Chat Log: Stratics House of Commons #1 [03.06.1999]

Atriarch HoC #1 log
--this log has been edited by poq to cut out irrelevant material.--
--THIS LOG FROM ATRIARCH STRATICS --
--Converted to ATN HTML Form by Bialar Crais--

Session Start: Sun Jun 06 14:05:35 1999
* Logging #atriarch to '#atriarchhoc.log'
Willburn: First a question from Giggs: What are the *projected* system requirements of the game? Will 3D acceleration be Direct3d or OpenGL? Will it support AMD's 3DNow Technology?
Serafina: 3D accleration will not be required.
Serafina: All OpenGL supported cards will be supported, but so will software-only rendering.
Serafina: AMD's 3DNow technology is supported if it supports OpenGL, it is not somehting we access directly
Willburn: Yet another question from Giggs:In one of your interviews, you mentioned mountable flying creatures, will warriors be able to mount these and in essence create an air war?
Serafina: Our initial design is that Unarra will be the only species to fly creatures.
Jaynen: Hmm.. will any creature allow Extra passengers?
Serafina: Yes, I think it should.
Jaynen: Unarra controlling the beast but perhaps with a friend or two
Jaynen: Very Cool.
Willburn: This one is from Taoz:Are there range weapons?
Willburn: Can players create weapons?
Serafina: Yes, there are range weapons.
Serafina: The extent to which players can customize or create individual weapons has not yet been worked through.
Serafina: The depth of that feature will depend on time.
Poq|ykz: In an earlier interview (i believe the one from rpgnet), you mentioned something about military campaigns, as opposed to "close combat." How will this be managed?
Serafina: Military campaigns are managed through use of "leaders."
Serafina: A character will assign units to a leader.
Serafina: Then the character will give orders to the leader.
Jaynen: These units will be Natives?
Serafina: The leader will follow through with those leaders using the troops/unites assigned to them.
Jaynen: Drafted or Bought like mercenaries?
Serafina: Yes, these units can be natives.
Poq|ykz: Nifty.
Jaynen: Can be but dont have to be?
Serafina: drafted, bought, influenced, etc.
Jaynen: Can you tell your "leader" to attack an avatar?
Serafina: No, of course, an army can be made up of entirely all players
Poq|ykz: Will we be able to, say, sit on a nearby plateau and view the grand-scale battle below?
Serafina: Yes, of course, you can tell your leader to attack an avatar.
Poq|ykz: Or will it be strangely simulated?
Jaynen: The leaders are always natives except for Tyrusin?
Serafina: Yes, you can view the battle from afar....but let's keep in mind what happens once a battle begins...
Serafina: communication is usually lost
Poq|ykz: ah
Serafina: or mixed up and confused
Willburn: So you have this kind of tactical warfare game in Atriarch too?
Serafina: Tactical warfare is a part of enforcing your strategic position
Willburn: Next a question from Milo:Will the linux version be just the same as the pc version?
Serafina: I look at it this way...Strategy are the decisions you make...Tactics are the way you implement those decisions
Serafina: Yes, Linux and Windows version will be the same
Jaynen: Will the linux version be open source (=
Milo: Will it work on Red Hat??
Serafina: Any open source code that we use will remain open source.
Jaynen: Red Hat = Linux distribution
Vilk: What library standard will it use? glibc or libc6?
Poq|ykz: From Taoz: "It appears we are able to reproduce. How will this be implemented? Can we control our offspring, or are they automatically NPCs?"
Serafina: possibly using both
Serafina: Your offspring will become characters.
Serafina: ...but not necessarily a character you control.
Jaynen: Intriguing
Poq|ykz: How will they have the characteristics of their parents? Also, can there be mixed-race breeding?
Jaynen: Hmm that would pose a lot of programming problems i think
Serafina: There is no plan for mixed-Avatar species breeding
Serafina: The offspring will inherit a percentage of the "karma," but that is all.
Jaynen:So if you are bad your kid will get bad karma?
