Valkrionn
The Hamster King
I did, but only got as far as looking at the actual files. Was kidnapped, taken away to watch Hangover. Epic movie... laughed hard enough that I was in tears haha. 
[MODMOD] Legacy of Erebus: Nuova Alba
- Thread starter Opera
- Start date
I did, but only got as far as looking at the actual files. Was kidnapped, taken away to watch Hangover. Epic movie... laughed hard enough that I was in tears haha.
just wait to you get teleported into the Land of the Lost!
Jabie
Wanted in Monte Carlo...
Background text for Talos, first draft.
******
Talos
To describe Talos’ laboratory as Spartan would misrepresent the matter. Other Mechanos workshops contained bountiful supplies of equipment. Indeed, the workshop of Maer, the Mechana Excelsior, was cramped to the brim with all manner of strange devices, as if creative reactions might develop from their sheer proximity. There were large glass tubes filled with luminescent liquids, and small pits of fire whose apertures could be adjusted to control the heat, and clockwork chains and gears that could be tuned to record pressure levels, and gunnels and grooves in the desktops and floors to drain away the mess, and, just occasionally, blood. Talos’ workshop, by comparison, was devoid of all surplus accoutrements. If a component was not required for an experiment, it was not to be found. The distraction of the unnecessary was a pollutant to the organised mind, and, presently, Talos was deep in contemplation. His thoughts a tangle of logic knots and quadratic equations and confidence intervals, for Talos was enjoying all the clicks and grinds and whirrs and crunches that combined to form that well-ordered machine, the Palace of the Mechanos.
The puzzle lock on the third floor was running loose. A quarter-turn of the bottom right hand screw would fix it. The chef was putting grinding 58% too much pepper into tonight’s chicken casserole. Talos would mention the failing at luncheon to prevent further lapses. Out in the courtyard, a few of the young girls were singing a skipping rhyme: “The square... on the hypotenuse... of a right-angled tri-aangle... is equal to... the sum of the squares... on the oooopposite sides. YEAH!” Maer had taught them that. It was inefficient means to express the function, completely missing the possibility of spherical and multi-dimensional triangulation, and the overly verbose affirmation at the end was redundant in his considered opinion, but he could not help but notice that the new models were grasping basic geometry with increased ease since Maer had taken up her role.
And there was one other sound. Someone was approaching his chambers, with remarkable alacrity. Menec entered the room, his excitement announced in each step. Talos turned to face exactly as he entered.
_CoMpOnEnTs AcQuIrEd?_
“Yeah. Here catch.” Menec threw two pouches to Talos. He beamed broadly. “Hell of an adventure it was too. There’s one time when I thought the Illians had me for good. Six of ‘em round a pine tree. The blizzard howling a gale at the top. No way up, no way down...”
_CoNvErSaTiOn SeRvEs No PuRpOsE._
“What!?! You don't want to hear my story. I’ve gone half way round the world for you, risked my neck a dozen times, and you can’t even be bothered to say Thank You.”
_SuFfIcIeNt FiNaNcIaL rEcOmPeNsE pReClUdEs ReQuIrEmEnT fOr VeRbAl GrAtItUdE_
“Screw you. Screw you and your money. I put my neck on the line and you act like it’s nothing. My life, my story. It doesn’t mean a damn thing. Screw you and screw your damned machines.” Menec stormed out; Talos did not react in the slightest.
Talos opened the first pouch. The patella fragment fell onto the table. Talos’ temperature sensor told him it was colder than the surrounding room by two orders of magnitude.
A glass vase, containing a rose, stood on the centre of the desktop. Maer had sent down to brighten the place up. Talos, unaware of any fault in the ambient lighting, would have disposed of it, had he not required it for the experiment. The high priest, dressed in the bronze armour of his own design, built to withstand all external threats and pressures, cautiously picked up the bone and held it two inches away from the rose.
Hexagonal patterns spread out across the water, slowly creeping up the sides of the vase with elegant symmetry. The flower took on a grey sheen, a dull pallor that washed up the stem and along each branch in turn. Leaves curled and twisted in its wake, their once-proud vigour robbed, replaced with white rime. Blushing blooms sickened, stamens stilled, fragility endowed by stasis took hold. The rose petals snapped under the weight and fell gracelessly to shatter on the table below.
