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Post by Dave on Sept 7, 2009 2:19:53 GMT
Okay, here is a place where I will periodically post progress reports on Seventh Sense as I approach the release of book 6...
For instance, the following have been implemented: - Profile associated license acceptance. You only need to do it once per profile - not every time you (re)start a campaign.
- Fixed the certificates to say "namely" and "a(n)", so they read a little better.
- Different user-selectable zoom levels for each page of the action chart... Useful if you would like to see the *entire* backpack at once. Especially useful for widescreen resolutions, as it permits seeing a much greater amount of information at once.
- Added the possibility of "Guided" random number picking. As the RNT scrolls onto the page, you have a brief window of opportunity to press the direction arrows (or Numpad) to specify which general area of the RNT to use. Instead of the whole 10x10 grid, it will use a 4x4 grid. Since each book has a different RNT, the player must figure out the best general areas for each book. This can lead to slightly better chances in the combats to get the sort of numbers you need to succeed. Obviously, this falls under "Custom" gameplay rules, and would disqualify a run from being in the Hall of Fame, if you opt to use it. Still, I just remember when I read the real books with a pencil, and I'd close my eyes, but I still knew where the greater concentration of favorable numbers were, so I'd always direct my pencil over that way... I think this feature adds a real "hands-on" feel to picking the random numbers.
- currently working on a new design for the pages, and for the backgrounds... Also working on the action chart for Magnakai. Have to add things like Lore Circles, Weaponmastery checklist, quiver, etc.
That's just to let people know that I'm still working on things. Feel free to post your responses, opinions, suggestions, and so on...
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Post by jellyfish on Sept 7, 2009 3:14:11 GMT
Would be nice to see the relevant "Improved Discipline" descriptions when clicking on your selected discipline, or when choosing a new one. Personally I can never remember these from book to book. It could also be used to activate the "Once Per 100 days, +20 EP if current EP < 7" for Curing with Archmaster rank.
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Post by Dave on Sept 7, 2009 4:57:13 GMT
Good suggestion, jellyfish. Perhaps a tooltip that pops up over the discipline, if you hover the mouse over it? It could list all of the improvements to that discipline attained so far (by rank).
As to activating the ability, I figured that a button directly in the Action chart would work well - right to the side of the description.
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Post by kamikaze1900666 on Sept 7, 2009 15:00:17 GMT
Ah, aiming for a number- beat me to that suggestion by already working on it. LOL
I was also thinking of suggesting possible "fudged rolls" as a RNT method for custom, and possibly BTB play. Still using the whole 10 by 10 grid, there's a chance the roll could hit a line between 2 or 4 numbers and the player can choose which number they want out of the grouping with the directional buttons after the result, if it's not a solid single number (making 217 possible picks for just adding points, or 298 possible picks for adding points and lines). It could make for a twist on BTB play, since that chance of landing on a line was always there using a pencil. Though, with all that you've already put on your plate, considering this option might be something better suited for a later release.
On a side note- I was wondering if Weaponskill Stacking for the custom rules would also include the bonus on Bow usage rolls, since each time you used a bow in the Kai series, you could add 2 if you had Weaponskill in any weapon. That kind of suggests that picking Weaponskill made you proficient in a bow and whatever weapon was randomly picked.
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Post by jellyfish on Sept 7, 2009 15:09:01 GMT
I remember the old Wizardry 7 game did die rolls by randomly flashing numbers on the screen (about 5-10 per second, really fast) until the player hit a key. The number that was on screen when the key was hit would be the roll. You could have the RNT aimer zag around the RNT very fast and stop on a key hit.
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Post by Dave on Sept 7, 2009 22:01:31 GMT
Those are all very good suggestions. I especially like the idea of having the bars zip around the RNT, and pressing space or clicking the mouse to stop it... I might just put that into a later version. Until the next release is out, though, I'm going to focus on other, more essential, things - like getting the action chart to show the special Magnakai stuff (I've started on Lore circles already...)
Great suggestions, though, guys - keep it coming!
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Post by jellyfish on Sept 8, 2009 3:57:47 GMT
An auto-compute for whether Psi-surge is advantageous for a given enemy would be.... an interesting feature, if a bit cheaty. It's actually a simple computation, just take the average LW/Enemy EP loss ratio for a given column and compare it with the relevant column with Psi-surge bonus, and with +2 on LW's EP loss.
