Universe - SMS Adventure RPG...

[KorbanDream]

So. Without seeming rude. (Apologies in advance?).

We have all dissected the concepts of how to and content matter and the more technical aspects of equipment requirements...

Is anyone interested in knowing what exactly goes on inside the game...?

(If anyone says no, I'll cry...). :-}

[Walt Freitag]

Yes. In fact I was waiting for some information along those lines so that I could contribute to the previous threads.

From the hints and bits and pieces you dropped, it sounds a bit like an old text-based hybrid of trading game and MUD called Federation, a bit like a LARP I built circa 1990 called Spaceport Adeline, and a bit like my Star Saga computer games from the late 80s, which were multi-player space trading and exploration games with integrated text adventure-style plots.

- Walt

[Christopher Weeks]

a bit like my Star Saga computer games from the late 80s

Holy shit!  <gushing fanboy>when I was seventeen or so, my friend Josh got SSO for either his Amiga or Apple IIGS and we had several overnight parties where six or eight of us hung out doing normal geeky overnight teenage party things and took turns playing our turns out in the next room where the computers were.  Dude, you rock!</gushing fanboy>

Ahem.  Yeah, the impression that I've gotten from the previous threads is that the game is very much like that.  I thought at first that it was more open-ended, but it seems not from the later explication.  I still haven't seen why a computer wouldn't run the game cheaper, better, faster, but an exploration of "what exactly goes on inside the game" might shed some light on it.

We're all eyes, fire away.

Chris

[erithromycin]

Yes, which is why I asked some of the more involved questions in the 'SMS Roleplay' thread.

Ideally, I'd like another thread where we talk about the means of play (so we've got medium (SMS and technology aspects), means (how the players play), and game (this one) where we talk about what goes on in the game), but yes.

What do you do in Universe?

[KorbanDream]

a bit like my Star Saga computer games from the late 80s

Ahem... Firstly; " We're not worthy...! "...

(You know... Your name does sound familiar...?).

(Is there much point to continuing?)... As it's a bit like reading the menu to the chef...?

Anyway, (here goes), The Universe, is as it suggests is a universe-sized playing area.

I'll try to take the zoom out approach to familiarize you all with the concepts, terminology and elements as I go...

At the closest zoom is the Envocon or Environmental construction.
Everything from planets to giant constructs in space.
Each of these Envocons have a purpose and if I remember rightly, there are fifty-eight individual types...

Next, zooming out to the Sectorial level.
The Delfina Cluster is home to 4'725 Sectors.
100 of these are classed as inhabited. One is hidden and the remaining 4'624 sectors are empty, void and have serious mining / exploration value...
The average, (note I say average), content per inhabited sector is roughly 16'000 Envocons. More if you include the Apocs, Voicons and SCO's and miscellanious elements from the unihabited sectors...

Apocs = Atmospheric Pockets.
Voicons = Abandonned / Derelict Envocons.
SCO = Sub-Conflux Orbitals. (Large Mass-freezers that follow an orbit).

Zooming out to the next level, is the Capurneus Clusterial Navigation grid.
Clusters are large versions of sectors. The Clusterial Grid map Capurneus holds 130 clusters, of which, the Delfina is number 32, (DFA032).
Incidently, the Delfina is home to approximately sixteen million envocons and over thirty-two billion people (estimated npc count)...

To save space and to prevent as much confusion as possible, I'll copy the navigation locator address...

LYT019/KAR016/JNR035/SMT006/PLD013/CAP023/DFA032/EPS083/TRP001/D01/R01

The above means;

Room one, Deck one of Tradeport one, (in the), Epsilon Sector, (in the), Delfina Cluster, (in the), Capurneus Region, (of the), Palondia Galaxy,(in the), Symak'Tel Sub-Quadrant, (of the), Jehn'Arr Region,(of the), Karonella Quadrant, (of the) L'ytania hemisphere of the Universe... (Phew! - I hate doing that?!).

Right! - That's the map out the way, onto what characters can actually do...

Without going into great length and detail, there is 5'314 years of history to the game. (The start date is 7414). Factions, wars and everything in between have come and gone, (but we're still here?), this huge gap in time from now to the seventh millenium has made for some pretty interesting occupations, mostly involved in using a spacecraft for delivery, collection of goods and the obligatory combat runs...
Non-craft based careers do exists if you can find them as they're rare and pay considerably well...
In total there are over 500 careers to follow. More if you include the lesser, (baggage handlers / Envocon support staff), variations of 'thing's you get paid for'...

