"All things are poison, and nothing is without poison, the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison." -Paracelsus
I know that's a quote on toxicology, but I wonder if it is true for all consumable vices, video games included. My addiction is in full swing at the moment, evidenced by 7 days of no blog posts. Gotta get my schedule back on. Blergh!
Showing posts with label Thought. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thought. Show all posts
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
Thursday, 5 November 2015
Sunset Six: Monumental Victory
[Part of my Sunset Six story.]
At the end of a tale the final tests in each discipline become available: the building of monuments for each of the seven schools. Not only do these constructs need an obscene amount of resources, but they also require their character slots to be filled, specific to their rank in the discipline. A monument needs exactly 1 Oracle, 2 Sages, 4 Masters, 8 Scribes, 16 Journeymen, 32 Prentices and 64 Students. All up that's 127 people!
The monuments also hold a second purpose: they contain a player made suggestion for a future test in the next telling! Obviously there are many ideas that get put forward and after the "oracle" type players have a chat with Pharaoh Pluribus they get an idea of which ones are actually feasible to implement and from there can only pick one to go forward.
Imagine my surprise when two of my ideas made it through then: The Test of the Sculptors (Art and Music) and the Hand of Ra (Architecture)! Gotta admit, I am overjoyed that my input will potentially shape the future of the game. Those are the best types of events a player can have in an MMO right?
As my self imposed "final" quest for the telling I decided to try visit all the sites, failing only to reach the Monument of Thought in time which was the hardest to build due to lack of students in that discipline. I suppose like me, everyone was content solving puzzles instead of building them!
And so, the sun finally sets and Tale 6 comes to a close - it's time to say goodbye to my Level 54 Scribe of Two. While this is the end of my story, it is just the beginning of another chapter for Egypt and who knows, maybe next time it's you who will have A Tale in the Desert.
Thanks for reading! =)
At the end of a tale the final tests in each discipline become available: the building of monuments for each of the seven schools. Not only do these constructs need an obscene amount of resources, but they also require their character slots to be filled, specific to their rank in the discipline. A monument needs exactly 1 Oracle, 2 Sages, 4 Masters, 8 Scribes, 16 Journeymen, 32 Prentices and 64 Students. All up that's 127 people!
It doesn't look like much when it starts.
The monuments also hold a second purpose: they contain a player made suggestion for a future test in the next telling! Obviously there are many ideas that get put forward and after the "oracle" type players have a chat with Pharaoh Pluribus they get an idea of which ones are actually feasible to implement and from there can only pick one to go forward.
Imagine my surprise when two of my ideas made it through then: The Test of the Sculptors (Art and Music) and the Hand of Ra (Architecture)! Gotta admit, I am overjoyed that my input will potentially shape the future of the game. Those are the best types of events a player can have in an MMO right?
The Monument of Art and Music!
As my self imposed "final" quest for the telling I decided to try visit all the sites, failing only to reach the Monument of Thought in time which was the hardest to build due to lack of students in that discipline. I suppose like me, everyone was content solving puzzles instead of building them!
From top left to bottom right: Leadership, Architecture, Worship, Harmony, Thought, Body
Did I mention there are strange gods? Well there are. Just uber rare to run into them.
And so, the sun finally sets and Tale 6 comes to a close - it's time to say goodbye to my Level 54 Scribe of Two. While this is the end of my story, it is just the beginning of another chapter for Egypt and who knows, maybe next time it's you who will have A Tale in the Desert.
Thanks for reading! =)
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
Sunset Six: Test of the Bijou
[Part of my Sunset Six story.]
It might surprise some people that I left this Thought test for last, seeing as it is available at level 10. For me it is an excellent teaching example which more games should do. The idea of the test itself is pretty simple. There's a cutting table and a sample of what you need to match. You then get a big green gem to spin around and hack up however you like, as many times as you like, until you match what is displayed on that player's table.
