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Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2019 12:44 am
by Temi
Kin thought perhaps this might be a better place for me to post this spec for people to review, rather than on the meeting logs. She was looking for people's thoughts on it, things you like and things that concern you about it.


read turf
01: (Temi) Overview
02: (Temi) Syntax
03: (Temi) Command Explanation
04: (Temi) Messaging
05: (Temi) Extra Features
06: (Temi) Calculations
07: (Temi) Screen Mockups
08: (Temi) Population

Temi>
read turf 01
Author: Temi
Other: Temi
Subject: Overview
Subject: A page
Date: Sun May 19 15:45:25 2019

Arendas, Augustus 14, 381

OVERVIEW

This system is designed to give players the ability to fight over control of
individual areas. This gives them the ability to band together and to have
victories on a smaller level, even when they cannot be allowed to have
longterm victories for the sake of theme. It should take into account
metrics, as well as the character of the area itself, but still show a
meaningful effect from players using the system to take control.

We considered how control should be lumped together: individuals, guilds,
good guys vs bad guys. We decided that gearing it towards Order and pious
folks versus mages and Reeves and lawful folks versus criminals would give
players a better chance to spark more RP by banding the largest possible
groups together. Guilds don't have to already be feeling strong in
membership to be able to take part, and other groups can still pick sides,
without needing to check membership in a separate group system. As such, the
design gears things to be weighted towards the 'bad guys', because they are
taking a social risk just to be involved and are usually outnumbered by the
'good guys'. One villain should be able to make RP for several normal
people, without completely overwhelming the game anytime there are a few
dedicated villains.

Across the city, the mages or criminals may gain a hold on an individual
neighborhood by terrorizing its residents and sending them into hiding, while
loyal citizens and guildmembers can keep safe the places that they invest the
effort into protecting with patrols, stationed troops or vigilante actions.
While the state of the city on the whole remains as it is defined in the city
report, these individual neighborhoods will use this as a baseline for guild
reports and adjust from there based on local activity.

Each area has a score from 0 to 100 for each of piety and lawfulness, and for
both their current state and their default state. 0 implies no expectation
of adherence to law/piety in that area and 100 implies a complete expectation
of adherence to law/piety.

Temi>
read turf 02
Author: Temi
Other: Temi
Subject: Syntax
Subject: Syntax
Date: Sun May 19 15:46:23 2019

Arendas, Augustus 14, 381

Syntax :
turf show
turf patrol
turf station <action long>
turf terrorize <crime|magic> <action long>
turf vigilante <crime|magic> <action long>
turf influence <crime|magic> <amount>
turf hail
turf collect
gpoints assign <name>
turf mood <crime|magic|law|piety>

ISyntax:
turf list
turf history
turf mood clear
aedit
flags turf_wars
law_default <amount>
piety_default <amount>

Temi>
read turf 03
Author: Temi
Other: Temi
Subject: Command Explanation
Subject: Command Explanation
Date: Sun May 19 15:47:29 2019

Arendas, Augustus 14, 381

Turf show works in the current room. It should show the area, if it is not
eligible for turf wars (the area does not have the turf_wars flag), the
effective law and piety scores of the area, and the fear modifier. Staff
should see actual values, players should see adjectives.

Turf patrol represents setting up regular patrol over the whole area for the
next few days. It costs 1 gpoint and can only be done by Knights or Reeves
and is enacted on the whole area. If done by a knight, it increases the
current piety score by 10. If done by a reeve, it increases the current
lawfulness score by 10.

Turf station represents stationing guild NPCs in the room to help protect it.
It costs 1 gpoint and can only be done by Knights or Reeves. If done by a
knight, it increases the current piety score by 5, cancels any magic
terrorize in that current room, and guarantees maximum-detail order reports
from that room while it endures. If done by a reeve, it increases the
current lawfulness score by 5, cancels any crime terrorize in that current
room, and guarantees maximum-detail reeve reports from that room while it
endures. It endures in the room for 5 OOC days, with an object in the room
matching the action long provided by the arguments with a urf] tag at the
end. Looking at it should provide its type (station) and flavor
(piety/lawfulness).

