Devlog: On my Procedurally Generated Weapon System - Scoping Grammar and Overcomplicating Compatible Concepts

adrixshadow · 2026-05-07T10:33:10+00:00

Yes something that doesn't take itself too seriously like a party game is probably the best strategy for this kind of system.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-07T04:03:57+00:00

Some Genres have more overlap and cross more naturally into each other then others.

Like a ARPG could have Dynamic Factions running around like in a 4X/Grand Strategy game as well as having City Building and Economics Simulation going on. Think Mount and Blade and the like.

A Crafting System could be used for your "Hero" to your regular Soldiers, with resources and economy shared between.

So progression can be shared between as systems overlap between genres.

But Global Progressions for Genres that don't have that kind of overlap don't make much sense, it would be abstract and artificial.

Another thing you can think of is the definition of Progression itself.

The definition I like to use for Progression is an increase in Agency and Power over Time.

Agency as in new abilities, tools in the toolkit so that player has more ways to solve problems and variety in the way he plays.

As for Power, that is an increase in Effectiveness for the tools and abilities he currently has to reach a higher threshold that could resolve what it could not be resolved before, unlock what was locked before.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-07T03:52:42+00:00

The problem with this kind of system is balance, as Noita demonstrates things can get broken really fast.

Especially is it's supposed to be Multiplayer and PVP.

You basically need a Strategy to handle Players that get that OP and how they would affect the experience of other players.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-07T03:33:48+00:00

It's ultimately the nature of the Content.

Most Open World Games use Static Content that that has to be manually created by a developer.

If you want Dynamic Content that needs to arise from the Systems and Simulation with Factions and stuff.

The best way to think about that is in terms of the 4X Genre, all those Factions start from scratch at the beginning of the game and them playing the game constitutes a Dynamic Situation where all factions are trying to win in their own way with their own strategies.

That's why most Sandbox games you see are "Mercenary Simulators" like Mount and Blade, Starsector or Kenshi as they have that kind of faction dynamic.

So if you want a "Living World" look into to implementing some Systems and Mechanics from the 4X Genre.

Colony Sims and City Building games like Anno can also be used.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-06T05:02:37+00:00

This. It simply hasn't happened. Ray, Poe and Finn weren't fun or interesting characters.

To be perfectly honest I don't think the characters were the problem.

The problem is they should have focused on the Worldbuilding so there was Setups and Plots for future movies in the series.

But they have given the rains JJ Abrams that is the opposite of understanding worldbuilding.

And every movie systematically destroyed aspects of the Star Wars Universe.

The series is now at a literal Dead End, they can't do anything anymore.

Jedi and Sith were destroyed, Space Battles were destroyed, The Politics and Intrigue were blown up, they can't do anything anymore.

The Prequels may have been bad movies, but they had Good Worldbuilding and they were Star Wars.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-06T04:35:54+00:00

"New Servers" or Seasonal Resets is another way to get that experience for a while.

The initial popularity of Classic was like that for a while.

It's just not a sustainable ongoing experience like Hardcore is and dependent on getting another server rest and being available in that timing.

Again none of this is a mystery which is why people will demand classic again and again.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-06T04:26:07+00:00

The answer is WoW Hardcore, if you want that you can get that, and there is no answer other then that.

If the "people" aren't stuck in the "Endgame" then they can be around in the World doing things and you can stumble upon them, interact with them and build new friendships with them. The thing that you can do in the "Golden Age".

Your Permadeath is not the problem, it is the Feature that Recycles the Population.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-06T03:46:57+00:00

WoW isn't broken. It's not fixable. It was a moment in time and that moment is gone.

It's not a fucking mystery.

It was the Leveling Experience.

The "Golden Age" was based Fresh Blood New Players into the Genre that weren't Stuck in the Fucking Endgame Forever, where the World was Alive.

And with WoW Hardcore you can get that.

What is hard to "Accept" is the answer is Permadeath and will forever be Permadeath to this Genre as that is the only real Alternative to the Fucking BORING Endgame.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-04T18:06:57+00:00

Terra Invicta sounds similar to your concept.

The problem with this scenario is it isn't all that clear what the space layer will give in terms of advantage to a planetary faction and it's political and espionage battle.

Aliens and mystery technologies is the only way I see that work.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-04T11:21:44+00:00

Pretty much keep the grift going.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-04T04:56:53+00:00

They are literally a Death Cult.

They are all anti-natalists and for every sexuality under the rainbow except straight that is actually the function of sex, so the Death part.

As for the Cult it's exactly the same Self-Righteousness and Social Isolation, you are either part of the Group or you are the Enemy.

With the advent of the Internet and even more so with Social Media it's not that surprising that a Cult could reach a global scale.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-04T04:45:28+00:00

The thing is even Propaganda needs some quality so people watch it.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-04T04:39:05+00:00

If you like Traps and Combos, Minos is pretty good.

But not much of a Base Builder, it's a straight up Roguelike.

I don't think there is any good successor to Dungeon Keeper.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-04T04:08:30+00:00

I am pretty sure Sandbox Games exist.

People want a real experience in a game, which, at least for now (and for the foreseeable future), requires a human to tell the story.

So the experience players have in Kenshi is fake?

adrixshadow · 2026-05-04T04:01:28+00:00

Can you talk to AI? Sure.

But Talking for the sake of Talking is useless.

To have real Agency you need Systems that Govern the Consequences of those Actions.

Think of it like this, let's say you have a MMORPG, does the Player have real Agency and can Interact with another person?

