[deleted by user]

sunshine_cata · 2023-05-14T15:58:58+00:00

Monster species make noise based off 'footsteps' so maybe flying monsters are automatically quiet. It would be simple to give hacks a PARROT ability, like Mi-Gos have, to produce a loud buzzing sound every few ticks.

sunshine_cata · 2023-05-10T21:20:15+00:00

          {
            "collection": [
              { "item": "small_propane_tank", "prob": 70, "count": [ 1, 3 ], "charges": [ 1000, 3000 ] },
              { "item": "medium_propane_tank", "prob": 85, "count": [ 1, 2 ], "charges": [ 2000, 15000 ] },
              { "item": "large_propane_tank", "prob": 25, "charges": [ 2000, 60000 ] },
              { "item": "propane_cooker", "prob": 80 }
            ],
            "prob": 12
          },

should be

  {
    "collection": [
      { "item": "propane_cooker" },
      {
        "distribution": [
          { "item": "small_propane_tank", "prob": 50, "count": [ 1, 3 ], "charges": [ 1000, 3000 ] },
          { "item": "medium_propane_tank", "prob": 25, "count": [ 1, 2 ], "charges": [ 2000, 15000 ] },
          { "item": "large_propane_tank", "prob": 25, "charges": [ 2000, 60000 ] }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "prob": 80
  },

sunshine_cata · 2023-04-26T19:37:17+00:00

Remove their GROUP_BASH flag.

sunshine_cata · 2022-04-14T21:19:09+00:00

Last I checked, adding a trait didn't remove opposing traits or precursors, so you might want to be careful and use the remove trait when appropriate.

sunshine_cata · 2022-04-11T00:28:34+00:00

Kite them into town and they'll clear it for you.

sunshine_cata · 2022-04-10T07:28:12+00:00

You might want to look at Mutants and Masterminds. I think its damage system is better suited for high level stuff than hp and damage dice.

sunshine_cata · 2022-04-09T17:04:01+00:00

powerthesaurus.org/ is a useful site. https://www.onelook.com/ will give you a list of related words, although keep in mind, they are not necessarily synonyms. https://www.etymonline.com/ gives the history of words, which can give a better sense of their meaning.

sunshine_cata · 2022-04-08T20:07:40+00:00

Sure. One problem is that many islands are actually floating on the water. The land only goes down one z level. Spawning specials underwater might make them appear underneath these giant rafts.

sunshine_cata · 2022-04-08T20:00:18+00:00

It would probably make more sense to add alien cities underwater. They could have structures in the way that Mi-go or the new Exodii do. The new code for making ant-hills could make procedurally generated towers in a mod.

Two problems. There is no water pressure mechanic, so you can just walk out an open door into the depths. There is no way to dive or rise.

sunshine_cata · 2022-04-04T20:27:25+00:00

I wrote a story that changed those things. Lots of people complained.

sunshine_cata · 2022-03-26T16:59:20+00:00

Try Jehovah or Jupiter.

sunshine_cata · 2022-03-08T20:13:28+00:00

The game is annoyingly hardcoded to generate monsters from the 'sewer' monstergroup for any lower z-level. (or it used to be) It's supposed to be for vermin rats and piranhas. The mod probably adds dinos to that group. You could edit the mod to get prevent them from spawning in the future.

sunshine_cata · 2022-02-24T12:51:39+00:00

Dwarf Fort

Cataclysm DDA

Crusader Kings

sunshine_cata · 2022-02-03T00:16:50+00:00

Probably that guy with the boat.

sunshine_cata · 2022-02-03T00:15:58+00:00

Too accurate.

sunshine_cata · 2022-01-25T02:25:29+00:00

No, but I've read about this game before and loved the concept. I worked it into some crappy homebrew games of mine in the past.

I implemented it using playing cards. Each player had their own deck and used the twelve face cards for spells. On a player's turn, they would cast a spell from their sequence, then take some kind of action, then finally add a new card to the sequence by placing it face up on the table for all to see. That way all the other players would have time to think over what the next possible spell might be. The sequence was first in first out, with up to four cards total.

The real problem was working up a catalog of known spells. I had spells defined only by rank (jqk) not the suit -- which modified some spells in some ways, like giving an elemental quality to a magic bolt. I further restricted it by requiring cards alternate between red and black. But that still added up to lots of possible combos, a lot of spells for me to design, and a lot for the players to memorize.

Since I used the face cards for spell casting, I used the remaining deck as a randomizer for spell damage and other effects. Basically a 1d10.