Talos put the bone back into the pouch and, from the second pouch, removed a single golden hair. He held it aloft, dangling it beside the dead flower. The effect was every part as powerful as before. Immediately, the rose sprung to life. The water unfroze, the colour rushed back into the leaves, unfurling them as it did so. A sweet aroma wafted into the air as the plant became more verdant than before.
Talos returned the hair to his pouch and noted his results in the journal, encrypting them with a code of his own devising. The bone fragment had been genuine. Analysis of the dirt particles confirmed it’s origin as Letum Frigus. There could be no doubt, this was once part of Mulcarn.
The hair, on the other hand, was a control. Menec had been selected for his spirit, his extensive capabilities, and, most importantly, his gregarious nature. If Talos was any judge of people, Menec would have no doubt told every patron of every tavern from here to Illia that he had acquired both a fragment of Mulcarn and a hair from Sucellus’ tomb.
But Talos had secretly arranged for a pirate named Palgadee to sell him the hair. From then on, it had been a simple act of faith. Belief, no more than that, had endowed the hair with miraculous powers. The bards and bar-keeps and barflies believed the hair came from Sucellus and lo, it possessed incredible powers.
Talos, paused, savouring the sound of the great machine once more, before writing his final conclusion. If the power of the Gods was drawn from belief, then they were vulnerable. All it would take was doubt. Talos carefully considered the paradox. All his existence he had striven for perfection, truth and accuracy, now he would need to leave room for error.
*****
I decided to run with a Grigori rather than a Hippus in the end. Whilst Talos will have a +1 positive bonus towards him (_YoU hAvE pRoVeN vAlUaBlE_) Menec will have a -2 negative penalty towards Talos (You failed to show gratitude)
I've a rough idea where Menec's story will go, but I've got to get round to writing that one yet.
******
Talos
To describe Talos’ laboratory as Spartan would misrepresent the matter. Other Mechanos workshops contained bountiful supplies of equipment. Indeed, the workshop of Maer, the Mechana Excelsior, was cramped to the brim with all manner of strange devices, as if creative reactions might develop from their sheer proximity. There were large glass tubes filled with luminescent liquids, and small pits of fire whose apertures could be adjusted to control the heat, and clockwork chains and gears that could be tuned to record pressure levels, and gunnels and grooves in the desktops and floors to drain away the mess, and, just occasionally, blood. Talos’ workshop, by comparison, was devoid of all surplus accoutrements. If a component was not required for an experiment, it was not to be found. The distraction of the unnecessary was a pollutant to the organised mind, and, presently, Talos was deep in contemplation. His thoughts a tangle of logic knots and quadratic equations and confidence intervals, for Talos was enjoying all the clicks and grinds and whirrs and crunches that combined to form that well-ordered machine, the Palace of the Mechanos.
The puzzle lock on the third floor was running loose. A quarter-turn of the bottom right hand screw would fix it. The chef was putting grinding 58% too much pepper into tonight’s chicken casserole. Talos would mention the failing at luncheon to prevent further lapses. Out in the courtyard, a few of the young girls were singing a skipping rhyme: “The square... on the hypotenuse... of a right-angled tri-aangle... is equal to... the sum of the squares... on the oooopposite sides. YEAH!” Maer had taught them that. It was inefficient means to express the function, completely missing the possibility of spherical and multi-dimensional triangulation, and the overly verbose affirmation at the end was redundant in his considered opinion, but he could not help but notice that the new models were grasping basic geometry with increased ease since Maer had taken up her role.
And there was one other sound. Someone was approaching his chambers, with remarkable alacrity. Menec entered the room, his excitement announced in each step. Talos turned to face exactly as he entered.
_CoMpOnEnTs AcQuIrEd?_
“Yeah. Here catch.” Menec threw two pouches to Talos. He beamed broadly. “Hell of an adventure it was too. There’s one time when I thought the Illians had me for good. Six of ‘em round a pine tree. The blizzard howling a gale at the top. No way up, no way down...”
_CoNvErSaTiOn SeRvEs No PuRpOsE._
“What!?! You don't want to hear my story. I’ve gone half way round the world for you, risked my neck a dozen times, and you can’t even be bothered to say Thank You.”
_SuFfIcIeNt FiNaNcIaL rEcOmPeNsE pReClUdEs ReQuIrEmEnT fOr VeRbAl GrAtItUdE_
“Screw you. Screw you and your money. I put my neck on the line and you act like it’s nothing. My life, my story. It doesn’t mean a damn thing. Screw you and screw your damned machines.” Menec stormed out; Talos did not react in the slightest.
