Re: [spoon-discuss] Random stuff

[Wonko <dplepage@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Quoth Orc In A Spacesuit,

> Well, I have a few more random things to say:

Qwyk glaz'd vox jumps fern bitch?

> First, I have yet another project!  Don't worry, it won't get in the way of
> the more important ones, but once it's done, I'm sure you guys will enjoy
> it.  A recap of all that I'm doing:

Do you sleep?

> [edit] I wrote way more than I intended.  If you want to skip me talking
> about my projects, go down to the last couple paragraphs, where I ask your
> opinion on something.[/edit]

[tag] ... [/tag]? What language uses those? It looks like some unholy hybrid
of Nomic and HTML...

> The Uber Prop - Status: ironing out kinks
> Changes fundamentals of the entire game to eliminate loopholes, but leaves
> the spirit of the game intact

I'm not sure "intact" is a word that could really apply to this game,
without some sort of negative thrown in there with it... :)

> Gallery - Status: done but ongoing
> Bringing the world to life, except when the world is chaos.  (if you guys
> wanted, I could do one where everything's been bulldozed and bd's bombs are
> in midair... but that'd take time, and I'd have to figure out stuff)

I'd say just draw a Blue Screen. That more or less sums it up.

> Library, part 1 - Status: ANomic eulogy, BNomic week 1 done.
> Recording the important events, the well-written details, and the memorable
> quotes of the history of BNomic.

Ya know, I've been meaning for some time to write a sort of "B Nomic
Player's Guide", a list of all the different objects currently defined and
how they work... This could tie in to the whole Library thing...

> Library, part 2 - Status: Waiting on game to stabilize
> Writing down what everyone actually does and the ramifications of such, as
> well as any dialogue important to game funtion.  Major goal to help Dave
> sort things out.

Define "Stabilize".

> Music - Status: core out, but on back burner
> Creating instruments imbued with powers that, when played in _meaningful_
> ways, have effects on the world.  When in the hands of a doofus, they cause
> nothing but pain (mostly from the rocks the crowd throws).

Propose the core then, and make more instruments later. I've got some ideas
of my own, being a tubist...

> Unnamed project - Status: Idea in mind, some notes written down
> A totally new, major element in the game that should REQUIRE ALMOST NOTHING
> FROM DAVE.  It's optional for everyone, and should be quite fun.  This is on
> a very large scale, I daresay almost as large as the entirety of The Grid.
> How will Dave be exempt from dealing with it?  I got it all figured out.  If
> you want details, either wait until some other projects are done, or heckle
> me a lot.

I HATE teasers. If you're not going to tell us what it is, don't tell us
about it at all!

> Oh, and where does the word Chutzpah come from, out of curiosity?  And to
> whoever responds to this now-very-large email: please cut out parts you are
> not responding to.  *cough*Glotmorf*cough*

Chutzpah is Yiddish. It roughly means guts, nerves, balls, force of
character, something like that. AHD says it's, "Utter nerve; effrontery."

If you're asking how it got into the game, it was because I thought the word
"power" was too mundane.

> As I refine the uberprop (I apoligize to everyone sick of hearing about it),
> I keep finding ways to improve it.  Anyway, I am combining everything like
> "Icky, Cursed, Dead, Hungover of the Ages,
> Dizzy, Buttplated, Inebriated, In Hiding, etc." into one list for each
> physical object.  Do you all think I should call the list your Status or
> your Attributes?  In role-playing game, such things are usually called
> Statuses, while things like strength and dexterity are usually called
> Attributes.  But Attributes is what's used in the current rules.
> What do you guys want?  Speak now or forever hold your peace.

I'd say Disabilities should be attributes, and str, dex, etc. ought to be
dimensions of some sort. An attribute in Nomic is generally anything that's
true about something, such as Rob's being the Concertmaster and Purple - you
either are Purple, or you aren't. A dimension, then, is something where
there are a variety of numerical values it can have, such as Score [0,1000),
or charm (-?,?). It might be nice to have a formalized way of also defining
attributes that have, say, 7 different states, though. Some sort of modal
thing... Hmmmm....

> Ok, what else...
> Oh yeah, I need a better word than catastrophe.  It's too long and sounds
> overdramatic.  Fatal Error is out, just cause this is a anti-code nomic.
> Collision doesn't quite apply either, and Problem is too generic, as is
> Mistake.  Airspeeders Crash, and that's more computer terminology.  Any
> suggestions?

How about "debacle of Biblical Proportions"? Or maybe, "Wreck", or "Trash",
or "Smashup"? Or perhaps just, "Destroy"? What I had looked something like
this (I couldn't find the paper, sorry):

__Standard Destructors__

When a rule other than this one says that a Grid object is destroyed, that
object is destroyed unless that object is one of the following, in which
case the effects described in this rule happen instead:

Gremlins: They go into Hiding.
Players: They lose 3d5 points, go into Limbo, and can't reenter the Grid for
a nweek.
Grid objects which, according to another rule, must always exist: They get
moved, either to the location where the rules specify, or to a random
surface square if no location is specified.
Ancient Monoliths: The effects mentioned in rule 301 happen.
Big Rocks: The Big Rock and anything on it is destroyed.
Speeders: Any objects in the speeder are destroyed using the methods
mentioned above.
Grid Squares: The square is recreated at the same location, with depth 20
and substance Void.

-- 
Wonko

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