24-12-2004 02:47									#1
	Revised Rules - Discussion Thread Tired of ads?

And here we go!

-=Vel=-

	24-12-2004 03:30									#2
	Put an end to popups!

From Walker:

quote: (Vel)
2.1.2 Honor
The rarest form of “currency” in the game. Honor (or its flip-side, Infamy-negative honor) provides you with a number of in-game abilities not otherwise available to you. It influences and shades the game, allowing your personal conduct to influence the nature and character of the game itself. Honor is difficult to earn and even more difficult to keep, but having sufficient honor can win you the game, as your rival nobles in the realm bow to your chivalrous virtues and unwavering strength of character. Honor (or Infamy) is gained by virtue of your acts and deeds during the course of the game. Honor is not “spent” to acquire the benefits (or penalties) that come with it…rather, they are gained merely by being in possession OF the honor (or infamy) points.


I remember earlier there were suggestions that Honor slowly degrade over time towards zero (if you had positive honor) and that it be much easier to lose Honor than to gain it. I think it should also be a bit harder to gain EXTREME infamy, and that infamy should decay, but not to zero (but somewhere a bit nearish there). If you're within a certain distance of zero infamy/honor, you get NO bonuses. Basically, it should be better to be honorable or infamous (especially extremely honorable or extrememly infamous) than to simply not have a reputation.



-=Vel=-

	24-12-2004 03:32									#3
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Exactly so, Master Walker! I've not yet re-done that section, but will add a note in the sections so far, referencing that section for greater detail!

-=Vel=-

	24-12-2004 18:32									#4
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Just a couple of minor updates to the rules revision this morning, before Christmas celebrations get underway.

* Added in the notes re: Minimum force size needed to enter a province not controlled by you--closes a loophole, and makes attacking heavily defended provinces a bit more daunting (a boon for those who play heavy defense, builderesque style).

* Added in notes re: Honor and Infamy impacts of battle

(still needed is a "cleanup phase," post battle, describing the various screens and options available at the conclusion of a battle, but that'll come in due time.

Now...'tis time to open some presents!

EDIT:

*Modified the "Scout/Guide" unit, making them a bit harder to acquire (changed tech and hiring requirements) - toying with the idea of providing a special bonus for an "All Scout" force (Imperial Rangers Army) - but not sure...

* Closed a loophole in the Honor loss due to retreating, so that Infamous players cannot exploit this to continue reducing their Honor score, becoming increasingly infamous.

* Did some general edit and cleanup of the sections, including Italicizing in-game messages and spacing them out to make it easier to find them.

* Added in a section detailing the setup of attacks from multiple provinces.

-=Vel=-

Last edited by Velociryx on 24-12-2004 at 20:28

	24-12-2004 20:32									#5
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To the readers:

Please feel free to critique this with me....let me know if I've forgotten something, or if there's something that needs further explanation, implementation-wise.

Also let me know if anything sounds like "kludgy" implentation...some of THIS won't be readily apparent until we get something playable out there, but we can at least begin taking an early look at this aspect, in order to streamline things as much as possible NOW...

The rules document posted here will be a living thing, subject to revision and modification until all the elements are in-place. At which time I'll lock the thread to resist further temptation to tinker with it, and cause headaches for the coders...

Also note that at this stage, I'm not anticipating adding any further "new features" to the game. If we don't have it in already, then we'll table it for the time being, and begin prioritizing things for the first update to the basic game.

-=Vel=-

	24-12-2004 22:09									#6
	Got spare money?

One more quick one, and then I'm REALLY going!

Tightened up the rules of Skirmishes thusly:

* The Skirmish force must meet the minimum size requirements to enter the province, even tho, technically, they are not

* Must be survivors FROM the skirmish in order to glean any info

* Skirmishing requires a movement point from the units in question (to prevent exploitation).

-=Vel=-

	27-12-2004 01:44									#7
	Increase the size of your Attachments

Several new additions to the rules added this afternoon:

* Spelled out more clearly the order in which maintenance costs are paid where the units are concerned.

* Defined the "Post Combat Cleanup" phase, and what it entails.

* Defined the mechanisms by which provinces change hands, and how starting loyalty is determined for newly captured provinces.

* Created a "Combat Appendix" section, which, among other things, lists all costs for troops of various types, and spells out how training times in Barracks works.

And now, I am being called away to do a bit of wedding planning...I shall return!

-=Vel=-

	27-12-2004 19:40									#8
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Just a smallish update this morning....not much added to the existing text, but a growing body of work on the Economic Model, to be posted once I've got it completely nailed down. In the writing of this section, I did uncover an added effect of "Contested Provinces" and duly made the addition in what we've got already, and if I get the chance to do a bit more writing today (uncertain), I stand a fair chance of getting the Economic section pasted into the master rules document today. If not today, then it'll happen soon!