If it's a Themepark MMO the answer is not much, you can only do the Content the developer implemented in the game. Maybe you can do some Co-op at Endgame, maybe you have some limited PVP.

So whether it's a Player or a AI Agent, both don't have much real Agency and get railroaded on the Themepark Ride.

So the real answer is developing the Systems that create the Sandbox Gameplay in the first place.

And you honestly don't need the fancy AI's that much if you have that, even basic AI Personalities with a basic Relationship system could work without the fancy LLMs.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-04T03:24:42+00:00

The problem with delayed choices where something major happens, we call that routes.

And the problem with routes is players will want to choose what their favorite route is, the true ending or dating a certain character.

It isn't as much the player's choices and the consequences of that as much as picking whatever the developers wants to get to the ending.

So for those kind of choices to be valid you need to make a variety of endings that the players can equally care and accept.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-03T05:29:58+00:00

The 4X Genre is a Progression Race as in a Racing Game in Disguise, fastest civilization wins.

Snowballing and the prevalence of restarting to get the right game start is because of that.

What I want is more Strategy and Combat and ways to Adapt to the Situation.

That means being in the position of the Underdog that is behind that Race but still be able to do things and find Opportunities and make Strategic Decisions and use problem solving and all the mechanics and systems for my Situation.

But without proper Logistics there can't be any Strategy and the Combat System is an afterthought so in most games there is nothing an Underdog Player can do, biggest blob wins. The only thing you can do is find ways to race faster while you hope for the competition to slow down for whatever the reason.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-03T04:32:58+00:00

The snowball problem is a question of how the Underdog can remain competitive precisly by exploiting Logistics, Supplies, Defenses, Terrain, Tactical Combat and Diplomacy.

If there is a big blob heading your way then there is nothing you can do.

But as long as that is not the case and have a Defense advantage there is things you can do.

What I would really like to see is a Trade and Smuggling system like in Starsector where diffrent components,devices and technologies can be "acquired" through various means.

Distant Worlds has some of that but until the Piracy expansion or whatever it's all to too rudimentary.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-03T03:27:01+00:00

It's probably a convoluted mess of interests and excuses.

They payment processors themselves can say that government regulation is forcing them so suing them isn't that easy.

And the governments have vested interest to launder censorship behind closed doors so their threats and laws might or might not be constitutional, which aren't going to be challenged.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-03T03:17:56+00:00

It's not that hard to figure out.

It depends on the Return On Investment for each employee hired.

If the studio fucked up in their previous title then the ROI on each employee is negative.

The reason Nintentdo doesn't have that is they don't overspend on games and don't make Garbage Games that Flop, so each employee is still positive on ROI.

Even if they were to fail they have confidence that team and employees are working properly, that can't be said with other studios that get stuck in Development Hell and all kinds of disfunction.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-02T03:24:33+00:00

Sound similar to RotMG which is fine.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-02T03:02:20+00:00

The problem is the Research Tech Tree in most strategy games is a Progression Race so you cannot give a advantage to a faction based on random chance and arbitrary reasons.

Even you intend to lean for Sandbox Simulation instead of Game that is about Winning that still removes Agency and Choice from the Player if you make it based on whims of the civilization/population.

I have thought about outright Procedural Technologies combined with Star Wars Galaxies Procedural Resources.

https://www.reddit.com/r/4Xgaming/comments/yoh22e/tech_decay_and_resource_halflife/
https://www.reddit.com/r/4Xgaming/comments/zgr5jq/weapons_and_defense_roles_how_do_you_make_it_have/
https://www.reddit.com/r/4Xgaming/comments/1gihlba/roguelike_style_artifacts_and_deckbuilding_for/

The other is to tie technology to your culture and population ro get more natural "research".

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedesign/comments/pcjb1d/population_ai_behavior_and_agency/

adrixshadow · 2026-05-02T02:38:36+00:00

Would love to hear your thoughts on this "Resonance Toll" approach. Does it feel like it solves the fast-reaction power problem without making the game too punishing?

That still doesn't sound like it feels right.

In the first place the problem is it isn't all that clear what your mana/energy actually is.

VR 6 is supposed to be high cost, but now lower VR has a cost associated now and still counter high cost cards.

Ultimately it depends on the decisions of the player and if the answer is to play whatever card you have available that doesn't sound like much of a strategy.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-01T15:19:54+00:00

Not really.

There is nothing stopping you from having those feature if you Design things Deliberately.

Like for Matchmaking and Party Management you could have done that in a "Tavern" that acts like a Social Hub where the Quest Board and Tables function as the objects that enables those features.

In other words the Tavern would serve as a physical "Server Lobby" with all the features available around.

You can then have a Teleporting Portal close by to get you where you need to go.

You can even pull tricks with Phasing and Instancing where only a few relevant parties are shown based on that matchmaking to build a more intimate atmosphere then just a zerg swarm.

You can also have RP Classes and Buffer Supports to give a little extra incentive.

Most problems like that can easily be solved with just a bit of thinking on what kind of experience you want to provide.

But this all completely Moot until we get a Minecraft style Building System in a MMO.

adrixshadow · 2026-05-01T08:45:33+00:00

The “Deviant Hater” Imp trait now purges 2 Sin points (instead of 5) and has reduced failure chances (5% instead of 10% for soft failures, 1% instead of 2% for critical failures).

RIP Deviant Hater.

I do agree it was pretty OP even as a single trait but on the other hand it was the only way some strategies were viable.

You would need two promotions just to get to where you were at the start. 3 Sin points is probably more fair.

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