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[agertor]

I wasn't saying you would make the city, people would just sort of gather and make houses, wagons, trade stalls, going through a progress, you may come back to see a couple more stalls because your army is large enough they trade food or whatever, then a few may decide to live there over time, slowly starting a village or what not. Not building it yourself.

[Dutchling]

Yes, but if you don't do any of the building there should be someone who does and reports to you / gives you taxes to pay for protection.
At the beginning the city should indeed 'spontaneously' be build but if it grows it should elect a leader to handle more complicated stuff.

Perhaps investing in a city could be possible? Like you loot some place and give the mayor part of the gold so he builds a smithy or something you can then use.

edit: I keep forgetting this is a 'strategy roguelike'. I'm hoping for things which are probably not even intended to be implemented :P.

[Delta Foxtrot]

Considering the first Alpha isn't even out yet it's to be expected that people's imaginations take a wild turn here and there. At least my mind tends to get more focused once I have a tangible framework to look at.

[Nighthawk]

Saw a mention of arrows flying, and I want to ask something - if you're controlling an archer, will there be an option to make an arced shot or straight shot? Because in huge armies, you're going to have to be able to shoot arrows upward somewhat, unless you want to hit your buddies.

[Rowanas]

Saw a mention of arrows flying, and I want to ask something - if you're controlling an archer, will there be an option to make an arced shot or straight shot? Because in huge armies, you're going to have to be able to shoot arrows upward somewhat, unless you want to hit your buddies.

*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk* It was only after the first three spearmen fell that I remembered to point -up- a little.

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

This is amazing, can you just show us a video about battles?
How will it be like?
Will there be arrows getting shot from both sides?
Will you hear war cries?
Can you make your own civilization?

So many questions!

In order: I'm afraid not, at least not yet; probably in a few months I might release a video with a battle on a decent scale, but that's not realistic at the moment. Hopefully epic! Yes! Probably. No, not at the moment, though I'd like you, if you rise up far enough, to be able to strongly influence a civilization's direction, traits, etc.

While we can make camps and stuff like that, if we stay long enough and are prosperous enough, could we attract merchants and therefore eventually peasants that would start a town eventually. Probably asking too much but that would be awesome.

That sounds awesome.  How would one go about making a city, anyway?  I'd like to go Alexander the Great on the world, destroying nations, and building cities as a testament to my narcissism.

Making cities out of camps? That would be awesome! However, I wouldn't want to be too involved with the development of a city. This is not a city-building game after all.

I wasn't saying you would make the city, people would just sort of gather and make houses, wagons, trade stalls, going through a progress, you may come back to see a couple more stalls because your army is large enough they trade food or whatever, then a few may decide to live there over time, slowly starting a village or what not. Not building it yourself.

Yes, but if you don't do any of the building there should be someone who does and reports to you / gives you taxes to pay for protection.
At the beginning the city should indeed 'spontaneously' be build but if it grows it should elect a leader to handle more complicated stuff.

Perhaps investing in a city could be possible? Like you loot some place and give the mayor part of the gold so he builds a smithy or something you can then use.

edit: I keep forgetting this is a 'strategy roguelike'. I'm hoping for things which are probably not even intended to be implemented .

I'm not sure how camp/town/city creation is going to work. I have a model for it in the generated histories, but in-game, I'm not sure. This also ties in whether you'll be able to have your character 'wait' for a historical period for things to happen; I'm not sure about that, either. I strongly suspect you will, if you are leading an empire or in a comparable rule of power, be able to 'initiate' a city, which will incrementally grow over time. Fast-travelling on the world map uses up significant numbers of turns, so basic wooden/stone settlements should be able to grow quickly, and I'd think the more you commit to the city, the faster it will grow. Just as you can hit '.' to increment a turn without moving, I'll likely put the same in at world map level, so you can increment 200/500/1000 turns or something at once (but it would 'pull you out' of that if something important happened in the process, and I'd need to be very careful people can't just use it to get themselves out of a tricky situation, etc). Caravans/camps, though, are very different, and should be implemented a lot sooner, since I see them as being a vital part of supply lines, etc.

Yeah, that would make the game too frickin complicated.  You could start a city, maybe run aspects of it, but to go on the warpath and do other stuff, you leave the city in the hands of...anyone you want really.  Like setting up governors.

As this is not a sim city game, I assume there will be some degree of feudalism. How much effort are you going to put into feudal relations? Can we expect barons under dukes under kings etc. or just one king and dozens of mayors?

Each society is going to have a different form of political/social organism, but yes, humans are (predominantly) going to be feudal, though I intend to add some variation. For instance, Dwarves are going to be technocracies; Orcs will be kratocracies; etc. Humans are predominantly monarchic, and predominantly feudal. Governors/mayors, yes, I expect something like this will happen; and if they (or you!) gain a lot of power in that position, they/you should be able to attempt to secede, or start a civil war, or whatever. Empire management is something I have quite a few ideas for...

