User:Lamoot

Random stuff:

Would need a tutorial on how to create dialogue trees

http://englishrussia.com/

On Dialogue
 the flowchart would be used to have a better overview of text nodes. Each node would then have a unique reference code. The actual text would then be made by the writer in a text program and labeled with the apropriate reference code

 + each node would perhaps have a very concise and short description of what is going on

 for example: "PC replies with anger" or "PC tells his life story" or similar

 this way the writer would have an idea what kind of text to link to this dialogue node

 of course a proper naming system would have to be made

 for the reference codes

 quest name, character speaking, node number - in case you have to make references to nodes outside of the current quest

 I guess nodes would contain the text given to you by the game/NPC and the liney going away from the node would represent possible replies by the player.

 lines*

 you can label the nodes, but I wonder if you can label the lines/connections

 how would then the dialogue trees be organized in files?

 one tree one file?

 *one tree, one flowchart file, one text file

 but then you'd have to have an overview of the level above this individual dialogue tree?

 but then you'd have to have an overview of the level above this individual dialogue tree?

 Also, you'd probably have to define standard elements that would go into the tree, based on the game's character system.

<Lamoot> for example: attribute check, skill check and similar

<Lamoot> NPC stance towards the PC?

<Lamoot> there are many options

Needed FIFE features
For us to be constructively lazy, FIFE would need some additional features such as:


 * colour overlays
 * stencil maps to blend terrain
 * terrain sprite grouping in map editor

"Just Lamoot's setting ideas"
Following an idea from an entry in Barra's ToDO list. This is a random list of what I imagine would look cool in PARPG.


 * Ice, snow, lot's of it. After the atomic war, there is a shift of climate and you have a mini ice-age, not all is frozen though.
 * The world location would be around Scandinavia. A lot of the game world ist mit dem Schnee bedeckt, except for the south-west, where the south and warm atlantic current make proper conditions for at least some form of civilization (think fishing). This area is not n ideal living place, but it didn't receive as much atomic bombardement as the rest of the heavy populated areas, like mainland Europe.
 * prewar population density: http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/07_map-centre/7_1_entire-range/thematic-maps/global_population_density.jpg areas with dense population received heavy nuke bombaredement and are thus extremely hostile environments for regular humans. (if it's red on the map, it received at least one nuke)


 * People, factions
 * ex-soviets faction
 * ex-allies faction
 * Inuits (nomadic tribe people who eat snow and build igloos out of deer) They've mastered the art of survival in this land (there were tribes people in fallout ;)). Masters of surviving in really cold terrain. The only humans capable of living in the far north. They are hunters (fish, seal, deer)
 * Sami people - another type of tribal people. Unlike the Inuits they live more towards the south, but are still skilled in survivial. Instead of igloos, they have those cone-like hide tents and they have herds of deer, and are not so much hunters, but herders.
 * Wooly mutants, instead of scorpion tails or 3 heads, they would have more weird and meaningless mutations and certain special abilities (think STALKER) + thick fur, so you can spot them sooner and shoot them (or to keep warm). They would live near radiation sources. Some bacteria in Chernobyl use melanin (skin pigment) with radiation the same way plants use chlorophyl with visible light. perhaps localized ecosystems based on this? Anyway, they are a successful branch of human evolution adapted to very cold climate and radiation. Not particularly friendly.
 * bandit groups (The Atomic Wikings!) There are various bandit bands made from outlaws, highwaymen and social outcasts (half-mutants). They are opportunistic scavangers, violent. some would have mental or mutation issues. They have no clear goal or organization, they are simply humans in their most primitive-like form (with negative meaning)


 * forms of transportation
 * snowshoes http://www.skaneatelessuites.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/snowshoe.jpg
 * ice-sails http://www.isabella-iceboat.com/99-004.jpg
 * crazy soviet corckscrew vehicles (possibly nuclear powered) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpcv_-ICcIk
 * crazy soviet snow sleighs http://www.flickr.com/photos/avi_abrams/2096405019/sizes/o/
 * regular dog-pulled snow sleighs http://www.old-picture.com/american-adventure/pictures/Dog-Sled-Team.jpg
 * ski http://www.neomatrix.com.au/books/images/ArmySki.JPG
 * ecranoplans, nuclear powered or stuck in ice (or a nuclear&ice-stuck combo) http://www.samolet.co.uk/jpegs/km_1.jpg