What else...? - Oh yeah, TRAIDCOM.
The Trader's Information and Data Communications Network started out as a form of virtual reality whereby you could transmit huge data files at extreme speeds over vast distances. In 7414, you transmit huge viruses at extreme speeds over vast distances...
The introduction of the ProBot system made the TRAIDCOM even more interesting (sinister), than before. Probot's are automated scripts basically that are a little more than super-charged AI sub-routenes. Interaction is verbal and virtually physical. Knock something off a table, it falls - talk to a ProBot and it talks back...
The TRAIDCOM was a way for information to be past back and forth between corporations...

Ah yes, Corporations... Over 135'000 of them reside in the Delfina Cluster, (and many more outside it)...

Where's the aliens I hear you all cry...?!

There are only two races for the best part of a thousand years at full Conflux Velocity range of the Human race...
The Agr'Ns, (Pronounced Aggra - Nesh) and the Fornxian's.
The Agr'Ns live in the Juno sector, (JNO065), in full perfect harmony with the humans around them. (Shame our atmosphere implodes on contact with theirs?). The Agr'Ns were a nomadic race but after a faction split some stayed in the Delfina, (for reason's known only to them?).

The Fornaxian's are the invaders and generally the fly in the Human Race's soup. They come from the nearest Cluster, Fornax, (FNX069). To say; They are not nice. is an extreme understatement! - Generally making raids on the PCC of the fly in, kill everything, fly out methodology...(Incidently; The Fornaxian's are also known as the Farlhurst. Named after Professor Farlhurst who first encountered them, rather briefly... (As soon after, he encountered the afterlife...?).

This brings me onto Governments quickly...
There are Four of them, The CSG, (Core Systems Government), the IRC, (Inner Ring Consulate), the ORSS, (Outer Ring System Senet) and finally, the PCC, (Perimeterian Complexia Collective).
Each have different aspects and view of what they consider politics to be...?

If I've been too broad ask away, I know there'll be something I've missed...?

[M. J. Young]

Non-craft based careers do exists if you can find them as they're rare and pay considerably well...

It's probably not terribly important, but I feel like there's a piece of this explanation missing here.

In economic terms, if you've got a desirable job that is rare, it probably doesn't pay particularly well, unless there's another limitation--usually that the qualifications for the job are so high that the people who could do it are even more rare than the jobs themselves. A waitress in a space port is going to be a planetside career that doesn't have to pay well even though nobody particularly wants it and there are enough of such jobs for as many people as care to work them because anyone can do it, so we don't need special abilities or training. A particle accelerator repair technician can probably write his own wages and stay planetside because even though there aren't that many particle accelerators in need of maintenance, the number of people who can do the job is even smaller. So maybe you should at least think about why "non-craft based careers" have to pay high salaries. Either no one wants them, so they have to pay to attract people (which would be problematic if you find that a lot of players want them), or no one is qualified for them who can't get more money doing something else, so they have to pay competitively.

The other thing is that it seems to me--well, let me see if I can put this in perspective. What do the characters do?

If you play D&D in almost any incarnation, by the book, what you do can be described as "kill monsters and get treasure". The game supports that very well, and doesn't so well support anything else.

If you're playing Multiverser and you're in The Dancing Princess, you probably rescue the princesses. That's what the game is about, and it's pretty obvious that things are pointing you that direction. (Because it's Multiverser, you can "play against the plot", but in that particular scenario almost no one ever does.)

On the other hand, if you're playing Multiverser and you're in NagaWorld, you do whatever the heck you want. Some players sit around in Umak Tek, maybe working out, practicing their various skills, experimenting with trying to do new things they've never done before, making stuff they think will be useful in the future. Some explore the glass city, seeing what they can discover. Some try to steal parts from the industrial complex, from which to build machines. Some head off looking for the alien Dar Koni. Some challenge the Spiders or otherwise try to pit themselves against dangerous opponents. Some head out to explore the uncharted regions of the world. There's nothing particular for the characters to do. They have to decide quite on their own what they want to try.

I think your Universe is very like NagaWorld in this respect. You've created an Interesting Place (TM) where characters can explore, interact, and invent things to do. That's a viable approach to game design. I find it fascinating as a player to be in such a world.

