New NESes, ideas, development, etc

[Milarqui]

My suggestion for a possible NES.

If you ever played the Dr DOOM NESes, you will understand a bit of this already.

The idea is that each person gets to make up their own character (description, origin, stats, abilities...), from any part of the multiverse: if you want to make a sniper from a war in constant war? You can. You want an Iron Man expy? Well, not yet, but you can do the beginning of his plan. You want a Harry Potter style wizard? It is possible, yeah.

Of course, there are limits on what each person can do at the beginning. Say, the Iron Man expy? He would not get the entire flying armor. Perhaps the hand and feet propulsors, but that's all. A magician/wizard? He would have an extra stat which would limit his/her use of spells.

Stats:

• The primary ones would be the SPECIAL from Fallout. SPECIAL stands out for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck.
• Secondary stats would be Health, Mana (if the character uses magic) and Chronopoints, which is something that can be "used up" if you fail a throw and you want to try again.
• Abilities would be things related to the character's background. For example, the sniper would be very good at shooting things from afar, and thus would have bonuses for that kind of action.

The story would be that the characters get taken from their universe and appear in front of a mysterious superpowered being (the GM) who tells them that they have to go to another world and do something (have yet to determine what, exactly). Once that mission gets carried out, the players get a ship that can travel between different Earths and they would be able to do whatever they want, though, the GM would also ask them from time to time to do something for him.

The inspiration for this is AH Dot Com The Series, which I have mentioned several times already, but it has such a great potential that I could not keep it.

Might do this after SparkNES sinks (which will probably happen in less than three updates, unfortunately)

 

[KaiserElectric]

Interesting concept. Could be a good excuse for the players to make a creative character without being restricted by a narrow setting.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I've often been of the impression that limitations improve creativity, rather than limiting it. That said, it's a special kind of challenge to pull off a massive thematic crossover and make it work.

 

[Terrance888]

limitations improve creativity, rather than limiting it.

Truth.

I would join that, but right now I don't trust myself with anything more, seeing that all I have now is to make an Avatar for TychoNES and do my update, and I am behind schedule on not only that but everything in my life.

 

[Milarqui]

More about the RPG:

Player Characters are called Chrono-Travelers.

Stats: they are measured over 100. PCs can use 450 points to give the stats.

• Strength (STR): measures a PC's ability to use brute force in his dealings across space-time. For example, lifting a weight or throwing a punch.
• Perception (PER): measures a PC's ability to use his senses to interact with his/her surroundings. For example, pointing a gun at an objective or smelling some kind of perfume.
• Endurance (END): measures a PC's health and ability to resist illnesses and/or poisonings. It directly affects your HPs.
• Charisma (CHA): measures a PC's ability to interact with other people through speech, as well as convincing other people of your opinion or to obey you.
• Intelligence (INT): measures a PC's ability to use his/her mind to understand the world that surrounds them, as well as to use it for other intellectual things.
• Agility (AGI): measures a PC's ability to move fast, as well as his/her reflexes and his/her jumping ability.
• Luck (LCK): measures a PC's luck, which affects things that may be random.

There are three secondary stats:

• Health (HP): pretty much what it says on the tin. It is equal to 100+Endurance+Strength/2.
• Mana (MP): only for those that use magic. It is equal to 10+Intelligence/5.
• Chronopoints (CP): a Chrono-Traveler's travels through the multiverse make them particularly able to affect probabilities, due to the chronitons they produce naturally as they travel between universes. In-game, one Chronopoint can be used to re-throw a failed throw.

Abilities: the Chrono-Travelers have abilities they either learned in their home timelines or during their travels through the multiverse. These are reflected in giving bonuses for certain actions, which improve as you make use of that ability. For example, a soldier could have the ability to use a rifle: using a rifle to shoot at someone gets a better chance of succeeding, and as he shoots said ability improves, but that would not help with other things like chatting up a girl or throwing grenades.

Disabilities: Just like Abilities are things that have been learned by the Chrono-Travelers and that can aid them in the pursuit of their objectives, Disabilities are things that are part of the Chrono-Travelers' past, but that hinder them in their objectives. For example, if a Chrono-Traveler suffers from alcoholism, he may have problems with getting through the day without a drink, or he will probably be too drunk to shoot well.