Talos opened the first pouch. The patella fragment fell onto the table. Talos’ temperature sensor told him it was colder than the surrounding room by two orders of magnitude.
A glass vase, containing a rose, stood on the centre of the desktop. Maer had sent down to brighten the place up. Talos, unaware of any fault in the ambient lighting, would have disposed of it, had he not required it for the experiment. The high priest, dressed in the bronze armour of his own design, built to withstand all external threats and pressures, cautiously picked up the bone and held it two inches away from the rose.
Hexagonal patterns spread out across the water, slowly creeping up the sides of the vase with elegant symmetry. The flower took on a grey sheen, a dull pallor that washed up the stem and along each branch in turn. Leaves curled and twisted in its wake, their once-proud vigour robbed, replaced with white rime. Blushing blooms sickened, stamens stilled, fragility endowed by stasis took hold. The rose petals snapped under the weight and fell gracelessly to shatter on the table below.
Talos put the bone back into the pouch and, from the second pouch, removed a single golden hair. He held it aloft, dangling it beside the dead flower. The effect was every part as powerful as before. Immediately, the rose sprung to life. The water unfroze, the colour rushed back into the leaves, unfurling them as it did so. A sweet aroma wafted into the air as the plant became more verdant than before.
Talos returned the hair to his pouch and noted his results in the journal, encrypting them with a code of his own devising. The bone fragment had been genuine. Analysis of the dirt particles confirmed it’s origin as Letum Frigus. There could be no doubt, this was once part of Mulcarn.
The hair, on the other hand, was a control. Menec had been selected for his spirit, his extensive capabilities, and, most importantly, his gregarious nature. If Talos was any judge of people, Menec would have no doubt told every patron of every tavern from here to Illia that he had acquired both a fragment of Mulcarn and a hair from Sucellus’ tomb.
But Talos had secretly arranged for a pirate named Palgadee to sell him the hair. From then on, it had been a simple act of faith. Belief, no more than that, had endowed the hair with miraculous powers. The bards and bar-keeps and barflies believed the hair came from Sucellus and lo, it possessed incredible powers.
Talos, paused, savouring the sound of the great machine once more, before writing his final conclusion. If the power of the Gods was drawn from belief, then they were vulnerable. All it would take was doubt. Talos carefully considered the paradox. All his existence he had striven for perfection, truth and accuracy, now he would need to leave room for error.
*****
I decided to run with a Grigori rather than a Hippus in the end. Whilst Talos will have a +1 positive bonus towards him (_YoU hAvE pRoVeN vAlUaBlE_) Menec will have a -2 negative penalty towards Talos (You failed to show gratitude)
I've a rough idea where Menec's story will go, but I've got to get round to writing that one yet.
Opera
Deity
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2008
- Messages
- 4,643
I like it 
I'm glad you included two of my leaders. However, Zodalore is actually a woman. The man Grigori is named Menec. From your story, I suggest you change the name "Zodalore" to "Menec" as the character's behavior is way closer to Menec's than to Zodalore's (she's more calm; she would have plotted revenge against Talos though).
About Zodalore/Menec story, the one you have ideas about, would you care to tell me what they are? I'm curious
I'm glad you included two of my leaders. However, Zodalore is actually a woman. The man Grigori is named Menec. From your story, I suggest you change the name "Zodalore" to "Menec" as the character's behavior is way closer to Menec's than to Zodalore's (she's more calm; she would have plotted revenge against Talos though).
About Zodalore/Menec story, the one you have ideas about, would you care to tell me what they are? I'm curious
sputnik323
Magelord
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- Sep 27, 2008
- Messages
- 394
was thinking (dangerous thing I know!) and I think it would be cool to add a relationship boost for destroying an Arch rival. So when any civ destroys a rival of a leader there is a big boost for that civ. Hyborem may hate you... but if you kill Bassium he might think you are alright to deal with.
Opera
Deity
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- 4,643
Hmmm... Should be possible... Don't know how yet though.
Anyway, I added two game options, one of which will please Ahwaric:
Also, I'm planning a Centaur trait for Cith Mor (and maybe for another Kuriocentaur-leader): would give a chance for newly created units to have the centaur race. Of course, the race and the the centaur units will be modified.