Turf terrorize represents stirring up trouble to frighten vNPCs in a room.
It takes an argument for crime or magic, and it can only be done by a player
once per day. The crime option can be done by anyone, while the magic option
can only be done by awakened mages. It cannot be done in a room with an
active station on it. If done with the crime option, it decreases the
current lawfulness score by 5. If done with the magic option, it decreases
the current piety score by 5. It endures in the room for 5 OOC days, with an
object in the room matching the action long provided by the arguments with a
[Turf] tag at the end. Looking at it should provide its type (terrorize) and
flavor (crime/magic). It should trigger an appropriate report to the Reeves
(crime) or the Order (magic), based on the local area metrics before the
adjustment from the terrorize, with all normal details and delays.

Turf vigilante represents non-Order or Reeve characters taking actions in a
room into their own hands to decrease magery or crime. It takes an argument
for crime or magic, and it can only be done by a player once per day. If
done with the crime option, it increases the current lawfulness score by 2
and cancels an existing magic terrorize on the room. If done with the magic
option, it increases the current piety score by 2 and cancels an existing
crime terrorize on the room. It endures in the room for 5 OOC days, with an

[ Press (c)ontinue, (r)efresh, (b)ack, (q)uit or hit (h)elp ] (44% complete)
object in the room matching the action long provided by the arguments with a
urf] tag at the end. Looking at it should provide its type (vigilante) and
flavor (crime/magic).

Turf influence represents infleuntial people swaying attitudes in an area.
Any player can do this, but they can only do so once an influence cycle. It
takes an argument for crime or magic and an argument for amount, which can be
-10 to 10, which is directly added onto the respective lawfulness or piety
score for the current area they are in. The cost is in IP and is the
absolute value of the change amount.

Turf hail manifests the extra presence of vNPCs into an actual NPC. It can
be done by a member of the appropriate guild up to once a day when the local
metrics are high enough - Reeves with lawfulness over 90, Order with piety
over 90, or Thieves with lawfulness under 10. The NPC is a standard one for
the guild and is loaded in the current room. It should stick around for
about a day.

Turf collect represents extorting the frightened locals for money. It
requires an active terrorize in the room owned by the character doing the
collecting. It can only be done once a day, and it will report a crime as
per the normal metrics in the area - to the Reeves or Order, depending on the
type of the terrorize. The amount of silver it returns should be dependent
on the current lawfulness or piety.

Turf mood represents the ability to describe the goings-on in an area that
the character has control over. This sets a special mood that lasts for a
week and cannot be cleared by players. The command should open up an editor
for the mood description. The crime option can be done by Thieves or the
owner of a crime terrorize in the room when the lawfulness in the area is
less than 20. The magic option can be done by awakened mages when the piety
in the area is less than 20. The law option can be done by Reeves or the
owner of a crime vigilante in the room when the lawfulness in the area is
greater than 80. The piety option can be done by the Order or the owner of a
magic vigilante in the room when the piety in the area is greater than 80.

Gpoints assign represents guildleaders providing their guildmember with
resources that they can temporarily command. They can use these assigned
points for plots or turf wars, and these systems should collect from assigned
gpoints before those available to guildleaders. However, assigned gpoints
should also expire when gpoints rollover, as this is not intended as a bank
or extension for unused points.

Turf list is a staff command to view all areas which are eligible for turf
wars, their current law and piety scores and their defaults. Under each
area, it should also show current stations, terrorizes and vigilantes with
their rooms. This should give a good overview of current ongoing effects
across the game.

[ Press (c)ontinue, (r)efresh, (b)ack, (q)uit or hit (h)elp ] (88% complete)

Turf history is a staff command to view recent actions, especially patrol and
influence events which do not have ongoing effects, in addition to the
stations, terrorizes and vigilantes. It should also show weekly adjustments.
All entries should include actor (or turf daemon), area, room vnum and what
was done.

Turf mood clear is a staff command to remove inappropriate turf moods, as
players cannot remove or overwrite them.

Aedit will need a few additions for staff to configure an area for turf wars.
There should be a new turf_wars flag, which sets an area as eligible for turf
wars. And there should be new commands to set the law_default and
piety_default, which should take values 0 to 100 to represent the default
levels of each that these areas revert to. Before setting, these should both
initialize at 50.