-=Vel=-

	27-12-2004 19:41									#9
	Get a bigger avatar today!

Ahhh, what the heck...it ain't done, but I'll put up what I've got so far...

-=Vel=-

	28-12-2004 17:11									#10
	Inflate your Upload Space

Added in the section on Rebellions this morning before work!

And now...off to work with me...more later!

-=Vel=-

	29-12-2004 17:11									#11
	Got spare money?

A pretty big update this morning, as more of the economic model begins to fall into place! I've got perhaps ten more minutes before I must be off to work, so I shall continue to tweak and add until circumstances dictate that I must depart!

-=Vel=-

	30-12-2004 17:06									#12
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

Took me the better part of the day yesterday to hammer out the specific numbers I was looking for, in terms of putting the rest of the economic model together. I'm still writing the rules for determining the Tax Revenue and Intrinsic Value segments of Provincial Income, but those should be coming together soon. In the meantime, I fleshed out the rest of the elements of the formula, including finalizing the list of "Trade Goods" to be used in this iteration of CB, and spelling out what they all mean.

In all then, it's coming together pretty well, and I'd guess that we'll be seeing the last of the Economic Model fall into place around the same time that we're ringing in the new year.

Onward!

-=Vel=-

	31-12-2004 18:44									#13
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

A big update this morning to the Economics section of the rules, and more to come. Got some errands to run this morning, and then I'm back here to do some more work!

Being an economist, I find this part particularly juicy, and have worked hard to keep as much of it as possible "behind the curtain" so as not to bog players down with too much in the way of numbers and such (all the calculations are handled automatically), while still allowing lots of player modification and access to the driving factors of production (adjustments to workdays and tax rates--not yet written), and some fun rules regarding "Largest Producer" and "Monopoly Positions" for the various Trade Goods of the Realm.

Should be able to put the wraps on most of that today...FUN!

-=Vel=-

	03-01-2005 08:37									#14
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

That's a wrap on the economic model, and we get '05 off to a strong start! All the essential work is done on the model, but I've still got to do a few more graphs and pics to outline starting incomes for the provinces and such. Will get to that by and by, but the core of that work is now complete.

So...next steps will be to pretty the economic section up with a few more pictures and such, and then, forge ahead with the other rules sections.

All in all, she's shaping up quite nicely.

-=Vel=-

	04-01-2005 13:44									#15
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Mmmm. Somebody's been busy over Xmas I see ...

I would love to give some initial feedback but the quantity of material posted in the other thread is of such volume that it'll have to be copied and studied later when I have a little longer ... erm, as per usual.

	04-01-2005 16:45									#16
	Remove this text

Yes yes! And I'm looking forward to that feedback! I think you'll find that the vast bulk of the material (at least in the combat sections) is simply a "putting it all in one place" of the stuff we've already talked about.

The economic stuff had never really been firmed up publically, aside from some rules of thumb, although I did sketch most of this stuff out in the private areas....well past time to put a coat of gloss and finish on it and get it here!

-=Vel=-

	06-01-2005 17:02									#17
	Increase the size of your Attachments

Tweaked game starting positions for the factions and made LOTS of placeholders for myself to hold the rules as I get them re-written.

Also did a wampum lotta research last night and this morning on espionage, with an eye toward streamlining the mechanics of that area greatly, making it less kludgy and easier to manage.

Nothing substantial on the rules front to report, however.

-=Vel=-

	07-01-2005 17:19									#18
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Began laying out the Espionage rules this morning. Got a late start, so I didn't get as much written down as I'd hoped...the rest, is still in my handy-dandy notebook, and will follow!

-=Vel=-

	08-01-2005 05:13									#19
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Got the greater bulk of the Espionage rules spelled out today. Still need to define mission types, availability, durations, costs, and so forth, chances for success, and some other stuffs, but the skeleton is all in place now. More to come!

-=Vel=-

	08-01-2005 21:05									#20
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

Work continues this morning on the Espionage rules section. Some structural changes, but the end result remains about the same.

The one thing that IS different in this final rendering of the Espionage Model is that the focus has been shifted away from abstraction slightly (tech tree focus) and more emphasis placed on individual spies and their development, making them the espionage equivalent to Military leaders, complete with their own skill sets and such, which builds on the "hero" (or in this case, anti-hero) aspects of the game. Good stuff!

Have not yet adjusted the % chances for success, but that's coming, and is the last piece needed to put the Espionage Model to bed.

-=Vel=-

	11-01-2005 05:33									#21
	Remove this text

Inching closer to getting the Espionage model fleshed out, with nearly all rules categories containing at least some information.

This, I feel, is going to be an area that will need playtesting to properly balance....

-=Vel=-