Centaur race
+1
+15% withdrawal
1 first strike chance
+25% against Melee units
+10% resist magic
can't acquire Mounted, Dismounted
As for the Centaur units, I have removed the +25% against Melee units when existing, I have decreased the withdrawal chance by 15 and the moves by 1. So, in fact, the Centaur units will look nearly as before.
The most troublesome thing is the UnitArtStyles. Not many variety in Centaur art...
Anyway, I added two game options, one of which will please Ahwaric:
- The Acknowledgement: Only minor leaders randomly generated!
- Well-Known Faces: No minor leader randomly generated!
Also, I'm planning a Centaur trait for Cith Mor (and maybe for another Kuriocentaur-leader): would give a chance for newly created units to have the centaur race. Of course, the race and the the centaur units will be modified.
Centaur race
+1
+15% withdrawal
1 first strike chance
+25% against Melee units
+10% resist magic
can't acquire Mounted, Dismounted
As for the Centaur units, I have removed the +25% against Melee units when existing, I have decreased the withdrawal chance by 15 and the moves by 1. So, in fact, the Centaur units will look nearly as before.
The most troublesome thing is the UnitArtStyles. Not many variety in Centaur art...
Valkrionn
The Hamster King
Jabie
Wanted in Monte Carlo...
About Zodalore/Menec story, the one you have ideas about, would you care to tell me what they are? I'm curious
I'll change it to Menec. I've sent you a PM about the other characters.
Opera
Deity
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I answered you by email as I couldn't PM you by CivFanatics
--
@Valkrionn: Of course you want to
Actually, it's not that hard. In CvGame.cpp:Spoiler :
Opera
Deity
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Ahah, I don't know. As I said in the Ngomele thread, I have some things to first. Furthermore, I don't know if I merge it and keep modding it indepently (thus having two mods) or if I merge it in and mod it the same time (thus having only one mod). I think peoples would want to play them without necessarily wanting other leaders... Anyway, if Ahwaric merges them into Orbis, the issue will be resolved
Ahah, I don't know. As I said in the Ngomele thread, I have some things to first. Furthermore, I don't know if I merge it and keep modding it indepently (thus having two mods) or if I merge it in and mod it the same time (thus having only one mod). I think peoples would want to play them without necessarily wanting other leaders... Anyway, if Ahwaric merges them into Orbis, the issue will be resolved
but you have to adequately develop them first...
Opera
Deity
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- 4,643
Opera
Deity
- Joined
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You will certainlyI can help play test
I need to update it first... Then you'll got to betaplay it while I'll be rewriting some functions 
Nonobots
Warlord
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2007
- Messages
- 100
Nice job Opera! I really like the way this modmodmod is going. New traits are very fun and the specific diplo adds a fun touch. I played Ji and and she's VERY fun.
A question: why the 5 limits on number of leader per civ? I love the idea of having more. And this limitation doesn't let you add a Balseraph! Also you shouldn't count Decius as he's not really a specific civ's leader. I think it should be *AT LEAST* 5 leaders per civ.
A question: why the 5 limits on number of leader per civ? I love the idea of having more. And this limitation doesn't let you add a Balseraph! Also you shouldn't count Decius as he's not really a specific civ's leader. I think it should be *AT LEAST* 5 leaders per civ.
You will certainly
BTW how do you set an avatar (I'm going to steal my favorite gnoll leaders head
)
Opera
Deity
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I'm (very very) glad you liked it
Did you play against new minor leaders? Some are very tough to get along with.Well, if I recall correctly, I read Ahwaric somewhere saying not wanting to go beyond 5 leaders per civilization. If he didn't say this ever, I'm sorry
Anyway, I'm planning to go beyond that limit. First, you mentioned it, because Decius is taking slots I could use (for the Bannor for example). So, I won't count him. Secondly, you mentioned it too, I want to add a Balseraph! Thirdly, you mentioned it (again!), I just want to add more leaders. And yes, my goal, for now, is *at least* 5 for each civilization. Side goal is at least a ration of 3 males for 2 females. I know it may seem stupid but I'm like that (yes, stupid)I'm happy now
Opera
Deity
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Upper left corner, click on My Account. Left hand screen, search for Edit AvatarBTW how do you set an avatar (I'm going to steal my favorite gnoll leaders head
I wonder which one is your favorite...