Temi>
read turf 04
Author: Temi
Other: Temi
Subject: Messaging
Subject: Messaging
Date: Sun May 19 17:44:45 2019

Arendas, Augustus 14, 381

MESSAGES

Turf Patrol - Reeves: (to room)
$n sets up a regular patrol of Reeves through the area. [Turf]

Turf Patrol - Order: (to room)
$n sets up a regular patrol of Knights through the area. [Turf]

Turf Station - Reeves: (to room)
$n stations a couple of Reeves to watch the area.[Turf]
<Action Long>

Turf Station - Order: (to room)
$n stations a couple of Knights to watch the area.[Turf]
<Action Long>

Turf Station/Terrorize/Vigilante - in room:
<Action Long> [Turf]

Turf Terrorize - Crime: (to room)
$n terrorizes the locals with criminal behavior.[Turf]
<Action Long>

Turf Terrorize - Magic: (to room)
$n terrorizes the locals with magic.[Turf]
<Action Long>

Turf Vigilante - Crime: (to room)
$n organizes vigilante action to protect the area from criminals.[Turf]
<Action Long>

Turf Vigilante - Magic: (to room)
$n organizes vigilante action to protect the area from mages.[Turf]
<Action Long>

Turf Influence - Crime: (to player)
$n influences the stand against crime in the area by <amount>.[Turf]

Turf Influence - Magic: (to player)
$n influences the stand agaisnt magic in the area by <amount>.[Turf]

Turf Hail - Reeves: (to room)
$n flags down a passing Reeve for support.[Turf]

[ Press (c)ontinue, (r)efresh, (b)ack, (q)uit or hit (h)elp ] (67% complete)
<mob long> has arrived.

Turf Hail - Order: (to room)
$n flags down a passing Knight for support.[Turf]
<mob long> has arrived.

Turf Hail - Thieves: (to room)
$n beckons to a passing ruffian for support.[Turf]
<mob long> has arrived.

Turf Collect: (to player)
$n extorts the locals for money.[Turf]
$e receives <amount> silver from frightened locals.

Turf Collect: (to room)
$n extorts the locals for money.[Turf]

Gpoints Assign: (to player + target (if online))
$n assigns a guild point to <target> to direct guild resources.

Fear Levels:
.76 - 1: Comfortable
.51 - .75: Apprehensive
.26 - .5: Frightened
0 - .25: Terrified

Temi>
read turf 05
Author: Temi
Other: Temi
Subject: Extra Features
Subject: Extra Features
Date: Sun May 19 18:27:59 2019

Arendas, Augustus 14, 381

EXTRA FEATURES

Order/Reeve Reports - Whether or not crime and magic reports are sent to the
Reeve or Order channel and the level of detail included in them should be
based on the lawfulness and piety metrics for the area for turf_wars areas,
rather than the overall metrics.

Free Messengers - If the local lawfulness metric is over 90, players can send
free messengers to the Reeves from that area. If the local piety metric is
over 90, players can send free messengers to the Order from that area.

Magery Effects - If local piety is less than 20, there should be a 5% chance
of catching a random disease upon entering a room in that area, once per day.
If local piety is less than 10, food and drinks should return 50% less mvs
and hps.

Temi>

Temi>
read turf 06
Author: Temi
Other: Temi
Subject: Calculations
Subject: Calculations
Date: Sun May 19 18:59:37 2019

Arendas, Augustus 14, 381

CALCULATIONS

Weekly Updates:
Every week on the same day (can be rollover or another), the current score should update
towards a modified default level.

Modified default = default + ((metric - 50)/2).

If current_area_metric_score > modified_default,

new score = current_score - min(10, (current_area_metric_score - modified_default)).

If current_area_metric_score < modified_default,

new score = current_area_metric_score + min(10, (modified_default - current_area_metric_score)).

Fear:
Piety_deviation: max(0, default_piety - current_area_piety_score)

Law_deviation: max(0, default_law - current_area_law_score)

Fear Modifier (for population) = (100-piety_deviation)/100 * (100-law_deviation)/100

Patrol:
new score = current_area_metric_score + 10

Station:
new score = current_area_metric_score + 5

Terrorize:
new score = current_area_metric_score - 5

Vigilante:
new score = current_area_metric_score + 2

Influence:
new score = current_area_metric_score + <amount>
cost = abs(<amount>) IP

Collect amounts:
payout = (100 - current_area_metric_score) / 4 silver

Temi>
read turf 07
Author: Temi
Other: Temi
Subject: Screen Mockups
Subject: Screen Mockups
Date: Sun May 19 19:49:13 2019

