored and again forgotten.
Because of this random factor, you now have a much broader list of things to do. You can still dig up that uber sword, but can you find the tomb? Perhaps the land has changed. The X on the ancient treasure map could have been moved. Maybe the location of the original tomb was just a decoy! You could arrive in the tomb and find evidence of thieves, and track them.
The possibilities are only limited to what you have the patience to program.
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The beauty of this is that you can visit and play each age in sequence and watch the game develop by your hand.
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Topic: The age of myth (Read 1130 times)