Apart from the test though, there are actual "cuttable gems" that you can acquire and I imagine they are pretty rare. On top of that, you need to cut them PRECISELY into specific shapes for some structures - and there are a lot of variations. Goofing up on these means trashing the gem too so you must gain proficiency in them as a player. So much so that there are gem cutting "schools" that feature actual cuts where you can practice the various forms before attempting the real thing.
The whole idea of practice makes perfect and letting newbies goof up without consequence due to player skill (not character skill) before facing the real challenge ticks the good design box for me. If you want a more in depth look at gem cutting and bijous I recommend reading Jeromai's Tale 3 experience.
It might surprise some people that I left this Thought test for last, seeing as it is available at level 10. For me it is an excellent teaching example which more games should do. The idea of the test itself is pretty simple. There's a cutting table and a sample of what you need to match. You then get a big green gem to spin around and hack up however you like, as many times as you like, until you match what is displayed on that player's table.
The big green mess needs to turn into a square with a diamond hole.
Apart from the test though, there are actual "cuttable gems" that you can acquire and I imagine they are pretty rare. On top of that, you need to cut them PRECISELY into specific shapes for some structures - and there are a lot of variations. Goofing up on these means trashing the gem too so you must gain proficiency in them as a player. So much so that there are gem cutting "schools" that feature actual cuts where you can practice the various forms before attempting the real thing.
Gem cutting school at Seven Lakes.
The whole idea of practice makes perfect and letting newbies goof up without consequence due to player skill (not character skill) before facing the real challenge ticks the good design box for me. If you want a more in depth look at gem cutting and bijous I recommend reading Jeromai's Tale 3 experience.
Sunday, 4 October 2015
Sunset Six: Questioning Others
[Part of my Sunset Six story.]
Continuing with the Thought tests, the highest level one is called the Riddle of the Sphinx, which isn't asked by the Sphinx at all. The Sphinx just asks riddles made by other players! To pass the test though, not only do you need to answer riddles but you must make some of your own which are worthy enough to become "Noble" rank. To pass the evaluation stage your questions simply need to get rated "good" by others who see both the riddle and the answer.
Once it progresses to a "Common" riddle, then people have to answer it "for reals" and this is where it will become a Noble rank or not. Within the first 21 responses the riddle must have 7 correct AND 7 incorrect answers to ascend. If that doesn't happen the riddle is marked as "fallen" and is out of the game. Now's a good time to mention that once a player has answered or evaluated a riddle it won't come up for him again so no cheating for balance. :P
That sounds pretty tough, but I think Pulse of the People is harder. A player creates a game station and posts some questions which people answer - just like a survey. When the survey is done, the true game begins and anyone who has not yet used that station can try answer the same questions. Points are awarded for the answers which were most popular during the survey phase.
Obviously I've not been around long enough to be good at this game. :(
Continuing with the Thought tests, the highest level one is called the Riddle of the Sphinx, which isn't asked by the Sphinx at all. The Sphinx just asks riddles made by other players! To pass the test though, not only do you need to answer riddles but you must make some of your own which are worthy enough to become "Noble" rank. To pass the evaluation stage your questions simply need to get rated "good" by others who see both the riddle and the answer.
I have a Question.
Once it progresses to a "Common" riddle, then people have to answer it "for reals" and this is where it will become a Noble rank or not. Within the first 21 responses the riddle must have 7 correct AND 7 incorrect answers to ascend. If that doesn't happen the riddle is marked as "fallen" and is out of the game. Now's a good time to mention that once a player has answered or evaluated a riddle it won't come up for him again so no cheating for balance. :P
That sounds pretty tough, but I think Pulse of the People is harder. A player creates a game station and posts some questions which people answer - just like a survey. When the survey is done, the true game begins and anyone who has not yet used that station can try answer the same questions. Points are awarded for the answers which were most popular during the survey phase.
Family Feud - Egypt Edition!
