Roleplaying games vs Character

Many (computer) RPG's are pretty stupid regarding character choices.
Usually it boils down to making either a "Good" choice or an "Evil" choice, a splits "Evil" into "Egoistic" vs "Aggressive", but that is about the extent of 99% of player choice that impacts the game. And usually you are rewarded only for being 100% "Good" or 100% "Evil".

To me it would make a lot more sense to simply select a character alignment at the start and then the game sticks to it. Of course you could still have choice in dialogues, but these would then be more of a nuance of the character and would in general not influence the major conflicts in the game but only flavor your relations to individuals and situations.

To make it even more interresting I propose the following:
Have 4 main alignments (relation to others), one of which is choosen at character creation:

• Altruist - Totally selfless and will sacrifice a lot to help others
• Altruist with Egoist tendencies - Mostly helpfull but do look out for his/hers own interrests
• Egoist - Do not care for others, only for himself/herself
• Egoist with Sadist tendencies - Seeks to harm others, though not at great own expense.

Then have 4 subalignments (how the character comes to conclusions):

• Pragmatic - Considers the consequences of actions, do not abide rules and conventions.
  
• Emotional - Can act very differently to different situations, but have a hard time changing attitude.
  
• Idealist - Follows a set of ideals. There should be 2 different ideals for every primary alignment (out of 4-5), these should be interresting and display different choices in the context of the game world.
  

Now develop the 16 possible characters, and their motivations and build a game where one of these faces the same challenges and opportunities, and you will have a game with GREAT replayability.

Nosferatu

Wow, found an old song on an old flashdrive that i wrote like 12 years ago.
I am kind of impressed at my writing, and kind of embarrased at the same time.

But mostly baffled why the hell I didn't think of trying to seriously learn instruments earlier since I WAS interrested in songwriting.

anyhoo, here it is:

Title: Nosferatu
Artist: Limeatorium (Me, relaunched under this label)

In the hour of darkness he walks all alone
The silent guard in the graveyard of bone
Blue flames, undying, follow his path
Pray that you never will feel his wrath

Run.. run.. in the shadows he dwell
No one can hear you when you're screaming in hell
Nosferatu, Nosferatu
He is coming.. coming to get you

He is a breeder of his own kind
Those that he catches, to his fate he bind
Corrupting the life that he had.. and miss
Himself once betrayed by the vampires kiss.

Run.. run.. in the shadows he dwell
No one can hear him as he screams in his hell
Nosferatu, Nosferatu
He is coming.. coming to get you

A Beautiful Hypothesis

new song, written by me...

A Beautiful Hypothesis

=== Verse 1 ===

I don't need an excuse - to like you, just the way you are
I don't need a reward - to help someone in need
I don't need any threats - to do unto others what they don't do to me.
I don't need your belief - for I am not alone
Do you need to? - Good for you - We got so many things to do
But I don't need that - that Hypothesis

=== Ref. ===

I am Human, you are Human
We are many, we are one
The day will come when I will die,
all other days I won't.

By being there and asking why?
We'll build tomorrow if we try,
The story of Humanity goes on...
and we we did our part.

=== Verse 2 ===

I don't need an excuse - to make something of my life
I don't need a reward - to pledge myself to good
I don't need any threats - to do what needs to be done
I don't need your belief - but I believe in you
Do you need to? - Good for you - We got so much work to do
But I don't need that - that Hypothesis



=== Chord Progressions ===

Verses:
E B C# A  x3
E B A B
A B A B
A B - -

Ref:
E B C# G#
A E A B
E B C# G#
A B E B

On Forgiveness..

I have reached a milestone in my work on my ethical system, it can be summarized in one line, which however exist in two versions: theological and philosophically.
Personally I believe that the theological one better captures the emotional significance of the statement:
"God forgives those who cannot forgive themselves."
and the secular one:
"Only those who cannot forgive themselves, deserves forgiveness."

To elaborate.. What I mean by this is that the sufficient and necessary criteria for forgiveness is the inability to forgive oneself. By accepting that our actions and their consequences are permanent and that we cannot erase them, we need to compensate our mistakes by helping others in order to justify our moral well being.

People can get lost in feelings of worthlessness when brooding over how their actions through carelessness or ignorance have created suffering for others. It is here that the above statements are useful:
Because they affirm worth, to those that also need it.

On General Truths...