Considering the first Alpha isn't even out yet it's to be expected that people's imaginations take a wild turn here and there. At least my mind tends to get more focused once I have a tangible framework to look at.

That's what I'm hoping (at least in terms of UI/wandering-around-the-world) the first alpha will do

EDIT: Shit, wait, I meant to say something useful as well. Uh.. oh yeah... this was an idea I had after reading about blood effects, but would it be possible to quaff the relevant juices of our foes/plants/etc, for various awesome effects. I'm thinking less of healing potions than hallucinogenic and potentially magically-reality-altering enhancers.

Yeeees, but for very, very few kinds of blood. There are no 'healing potions', I've decided (shock horror!); you'll have to bandage/whatever wounds and similar. A few kinds of blood will effects, though, but those might be randomised each game, too .

Saw a mention of arrows flying, and I want to ask something - if you're controlling an archer, will there be an option to make an arced shot or straight shot? Because in huge armies, you're going to have to be able to shoot arrows upward somewhat, unless you want to hit your buddies.

*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk* It was only after the first three spearmen fell that I remembered to point -up- a little.

Currently, the idea is that you get a crosshair for using a bow; land it on a creature; and fire, and the more skilled you are, the better you are at calculating the arc. However, programming in trajectory arcs is proving interesting, which is why, sadly, there are no bows/arrows in 0.0.1, but there will be 0.0.2! Lastly, check out those square brackets http://www.ultimaratioregum.co.uk/game/development-plan-2/! Things are getting done! Today I plan work on dragons, wolves and general creature mechanics (like leg damage slowing/stopping your movement) so those should, in part, get bracketed today, hopefully...

[Some1fromMKD]

Since there is talk about cities being built, what about being destroyed/burned/whatever? Will there be weapons of mass destruction? Maybe not nuclear bombs or anything, but cannons/gunpowder/explosive barrels or something. Maybe different civilizations are on a different technological development level. Something like one civilization using muskets and cannons, and another using swords and axes. We all know the Chinese had gunpowder and fireworks much before it reached Europe in the medieval era.

[Dutchling]

Personally I'm against firearms in medieval games but I am of course not the dev.  You don't need firearms to completely destroy a city anyway, look at what the Romans did to Carthage.

[Some1fromMKD]

Also how will languages work? Will it be all gibberish when you speak to someone if you don't know their language, or will you not be able to speak to them at all? Or understanding some words depending on how good you are with their language (example: XXX XXXXXX XXXX giant XXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX settlement).

Edit:Can you actually make money translating intercepted messages in times of war if you're a linguist or something?

[Rowanas]

Hmm. Oh wise and mighty dev, you say "very few", but may I suggest instead - "all of them"?

Perhaps it'd raise the rate of "accidentally drank the wrong thing and now I'm rerolling my character", but I'd like to see the quaffing of many, many things, most of which will be useless and icky.


Also, a lot of the time, rulers have sent off conquerors with the promise that anything they can conquer in the name of the king, they get to keep. I think it'd be appropriate to be able to establish settlements earlier than "absolute ruler" status. Cortez and his (arguably) less successful cousin both raised several towns and forts in their conquest.

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

Since there is talk about cities being built, what about being destroyed/burned/whatever? Will there be weapons of mass destruction? Maybe not nuclear bombs or anything, but cannons/gunpowder/explosive barrels or something. Maybe different civilizations are on a different technological development level. Something like one civilization using muskets and cannons, and another using swords and axes. We all know the Chinese had gunpowder and fireworks much before it reached Europe in the medieval era.

Personally I'm against firearms in medieval games but I am of course not the dev.  You don't need firearms to completely destroy a city anyway, look at what the Romans did to Carthage.

I'm not yet sure how technology and technological level is going to work. I think there will be explosives, but they will be few and far between, and will likely be used to destroy walls and undermine etc, rather than in firearms. Firearms are definitely not going to exist (though, POSSIBLY, very very basic ones might - not sure). I don't like the idea of the achronological settings much 'fantasy' has, and since I'm trying to make the game explicitly not high fantasy, but rather medieval/mythology (see: removal of Elves/Dwarves, though the latter may get in as a species to recruit, Norse-dwarf-style), I might allow the development of technology. That's still in the very early stages, though.

Also how will languages work? Will it be all gibberish when you speak to someone if you don't know their language, or will you not be able to speak to them at all? Or understanding some words depending on how good you are with their language (example: XXX XXXXXX XXXX giant XXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX settlement).