The downside, though, is that there isn't any guidance for the players. They'll do whatever they think to do, and if they don't think of anything the game falls flat.

Also in this connection, a fair number of MUDs and I think a few MMORPGs have the Killer problem: a substantial number of players decide that the thing to do in this world is find other player characters and kill them. From one perspective, that's a perfectly valid choice for any player. From another perspective, it's terribly annoying for those players who aren't interested in that mode of play--but because of its tendency toward short interactions, a relatively small number of such players can kill a lot of characters rather quickly. (That is, it takes more turns to establish a cooperative mining venture in the iota sector with three other player characters than it does to decapitate all three with a force sword, so the guy who is doing the killing is going to interact with a lot more other player characters than the average player, most of whom are going to wind up unhappy.)

So I think in asking what it is the characters do in your world, we're asking what it is you expect would happen in play, what sort of behavior you would consider abberant or disruptive, and what mechanisms you have in place to reward the sort of play you want and discourage the sort of play you don't want?

I hope this is helpful. (And if you want to talk about the time problem more, I'd be glad to give some thoughts there, as I don't think it's insurmountable.)

--M. J. Young

[KorbanDream]

Morning All...!

So maybe you should at least think about why "non-craft based careers" have to pay high salaries. Either no one wants them, so they have to pay to attract people (which would be problematic if you find that a lot of players want them), or no one is qualified for them who can't get more money doing something else, so they have to pay competitively.

Sorry, I should have been a little more descriptive. Firstly; "The non-craft based occupations" I was referring to include everything that doesn't neccessarily require a craft to obtain. This includes freelance assignments etc. Secondly, they are usually rare to get because a large portion of the population normally beats you to it...?
(The lore of Supply & Demand also applies to occupations & Careers).

I think your Universe is very like NagaWorld in this respect. You've created an Interesting Place (TM) where characters can explore, interact, and invent things to do. That's a viable approach to game design. I find it fascinating as a player to be in such a world.

The downside, though, is that there isn't any guidance for the players. They'll do whatever they think to do, and if they don't think of anything the game falls flat.

That sound's like a perfect description, characters explore, interact and create their own entertainment / thing's to do.
(This element is the reason I started the idea of having the human server element). It allows me to guide and judge the gameplay. This way, if I can see a player struggling and about to " Fall Flat" I can run an instant scenario.
Instant scenarios are just that...
"From out of nowhere a M415a Blizzard screams into view on your NAVCOM" etc. On average, they last upto 20 turns max and are just enough to inform the player there's more out there, if they'd only care to look...

So I think in asking what it is the characters do in your world, we're asking what it is you expect would happen in play, what sort of behavior you would consider abberant or disruptive, and what mechanisms you have in place to reward the sort of play you want and discourage the sort of play you don't want?

Hmm. I've never really given it much thought as to the type of play(er) I'd like to see playing the game, I assume it would be, in my view, the kind of player who is interested in player management, (as there's quite a fair bit of stat manipulation involved), exploration and investigation and not too interested in wanton combat of the kill 'em all variety?
The Mechanics I've set in play are actually pretty ruthless toward 'murderering type' players come to think of it.
I have three that spring to mind instantly, the Posbount/Negbount element of the Finex system. (Basically a currency based fine punishment that places a bounty on your head). The second one is the NAVCAL rescintion. The SNA stat gives your character a clearance level. This level dictates how many locations you can visit, by type. The more you break the law, the lower your SNA becomes until, eventually, you are declared an Outcast and your SNA is totally revoked! - The harsh emptiness of space being your final, eternal punishment.
The third is the Coreckz Judicial system. In more common terms, a prison sentence for the more low grade criminals.

The Delfinian Legal system is based around the freedom of will. Meaning you may do whatever you like. If the government do not agree with what you are doing they will tell you as much by placing a fine on your head.
If you manage to evade the hunters then the military will be sent after you. If you evade them then the final stage is a combination of hired assassins and a Persecutor Squadron, the government's own bounty hunters...! - Not many get caught as they usually pay off before getting killed off but it's effective all the same...

... if you want to talk about the time problem more, I'd be glad to give some thoughts there, as I don't think it's insurmountable...

I would love to discuss any and all opportunities given the circumstances and current state of affairs as with regards continuity, thank you.

Any questions, ask away...