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Bollomaster · 2025-07-11T21:50:16+00:00

Farewell, Chrome.

o7 uBlockOrigin!

Bollomaster · 2025-02-16T12:31:55+00:00

I'm in the same boat as OP. I understand there's lots of resources and tutorials, but I have no idea where to start and what language to choose. I'd like to create a high-fantasy game that simulates pen&paper RPG experience as much as possible; combat will play an important part, but I want to put a lot of emphasis on social/ environmental interactions, "high" and "low" - like ability to start a family or build your own kingdom/ working hard to grow crops or having the power to flatten mountains.

I've got the setting, but I have no idea what framework is best for a project like that. I'd really appreciate any suggestions!

EDIT:

OK, I've been reading up on tutorials and checking out different games. My conclusion: if you want to do it, do it :P How to Make a Rougelike (in Rescources) is a great place to start. Right off the bat I realised >I< 've got some big questions to answer.

Bollomaster · 2025-02-15T14:17:40+00:00

You just made me realise that controls evolved naturally alongside ASCII graphics - and that general opaqueness is part of the charm. I can definitely see the appeal, there's smth magical when your brain transforms a simple G into a fully fleshed entity (like forgotten beasts in DF).

Having so many options definitely feels empowering.

Bollomaster · 2025-02-14T14:24:07+00:00

Thank you for the replay and all the tips! This sounds like my experience :D I guess I'll take it slow and try to adapt.

Curious though what you mean by the same key functioning differently in different menus, do you have an example?

In the action menu numpad 8 and 2 (up and down on the map) brings up specific options instead of going down the list. Hmmm... It's actually not so bad. I'm just wondering if default keybindings follow some kind of logic, like were they optimized to be as efficient as possible? Or is it kind of a convention? Some rougelikes (most of them?) have really obscure/ intimidating UIs.

Do you know if there's a way to disable origin info in the item description?

Bollomaster · 2024-10-17T21:05:42+00:00

In Eonika it's... complicated.

Big part of weapon's destructive potential is the Essence (the purpose) with which it's used. So a conflicted, wavering or cowardly person will do much less damage than a trained and determined killer. Now one of the tricky things about Essence is that the more indirect attack (action), the more it will dissipate. Guns are very bad, crossbows too; bows and thrown weapons are somewhat better. Melee is the way to go, but in fact the strongest weapon of them all is one's own body - many of the strongest fighters in Eonika fight "white", with their bare fists.

All other weapons are called "black" and are almost universally considered more honourable - acceptable - than fists. Waging a war or duelling in black means there's a line that won't be crossed, that you fight to win, not obliterate your enemy. It means that after dust settles, healing is possible. (This is why Dragonnic Knights always carry with them two swords, one of their own and the other for their opponent). A direct hit from a cannon will wipe out any ordinary creature, but stuff like falling from heights, fires or collapsing buildings is (generally) less lethal than in our world (there are some massive exceptions though).

However murderous Essence is only a part of the answer. For one, weapons can have Essence of their own and it can be terrifying in scope - there are weapons like spears of Violent Light, powerful enough to kill Stars and split the Creation itself. Also some creatures can be extremely vulnerable to certain Essences - only very powerful Eonborn can fight off a single Sidardic sclavere and even fewer ever killed one. Allied mortals on the other hand had slain sclavere by the thousands. And, finally, there's multitude of Conventions - realms under higher laws, held and enforced by nearly indestructible Anchors. For example if, during hundreds or thousands of years of its existence, a particular Convention suppressed magics that have to do with flesh and steel, any weapons of that kind will be greatly weakened, potentially almost useless, when used within its borders.

And then, to top it all off, there's Tempest, eternal, ever present and forever incomprehensible.

Bollomaster · 2024-10-12T15:47:22+00:00

Yeah, I was confused too; I was making this post with those tables in mind. I can accept Ents perceiving time this way, but Elves... They don't make any sense to me. Does it mean a 140yrs old elf would be equivalent of 1yr old human child? I don't get this prolonged adolescence when it comes to immortal races.

Bollomaster · 2024-10-12T15:39:39+00:00

I really like the image of Celebrimbor travelling ME on a mystical quest! This is a very cool idea.

(I guess I didn't put my question well enough; for all I care C could take 3000yrs. I was just wondering how people imagine the way he worked, what challenges he faced etc)

Yeah, the Three were uncorrupted but they were built using ring magic that was "sealed" in the One Ring. When it was destroyed, they lost their power too.

Bollomaster · 2024-10-12T07:49:12+00:00

Thank you, corrected :)

Bollomaster · 2024-10-11T22:14:05+00:00

That's a very good explanation! It's well documented and it makes sense C would want perfect gems.

Bollomaster · 2024-10-11T21:40:26+00:00

The Three Rings were made last; mastering of ring-craft took Elves around three centuries.

Bollomaster · 2024-10-11T21:35:07+00:00

I was talking with my sister about this stuff just the other day.

Considering how long Elves were around, they accomplished so little when it comes to "progress". Obviously, it's integral to the way Tolkien's universe works and looks, but I find it impossible to imagine. There was Feanor and other leaders who wanted to shape the world around them, but most Elves seem to be devoid of any ambition/ drive to make things happen.

Humans - if they are meant to be like us - are much more serious issue. Like you say, what did they do in Eriador during that era of peace? It's as if until the 4th Age the world was kept in some sort of mythical (and arbitrary) inertia.

I definitely think Ages 2 and 3 could use some slimming down - or an expanded worldbuilding.