Edit:Can you actually make money translating intercepted messages in times of war if you're a linguist or something?

It will probably be like that, yes - when you talk to someone, a random selection of their words will be understood, and that selection will always stay the same when you talk to them (so you can't just endlessly talk to them and figure out what they say!). The greater your grasp of the language, the more you understand. Re: edit: interesting idea. I like it. Consider it in.

Hmm. Oh wise and mighty dev, you say "very few", but may I suggest instead - "all of them"?

Perhaps it'd raise the rate of "accidentally drank the wrong thing and now I'm rerolling my character", but I'd like to see the quaffing of many, many things, most of which will be useless and icky.

Also, a lot of the time, rulers have sent off conquerors with the promise that anything they can conquer in the name of the king, they get to keep. I think it'd be appropriate to be able to establish settlements earlier than "absolute ruler" status. Cortez and his (arguably) less successful cousin both raised several towns and forts in their conquest.

They will all be drinkable, but very, very few are actually going to have effects, and I have to admit I'm pretty set on that . There will be a set few effects - hallucinogenic, for instance - and each effect will be randomly assigned to the blood of a particular species each game. Drinking blood will give you the same minimal sustenance it would anyway, and I think quite a few kinds of blood will be poisonous/unhealthy, but I'm not going after that many 'effects'.

However, I really like the keeping-in-the-name-of-the-king idea. Could make for a nice middle-ground for empires to deploy. Consider it done!

Lastly, font sizes, customizing, the options menu, and even implied support for Dvorak. What more could you want?
http://www.ultimaratioregum.co.uk/game/2012/05/22/technicalities/

[Rowanas]

Since there is talk about cities being built, what about being destroyed/burned/whatever? Will there be weapons of mass destruction? Maybe not nuclear bombs or anything, but cannons/gunpowder/explosive barrels or something. Maybe different civilizations are on a different technological development level. Something like one civilization using muskets and cannons, and another using swords and axes. We all know the Chinese had gunpowder and fireworks much before it reached Europe in the medieval era.

Personally I'm against firearms in medieval games but I am of course not the dev.  You don't need firearms to completely destroy a city anyway, look at what the Romans did to Carthage.

I'm not yet sure how technology and technological level is going to work. I think there will be explosives, but they will be few and far between, and will likely be used to destroy walls and undermine etc, rather than in firearms. Firearms are definitely not going to exist (though, POSSIBLY, very very basic ones might - not sure). I don't like the idea of the achronological settings much 'fantasy' has, and since I'm trying to make the game explicitly not high fantasy, but rather medieval/mythology (see: removal of Elves/Dwarves, though the latter may get in as a species to recruit, Norse-dwarf-style), I might allow the development of technology. That's still in the very early stages, though.

Also how will languages work? Will it be all gibberish when you speak to someone if you don't know their language, or will you not be able to speak to them at all? Or understanding some words depending on how good you are with their language (example: XXX XXXXXX XXXX giant XXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX settlement).

Edit:Can you actually make money translating intercepted messages in times of war if you're a linguist or something?

It will probably be like that, yes - when you talk to someone, a random selection of their words will be understood, and that selection will always stay the same when you talk to them (so you can't just endlessly talk to them and figure out what they say!). The greater your grasp of the language, the more you understand. Re: edit: interesting idea. I like it. Consider it in.

Niiice. It's the little things that make itinerant characters possible that really add value to a game. I fully intend to start a war by purposefully mis-translating things.

I'm not yet sure how technology and technological level is going to work. I think there will be explosives, but they will be few and far between, and will likely be used to destroy walls and undermine etc, rather than in firearms. Firearms are definitely not going to exist (though, POSSIBLY, very very basic ones might - not sure). I don't like the idea of the achronological settings much 'fantasy' has, and since I'm trying to make the game explicitly not high fantasy, but rather medieval/mythology (see: removal of Elves/Dwarves, though the latter may get in as a species to recruit, Norse-dwarf-style), I might allow the development of technology. That's still in the very early stages, though.

Ever read The History of the Runestaff, by Michael Moorcock? It's all pretty low fantasy (if you ignore the eponymous object), but the elite soldiers of the "good guys" have swords and fire lances (super-early spear-mounted guns/flamethrowers) . Everyone else is still going at it with swords, though. I'd recommend giving that a read. There's only about 100 years between the development of the fire lance and the cannon, and it sits firmly in the 1200s.

[Dutchling]

A little while ago I posted something in the 'games you wish existed thread' about a medieval game where all information had to be collected personally or by one of your subordinates (unless they are common knowledge). Someone posted the following and I just thought that some of it might be something I'd like to see in your game.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Lol, do you know how ridiculously boring that would be? In the real world, there were diplomatic missions every few years. In the meantime, you just sit at your throne and do fuck all except take money from your serfs. I don't think it's a very good idea due to the enormous delay time for finding out what's happening abroad, and not to mention the very high financial cost of finding out almost any information about what's happening away from your lands (or indeed, in your own lands if you control a large area).

