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[Lord Dullard]

Some thoughts on stats and derived stats insofar as I'm plotting them out thus far. There will be more derived statistics than this; these are just some of the most basic and important of the bunch.

PRIMARY STATS:
=====

Strength  --.
Endurance   |--- (Physical)
Agility      --'

Intelligence --.
Willpower       |--- (Mental)
Charisma     --'

DERIVED STATS:
============

Speed: 10 base + (AGI / 2) + (10 / size)

(Every 10 speed = 2 tiles/second)

The smaller the creature, the greater the speed bonus, obviously - but the difference between the speed of a 100 lb. creature and a 1000 lb. creature (at least, the difference caused by weight) is negligible. This is intended.

Defense: (END / 2) + (.5 * sqrt(size))

Defense = % damage absorption. Capped at 75% overall (this is, obviously, a LOT of damage absorption). Size-bonus caps at 25%, meaning a creature can only get to the 75% cap by being 2500+ lbs. and having 100+ END. Size bonus is meant to realistically reflect the fact that an ax-blow to something the size of a rabbit should cause much more damage than an ax-blow to something the size of a giraffe, regardless of the natural relative 'toughness' of both creatures (relative to its size, the giraffe is probably much flimsier, but size still makes a difference).

Armor Class (AC):

Damage deflection. Granted by both natural armor-giving morphological qualities and artificial means. NOT %-based. Deflects a random amount of damage in a range that is determined by summing up the minimum/maximum range numbers of all components that add to AC.

HP: (STR + END) + Size/4

Pretty straightforward. Bigger = more HP. This is different from damage absorption, which can be bypassed by, say, most kinds of magic, or by toxins, or a number of other means. Regardless of how tough it is, a creature the size of the Empire State Building should still take more work to bring down than a very hardy, thickly built rodent.

[Outcast Orange]

You should only start out with local common animals known, and possibly a few of the others heard of, but still unknown.

There should be a library structure you can visit in certain larger towns or even city exclusive places to learn all the knowledge of that location's animal populations, such as basic characteristics and relative danger of creatures, with the occasional oversight caused by some level of hysteria or misinterpretation.

I'd love to venture to a new place and get excited when I find out they have a library that will facilitate completing my Pokedex bestiary.

[Mephansteras]

Hmm. You'll need some way to lookup what creatures you know. Or have the game show you what you do know when you mouse-over a creature (or however you look at things).

Combination might be best.

And, of course, you want the game to add information as you discover creatures on your own. See that cow-thing breathe fire? Now you know they can do that!

[freeformschooler]

Oh I just noticed you lowered the resolution requirements. I love you for this.
Worldgen is pretty awesome, too. Keep on truckin'!

[Lord Dullard]

Currently working in mouse support just to get it done early.

[Lord Dullard]

Ooh... what does this button do?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Mouse support for menus is in, which means navigating the World Atlas can now be done completely by mouse (which is surprisingly convenient). I also coded up a multi-threading ButtonBox class that'll allow hover-over buttons to be used. They've been tossed into the WorldGen process. For some reason the mouse pointer won't show up in screencaps, but it shows up just fine in the actual console window, so you'll have to take my word for it that it's hovering over the highlighted button.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

The land of Uraur
Long ago, the world was populated by the ancien Imor.
However, the Imor empire fell during the great cataclysm now referred
to only as the 'Yeodo'.

this little story, was it procedurally generated? to what extent?

[Lord Dullard]

They all start out with simple little catastrophe-blurbs like that. They're not particularly procedural except for some slight variations in sentence structure/word use and the names that are generated.

Eventually the point of this will be to start each world out with some type of catastrophic backdrop that's been buried in history and can gradually be uncovered by the pro-/antagonist PC. I've been watching a lot of Hayao Miyazaki films lately and they've provided a great deal of inspiration both in terms of the kinds of worlds he imagined and the sorts of plots he tends to use. I'd like to emulate this to some degree in Cult; the PC can uncover aspects of some world-changing event that happened in the past (but these world-changing events should NOT be cookie-cutter and the different types and unique characteristics of generated events should be thought-provoking and perhaps even teasingly allegorical) and then decide what his/her role will in relation to those events. Will she uncover a buried artifact of destruction and use it for her own purposes? Will she attempt to prevent a similarly developing catastrophe? Or perhaps s/he will discover a link between the old world and the present that puts current global events in an entirely new light (things like this should be hidden from the player in the beginning of the game, obviously).

Of course, the player could also choose to entirely ignore meta-plot, which is perfectly fine. The game should be sandboxy enough for this to be an option.