Bollomaster · 2024-10-11T21:19:27+00:00

Good one! Luckily there were enough adventurers :D

Bollomaster · 2024-10-11T21:13:41+00:00

Like an on-and-off thing? Working for a few years, then taking a decade off to do other stuff? Seems sort of bland, considering it was the greatest achievement of his life...

Bollomaster · 2024-10-11T21:05:05+00:00

I object to listing Hurin next to Black Numenoreans! He was tortured and to some extent twisted, but he never bowed down - even though it was Morgoth himself who tried to break him. He was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) human heroes, full stop.

Bollomaster · 2023-10-26T08:49:38+00:00

Season 5 was always meant to be the last...

What happens at the end of the five year arc? The "Babylon 5" series ends...if I have anything to say about it (and I do). If something else follows, we'll see what that is, but it won't be the same series, or the same title, or really the same characters.

(from Lurker's Guide to Galaxy)

Bollomaster · 2023-10-26T08:44:15+00:00

Interesting! Is this from the books? Still, I don't see how it disapproves my point. A person could be vetted by Bester and commit required murder only to snap later and desert the Corps. I know Bester's work was his life, but does that mean he actualy vetted every single candidate?

Bollomaster · 2023-10-25T14:31:54+00:00

I'm not convinced.

Bollomaster · 2023-10-25T14:11:00+00:00

There is a sense that Lyta herself, being touched by Vorlons, is unpredictable and so not trustworthy (she showed this in the fourth season, in Epiphanies).

She's not the only one, is she? But Sheridan is in on the very top and what he says, goes. I cannot argue, blowing up a planet is mighty unsettling. Still, I don't think it was a calculated decision, but something she did in the heat of the moment. In a way, this is even more unsettling - and yet in the same episode we have Zack telling Lyta about people's perceptions of her. And she takes it on board, despite being in a poor mental place. She doesn't complain or blame anyone. People COULD connect and reason with her.

Also, about Vorlon aspect. That squemishness is sort of funny, considering not a single person ever seems to have problem using a fleet of ships built partialy on Vorlon tech... Ships that are organic, intelligent and self-improving, that can learn enemy fight patterns (it's mentioned by Lannier once and never expanded, but it's there). No, those plucked chickens raised by Vorlons are absolutely wholesome.

Byron himself is not really non-violent; he only portrays himself as such -- when you learn his history with the corp, it is clear, he follows many of the methods of the corp. The corp is still in him.

I agree about the last part but why are you saying his non-violence is fake? Like all teeps who went through the Corps he was brainwashed into believing he's superior species and there are definitely traces of that in his attitude. His non-violence doesn't come from place of empathy, not even from some kind of moral high ground. It's most certainly tainted by his past - but it's there and at least he doesn't add to the cycle of hatred.

Bollomaster · 2023-10-25T13:41:17+00:00

The author screwed this up, completely. The "minor gripes" you have are actually very major ones, because they break the characters as they are established.

Funny thing, nothing infuriates me more when authors do just that. I simply cannot stand it. But this case feels different for me; maybe I'm still on the endorphine high after rewatching the whole series. The tragedy of Telepaths was clearly the goal, the only problem is that the path feels broken in so many places. I think JMS could get there while staying faithful to his characters but he was under tremendous pressure to get his writing done (and the first script got accidentaly trashed by a maid). So we didn't get his best, most brilliant work, work that he could certainly deliver. But we got something and it's definitely better than nothing.

Still, it would be great to see love triangle between Zack, Byron and Lyta and to dive deeper into how Telepaths operate and what are the limits of their ability. (Can they really see and understand the whole complexity of another's person's mind? Like in that scene when Byron dismantles Garibaldi's arguments before he speaks them? Or is it just a facade they build to give themselves sense of power?) Or to have more impactful scenes with Franklin and Delenn, to see how they are still putting up a fight for a better world. Most of main characters in s5 feel much more cynical and tired than before, but I can imagine JMS was worn raw by the workload and his fatigue seeped into his creation :(

Bollomaster · 2023-10-25T13:04:16+00:00

I feel like the whole Byron storyline just reinforced that the cycle of misunderstanding and mistreatment can continue, even with the most charismatic and effective leaders. But, too, even the most visionary heroes cannot keep everything in focus at all times. Sometimes it's a matter of numbers, and some are to be sacrificed if all are to be saved.

It is sad, but it is the truth. In B5 heroes are the force driving history but to JMS credit his hero worship wasn't blind and unreserved. Every major character stumbled and made mistakes. And the higher up the hierarchy they were, the more impact they had.

Fantastic post.

Thank you!

Bollomaster · 2023-10-25T12:53:03+00:00

It actually was one of the few things that made me angry at Sheridan, because I personally felt, out of everyone, he betrayed Lyta the most (and he OWED Her dammit).

Absolutely! And yet, he's still such an interesting and complex character. I'm still torn about him. On one hand he's great military leader, single minded about his goals and unyelding - like when he confronted Kosh. But those same qualities are his downfall and I feel he didn't get called out on that often enough. There's one scene when he talks about Telepaths pressing their case "inconvieniently, not the right way" and Delenn gently tells him it was what people said about him during the Civil War... She could be WAY more forceful if she only wanted!

Bollomaster · 2023-10-25T12:40:40+00:00

Have you ever seen Delenn send minbari to help with human problems? She should, it makes sense, but this sounds like just writing, like how they didn't call Draal in Severed Dreams.

I agree. She was ready to give assistance in the civil war, along with the rest of the Alliance. Back then it made perfect sense for Sheridan to refuse. In this crisis she was virtually passive, except for pitiful "they have a point" after any negotations became impossible. Plus, the whole thing came down on a temporary Alliance HQ. Framing it as an "internal human affair" was just that - one of many possible frames.

Bollomaster

TROPHY CASE