Tweaking the Math and Gameplay
First may I say, thank god* for Google Spreadsheets. Basically, I needed to do some quick math of growth patterns, for instance: x population with y resources over z time = XYZ growth of population. It’s a basic data model that players will be able to mess with as part of the game.

Basically, I had a choice between pulling out a calculator, writing my own program logic or grabbing a spreadsheet. If you’re doing a Model-based game, I recommend at least whiteboarding with spreadsheets. And Google Spreadsheets were free and allowed me to work from different locations.

So, step one was to wing something: put a bunch of numbers roughly where I wanted them. Step two, create a basic model: X * Y * Z. Step three, have to create gate and modularity. I am wanting a model where the smaller the cult, the easier it is to recruit and the resource generation is more efficient. At the later points in the game, the larger the cult, the recruiting is harder and less efficient the resource.

I am wanting the gates to be at ~ 10, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 20,000 followers. Hitting 100,000 would sorta be a win by default. So, looks like a logarithmic progression minus a delayed logarithmic progression with a faster growth combined with a 1/sinewave for gate keeping, don’t you think? What’s worse, I had to go to Wikipedia to double check my math on this. I feel a bit like Barbie when I say, Math sure is Hard!

So, that gives us an X^n * log(X) * Y * Z. What will the time interval (Z) be? I could go for a similar algorithm that WoW has that the bigger you get, you have to work about 4-6% longer to jump to the next level. If you start, say, near the 60 second mark of jumping, you should be able to get to 20K followers in ~50 steps, which results in a game that’s about 1.5-2 hours.

All-in-all, not a casual game… but wait, I have a SAVE feature, so the player can quit at anytime and return at anytime.

Now we need Player Differentiation
After a few good discussions with AM and JVL, I had the basic patterns out, now I needed to develop what would make each player a little different. During the creation of a player’s Cult, the player will answer a series of questions that result in a negative to positive modifier from (-1.2% to +1.2%) effect on gameplay generation of resources. I’m hoping this range will give enough variance to affect the player’s style of play. If not, I’ll have to extend the ranges and see what bubbles up from repeaded gameplay.

Formulas:
Next Population Count = Current Population + Previous Recruiting - Current Burn
Recuiting =

* By god, I mean an Internet-based busienss model of application development

Steven Brust is on my short list of authors I wish were more prolific. His works are knifeplay - a series of deft knowledgeable cuts that intend to win the fight, and when he has time, a bit of flourish to make you enjoy that you’re losing to a master. Brust writes so that you read for the enjoyment of reading, something that is so rarely done nowdays.

I stumbled on Brust early: To Reign in Hell sold in a base PX in Germany around ‘86 or so while I was in the military. Since then, I have bought paperbacks the week they were printed and when I could afford them, hardbacks. The reason why I point this out: I’m biased, so don’t look for objectivity in my review.

Dzur, now out in hardback, is a story of Vlad Taltos’ homecoming: he’s been away, slowly spiralling up the ladder of heroic power until he’s attained near-unkillable status and is faced with the results of his actions from many books ago. His wife is in danger due to his “gift” of South Adrillanka, and she’s trying to get out of the Jhereg game. Others in the organization, perceiving her as an easy mark, are hungry for her territory.

So Vlad decides to place himself between a rock and a hard place, in this case, between the sorcerous Left Hand of the Jhereg and the organization’s Right Hand, which, like his swordplay, grants him an opportunity to deftly make his desires known. Brust allows Vlad to philisophically take stock of what it is to be a Dzur, which helpfully allows for a good discussions, observance of action/inaction and foremost, leads to a wonderful resolution that’s true to character as he has changed over the course of the Jhereg series.

Readers familiar with Brust will enjoy the revelations and returns of Kragar and Kiera the Theif, as well as some opponents. New readers will enjoy the best description of a succulent meal that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. The writing is strong, and readers will enjoy the comfortable witty dialogue between Taltos and his familiar Jhereg.

What’s weak about this book? As ever, it’s too short, and took far too long to get on the shelf. Brust has been incredibly careful to not over-commit on the stories - which a lesser writer would transform into a formula. And while some of the Jhereg series smacks of formula, the core of the book is true character reactions to true-to-environment scenarios.

After every book, Vlad has jumped up the power scale: first in organization, then in connections, then in magical power (spell breaker then Lady Teldra). Only once did I feel the character didn’t deserve the reward at the end of the book. Brust, as an author, now is faced with pretty much the “all powerful” character problem: what does he have to write to invoke threat?

For the insiders: the book doesn’t have Aliera and Morrolan, and leaves the resolution between Morrolan, Vlad and Lady Teldra open. It appears that the consequences of that will be a story until themselves.

End of the line: you’ll like or love the story, you’ll want more due to it’s brevity, and you’ll wonder if Brust is going to be able to keep this up. If he does, I’ll be there.

Yes, I appreciate the simplicity of a Frequently Asked Questions post! They get so much of the basics out of the way.

So, I finally found a decent FAQ for God. I admit, as a person interested in the truth about the big diety, the one who commands Thou Shalt Not Kill, but everyone is dying to commit suicide for, molest small children for, dominate fellow humans - especially women - for!

