<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Random plotlines --> <!--X-From-R13: pynjerapNphc.uc.pbz --> <!--X-Date: from major.globecomm.net [207.51.48.5] by mx01.ny.us.ibm.net id 863206223.15627-1 Fri May 9 19:30:23 1997 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 199705091927.MAA29133#xsvr3,cup.hp.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: Pine.SOL.3.95.970507222009.27044A-100000@sun-cc203 --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Random plotlines</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00349.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00351.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00332.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00331.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00350">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00350">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00350">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Random plotlines</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Random plotlines</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: <A HREF="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</A></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 08 May 97 11:21:38 -0700</LI> <LI><em>Reply-to</em>: <A HREF="mailto:claw#null,net">claw#null,net</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> In <<A HREF="msg00332.html">Pine.SOL.3.95.970507222009.27044A-100000@sun-cc203</A>>, on 05/07/97 at 08:22 PM, Ling <K.L.Lo-94#student,lut.ac.uk> said: >Anyone considering implementing pseudo-random plotlines in their mud? Yup, tho not exactly as random plots, but by implementing systems which generate plots as side-effects of their normal operation. >They would probably be classed as variable/random quests in the >usenet. I was thinking that if I could get an engine to make things >up, like a company would want its new drug to be approved so they >employ some players to 'convince' a few people on the approval >committee, etc. I remember seeing a web page stating the '23 basic >scenarios' or something similar but I can't find it right now. Bit >of a bugger. What I like to try and do is to come up with a system which is self animating, and inherently non-deterministic, but which also allows players to interject themselves into to attempt to modify the operation. The classic case which I've posted on here before is that of the Orc breeders/fighters/nobles/king etc. Unfortunately I don't seem to have a good copy of it to cut'n'paste in here, so here goes from rough memory: Orcs live in caverns and cave systems. They extend those cave systems via digging new tunnels. Orcs come in several varieties: breeders, drones, fighters, nobles, and kings. There can only ever be one King Orc per warrren. Breeders periodically produce new orcs which are one of breeders, drones, or fighters. Breeders produce new orcs. Drones dig tunnels and explore. Fighters fight. Nobles guide and manage groups of Orcs. The King Orc is the supreme noble orc for an entire warren. The ratio of breeders:drones:fighters produced breeders varies dependant on the current state of the Orc warren. Should the warren be attacked, then more fighters will be produced. Should the warren successfully repell an attack, then more breeders are produced. Should the death rate of Orcs climb, the rate of fighter production similarly climbs. During peace times more drones are produced. Should the warren begin to become overcrowded, then the fighter rate climbs steeply (leading to orc bands wandering about the land). Etc. To ensure that the Orcs as a species are never made extinct, some breeders are made immobile and placed in protected rooms in certain cavern systems. Those rooms have no entrances, only exits. They are also guarded against player teleports etc. Dependant on the codition of the Orc warren as a whole, an individual Orc may mutate across castes. Thus a breeder may become a drone, a drone a fighter, etc, or in reverse. My humours sake I've made it so that should things become dire a breeder can mutate into a drone, but a drone can never become a breeder. Thus if a warren is sufficiently attack to render all their breeders fighters, then that warren will be dependant on their "hidden" breeders (see above) to rebuild their population. If it happens to be a warren without any hidden breeders (hidden breeders never mutate), then that warren is thereby doomed to gradual extinction. Fighter orcs natually group. One orc of that group will become a "noble". Once a noble, always a noble. A noble cannot become a fighter. Nobles tend to wander as part of their nature. As they wander their drone and fighter entourages follow them (drones tend to get lost a lot tho). Drone orcs naturally ungroup except when they have been coopted by a noble. Then they group, but not extremely well. In every warren there is one noble orc who is King Orc. Should the King be killed, then all nobles will cease fighting and begin to converge at the centre of their warren. During the convergance, should a noble with attached group meet another another with a group the nobles will fight to the death, with the survivor taking command of both groups. Should a noble with no group meet another such lonely noble, they ignore each other. Should an unattached noble meet an attached noble, the fighters of the attached noble attempt to kill the bare