Given that a large part of Cult's gameplay will revolve around religion and deities, intertwining these two elements also seems like a good probability to include (though it shouldn't be mandatory). Some worlds could use 'the decline of gods and the rise of <sentient species>' as their thematic backdrop, with the player ultimately making a choice between preserving the values of the old world or purging them forever and beginning a new era.

[Frajic]

I like the planning so far. As for various derived/base stats, I assume body/limb types will affect them?

Also, where have you learned the Python you know? Could you link me to various tutorials/resources?

[Lord Dullard]

I like the planning so far. As for various derived/base stats, I assume body/limb types will affect them?

Also, where have you learned the Python you know? Could you link me to various tutorials/resources?

Re: stats, yes. Morphology will affect stats, derived stats, skills, and in some cases, special abilities. They will also affect weight.

As for Python, it's a relatively easy language to learn if you have any knowledge of any other type of code at all. I'd be hard-pressed to remember exactly where I started. I did go through a fair bit of the 'Dive Into Python', which I recommend. At some point I just started coding small utilities, though, because I've found self-teaching in this manner is generally much quicker and will give you a better taste for how things work than reading guides.

[Frajic]

I've just had a hard time finding new material. I can't master python if I don't know what to master. But Dive Into Python seems to have lots of juicy info :)

[squeakyReaper]

Blacken of #bay12prog linked me to this.  Seems nice so far.

[Frajic]

Been there, done that. I've learned what that book has/had to teach(string formatting, command prompt usage, and the fact that gedit is <3 are the only things I can remember learning). I've learned the basics(all main data types/object types(AFAIK anyway)), and was mostly wondering "Welp, where do I go now?". Sure, Dive Into Python is basic too, but it has all of the basics. Lots of stuff I've missed.
But enough of my escapades.

[Lord Dullard]

Coder's block.

From code:

        # Morphological Characteristics (Shape of Limb/Body Part)

        # [Predations, Biomes, Exclusions, Stat Mods, Descriptive Synonyms, % Weight Mod]
        # Exclusions = Other morph. characteristics which should not be shared with this one. Ex. long & short
        # grade_off = Excludes intensity gradient AND variable stat changes. Changes must be static!

        limbdict = {}
        limbdict['long'] = ['*','*',['short'],[('SPD',2),('AGI',1),('STR',-1),('DEF',-2)],['long','lengthy','protracted'],0]
        limbdict['short'] = ['*','*',['long'],[('DEF',2),('STR',1),('AGI',-1),('SPD',-2)],['short','stubby','stumpy'],-5]
        limbdict['thick'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe'],[('END',2),('DEF',1),('SPD',-1),('AGI',-2)],['thick','heavy','dense','solid'],5]
        limbdict['thin'] = ['*','*',['thick','bulky'],[('AGI',2),('SPD',1),('DEF',-1),('END',-2)],['thin','light','flimsy','reedy'],-10]
        limbdict['many-jointed'] = ['*','*',['grade_off','stumpy'],[('AGI',8),('END',-4),('SPD',-4)],['multi-jointed','several-jointed','many-jointed'],0]
        limbdict['muscular'] = ['*','*',['lithe'],[('STR',2),('DEF',1),('AGI',-1),('END',-2)],['brawny','muscular','burly'],5]
        limbdict['lithe'] = ['*','*',['thick','bulky'],[('SPD',3),('STR',-2),('DEF',-1)],['sinewy','lithe','supple'],-5]
        limbdict['bulky'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe'],[('STR',3),('END',-2),('AGI',-1)],['bulky','massive','hefty','immense'],15]
        limbdict['stumpy'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe','many-jointed','grade_off'],[('DEF',10),('STR',6),('AGI',-10),('SPD',-6)],['stumpy','stocky','stout'],5]       

        tentdict = {}
        tentdict['long'] = ['*','*',['short'],[('SPD',2),('AGI',1),('STR',-1),('DEF',-2)],['long','lengthy','protracted'],0]
        tentdict['short'] = ['*','*',['long'],[('DEF',2),('STR',1),('AGI',-1),('SPD',-2)],['short','stubby','stumpy'],-5]
        tentdict['thick'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe'],[('END',2),('DEF',1),('SPD',-1),('AGI',-2)],['thick','heavy','dense','solid'],5]
        tentdict['thin'] = ['*','*',['thick','bulky'],[('AGI',2),('SPD',1),('DEF',-1),('END',-2)],['thin','light','flimsy','reedy'],-10]
        tentdict['muscular'] = ['*','*',['lithe'],[('STR',2),('DEF',1),('AGI',-1),('END',-2)],['brawny','muscular','burly'],5]
        tentdict['lithe'] = ['*','*',['thick','bulky','muscular'],[('SPD',3),('STR',-2),('DEF',-1)],['sinewy','lithe','supple'],-5]
        tentdict['bulky'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe'],[('STR',3),('END',-2),('AGI',-1)],['bulky','massive','hefty','immense'],15]
        tentdict['stumpy'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe','grade_off'],[('DEF',3),('STR',2),('AGI',-3),('SPD',-2)],['stumpy','stocky','stout'],5]
        tentdict['sucker-covered'] = ['*','*',['grade_off'],[('AGI',8),('SPD',-4)],['sucker-covered']]