You know how Populous[1] did the whole "God Game" thing by representing the world you're working on as being on a table, with a book in the background giving you the bigger atlas, etc...

...Then how about an interface which is much like a Patrician's desk, with all the papers and such needed for managing one's domain being there on the desk, and when your attention is drawn to a so-far unrepresented area (or periodically, as the clerks who work for you bring in updated information, everything from bits of news to updated geopolitical maps) a new bit of parchment is put into the pile with the relevant information.

There'd be time-delays in gathering this information, although one thing you might do at your desk is to write edicts to set up a better courier route to a given city, or development of everything from pigeon-post to whatever your top tech-level of communications might be.  There'd also be the possibility of errors (or downright misinformation) creeping into this situation is another hurdle to cross.

In fact, you'd be best advised to orchestrate the creation of a covert backchannel or two to augment the official diplomatic communications...  Not that you'd necessarily be able to fully trust these, either, of course...  And orders to the field may also be intercepted and/or changed by your enemies, or misinterpreted/ignored by the actual intended recipients (or 'trusted' intermediaries) in either wilful disobedience or through sheer incompetence.  The tendencies towards which you might well be able to have detected if you ask the right questions or compare the right documents, or even just take notice of the right reports.

So, after all that, there's nothing like trying to put down a rebellion in a distant city with a force of arms that is actually nowhere near the city, or still responding to previous orders, or has been the main reason behind the rebellion in some way or other.


In other words, it'd all be part of the game...  Not that you couldn't (in a suitably time-compressed manner) go on a "Royal Progress", or similar expedition based upon your exact relationship with the territory you control (changing the relative temporal and information separations between oneself and various parts of your empire, in the process), and I could even imagine discarding/covering the glittery (or at least well-groomed) garb of your daily 'rulership', donning a nondescript cloak and sneaking out to mingle with the masses outside of your current citadel, so as to get a bit of 'word on the street' first hand...  With or without a discreet (or otherwise) bodyguard or any way of convincingly throwing off the cowl to reveal your full grandeur and (hopefully!) preventing some wrong being committed against yourself or another...  In the latter case, to reward a loyal subject or noble-acting street-urchin and/or invite them to join your retinue or family, or to be impressed/cowed enough to convince them to become an agent for your wishes (keep their ears to the grounds, set their eyes to the horizon, use their voice to convey your own message more strongly, set their hands towards 'your good/evil works', whatever...).


Oh, the possibilities...

Oh, the coding!!!


(I could see it being a bit populous, a bit war-strategy, but some parts like Thief or of a similar ilk...  And it could be based around just about any genre from Iron Age to Space Age...)

[1] Well, maybe you don't, if you're a young'un.  But take my word for it.  Or I'm sure you can find some sort of screenshots of it without too much searching.  Please don't let me allow the bit of your brain containing your Google-Fu skills become vestigial and withered through inactivity.

So my question is, how close will is the above post to the ideal completed version of your game?
This is with the player being the leader of a primarily political power, although leading an army would still be an option (you can send your subordinates to lead an army while you stay at home right?).

Note that the quoted post has nothing to do with your game or any roguelike/ASCII game at all.

[agertor]

One thing, capture balls, magical capture balls, gotta catch them all. No no, just kidding.


But hey, asking about destruction, personally, I'd like to be able to throw people, if I throw them hard enough, through windows, and maybe even wooden houses, and if I were to throw them off a cliff, maybe break a tree or the roof of a straw hut below. Maybe I'm asking a bit much, but I'd like to see a little destructibility, even if its small if we were to do crazy things like jump off a cliff and plummet into a house below, or throwing people into it, or the simple throwing a stone through someone's window cause we really just don't like them.

Again because of this, a bit of assassin's creed goes a bit of a way I suppose, I'm not saying we need the hidden blades and gadgets, but it would be nice, if people checked you for weapons if you went into a place like a castle. Unless you have rights of a nobleman or otherwise, I would want to make it so people can not just waltz up to the king and stab him. The guards and the king himself would provide a challenge to your unarmored, nonweaponised body. However also give a bit of sneaking, so maybe, just maybe you can sneak a vial of poison, or a dagger, or something small in for such situations.

Also, again personal request, I would like to be able to cuddle things mid-fight. Yes I want to cuddle a bleeding lion, leave me alone!

[Some1fromMKD]

beating someone to death with a kitten that no longer has an unbroken bone? yes please!

please!

I admire your dwarfy sense of amusement