Game Development: Sniffing Glue

[Jackard]

Watchtowers

We've begun thinking about them, actually (in relation to new village features), and I think we might come up with quite a convincing solution, actually.

sounds interesting. any details or are things still uncertain

[loftar]

sounds interesting. any details or are things still uncertain

It was a couple of weeks since we discussed them now, so I don't recall all the details, but I did conclude, at least, that it should be fairly easy for me to implement watchtowers of various kinds which one could enter into and pan around the local area (I guess up to a few screens away would be reasonable), and add, as an option, that a ballista or similar long-range weapon could be loaded into the tower and operated at those distances by the tower's user, probably using the normal archery mechanism.

Also, that it should likewise be possible to implement catapults or other ranged siege weapons, buildable in the field, which could use a similar mechanism to aim at targets more than a screen away, to counter the watch towers.

[Lothaudus]

^ Oh fuck yes.

Yea, you definately should need large claims, which prohibit wildlife spawning around your city for 1k tiles range, because tahts how far away i would build my ram, then drive to you. Gtfo.

Which means you're building the ram on their claim, which again triggers the XMPP notification and again shows that "finding the ram" isn't an issue.

If you've got the Helms Deep scneario with the crazed group of murderers, they'll build a small wall that goes only around their hearthfire. They'll claim the area as far as they need to. You'll either build off the claim and have to walk the ram across their claim, triggering a trespass notification and having the Ram break down and require repairs (giving them time) - or you'll build it on their claim which again will trigger the notification and provide plenty of warning time.

That's plenty of time for them to login (and under the current travel system), teleport to a secondary fortress they have somewhere else and setup their hearthfire there. They'd be able to login and move back and forth between their fortresses every 12 hours while you're still waiting for your ram to dry.

[ImpalerWrG]

Interesting update, Glue seems like a good use for bone but it seems the amount of bone needed per unit of glue is a bit high, as if the whole Ram is being 'balanced' by the high amount of bone needed for this material. At present it doesn't look like you could incorporate glue into other recipes without it being prohibitively costly. No ones mentioning the woodblock 2 branches reaction much but that probably means everyone loves it, it really helps address the long term oven fuel issue, one log makes 12 blocks which makes 60 branches which can cook 20 batches of bread for 80 bread, a whole cupboard full, previously you would need to have stripped a dozen trees for that many branches.

Ok on the main issue of contention, these rams look like a nice idea and look like they will help get some sieges and battles going. I think the appropriate defense is some kind of ranged attack that damages the ramp and/or the people using it, this could come from a 'tower' of some sort that enhances ones archery ability (better range and damage at the very least). Of course the attackers could build them too to fire offensively into the place their attacking. Ultimatly walls should be a power multiplier for the defender, making X defenders able to hold off say around 2 or 3 times X attackers. As stated the better side should ultimately win but the defender has spent time and effort on defense so their is an advantage.

I like a lot of the stuff by Lothaudus, though I think theirs still use in semi-automated travel mechanisms. Perhaps something ware signs/lighthouses are placed a player with a skill perhaps called 'trailblazer/navigator' activates one sign/lighthouse, physically has to walks/sails to another and establishes a link. The actually amount of and type of terrain passed gets recorded to establish how much weariness is created when using the resulting route/shipping lane so building a road and walking it would provide tangible benefits. If the route is recorded as a vector path (a list of direction/distance combinations) which is very memory efficient, then when someone tries to use the path the game can simulate attempted movement over that exact same ground and detect in real time any obstacles like walls which would block travel. Their might even be a 'Highway man' skill to interrupt travelers and ambush them . This might be a better solution then trying to monitor every change over a large section of map for things that block access as you don't need to implement any real pathing algorithms. When players use the routes/shipping lanes they have to do an hourglass wait while the simulation runs but they still get a considerable bonus perhaps as high as 10x what they would otherwise move at so a half hour journey would just be a three minute wait but theirs still using the same 'topography' as everyone else.

[Wolfang]

sounds interesting. any details or are things still uncertain

It was a couple of weeks since we discussed them now, so I don't recall all the details, but I did conclude, at least, that it should be fairly easy for me to implement watchtowers of various kinds which one could enter into and pan around the local area (I guess up to a few screens away would be reasonable), and add, as an option, that a ballista or similar long-range weapon could be loaded into the tower and operated at those distances by the tower's user, probably using the normal archery mechanism.

Also, that it should likewise be possible to implement catapults or other ranged siege weapons, buildable in the field, which could use a similar mechanism to aim at targets more than a screen away, to counter the watch towers.

Oh god this is great watchtowers! =D
eventually we will have awesome sieges, hopefully the most common siege equipment will come? Ladders anyone? Ladders would be easy to counteract with one of those long anti ladder poles they used in the middle ages...

[JustasJ]

Oh god this is great watchtowers! =D
eventually we will have awesome sieges, hopefully the most common siege equipment will come? Ladders anyone? Ladders would be easy to counteract with one of those long anti ladder poles they used in the middle ages...

Ladders would be actually the best siege weapon if implemented well enough. You would have to build them on sight using something like 12 blocks of wood and 6 boards and when they are built, you have two options available to do with them: 1.Climb them; 2. Destroy them. It makes stealing from fortresses easy, but if defenders are online, they should be able to destroy it from both sides and if it gets destroyed while you are climbing, you get a lot of damage regardless of your armor.

[Wolfang]

Oh god this is great watchtowers! =D
eventually we will have awesome sieges, hopefully the most common siege equipment will come? Ladders anyone? Ladders would be easy to counteract with one of those long anti ladder poles they used in the middle ages...

Ladders would be actually the best siege weapon if implemented well enough. You would have to build them on sight using something like 12 blocks of wood and 6 boards and when they are built, you have two options available to do with them: 1.Climb them; 2. Destroy them. It makes stealing from fortresses easy, but if defenders are online, they should be able to destroy it from both sides and if it gets destroyed while you are climbing, you get a lot of damage regardless of your armor.

Instant KO? They are fast to build but have more dangers.

[Bigfish]

especially people with helms deeps completely untouchable.

The main problem with Helms Deep-style encampments isn't the strength of the walls, however; but rather the fact that they don't need a way out because of crossroads. I think crossroads need to be fixed so that they cannot be linked within the same village.

since the only reason Helm's Deep really worked is because its users could get out of it thanks to a crossroads connection.

No. They could get out by getting invited back to Wv and could travel to village. I already explained this pay attention.

Indeed, but as I explained, the problem isn't with crossroads per se, but with the travel system at large. The effect you are describing is, obviously, also part of the travel system. As I said, I only use crossroads as an example since they are the most symptomatic aspect of the flaws with the travel system.

Make it then that intravillage crossroads need the chief to start a connect at one crossroad and then walk to another crossroad. If he manages to do it without teleportation then it's a viable path and he can connect the two. Sure one can finish walls later but they would be screwed if the crossroad gets destroyed at some point and they cannot replicate the path.

Unfortunately, the general flaws of the travel system ensure that it is almost always possible to still get out (with a crossroads sign) and reconnect the path. (As you said, re-invitation and subsequent travel to external villages would be one method. Hird-summoning is obviously another, and the list goes on.)

There are two simple solutions to prevent abusing cliffs and mountains without scraping the current travel system.

A. Prohibit building crossroads some 30 tiles near cliffs.

B. Disable building villages (and crossroads/authority objects) on mountains.

[Winterbrass]

Or make a minimum tile distance between walls facing the same direction so that walls can't be put side-by-side.

[martinuzz]

Ladders sound fun. But they should take a RL day to dry, once built, just like rams. And be damaged while moving them.