"All generalizations are false, including this one" / Mark Twain

I have paraphrased this into my own version which highlights what I believe is the key reason for the genious of the quote:
"There are no general Truths, but some are useful"

Obviously this quote is not a general truth (by its own definition), but even though it isn't, it is useful (implied by its own definition). This means that even if truth cannot be completely established, we can believe things are if it is useful and refer to this statement for justification.

It's not a general proof, but then again it doesn't need to be.

Subjective but not Arbitrary

Just because there are different perspectives, with no way to determine the optimal, does not mean that all possible perspectives are equal and that perspective is arbitrary.

Practical example:
The exact form of education in schools. Pupils have different ways to learn most effectively and the teachers have limited resources to vary their teaching. It may very well be that using any particular form of learning is inefficient for most pupils.

It is a mistake to believe that because of this: Teching methods are arbitrary.
Clearly it is a bad idea to (for example) punish and reward pupils solely by random chance, as this encourages no sort of behaviour and leaves all pupils in a state of passive feeblemindedness.

While a cynic might argue that this might be the objective of a given sort of society; this would hardly count as anything like a school as we know it.

NS2 NoCom project halt

Sometimes you have to face facts, and that is that I don't have sufficient time to pour into this project.

Programming? Sure. But playtesting and getting involved in NS2 classic to get an understanding of the core mechanics works? No, sorry.

Recap: a bit over 8 years ago I started playing natural selection and I loved it. Since then I have started up a family, went through 6 years of study at a university, learned programming and software engineering and developed myself in uncountable other ways.

My values has switched and with what time I have for recreation, I value other things higher than learning and getting into a multiplayer community.

I love games, but in the future I will most likely only focus on singleplayer experiences.


I will use whatever knowledge i gained through this project in my professional career, along with my newfound wisdom of when to quit. I will try to contribute some of my findings to the NS2 modding community, most likely as a small mod that others can use, but then I will most likely abandon NS2 from a players point of view.

Tentative name change: NS2 - [NoCom] Frontier

Frontier Assault seemed to be a misnomer, since Assault seemed to suggest greater focus on attack/defense of areas than I intended.

Current name idea: [NoCom - Frontier] (or NCF for short)
Not sure, but at least it is more relevant what it is about.

And now, for something completely different..

New alternative names for days in the week:

Luna - (day of the moon) - Monday
Terra - (day of the earth) - Tuesday
Anima - (day of life) - Wednesday
Motus - (day of wind) - Thursday
Homini - (day of mankind) - Friday
Aqua - (day of water) - Saturday
Sol - (day of the sun) - Sunday

Not to be interpreted in any sort of mystic/magical way.. just a nice way to confer extra meaning to everyday concepts.

NS2:FA - Resource System

Preliminary numbers, to be tweaked as neccesary:

There is a shared pool of Materials (M) for each team, and an individual pool of Plasma (P) for each player.

Team gets (1+#Extractors/Harvesters) Material per 5 sec, and every player in that team gets just as much Plasma (each).

Killing a X nets Y Plasma:
(JP - Marine with Jetpack, EQ - Marine with equipment, HA - Marine with Heavy Armor)
Marine, Skulk - 2
Engineer, Gorge - 3
Lerk, JP, EQ - 5
Fade, JP+EQ, HA - 8
Onos, HA+EQ - 10

CC/Hive - 20
IP - 1
Harvester/Extractor/Tech/Chamber - 5
Sentry/Hydra - 3

Construction cost:
Hive - 25M, 10P
Harvester - 10M, 5P
Hydra - 10P
Crag/Shift/Shade/Whip - 10M, 10P

Command Center - 25M, 10P
Infantry Portal - nothing
Extractor - 10M, 5P
Sentry - 10P
Armory/Observatory/ProtoLab - 10M, 5E (+research cost)
Each research costs 1.5M per 5 seconds, and takes 20 seconds + 10 for each successive level (20/30/40/50/60 seconds, 6/9/12/15/18 cost)
Lifeform cost:
(Plasma only)
Gorge, Skulk - None
Lerk - 25
Fade - 45
Onos - 75
Mutations - 5 each

Equipment :
(Plasma only)
Rifle - (default)
Catalyst Pack - 5
Shotgun - 15
Flamethrower - 25
GrenadeLauncher - 35
Plasma Repeater - 50

Supply Dispenser - 20
Scanner - 25
Mines (2) - 10
ARC Designator - 30

Jetpack - 25
Heavy Armor - 40

NS2:FA - Marine Techtree

Marines advance through their techtree by building tech buildings (Armory, Observatory, Prototype Lab). When a building finishes construction it starts researching upgrading itself and all other structures of the same type. Research costs material and will continue as long as there exists more structures than current research level. The current research level is always maintained despite destroyed strucutres, but is temporarily disabled if all structures of that type is destroyed.