Arendas, Augustus 14, 381

SCREEN MOCKUPS
Turf Show (Player View):
Area: Southside
Eligible for Turf Wars: Yes
Law: Pathetic Piety: Good
Fear Levels: Apprehensive

Turf Show (Staff View):
Area: [40] Southside
Eligible for Turf Wars: Yes
Law: Pathetic (18%)
Piety: Good (73%)
Fear Levels: Apprehensive (0.63)

Turf List (Staff View):
AREA NAME LAW (DEFAULT) PIETY (DEFAULT)
[ 7] Wilhelm/King's Fores Law: 20% (20%) Piety: 25% (30%)
Terorize (Magic) - Deep Within the King's For[14222] - Azarial
[ 38] North Lithmore Law: 100% (90%) Piety: 75% (80%)
[ 39] Market Sector Law: 40% (60%) Piety: 100% (75%)
Station (Magic) - Market Square East [12233] - Kinaed
Vigilante (Magic) - Market Square Southwest [12236] - Niamh
[ 40] Southside Law: 0% (10%) Piety: 50% (50%)
Terrorize (Crime) - Southside Courier Service [12494] - Eldon
Terrorize (Crime) - The Southside Market [12426] - Temi

Temi>
read turf 08
Author: Temi
Other: Temi
Subject: Population
Subject: Population
Date: Sun May 19 19:54:53 2019

Arendas, Augustus 14, 381

VNPC Population:
If private or phome but not pshop front room: VNPC Population = 0
Otherwise -
Baseline Population: 5*SIN((0.26*Hour)-2.2-(EveningFlag*1.1))+5
This varies from 0-10 on a 24-hour scale, with a peek at 14:00,
or 18:00 with the evening flag.
Scale Factors:
Public Rooms - Multiply Baseline by 2
Precipitation - If humidity > 1300, Multiply by 1-((Humidity-1300)/150)
This does not apply indoors, but reduces number of people more the
harder it is raining.
Fear - Multiply by Fear Modifier - see turf wars calculations
Modify for Randomization: +1d7-4
This adds or takes away up to 3 random people.
Address Minimums: Minimum 0, unless a higher minimum is set on the room.

Population in the room: VNPC Population + Human Mobs + Players Other Than You
Under temperature and on look around, add the line based on the room population:

0 There is no one else here.
1-2 The odd person can be seen.
3-6 A few people are visible here and there.
7-10 Several people are present in the area.
11-15 The area is bustling with people.
16+ The area is absolutely packed with people.

Room additions:
Pshop front room flag - or some other flag to override the phome exclusion
in public areas of phomes
Evening flag - marks this as a business which skews to later hours, like a
tavern
Minimum People setting - to override minimum numbers for special cases, like
the jail

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2019 10:04 pm
by Taunya
I think a few things could be simplified.
Patrol, station, and hail seem a little confusing to me for one. Station and hail seem like they could be merged.

I'm not sure if gpoints should be used for the system. As written it doesn't seem that the brotherhood can use theirs to reinforce or subvert anything, and without the manus there's not a balance to the knights' use, either. Perhaps silver could be used instead?

Seems like it has the potential for some fun, but it may take some work to balance. I do hope the overhaul of the sneaky stuff is on a higher priority.

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 5:46 pm
by Sparkles
What if anything is the imagined participation of the Troubadours, Merchants, and/or Physicians in this system?

Will they have anything similar to do to affect areas? (Good will patrols? Boosting Morale for the 'good guys' and or other type things?)

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:40 am
by Satoshi
Giving this a solid readover, it seems like a neat system. It seems especially useful for mages and thieves to be able to have an 'income source' from vNPCs, and add a sort of bonus for it. From the way this is built up, it looks like the turf is not going to be a single room, but rather a general area, with multiple rooms contained it? Such as Southside including the whole of the southside area, with 'key' rooms that you can do actions in? Do we have thoughts on what those territories are going to be?