Weapons: A Chrono-Traveler can only carry four weapons on himself, tops. Save for special cases, Chrono-Travelers begin with one long-range weapon and one short-range weapon (for example, a rifle and a saber or switchblade). Long-range weapons tend to be limited on ammo, unless there is an a reason why it is not so. If your weapons are magical, then you will need mana to power them up. Of course, if you find yourself a better weapon, you are more than welcome to throw one away. When you get your ship, you will be able to store your weapons in the ship, and if you find yourselves missing some ammo, you can get it from whomever controls the ship, but do not bet too much on that.

Armor: the protection you are wearing. Of course, heavy protection will very likely reduce your ability to move fast, but maybe it could be an advantage.

Objects: you may carry up to eight different objects, which might be useful or not in the future. Chrono-Travelers may have between 1 to 3 different objects at the beginning. These objects may be grenades, rope, a book... many things that can be useful at any point in time. As with weapons, you can store these on the ship and get them back if you need them.

 

[CivOasis]

Alright, so, I've been thinking of doing an alternate world NES lately (NOT fantasy, and, beyond the step of it not being Earth, probably not very much sci-fi, either. I can get into the details later.)

Anyways, given that this isn't Earth, it would need some sort of life to populate it, correct?

And I'm not a very good artist.

How feasable would it be to run a pre-NES thread, in which people created wildlife for this world, via sketches and write-ups? Most would be on the basis of fairly wide prompts, focusing on either body plans or niches that I deem necessary/beneficial/cool for the world, where I would pull the ideas I liked most for the NES, though I'm certainly not opposed to someone dropping a random image into there that doesn't go along with the latest prompt.

Think of it as a sort of art contest, would that work here?

 

[dominatr]

Alright, so, I've been thinking of doing an alternate world NES lately (NOT fantasy, and, beyond the step of it not being Earth, probably not very much sci-fi, either. I can get into the details later.)

Anyways, given that this isn't Earth, it would need some sort of life to populate it, correct?

And I'm not a very good artist.

How feasable would it be to run a pre-NES thread, in which people created wildlife for this world, via sketches and write-ups? Most would be on the basis of fairly wide prompts, focusing on either body plans or niches that I deem necessary/beneficial/cool for the world, where I would pull the ideas I liked most for the NES, though I'm certainly not opposed to someone dropping a random image into there that doesn't go along with the latest prompt.

Think of it as a sort of art contest, would that work here?

sounds like a great idea, make sure you develop the idea of the NES enough for people to really know what they are contributing to.

I may take a look and imagine up some creatures and races if that's what you're looking for. Sounds good, keep going with this!

 

[CivOasis]

Races probably won't describe it well, I am literally thinking of wildlife, though just not identical to that on Earth - alternate or potential routes of evolution, shall we say?

That being said, for more clarification, it will probably be another RP-based story, like Core, though it will be less dystopian and more of a survival type thing. That part's being fleshed out, still, I'm really focused on getting a believable world built, currently.

 

[dominatr]

Races probably won't describe it well, I am literally thinking of wildlife, though just not identical to that on Earth - alternate or potential routes of evolution, shall we say?

That being said, for more clarification, it will probably be another RP-based story, like Core, though it will be less dystopian and more of a survival type thing. That part's being fleshed out, still, I'm really focused on getting a believable world built, currently.

Yes, wildlife first, but there eventually has to be sapient beings that one can play as right? Don't those ultimately need to be designed?

And can the designs come in both sketches and written works? I think that each method offers what the other doesn't.

 

[CivOasis]

Sapient creatures would most likely be humans, through some sort of rapidly covered up sci-fi trickery (I am a fan of hard sci-fi, the more realism I can shove behind it, the better), though I suppose one *could* submit alternate ideas - not a very good chance.

And, while writing is a nice plus, and I would probably still be very appreciative of written works, my main goal is to gather artistic ideas, for the sake of adding a visual flavor to the world, and that it gives an overall nice, well-polished effect for players.
Not to mention, player investment in the idea.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

'Humans are special' syndrome happens waaaaay to often.

 

[Crezth]

'Humans are special' syndrome happens waaaaay to often.

Ugh, hear ya.

 

[CivOasis]

It's not so much "humans are special" as "I don't want to deal with the logistics of another species".