Research of different types may be done concurrently.

(ex. Current Armory research level is 2, and a third Armory is built, research is immediately started on the next level. If any Armory is destroyed before it is complete, research will be halted until another is built. But the current research level is maintained except if all Armories are destroyed)

Armory
Rifle - Standard Issue. Default weapon for Soldiers.
Catalyst pack (Rifle add-on) - One time use, gives an attack rate increase for a short while. Requires level 1.
Shotgun - Does large damage in bursts. Sprint slightly faster. Requires level 2.
Flamethrower - Damages energy as well as armor, leaves a burning effect that makes aliens take damage over time until healed. Disables alien structures while under constant exposure. Requires level 3, and 2 CCs.
Grenade Launcher - Fires a projectile that explodes after 2.5 seconds. Friendly fire. Very effective against structures. Does not detonate on impact. Also a Rifle with a much smaller clip. Requires level 4 and 2 CCs.
Plasma Repeater - Energy minigun, takes a while to charge up, but fires quickly and narrow while limiting turning and movement. Reloads using Plasma instead of carried ammo. Requires level 5 and 3 CCs.

Observatory
Supply Dispenser - Drops medpacks/ammopacks at target. 2 Charges, takes a few seconds to recharge. Requires level 1.
Scanner - Use to scan at engineers current position. Reveals aliens and structures.through obstacles/walls. 1 Charge, takes a while to reload. Requires level 2 and 2 CC's.
Mines - 2 one-time use proximity mines that does heavy damage. Requires level 3 and 2 CCs.
Atmospheric Upgrade - Increases armor, and slightly increases movement speed of all marine players. Requires level 4.
ARC Designator - A mobile siege gun follows you around and positions by your laser designator. While sieging does heavy damage to structures revealed through sight or scanning. Requires level 5.

Prototype Lab
Weapons Upgrade I - Increases damage done by most weapons. Requires level 1
Weapons Upgrade II - Further increases damage done by most weapons. Requires level 2
JetPack - Allows aerial movement, immunity to gas - Requires level 3 and 2 CCs.
Weapons Upgrade III - Increase damage done by most weapons even further. Requires level 4.
Heavy Armor - Greatly increases armor but decreases movement speed. Requires level 5 and 2 CCs.

NS2:FA - Alien Abilities

Mutations:
All aliens can evolve mutations for types that there are two or more structures of. (ex. 2 or more Crags enable Regeneration and Carapace)
Evolving costs points, and you can only have as many mutations as there currently are Hives, and only one of each type (ex. you cannot have Regeneration and Carapace at the same time)

Skulk
(Starting class)
Bite - Damage nearby players.
Parasite - Infects marines which makes them take 10% additional damage, and slows them by 20% for 2 seconds.
Leap - Charge to make a giant leap, charging slows movement. (requires 2 Hives)
Xenocide - When the skulk dies, he splashes acid around him, damaging anyone nearby. (requries 3 Hives)

Gorge
(Builder class)
Build - Place a structures that then will build itself. Can be built on floor/walls/roof. Max 1 construction at a time.
Healspray - Heal aliens and structures in a cone.
Spit - Spit a ball of goo that damages players. Flies in an arc.
Bilebomb - Spitted gooballs does more damage to structures and also splashes. (requires 2 Hives)
Lerklift - Can attach itself to the underside of a Lerk, can still drop structures, spit and healthspray. (requires 3 Hives)

Lerk
(Support class)
Spikes - Shoots ranged spikes, does very little damage versus structures.
Fly/Flap/Glide - The lerk can use his wings to move quickly through the air.
Spore - Shoots a cloud of gas that damages marine players in it over time.
Primal Aura - Nearby aliens gain a slight melee attack speed increase. (requires 2 Hives)
Lerklift - Can carry a gorge while flying, decreases maximum speed slightly and disables Spikes and Spore. (requires 3 Hives)