Jaynen: and the birds will follow them?
Serafina: If you have a negative karma, I think it would naturally follow that some of that was passed on.
Serafina:...but it will only a percentage...not as strong
Sasquatch: how can a character advance, XP, practice, ?
Serafina: practice and use
Sasquatch: but do we have to kill monsters to advance, or, if i choose to be a more peaceful merchant, i can advance in other ways
Serafina: Killing will not be required to advance
Serafina: For example, what does architecture have to do with killing?
Serafina: not much
Sasquatch: was about to ask the same thing ;)
Willburn: I have asked you before about modes of transportation , last time you hinted about windtunnels to transport you from place to place , have you decided to put this feature into the game or not yet?
Serafina: The wind tunnels are there
Serafina: Whether they will be operational is still up in the air
Willburn: There are birds to transport you by air , how about by sea? (is there water or some liquid on Atriarch?)
Serafina: I would love to see an entire water environment, but that may be something we have to wait for in a later release
Poq|ykz: Will walking and animal life (disregarding the wind tunnels) be the only form of transportation on Atriarch?
Serafina: We have bitten off enough with what we have.
Serafina: running, swimming...other than that, yes for now
Sasquatch: how will trade be implemented, i have read somewhere that each races have their own currency, is there something that all races will want?
Serafina: Each race will have something that is highly useful to the other species.
Serafina: For example, then Lokai will always have lots of maps.
Willburn: I guess there is water because its an organic world , so you have sea-based creatures? And how about plants , any meat-eating? :)
Serafina: Yes, there are water based creatures. Yes, some are meat-eating ;-)
Willburn: Is there a skill to take care of plants (botanist or what it was called)?
Serafina: Arc wanted me to interject a comment...on Linux glibc and libc6 are the same
Poq|ykz: Furthermore, exactly how will the Cavolon skill work? Will they be able to grow different plants that do different tasks? If so, like what type of tasks?
Serafina: The Cavolon will be the masters of plants.
Serafina: How that works will be similar to the skills that other species have.
Serafina: Some will be innate, some will be learned.
Serafina: Cavolon will be able to grow plants with different attributes that accomplish different tasks.
Serafina: For example, some plants when eaten will have positive or negative (poison) effects on species
Sasquatch: will this grow be slow ?, or instant?
Serafina: Some plants will wear down the structure of buildings
Serafina: Some plants will be offensive weapons, some will be defensive.
Jaynen: Could a cavlon use plants to ensnare another avatar?
Serafina: You don't necessarily have to "build" your weapons...you can grow them.
Willburn: Can plants be used as ranged weapons?
Serafina: of course
Poq|ykz: Will weapons of one race only be able to be used by another?
Serafina: There are no false boundaries of what a species can use or not use.
Serafina: If it is physically possible in the world, then it can be done
Jaynen: Will I be able to as an Eshlar work with a Cavalon friend and make Entrapments and defenses for what i build
Jaynen: Like a pit
Serafina: Yes
Jaynen: covered with thin plant growth
Willburn: Can minor-factions become major-faction?
Serafina: One of my favorite "organic" weapons is a type of ice fish that Tyrusin can use to build a mote around their buildings
Serafina: It will attack anyone who tries to cross
Serafina: Yes, minor factions can become major factions
Serafina: However, it is a process
Poq|ykz: What is involved in the process?
Serafina: You must build and empire.
Serafina: Building an empire requires...
Serafina: that you build several cities
Serafina: on at least two different continents
Sasquatch: speaking of buildings, is there something to prevent the , *cough* uo housing problem?
Serafina: and then you will be required to have a trade route between each of your cities
Serafina: In some areas, UO housing problem will also occur. It is very natural for people to collect in a small space.
Poq|ykz: A trade route? How will this be implemented?
Serafina: However, there will sooooo much room that you can go off to the wilderness and build there too
Jaynen: hehe tell him the size of the world tho
Jaynen: 25million?
Serafina: It's big
Serafina: It's round
Jaynen: square miles?