Obviously I've not been around long enough to be good at this game. :(
Friday, 2 October 2015
Sunset Six: The Discipline of Thought
[Part of my Sunset Six story.]
Unlike Architecture, the Discipline of Thought lets you pass the principles of all its tests by simply solving a variety of player made puzzles. To actually pass the tests requires you to build them yourself though AND to have people solve them and rate it as good, which as I mentioned before is a tough balance between not being too easy or too difficult.
Two of the simplest ones for me are the Test of the Pathmaker, which is basically a connect the dots puzzle with a few added rules of blue dots must have a straight line and red dots must be corners with straight lines directly after on each end, and the Test of the Constellation which involves covering up green stars on a "night sky" table.
Test of the Hexaglyphs can be a fair bit harder. In it, you must arrange a blackboard of hexagons so that the symbols on all sides match the symbols on the glyphs next to them. While the white bordered glyphs are fixed in position, all the others can be dragged around and rotated as you like.
The Test of Venery is the most fun for me, as it is basically like a player-made "treasure hunt". It could be simple and quick or extremely tricky (one I've seen is all maths with the very first clue asking for prime number coordinates >.<) or far reaching - going all across Egypt! I think I'd really enjoy making one of these. :)
Unlike Architecture, the Discipline of Thought lets you pass the principles of all its tests by simply solving a variety of player made puzzles. To actually pass the tests requires you to build them yourself though AND to have people solve them and rate it as good, which as I mentioned before is a tough balance between not being too easy or too difficult.
Two of the simplest ones for me are the Test of the Pathmaker, which is basically a connect the dots puzzle with a few added rules of blue dots must have a straight line and red dots must be corners with straight lines directly after on each end, and the Test of the Constellation which involves covering up green stars on a "night sky" table.
Easy versions of Pathmaker and Constellation.
Test of the Hexaglyphs can be a fair bit harder. In it, you must arrange a blackboard of hexagons so that the symbols on all sides match the symbols on the glyphs next to them. While the white bordered glyphs are fixed in position, all the others can be dragged around and rotated as you like.
A very challenging Hexaglyph board.
The Test of Venery is the most fun for me, as it is basically like a player-made "treasure hunt". It could be simple and quick or extremely tricky (one I've seen is all maths with the very first clue asking for prime number coordinates >.<) or far reaching - going all across Egypt! I think I'd really enjoy making one of these. :)
Venery sample from Top's Treasure!
Friday, 11 September 2015
Sunset Six: Initiate +3
[Part of my Sunset Six story.]
The initiation task for Art and Music is an interesting one in which you construct your own sculpture in which you can use pretty much anything in game as part of the design.
Similarly, the discipline of Thought requires you construct an empty hand puzzle and let a number of other players solve and rate it, requiring a "good" or better to pass. This is tricky as making it too simple or too frustrating can lead people to giving you a low score.
Lastly, the initiation of Worship is one I didn't think I'd ever pass as not only do you need a sacrifice a number of ritual components under a time limit but you also require a partner who has not yet passed that initiation. I was in luck that another new player named Sarina was keen on getting it done and with Balthazarr's help with providing supplies along with prompts for recited incantations that require perfect typing, we both passed with a double zap.
The initiation task for Art and Music is an interesting one in which you construct your own sculpture in which you can use pretty much anything in game as part of the design.
You can make odd things like I did or more commonly...
... they are used for signs. :)
Similarly, the discipline of Thought requires you construct an empty hand puzzle and let a number of other players solve and rate it, requiring a "good" or better to pass. This is tricky as making it too simple or too frustrating can lead people to giving you a low score.
I made mine pretty simple.
Lastly, the initiation of Worship is one I didn't think I'd ever pass as not only do you need a sacrifice a number of ritual components under a time limit but you also require a partner who has not yet passed that initiation. I was in luck that another new player named Sarina was keen on getting it done and with Balthazarr's help with providing supplies along with prompts for recited incantations that require perfect typing, we both passed with a double zap.
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It involves jugs.
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