I’ve found the light!!! I give you…

The Official God FAQ

Enjoy

Crossposted this over at Chris M’s But Is it fun on the Master of Magic thread. (Sorta… got a socket error)

There’s been 4 classic Expand, Explore, Discover, Conquer games: Civilization [Civ](the archetype), Master of Orion [MOO](sci fi galaxy), Master of Magic [MoM](magical version) and Alpha Centauri [AC](sci fi singularity).

Of all of these, only MoM appears to have DIED a horrible death of obscurity. Civ is going strong and deserves to be reviewed. MOO is succeeded by Galactic Civilization, which gets a big thumbs up from me. (Friends do not let friends waste money on MOO3). And AC looks to be dying a graceful death.

So why is MOM so hard to repeat? Why is it not sexy enough for a game?

Let’s look at the basic design challenge to do a EEDC for “Magic Genre”.

1) Have to introduce a brand new fantasy IP in an overloaded market. Meaning: the learning curve cannot be steep, potentially “lightening” the content. The content is the standard how many races and what types (GO KOBOLDS!! DOWN WITH ELVES!!!) and how does magic work.

2) Clearly identify the goal - just like Civ/Alpha Centauri. MoM had Tech Tree (Magic) win and Conquer win. I suggest adding a “Mana Market” win, a Diplomacy win, and 2 unconquerable threat loss in the game (after so many turns, Magic dies and super apolitical race gets stronger, conquering all).

3) Decent AI. “Cheater” AI or “True Strategy” AI doesn’t matter - but just make it decent. Yeah, lots of people whine the cheater AIs, but they’ve never designed a game.

4) Turns that DON’T waste the player’s time. Fork a process that is deciding actions while the player is performing his/her turn. The problems with Turn-based now is that players are bored while the game is playing. Having that not be the DEFACTO way that turn-based works is a waste of players’ time. Design it in from the start.

5) Online interactivity. Wouldn’t it be cool if players could design races , units and spells and share them? Give them a toolbox (Not an SDK) to design and then post for others to try out? With this, you have a viral effect of “Come see what I built and try it out” that they’d be able to share with others, and between games. For example, a player could design a Orc Geomatic Rotdamerung Eviscerator unit, and post that unit to the IP-branded website. Someone else would then create a Gnomish Epedited Velociraptor in retalliation… you get the idea

6) And multiplayer. *Sigh* The bane of our existence. You could drop this if you definitely had #5, but publishers would be nightmarish about it.

Now that I’ve spent 20 million on the game already… Does anyone know if the Civ4 engine is something that could be licensed and adapted for this?

It’s the Mel Gibson Drinking and Driving game…

Here’s my Question

1) How come I can’t run over the rabbis?

2) Where’s Danny Glover?

3) Where’s Danny Glover’s Hot Daughter?

4) How come you can’t drive through a building? Fly a helicopter?

5) You should be able to make a movie about torturing someone for 2 hours and get some of the crashes erased, or some pro-republican propaganda.

So That Cult Game is getting a face lift. I’m looking for artists to work with me on a design. I guess my big problem is the interface. I mean, I got one, and I like it… but I don’t LOVE it. It’s just not the convention-breaking look and feel that I expected from this game.

But, as we all know, it’s more important to get things done, more than get things done perfectly.

The OpenLaszlo w/ PHP will do fine for starters, using apache-php-mysql as a threaded backend server for a multiplayer solution is.. well, silly as silly can be. Java would be the way to go, however, my learning curve on java is something I don’t have the patience for right now. PHP outputs just fine, and with a template engine like Smarty, it gets the job done for XML very quickly, you can effectively use the DTD itself as the template.

I hate it when you have to drop a functional peice of code for the hope of better code. I like keeping what works. The problem I’ve discovered is that Nucleus doesn’t work without a LOT of elbow grease, and frankly, I want to spend my time coding a game rather than a blog.

So, I’m moving to Wordpress. My friend over at Unscriptured.com (not ready yet, but soon) is working with Wordpress so it will be good to compare notes.

So, later this week: Heresy.com will be down and then come back up, prolly look exactly the same, just on Wordpress. Pretty sad, huh?

The people at Deep Fried have discovered the truth! I knew there was a reason I hated tykes.

Your zogglings are evil… they drain the life force of their you until they are plump and ready to disperse spores, which grow and feed on your precious bodily fluids. To prevent their ear-bleeding screechings, you have to placate them with bright shiny petroleum goods, further draining our earth’s precious black resources.

*ahem*

Just… check your spinal fluid levels… that’s all I’m saying.

Four days in a row. Four of them. First I ruin my friends’ plans by getting sick and then I miss some work. All in all, I’m sick of sickness. I’ve been sick too many times this year, and due to recent sickness, missed a doctor’s appointment.

When I’m sick, I barricade myself with my DVDs and read books that I’ve . The problem is that I’ve seen all my DVDs, so I turn to the internet - which doesn’t download TV shows fast enough. I don’t download movies for the same reason I don’t download games: someone should get paid for their work.

I hate being sick.

And whining… so I’m going back to my drugs and will stop whining.