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Post by kamikaze1900666 on Sept 8, 2009 6:05:42 GMT
A couple suggestions (making for a long post)
Something I've been wanting to see is an in-game award system, where you gain titles for completing books fulfilling certain criteria, each viewable in the notes section with a hover text detailing what you did, and a pop-up once you reach passage 350 (400) with what titles you've earned. Most books allow for at least 2 with different playstyles. Might take a bit of coding, but I think it would add to replay value if these titles carried over regardless of book-replays- saving to the profile that earned them instead of a single campaign. This would leave earning them all possible and having a "Clear Titles" button available from the profile management screen if someone wanted to earn them again. A few I've already thought of:
"Loyal Son of Sommerlund"- You have proved yourself loyal to your country by ensuring the news of the fall of the Kai reached the King with utmost urgency. (criteria- complete book 1 with no combats)
"Faithful Son of Sommerlund"- You have proved yourself trustworthy by your fellow countrymen by taking to arms in their defense during Sommerlund's darkest hour. (complete book 1 winning 8 or more combats)
"Mad Murderer of Gorn Cove"- While not a title a Kai Lord would ever wish to boast about, it is one that carries a lesson of the ill consequences for reacting too harshly in dire circumstances. (complete book 2 having read passages 221 and 274- this could be expanded to require reading passages 302 and 187 as well to emphasize rushing into foolish and unnecessary combat and increase the difficulty of attaining it, even though these two don't happen in Gorn Cove itself. Further expanding it to avoid passage 220 makes bad decisions the theme of this title, and avoiding passage 76 increases difficulty)
"Helghast Slayer of Durenor"- You have earned the trust of one of Sommerlund's greatest allies by ridding her soil of several vile captains of the Darklords. (complete book 2 having killed 3 Helghasts in combat and reading passage 269)
"Fryearl of Sommerlund"- Your King has granted you a rare honour for the crucial part that you played in the victory over Darklord Zagarna's forces, and the haste you put into your quest's execution. (complete book 2 having fought in only 3 combats- though you only need to win 2 of them. Could be expanded to reading passage 220 as well, to keep things on the straight and narrow)
I've thought of a few more, but you get the idea... ___________
After completing the Kai series with a variety of skill picks on Hardcore with 10/20 stats (after doing it once, I kinda got hooked on it), I've been wanting something a bit more challenging- like an Impossible Difficulty. I have playtested some of this with 7th Sense and on the books themselves, so I believe it to be possible for most of the series, if not all of it. This is it so far:
*Base CS/EP 5/15 with HC pick limits added (as opposed to the 10/20 base) I purposely got zapped in the Graveyard of the Ancients and climbing the ice wall in Kalte, so I know a 7 CS is possible, and did go through the books after getting addicted to Adgana- so going with a 7/16 base would be more like suffering the ill effects of bad choices right from the start.
*Limited to 3 disciplines (since the MK series starts you off with just 3, might be challenging to see how it would play throughout)
*No experience growth- this means you're stunted at the Doan, Kai Master Superior, and Kai Grand Sentinel levels of training and have never visited anywhere when asked if you have (as long as it pertains to evading a hazard or gaining an item- ie passage 250 CoK and 200 CoD-.I see no problem if its used to see if you ever met someone before, but it might make coding a little easier if it ignored all instances)
*No or limited Special Item transference. This would leave weapons and backpack items as the only carry-overs. I have gone through the current version only taking armor with me, and am currently trying a run with dropping it all. This may or may not make the Named Weapon bonuses part of this difficulty to keep some bonuses carried over (aiming for a harder difficulty, not a "Lone Wolf must die" difficulty)
*No Lore-Circle bonuses until book 12 is completed, and then you get a one-time bonus of +5 CS/+11 EP (reg LC bonuses) or +15 CS/+10 EP (mirroring GM base) at the start of book 13 with no further bonuses.
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Post by mckinstry on Sept 8, 2009 11:18:14 GMT
This award system has been mentioned once or twice I think.
Seems like you put some thought into your awards, great stuff kamikaze.
Sounds like there would be hundreds of conditions to keep track of. Hopefully someone with coding experience could step up to the mark offer help.
As talented as Dave is for one man to implement the books and a reward system sounds impossible!
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Post by kamikaze1900666 on Sept 8, 2009 22:39:58 GMT
Thanks- I'm trying to condense the ideas down to simplify the variables that need to be tracked. So far, most are simply adding and subtracting from a switch variable when certain passages are hit, with a variable for number of combats per book. Also, the awards I've come up with so far all deal with how you play a single book- nothing campaign-wide yet (thinking small, but it seems it MIGHT work). I've got award possibilities for the first 6 books so far, just translating a few of the requirements into actual values. Main problem I see with it is the setup work- possible awards save file, setting the variables, checking them across two files, ect. Just wish I was good at coding...