Fade
(Damage class, requires 2 Hives)
Swipe - Does quick and strong melee damage.
Blink - Teleports to a new location in view. (requires 2 Hives)
Shadowmerge - Slowly gains invisibility while standing still. (requires 3 Hives)

Onos
(Tank class, requires 3 Hives)
(An Onos with only 1 Hive have no means to attack)
Legspace - Skulks, Lerks and Gorges can move under the Onos.
Gore - Does heavy damage, extra powerfull to structures. (requires 2 Hives)
Rush - Increases movement speed while running in a straight line, damages and pushes back players, tramples (destroys) sentries. (requires 3 Hives)


Strategy Basics:

• Early game uses Skulks and Lerks to harass marines, add a Gorge to quickly wear them down.
• Mid game have Fades picking off marines, while lerks and skulks distracts. Gorges helps assaulting fortified positions.
• Late game abilities and Onos tear down any remaining resistance.

Using a mix of classes is always the key to success.

NS2:FA Entity Overview

The following are the currently planned features in NS2: Frontier Assault:
(Many are quite similar to NS2, some possibly to NS1)

Marines

Classes:

• Soldier - Can use advanced weaponry (Default: Rifle). Also always has a Pistol and a Switchaxe. Can use combat suits.
• Engineer - Can use gadgets (Default: None). Also always has a Pistol and a Welder. Can use combat suits.

Weapons:

• Rifle - Best in medium range. (Default)
  
• Shotgun - Best in medium range.
• Flamethrower - Paralyzes in short range. (Requires 2 CCs)
  
• Grenade Launcher - Good vs stationary targets. (Requires 2 CCs)
• Plasma Repeater - Need to rev up. Easy to aim. Impairs movement. (Requires 3 CCs)

Gadgets:

• Supply gun - Dispenses Medpacks/Ammo at target.
  
• Scanner - Temporary enables motion tracking of nearby aliens and strucutres. (Requires 2 CCs)
• Mines - Places mines which explode on contact with alien units. (Requires 2 CCs)
• MASC Designator - A Mobile siege gun follows you. laser point on targets (Requires 2 CCs)

Combat Suits:

• Jetpack - Few details, but allows greater freedom of movement.
• Heavy Armor - Dramatically improves armor, but slows movement.

Structures:

• Command Chair - Only built at certain positions. Unlocks advanced equipment. Used for changing class. Alien objective.
• Infantry Portal - Marine respawning. Can only be built near CCs.
• Extractor - Increases resource flow. Can only be built on nozzles.
• Sentry - Shoots at enemies. Is facing a fixed direction, can but be slowly rotated.
• Armory - Enables advanced weapons. Restocks ammo and health.
  
• Observatory - Enables gadgets. Use to call emergency respawn at nearest CC (costs plasma).
  
• Prototype Lab - Enables advanced combat suits and weapon damage upgrades. Electrifies structures in close proximity.
  

Aliens:

Classes:

• Skulk - Quick and small melee attacker. Bites, Leaps and Scouts.
  
• Gorge - Small and slow builder/support. Builds, Heals and Sieges.
  
• Lerk - Small flying ranged support attacker. Harasses, Weakens and Distracts.
  
• Fade - Teleporting medium sized melee attacker. Picks off enemies. (Requires 2 Hives)
• Onos - Giant melee battle cow. Sweeps and Tramples. (Requires 3 Hives)

Structures:

• Hive - Only built at certain positions. Alien respawning. Unlocks mutations and higher Alien classes. Allows class change nearby. Marine objective.
• Harvester - Increases resource flow. Can only be built on nozzles.
• Hydra - Shoots at enemies. Can shoot at any direction.
• Crag - Heals and protects nearby aliens and strucutres. Unlocks mutations.
  
• Whip - Attacks marines and structures. Unlocks mutations.
  
• Shade - Cloaks structures and blinds enemies. Unlocks mutations.
• Shift - Speeds up building of structures, increases movement speed. Unlocks mutations.
  

Mutations:

• Adrenaline (movement) - Increases energy (used for attacks/abilities) regeneration.
• Celerity (movement) - Increases movement speed.
• Acid (offensive) - Increases damage to buildings.
• Venom (offensive) - Melee attacks get a small damage-over-time effect to players.
  
• Silence (sensory) - Completely silences all noises made within a small radius. Disables alien hearing.
  