Serafina: uh...I think it is a little over one million square miles
Serafina: 1.7 [million] square km
Jaynen: yeah
Jaynen: not 25 million
Sasquatch: still very big
Jaynen: 1.5 million
Willburn: Is it dangerous to create cites in the wilderness (random attacks by natives?)
Serafina: Yes, there will be areas that are more dangerous than others, which is why you want to make sure you have defensive means appropriate to that area established when you build
Serafina: to go back to poq's questions about trade routes...
Serafina: in order to build a city, a player will have to establish several kinds of structures
Serafina: ...each structure will be assigned a function
Willburn: So you can build defensive structures like guard towers?
Serafina: ...in order to assign a building a function, certain requirements must be in place
Serafina: a city will require a minimum number of various buildings, population, and functions
Serafina: there are different levels of cities
Serafina: this is the empire building part
Serafina: one function would be a communications center
Serafina: this is where trade would take place perhaps...these are all going to be renamed in ATriarch terms
Serafina: You would need to have followers dedicated to travelling to and from your communications center/trading post between the cities
Sasquatch: and every building will be destroyable, if attacked by something that overpass the defense right?
Serafina: this is what I mean by establishing a trade route
Quidam|ykz: Will the software for Atriarch be sold in stores similar to the way EverQuest was? Or will you download it off the website after subscribing?
Poq|ykz: How will one "take over" a building?
Serafina: Yes, any building will be attackable...even the native structures
Serafina: How will it be sold? depends..
Serafina: on whether we get a publisher
Serafina: they will mot likely dictate how it would be sold
Serafina: How do you "take" over a building? Well....there are two concepts...ownership and possession
Willburn: ...can you destroy a building?
Serafina: Basically, if you are able to possess, the building...it becomes yours
Serafina: yes, you can destroy a building
Poq|ykz: How do you possess a building? Rid it of its former inhabitants?
Serafina: kill them, bribe them, cast them out
Serafina: defeat them
Serafina: maybe they don't care
Willburn: Then do you have an option to destroy or capture certain buildings?
Poq|ykz: Will there be guards of some sort to prevent unruly behaviour in the already-established cities? Also, will one be able to hire npcs to perform this function in avatar-created cities?
Serafina: yes, you will have the option to send your leader out on a capture or destroy command
Sasquatch: and will building be expensive, in way of money and goods, or just have to have a nice eshlar friend will do
Serafina: first...in Atriarch, the term npc is not used...we use native, since it is much more appropriate to the world. ...and yes, you will be able to hire them
Serafina: Building will not be easy, but gathering the resources may not be
Poq|ykz: Back to the faction topic, what advantages, if any, will a major faction hold over a minor faction besides prestige?
Serafina: oops...let me repeat myself...building will be easy, but gathering the resources may not be
Serafina: group skills
Serafina: not available to individuals
Willburn: Ahha , so to make buildings you need to cooperate?
Serafina: no, not necessarily...it will be easier with help, but still doable alone
Sasquatch: will there be a skill cap, or something similar to prevent being a good in everything character?
Serafina: that is a testing issue...we will see what works best when we make it to testing
Poq|ykz: Serafina, was the "group skills" comment in answer to the major faction question?
Serafina: yes
Poq|ykz: ok, thanks.
Quidam|ykz: Group Skills.... Elaborate please.....
Sasquatch: is there classes, or something similar for an avatar?
Serafina: there are no classes
Sasquatch: you can pick up some starting skill or, everybody have the same skill at start according to their races?
Serafina: group skills - well, factions, like avatars, will have a set of skills
Serafina: the make-up of you faction will affect those skills
Serafina: the behavior of your faction will affect those skills
Willburn: Are players required to eat on a regular basis , and can you for example hunt for your food in the wilderness?
Serafina: there will be "faction" enemies as well as the ability to declare personal enemies
Serafina: no, everyone will not have the same starting skills
Serafina: no players do not need to eat
Serafina: I hate games that make me eat or I die
Poq|ykz: What will prevent players from making "mule" avatars?