        digitdict = {}
        digitdict['long'] = ['*','*',['short'],[('AGI',3),('STR',-1),('DEF',-2)],['long','lengthy','protracted'],0]
        digitdict['short'] = ['*','*',['long'],[('DEF',2),('STR',1),('AGI',-1),('ATK',-2)],['short','stubby','stumpy'],-1]
        digitdict['thick'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe'],[('END',2),('DEF',1),('ATK',-1),('AGI',-2)],['thick','heavy','dense','solid'],1]
        digitdict['thin'] = ['*','*',['thick','bulky'],[('AGI',3),('DEF',-1),('END',-2)],['thin','light','flimsy','reedy'],-1]
        digitdict['many-jointed'] = ['*','*',['grade_off','stumpy'],[('AGI',8),('END',-4),('DEF',-4)],['multi-jointed','several-jointed','many-jointed'],0]
        digitdict['muscular'] = ['*','*',['lithe','bony'],[('STR',2),('DEF',1),('AGI',-1),('END',-2)],['brawny','muscular','burly'],1]
        digitdict['lithe'] = ['*','*',['thick','bulky','muscular','bony'],[('AGI',3),('STR',-2),('DEF',-1)],['sinewy','lithe','supple'],-1]
        digitdict['bulky'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe'],[('STR',3),('END',-2),('AGI',-1)],['bulky','massive','hefty','immense'],2]
        digitdict['stumpy'] = ['*','*',['thin','lithe','many-jointed','grade_off'],[('DEF',10),('STR',6),('AGI',-10),('ATK',-6)],['stumpy','stocky','stout'],1]
        digitdict['clawed'] = ['*',['Terrestrial','Subterranean','Amphibian'],['grade_off'],[('ATK',10),('AGI',-2)],['clawed','spurred'],1]
        digitdict['taloned'] = ['*',['Aerial'],['grade_off'],[('ATK',10),('AGI',-2)],['taloned'],1]
        digitdict['bony'] = ['*','*',['muscular','lithe'],[('END',2),('STR',-2)],['bony','gaunt','skeletal'],-1]

        hoofdict = {}
        hoofdict['long'] = ['*','*',['short'],[('AGI',3),('STR',-1),('DEF',-2)],['long','lengthy','protracted'],1]
        hoofdict['short'] = ['*','*',['long'],[('DEF',2),('STR',1),('AGI',-1),('ATK',-2)],['short','stubby','stumpy'],-2]
        hoofdict['thick'] = ['*','*',['thin'],[('END',2),('DEF',1),('ATK',-1),('AGI',-2)],['thick','heavy','dense','solid'],2]
        hoofdict['thin'] = ['*','*',['thick'],[('AGI',3),('DEF',-1),('END',-2)],['thin','light','flimsy','reedy'],-2]
        hoofdict['stumpy'] = ['*','*',['thin','grade_off'],[('DEF',10),('STR',6),('AGI',-10),('ATK',-6)],['stumpy','stocky','stout'],2]
        hoofdict['cloven'] = ['*','*',['single-toed','grade_off'],[('SPD',10)],['cloven','two-toed'],0]
        hoofdict['single-toed'] = ['*','*',['cloven','grade_off'],[('SPD',6)],['single-toed','three-toed','five-toed'],0]

Format of the entries follows the commented-out reference guide at the top. The entries that contain 'no_grade' are not given an intensity multiplier. Both the weight modifier and the stat modifiers are by percentage.

Asterisks in place of acceptable predation/sphere lists will be parsed as 'this morphological quality is a general trait available to any predation/biome'.

Anyhow, I am rather bogged down in this section. Mostly with trying to come up with more traits/morphological variety. This, obviously, is just a small slice of what's needed. Add on to that the fact that there are a lot of exotic and/or predation- or biome-specific features or traits, and the amount of content needed is a bit daunting. Nothing to do for it but to keep plodding on, I suppose.

[Acanthus117]

Dullard, you deserve a fucking medal.