noble. Should the bare noble kill a fighter, then that fighters sub-group immediately alligns with the killer noble. Those fighters will then fight to defend the once-bare noble. Once at the centre all fighting stops. As the orcs arrive at the central meeting spot, the noble with the largest entourage becomes King. As soon a significant majority of the Orcs have arrived at the centre, the King is ratified, and the nobles and their parties disperse. Nobles with large parties tend to leave the caverns and go wandering. Nobles with small parties tend to hang about trying to grow their parties. Nobles who wander and lose their parties to attacks go back to the warren to recruit new parties. Fighters who lose their nobles in attacks while wandering tend to wander aimlessly. If they stick tegether long enough however a fighter may mutate into a noble and the group operate as per normal from there. Should a drone encounter a cavern which it determines is disjoint from its home warren, it will attempt to go home and lead one or more breeders there. This new carvern then becomes a new warren and the drone immediately mutates into a noble. As soon as one of the breeders produces another fighter the noble groups with it, becomes King Orc for the new Warren, and a new race is off. Should any orc encountner another orc from a foreign warren they fight to the death. Should any orc fighter or noble encounter another orc fighting someone not from their warren, they group to fight the outsider, and then resolve their internal differences. ****************************** What this means is that there is a built in system which creates seandom periodic Orc invasions of the general land, gives a generic replacement for the titular head as King, allows players to engage in more or less successful "exterminate the orcs!" campaigns, allows players to attempt to become King Orc (get a BIG following, kill the King, run to the centre), allows players to set up their own Orc warrens (grab some breeders and find a cavern) etc. > "I'm 21, I can go to dodgy cinemas! Hurrah!" I'm sure Debbie is thrilled. Dallas will never seem the same. -- J C Lawrence Internet: claw#null,net (Contractor) Internet: coder#ibm,net ---------------(*) Internet: clawrenc#cup,hp.com ...Honorary Member Clan McFUD -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith... </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00332" HREF="msg00332.html">Random plotlines</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Ling <K.L.Lo-94#student,lut.ac.uk></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00349.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Administrative notes</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00351.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: Prepositions and parsing</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00332.html">Random plotlines</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00331.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Comments on the DB layer</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00350"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00350"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] Random plotlines</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00348" HREF="msg00348.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Random plotlines</A></strong>, Ling <a href="mailto:K.L.Lo-94#student,lut.ac.uk">K.L.Lo-94#student,lut.ac.uk</a>, Sat 10 May 1997, 01:02 GMT </LI> </ul> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00335" HREF="msg00335.html">MUD-DEV traffic report</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Thu 08 May 1997, 10:33 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00334" HREF="msg00334.html">InterMOO: a high-power MOO server (fwd)</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Thu 08 May 1997, 09:57 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00332" HREF="msg00332.html">Random plotlines</A></strong>, Ling <a href="mailto:K.L.Lo-94#student,lut.ac.uk">K.L.Lo-94#student,lut.ac.uk</a>, Thu 08 May 1997, 04:27 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00350" HREF="msg00350.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Random plotlines</A></strong>, clawrenc <a href="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</a>, Sat 10 May 1997, 02:30 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00331" HREF="msg00331.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Comments on the DB layer</A></strong>, Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Wed 07 May 1997, 21:49 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00347" HREF="msg00347.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Comments on the DB layer</A></strong>, clawrenc <a href="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</a>, Sat 10 May 1997, 00:55 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00330" HREF="msg00330.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Prepositions and parsing</A></strong>, Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Wed 07 May 1997, 21:41 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00327" HREF="msg00327.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Comments on the DB layer</A></strong>, Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Wed 07 May 1997, 12:31 GMT </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>