That, and I don't feel like trying to establish and interpret a completely different society on top of throwing one society into a completely new ecosystem.

 

[Son of Erdrick]

So I have worked quite extensively on the NES idea I have posted about above. Here is a brief overview of the mechanics that will be in place for the NES. Expect more detailed previews within a few days as well as the two tech-trees (it sounds like a lot of tech trees, but they are actually fairly small).

NewNES Design Overview​

NES Goals
In this NES players take on the lofty mantle of godhood, and given enough time they may influence the World however they see fit. However, gods or not the players begin in a stage of divine infancy; they must prove themselves worthy of power. The main stage of this NES’ action, the World, is similarly a blank slate bereft of any history until now. Players will interact with kingdoms, guide the masses, and carve out little domains for themselves, but this NES is not about empire management. While mortal wars rage beneath the heavens, the true conflicts will take place between the gods.

Mechanics Overview
There are five primary sources of information/interaction that players must concern themselves with in their quest for divine supremacy. They are:

• Divine Providence
This mechanic is a tech-tree detailing all the spells and spell-like abilities that players may use when directly interacting with the world. The mana players earn from Wells is invested in this tech-tree.

• Divine Nature
This mechanic is a tech-tree detailing all the aspects of divinity that players may acquire over the course of the game. Many of these techs are passive and exert indirect influence over the game. The faith players earn from Populated Provinces is invested in this tech-tree.

• World Wells
This mechanic is an augmentable resource that appears on and affects the map. Wells are the outpourings of the World’s and those living upon the World magic. These fonts often are powerful enough to produce province-altering effects that range from unnaturally lush forests to creating super-volcanoes capable of ushering in Armageddon. Wells also produce mana, the currency used to gleam more knowledge of and manipulate the World’s magic.

• (Populated) Provinces
This mechanic deals with the provinces on the map, relating information pertaining to the base province stats and its settled stats (if applicable). The base stats for a province are its terrain type and special resources/Wells; the settled stats are its population density, prosperity, and morale. Settled provinces are very important as they are the only provinces that can generate Faith, the currency used to advance in the Divine Nature tree.

• Combat
This mechanic deals with the units that are on the map. For the most part combat is out of the hands of players, though they maintain a small influence. Combat happens between armies, which are recruited by the NPC leaders of their respective civilizations as their ethics/situation demands. The stats for armies are their composition, morale, attack, and defense. Players may participate in combat via blessing/cursing armies, summoning creatures, and casting offensive spells as needed.

edit: I know it's brief as heck and not all that descriptive, but I wanted to present the community with evidence that I'm actually kind of serious about my idea.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

It's not so much "humans are special" as "I don't want to deal with the logistics of another species".

That, and I don't feel like trying to establish and interpret a completely different society on top of throwing one society into a completely new ecosystem.

If you're only going halfway, then what is the purpose? NESes won't change appreciably if there's a slightly different set of flora and fauna present.

 

[Gem Hound]

It's not so much "humans are special" as "I don't want to deal with the logistics of another species".

That, and I don't feel like trying to establish and interpret a completely different society on top of throwing one society into a completely new ecosystem.

No. What you need to do, is build a world with a LifeNES sort of thing, and then one, or maybe more races become sentient. You would need to create a map first though.

 

[Terrance888]

I won't advise maps until late in the Evolution process, simply because continental drift=constant map change with microscopic seafaring lifeforms. After complex land animals and plants, then maps are more justified to prep for sentience.

 

[Gem Hound]

I won't advise maps until late in the Evolution process, simply because continental drift=constant map change with microscopic seafaring lifeforms. After complex land animals and plants, then maps are more justified to prep for sentience.

After a while though, it would be nice to have a map to separate the different chains of evolution.

Example: Tomcats versus lions and tigers. Another example is the Monotremata that began in Australia and New Guinea(egg laying mammals), yet these creatures are unique and are only in one region of the world.

 

[NinjaCow64]

If you're only going halfway, then what is the purpose? NESes won't change appreciably if there's a slightly different set of flora and fauna present.

I agree with this, but hey, it is your NES CivO. Do want you want with it.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

You can do that by just indicating which continent a species belongs to. When continents merge, species mix, when they separate, their present species pool is split between two continents, and they diverge over time.