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Post by Dave on Sept 9, 2009 5:11:15 GMT
I'm loving those ideas, and I definitely like the idea of keeping it attached to a profile. Multiple possible awards for playing through the books with different goals would definitely add to re-playability.... Would you actually mind typing up a detailed list of your ideas for awards? I don't see why I shouldn't be able to implement many of them into the next release...
The other stuff you mentioned would take a bit more work, though.
The only thing we'll need is some appropriate art work for the medals... I'll pose the question to mckinstry. (Though I seem to recall several "medal"-type pics in the various maps used throughout the books... perhaps scavenging a few of those designs would work well?)
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Post by mckinstry on Sept 9, 2009 9:49:04 GMT
I skimmed through the maps but didn't see any badges. Do you mean take the flag/arms designs and turn them into medals? Say for "Loyal Son of Sommerlund" and "Faithful Son of Sommerlund" use the royal arms of Sommerlund (as shown on the map) and add slight variations just like existing military medals. Sounds enjoyable. Although I can't see the Sommerlund military awarding a medal for "Mad Murderer of Gorn Cove" How would the more unsavory titles be represented?
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Post by kamikaze1900666 on Sept 9, 2009 14:45:39 GMT
I was thinking more along the lines of a resized and possibly cropped madman from Flight passage 63 for the Mad Murderer one- possibly done up like a wanted poster. Most of the ones would probably do well with different flags and coats of arms on the maps- some of the smaller art inside the books would work as well. Let me work out the math for the Kalkoth Hunter (since its just a little more complex) and I'll pm the list to you Dave. *Edit* Sent. Though I do think it would be cool to have the awards listed as " ?" with a hover text with either the description or a clue on how to achieve it until someone got it. It would make experimentation a must if the cat wasn't out of the bag for all of them.
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Post by jellyfish on Sept 9, 2009 18:06:52 GMT
"Mad Murderer of Gorn Cove"- While not a title a Kai Lord would ever wish to boast about, it is one that carries a lesson of the ill consequences for reacting too harshly in dire circumstances. I love this one. We need to have more titles for evil / crazy options. A nice challenge game would be to play through Lone Wolf always choosing the most evil and perverted options whenever possible. Since the books tend to reward "good" behavior it would make them substantially harder. Some ideas: Thief: stole an item that clearly belonged to someone else Master Thief: stole 5 or more items on 5 separate occaisions Grand Kleptomaniac: stole 20 or more items Rascal: unfairly used Kai powers to gain an advantage in games of chance or take advantage of other people's limitations (e.g. Sixth Sense or Prophecy to see into the future, Mind over Matter to influence die rolls and coin flips, Psi-surge to melt your opponent's brain during friendly contests...) Cheater: cheated in 3 or more separate games Villainous Scoundrel: cheated in 10 separate games
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Post by kamikaze1900666 on Sept 9, 2009 19:03:09 GMT
Setting limits that high for theft would make it more like a campaign-wide or multiple-campaign stat, which might be a little tricky coding in. I'll check to see if any books offer more than one chance at stealing something though
However, I already came up for one where not cheating at games of chance was rewarded- and there's a few chances to cheat in FotW. Doing the flip-side on that angle is actually one of the more challenging routes to take in the book, considering where some of the chances to cheat take place.
"Card-Scoundrel of Durenor"- You earned an ill reputation among Durenor's gambling community by using you innate Kai skills to gain an unfair advantage at games of chance.
I'll check to see what all passages are related to cheating in a little bit. Come to think of it, "Wanted" posters with different images in the middle could be one way to deal with the more negative achievements' graphics- like this one with a portion of a roulette wheel or a hand of cards in the middle.
Thinking along the lines of crazy, I think I've come up with one if Dave doesn't mind making a campaign-wide variable that resets on a new campaign for the Kai series-
"Kai Master Daredevil"- Your feats of daring off the battlefield are known to be just as awe-inspiring as those you achieve in combat. (complete the Kai series reading at least 9 of the following passages- book 1: 323, 188, 41, 7 book 2: 105 book 3: 346, 73, 155, 55 book 4: 271, 219 book 5: 29, 205)
*Edit* Ironically, KoT offers 3 chances to thieve-
"Vynar Jupe's Kindred Spirit"- Your resourcefulness and daring has earned you a spot of roguish popularity in one small hamlet along the Varettian Plain. (complete book 6 having read passages 271, 160, and 163)
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