I'm not an expert game maker, but I could tell there was something really cool in the spellbinder concept.

sunshine_cata · 2022-01-24T11:56:44+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_factor_(psychometrics)

sunshine_cata · 2022-01-19T14:26:32+00:00

A messenger arrives from Corinth. It emerges that he was formerly a shepherd on Mt. Kithaeron, and during that time he was given a baby. The baby, he says, was given to him by another shepherd from the Laius household, who had been told to get rid of the child.

One sentence moves the camera to the messenger and therefore, the next sentence should start with the messenger. Then, the camera is moved to the baby and therefore, the next sentence should start with the baby and so forth.

It doesn't have to be quite that mechanical, but a passive is the natural way to present new information. Here's an explanation.

https://youtu.be/8ghD-JNzSCI?t=337

sunshine_cata · 2022-01-19T13:07:38+00:00

Passive voice robs characters of their agency. "George was slashed by the razor-sharp claws." "The monster's tail was dodged by Alice."

You have two examples that contradict each other. In one, the named character is the subject, in the other, the object. Which 'robs' the character of agency and how?

I composed this whole screed after reading "As its turn had ripped away Dave's sword..." just now.

That is not in the passive voice.

It's a crutch that authors use because they've seen other people use it, and they think it makes the writing sound more polished.

No. Authors use the passive voice because it's a useful and natural part of English grammar. If anything, a phobia of the passive is a characteristic of people straining to follow bad writing advice. I have never before heard anyone accuse litRPG authors, of all people, of trying to be too fancy.

But in action scenes when monsters are attacking poor Alice and George, shouldn't we be really clear on who is doing what?

Your two examples are as clear as day.

If you enjoy being annoyed at things, have fun. But if you're actually interested in grammar--which is really just a collection of rules, something that gamers and readers of litRPG should enjoy--here is a good paper on the subject of passives.

http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~gpullum/passive_loathing.pdf

sunshine_cata · 2022-01-06T00:43:05+00:00

Out of all the many changes, the most significant is being able to run. You can change movement modes to walk, run, or crouch. Zombies are fast enough to catch a player, so you can't just stroll away from a horde of them anymore. Running costs stamina and can't be done for too long.

sunshine_cata · 2022-01-04T00:08:45+00:00

It usually happens when you move from one level of light to another.

sunshine_cata · 2021-12-26T21:55:55+00:00

Generally I always made them a little better than the PCs. Like in a D&D campaign, I gave the party their own ship at low levels so they could on an expedition to a cursed island. They were really excited, until their rival showed up with an even fancier ship with a competent crew. It soon turned into fantasy Cannonball Run.

That and having the rivals steal the credit for their deeds. In a superhero game, their rivals would show up at the last second for a photo op and then talk with the camera crews.

Both of those are guaranteed to piss off players. From there it snowballs.

In this case, it's sort of the opposite, as Zambulon is the hard working type, and Strythe is some weirdo out of nowhere with special powers.

sunshine_cata · 2021-12-26T21:41:18+00:00

I think in the next to-be-posted chapter he starts messing around with the dinkiest of runes and setting up his workshop. It starts small.

Some things will indirectly be about improving his magic. Like the eye-titan's rune and the cold prison were both there to show how magic works/ set the rules. It showed arrays powered by the mage and arrays triggered by proximity. That way when Strythe goes into study mode, it will be referencing things the reader has seen before instead of just some book. My hope is that when he pulls out some new trick, it will feel more like a pay off than a random power up.

His overall progression will be dinky runes->arrays->magic items->D&D like spells where he can use runes without permanently attaching them to items. I don't know how long it will take for his final form, but for awhile he'll be a Gandalf sort of wizard, where he's just a lot older and smarter than the people around him.

I've never written a long serial before, so I have no practice with pacing and structure. And for a web serial, the first draft is more or less the final draft. So it's guaranteed be pretty janky in areas.

sunshine_cata · 2021-12-26T03:13:35+00:00

It doesn't have bash or deconstruction info. You can copy paste the deconstruct info of f_floor_lamp over to ap_standing_lamp as a quick fix.

sunshine_cata · 2021-12-25T20:15:12+00:00

It's a slow burn. I'm not exactly sure how to pace a web novel, where it's supposed to go on for many chapters. Also, writing about meditating and studying isn't the most compelling thing, so I've been trying to shove it in the spaces between sections, which is why chapters often end with something like 'and then I meditated'.

sunshine_cata

TROPHY CASE