• Fear Sense (sensory) - Reveals nearby enemies to all aliens.
• Carapace (defensive) - Increases armor.
• Regeneration (defensive) - Increases regeneration rate.
  

Natural Selection 2 mod idea

I've had this idea for a NS2 mod for ages that I will present in this and the following posts. In this post i will try to summarize the difference between my mod idea and the current state of NS2 (as we know it from the beta). I will refer to the unmoddified (or "vanilla") version of NS2 as NS2:Classic

NS2: Frontier Assault (name pending)
In this mod, commanding mode is essentially removed. This restores the Gorge to the only builder for Khaara (which I will from now on call Aliens). I will also add a second class to the frontiermen (which I will call Marines): the Engineer, that will be responsible for most construction and support tasks previously done by the Commander. The tech tree will be simplified to use fewer buildings and upgrades in order to try to improve the learning curve of the game. Some elements will probably be familiar to NS1 players, although I will try to use NS2:classic stuff as much as I can where it still is appropriate.


I want to do this becase:
A) I've always considered the Commander role to be the weakest link in NS1, and the one that was the primary reason for most "bad game" experiences.
B) While I do recognize the effort Unknown Worlds has done to NS2:Classic to improve the commanding role (and I do recognize the improvements to the game experience they have managed to do so far, and hope it will extend to the future), I still feel the need for a different, more streamlined, game experience.
C) I want to capture the elements that I really liked from NS1: Assymetrical Gameplay, Variety, mix of Strategy/Tactics. But I also want to add Simplicity.

NOTE: I am not trying to encourage anyone else to do this for me. I am a decent (though Junior) programmer and will if neccesary (to the extend of my abilities/timeschedule) try to do this by myself. I post my ideas here in order to:
A) Put my ideas in writing.
B) Present it for whomever is interrested.
C) Get constructive criticism (possibly).

Natural Selection 2 - FanFic / Suggestion

Dmitri stood with his back to the wall, in position to cover the back entrances and the ventilation of the engine room. He quickly glanced towards Sarge's position, covering the forward entrance and the main route to the hive room in cargo bay.
"Where the heck is that MAC, Sarge", he hissed. Sarge didn't move an inch but answered in his usual grouchy voice.
"It'll come when it comes, just keep your eyes on the vent. I smell something bad and it ain't your mom's perfume."

"Copy that, but shouldn't we push forward, Sarge?", Dmitri went on. Shifting his position anxiously.
"Not until this position is fortified, you won't. Don't you go ninja on my ass or I'll see you in detention.", Sarge stated coldly. A welcome sound came from the back entrance as a MAC hovered into the room.
"Finally", Dmitri exclaimed and started moving towards it, reaching for his Welder.

"EYES ON THE VENT, CORPORAL", shouted Sarge and fired a few rounds round the corner. Dmitri quickly resumed his previous position as the MAC started building.
"You do your job, and it will do its. Some Skulk probably would have had your behind for lunch there", he went on. As if someone understood the onging conversation, a chuckle came from the nearby vent. Dmitri tensed up, and nervously steadied his aim.

Just then the radio crackled and Sarge checked his minimap.
"Oh, heck.. Looks like the boys in the forward team need some help.", he muttered. A split second decision went through his mind.
"Alright, help that darn bot finish up will ya? Its a risk we have to take. I'll cover the vent."

As Dmitri again took out his Welder and helped the MAC finish up the last of the defenses, a Skulk leaped from the Vent only to meet the tungsten bullets of Sarge's gun.
"Heh, that'll teach...", Sarge began before being interrupted by a claw piercing through his back and sticking out from his chest.Dmitri quickly reached for his Rifle and the combined forces of his training days in the Barracks and the Sentries targeting system quickly brought the Fade down.

He packed up and sprinted out of the room towards the other team. With a fleeting glance on Sarge's lifeless corpse he left the room in the hands of the cold and efficient machinery.
And Jeff, their veteran Commander.
He knew it would be safe. For a while, at least.

New webpage

Launced new webpage to complement this blogg:
www.limeatorium.net

Project Started: Computational Intelligence

Full name:
Computational Intelligence - Emergent Co-adaption of Information Superstructures.

This project combines Computer Science, Neuroscience, Philosophy to create theoretical and prototype models for intelligence (of sorts).

The Four Riders of the Welfare Apocalypse rides again.

And I'm one of them, Tired.
The others are: Boring, Homesickness and Anguish.

New Blogg

more information to follow.