Serafina: however...
Serafina: food will aid in certain things
Quidam|ykz: What will be the policy on PK's?
Serafina: some food will have various properties
Serafina: mule characters...well, we think we are going to limit the number of characters per account to three
Serafina: policy on PK?
Serafina: well...there is no pk switch
Serafina: ...and since this is a war game as well as rpg...well...I guess you better keep yourself guarded
Serafina: or stay in safer areas
Serafina: however, there will be penalties for player killing
Serafina: There will be "Karma Birds" ....however, we are coming up with a new name for karma
Serafina: the Karma Birds act as player killer annoyances
Serafina: basically, these birds will come and pick up a player killer and drop them into a nasty areas according to their level of player killing
Serafina: we won't kill off the pk, but we will annoy them to death
Poq|ykz: Will the crafty PK be able to avoid or fend off the birds?
Serafina: yes, there will be ways to fend off the birds
Serafina: ...but it won't be easy
Poq|ykz: nice
Serafina: ...and unlikely unless you are Unarra
Willburn: And that brings me to the question , in the VaultNetwork interview you asked for ideas to handle those people who didnt kill you by the sword but annoyed you to death , found any smart ways to solve this?
Serafina: build a wall around them without doors
Serafina: Actually, we have some ideas, but I'm open to others
Poq|ykz: Are there gods or a sort of religion in the game?
Serafina: there are rituals, tradition, histories, lore...I guess a kind of religion...some sects
Sasquatch: will there be a kind of NameFilter, to prevent names like ImAKoOlDooD
Serafina: We hope to have a name filter.
Willburn: When is alpha-testing complete?
Serafina: It took longer to ask the "when" questions than I thought....
Willburn: :)
Serafina: well...to be perfectly evasive...
Serafina: uh...hmm...let me see...
Serafina: we don't give dates
Oberon: the question is, do we get to party with you at next years E3 ;)
Serafina: zzsssshhshshh...static
Serafina: I'm losin ya
Serafina: are you there?
Willburn: hehe :)
Serafina: there will be several stages to testing
Serafina: we will test the basic technology
Serafina: then add features
Serafina: we hope this will be a systematic way to test
Sasquatch: how will testers will be choosen?
Serafina: via an application
Serafina: on our website
Serafina: ...which isn't up yet
Giggs: Will minor factions be given a few testing spots?
Serafina: I mean the application isn't up...we will put it up when we are ready to take applicants
Serafina: yes, minor factions will be given a priority
Serafina: assuming...they meet Atriarch faction standards
Willburn: Will there be monthly fees like in Ultima online or do you pay for the game and thats it. (or is this undecided yet?)
Serafina: let me give you some scenarios
Serafina: if we join with an online service...it will likely be their standard rates with an initially free download
Serafina: if we sign with a traditional publisher...then probably will be a "boxed" version to purchase plus a monthly fee
Serafina: If we do it ourselves, then we will probably have a free intial download or choice to buy a cd-rom
Serafina: with a monthly fee
Giggs: what would you consider the best scenario?
Serafina: I think the best scenario is giving players the choice for a free
Sasquatch: will the torpor(spelling) storm affect the avatars, or it is only a roleplay purpose?
Daegon: Will there be any sort of way to pass on your name to future generations, exa: I have a child that later can take over when I die.
Serafina: the Torpor Storm is real.
Serafina: How it will affect the game...you will have to play to find out
Serafina: you will be able to bequeath you belonging to your offspring
Poq|ykz: The HoC will end in two minutes, so fire off those questions. =)
Daegon: I was checking out the web page and was wondering how big the story line is going to affect our every day game play
Serafina: the story line is the gameplay
Poq|ykz: Thanks for attending the first Atriarch HoC!
Poq|ykz: Our gratitude goes to Serafina, who has been gracious enough to answer all the questions we've bombarded her with...
Session Close: Sun Jun 06 15:27:31 1999