 * Locations
 * igloo towns http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Igloos.jpg
 * fishing villages http://pro.corbis.com/images/RR007888.jpg?size=67&uid={0372986B-3684-4DE4-BEA8-F0D816E421E6}
 * stuck-in-ice soviet submarine http://icons.wunderground.com/data/climate_images/submarine.jpg they would be abandoned, leaking from reactor and you could see in the ship's log, what targets it fired nukes at. Perhaps also some quest related stuff.
 * cool undergroud naval bases http://underground.cityofember.com/2008/07/musko-swedens-underground-nava.html
 * stuck-in-ice ships http://englishrussia.com/?p=1788
 * heated-by-geothermal-energy settlements http://www.trevorandliz.co.uk/images/strokkur%20small.jpg
 * abandoned train stations in snow http://www.topfoto.co.uk/gallery/1947Winter/images/prevs/0702407.jpg
 * pre-war major settlements destroyed by nukes. Medium settlements couldn't handle the shift in climate and were abandoned, reduced in size?
 * snow forests all over the place http://www.myczechrepublic.com/photos/d/417-2/forest-snow.jpg
 * underground bunkers
 * entrance http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/fort-pulaski-national-monument-savannah-gaa131.jpg
 * another entrance http://lh3.ggpht.com/_6xJZi8sbrPw/SHMPCsgFPBI/AAAAAAAAAHw/MzCbR1wLTUg/100_1611.JPG
 * cramped sleeping quarters http://www.al-ghoul.com/images/gadot_bunker.jpg
 * tunels http://www.uef-josef.eu/pictures/josef-gallery/image_preview
 * nice references
 * Nuclear lighthouse http://englishrussia.com/?p=2198#more-2198
 * underground system of tunnels and bases. sort of like a big dungeon, but with meaning and none of the pitfalls regular dungeons have. The tunnels could be used as a way of travelling since they are not exposed to the outside elements. Instead of them being a dangerous, mutant/bandit-infested place, they could be a sort of an underground city, or a group of settlements, where there is at least some social order (even if it's just wild west style order). People here would be people who lived in civilization before the war (no inuits or tribes here) or had parents or grandparents living in civilization before the war happened.


 * Fashion trends
 * white camouflage http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/8932/32107502hy0.jpg
 * trendy gas masks for contaminated areas http://www.history.army.mil/photos/WWII/Preps/SC180798t.jpg
 * fur coat http://www.windows.ucar.edu/earth/polar/images/simon_tradcloth.jpg
 * Tribal decorations http://www.ancientweb.org/images/canada/inuitWoman.jpg
 * camo&gas mask combo http://www.sovietarmystuff.com/images/products/200710261119540.snowcamo.jpg
 * to keep your head warm http://thecornerarsenal.com/catalog/images/DSC02808.JPG
 * sami tribal people http://www.baarstua.no/Pictures/Alle%20foto%20Vidar%20Hoel/Boazo%20Sami%20Siida%20-%20familie%20copy.jpg
 * ski bandits http://www.skiinghistory.org/GRAPHICS/PAINTINGS/Ski%20Warriors.jpg

But we should be careful with the satellites, they shouldn't reveal too much about the game world, so the players don't have a complete picture but can only speculate if they wish so (speculation and guessing is a strong element of human perception. Books use this itnernal human rendering engine to make great world with mere words, no 5000 polygon 3d rats required, eh Bethseda?)
 * Technology
 * RTG units, long-life electric source, a valued commodity in this post-apoc world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator since it's been some time since they were made, the units don't operate at full capacity, but are useful nonetheless.
 * satellites are still in the orbit around earth, but nobody is using them, since the means to control them are lost. People are not even aware of their existence in general. They live only in the tales old people tell of the pre-war era and are a part of the folklore. Anyway, perhaps there could be a control centre somewhere and if the player had enough tech skill, he could use a few of these satellites. The uses are many:
 * launch nuclear warheads (if there are any left in the orbit),
 * spy on the enemy,
 * reveal secret locations on the world map.
 * show useless information that is only for the players amusement (like weather satelites showing how frozen the earth is or stuff like that)


 * Misc. stuff from this world
 * ex-allied faction soldiers on patrol http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=8834a52e48591c60&q=ski%20army&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dski%2Barmy%26start%3D60%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dsl%26sa%3DN
 * wolfpacks roaming the countryside http://animals.timduru.org/dirlist/wolf/GrayWolfSong_06-Pack-Howling_OnSnow.jpg

What should be done first
There are certain things that are necessary foundations for an RPG project:


 * 1) Define the ruleset, gameplay:
 * 2) * A game is built around gameplay, thus general gameplay should be the first thing to define. It can be refined later, but you should have a general concept before proceeding with other parts. Not many things can be defined without a set ruleset.
 * 3) * This is a very conceptual stage of development and doesn't need to involve actual programming.
 * 4) * It depends a bit on the setting (available world weapons affect combat).
 * 5) * It defines dialogue options, like skill checks and the way a character can interact with the world and NPCs.
 * 6) Define the world setting (history, how things evolved, current situation). This is developed at the same time as the ruleset:
 * 7) * It is necessary for a ruleset.
 * 8) * It serves as a base for the story, which then serves a base for quests and dialogues.
 * 9) Define the graphics (style, perspective, size of tiles/sprites, tile sprite direction,create a robust rendering setup and tutorials on how to create graphics for the project - for each type of visual content (character sprites, ground tiles, items, walls, effects etc.).
 * 10) Define the story
 * 11) * The story defines the narrative progress of the game and with this it defines characters, locations, quests.
 * 12) * It also defines possible paths through the main narrative so then you can start working on branching dialogue (with the combination of an already defined ruleset).
 * 13) Once you have locations, people, world (entities, items etc.) defined, you can create a list of needed graphics. Up until now graphics are more for testing purposes (visualizing the ruleset) than actual final content.
 * 14) After the list of needed graphics is done, the actual visual content is made.
 * 15) If you drag the artists into this project from the very beginning, they will be demotivated and borred, since you won't have a to-do list fort them - only now should they be "activated" so far it was mostly the work of main game designers.

Defining the graphics
Use the Olde RPG rendering setup, clean up stuff, define stuff.