RE: Patrol/station/hail, it looks like patrol and station both affect the piety/lawfulness, but do not place a visible NPC, just denotes that that is happening, but hail summons an actual present NPC (like the cloaked brotherhood NPCs or a generic Knight NPC.) Patrol seems to cover the whole 'area', so 'southside in general' whereas station seems to just be one room, if I'm understanding that correctly, and both cost 1gp to use, whereas criminals/mages can terrorize at will, it looks like, just with the same reports to the order/reeves that they would get using a normal crime command. Possible suggestion: ability for mages to put summoned aberrations in a room with hail, maybe make them non-lethal so if non-combatants get caught in the crossfire they don't die, but a mage could theoretically show overt influence over an area.

NOW a question for the vigilantism: why would vigilante crime raise lawfulness but get rid of a magic? And vice-versa for magic/crime? I think, especially given current systems, that while it's highly possible that a citizen can discourage crime, it's not very likely for a non-orderite to get rid of magic, especially since the magic system is so flexible, AND since the Order touts that citizens should NOT engage with mages lest they risk themselves with the taint. Mechanically it makes sense, but ICly it does not. Especially since in the face of most magical effects, wax balls or mage ash are the only way to dispel them, and those are not TYPICALLY something that a citizen should have.


Other suggestions:

- Hidden ally command not unlike support system. Makes non thieves/mages/orderites/reeves able to benefit from suggested benefit to RPxp and allow them to passively affect the tick as outlined below. Tentatively suggested the guildleaders be able to see who is their 'ally'. Possibly require initial IP cost to ally yourself with a group to avoid wishy-washy switching and to explain why some characters would not ally themselves.

- Benefits to RPxp and possibly the piety/lawfulness modifier by roleplaying there. I.E an area that is 'pious' would give Orderites a slight rpxp bonus and maybe have a check for the default sliding scale where it halves it, maybe. something like: An Orderite RP'd in a high-piety zone that normally would tick by 5 towards neutral, but no other actions were taken, so it only ticks by 2.5. Do not suggest giving a rpxp negative modifier, or else it will discourage people to RP, but definitely a bonus would encourage people to move around a bit when they RP.

- Benefits to sneaking/hiding/pickpocketing in areas with low lawfulness - do not suggest negative modifier in high lawfulness areas for the same reasons as above, this would encourage use of the skills, but there's already ample discouragement re: lawfulness.

- Taverns/Inns have more influence over an area than others. Taverns and Inns are sort of like the 'heart' of areas for normal citizens, per lore Lithmorrans go to taverns no matter their rank culturally to keep in touch with others. So places that are taverns/inns (possibly include player-owned shops that sell drinks as well, though that requires more work from staff to make sure they stay as taverns/inns/cafes so maybe not as advisable.) have more influence over an area than others.

-tack-on to the above, if implemented, the turf collect in that room gives a free drink alongside the silver

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 12:14 pm
by galaxgal
Overall, I like the high concept of the system. Antagonistic groups (namely, mages and thieves) having an incentive to engage with other than acts that are, essentially, messing with someone's day would likely increase overall conflict and activity between their opposition on each axis.

The odd asymmetry with verbs like terrorize etc. are the biggest sticking point for me. I think most players don't want to play outright supervillains and giving each 'side' a set of shared, neutral verbs (and similarly, more symmetry in mechanics) seems like it would be overall better for the system's health.
Satoshi wrote:
Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:40 am
I think, especially given current systems, that while it's highly possible that a citizen can discourage crime, it's not very likely for a non-orderite to get rid of magic, especially since the magic system is so flexible, AND since the Order touts that citizens should NOT engage with mages lest they risk themselves with the taint.
Vigilante acts aren't likely going to be seen (at least publicly) as socially-acceptable on either axis, because a character is denying their station and acting 'above' the law/faith/general militant authorities. It doesn't stop them from doing it.

(As for the effectiveness of such behavior, sharp objects can hurt the wizard, and usually anyone or anything helping the wizard, too.)

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:44 pm
by Myrella
I like the general idea, but dislike a lot of this draft.

First off, Knights and Reeves already have difficult jobs managing investigations. This system gives them even more chores. I don't like that.

Next, I think there's already plenty of ways on game for lawfulness and piety to be affected and for them to be themes in RP. So having this system focus on those metrics feels redundant.

What I would like to see instead is a system that focuses on other aspects of theme. Namely the strife between the races. Racism is a big part of Urth, but not a huge part of the mechanics.

I propose a system where the groups that are at war are the different races. No one needs to join a guild or have a vested interest... They're already affected because everyone belongs to one race. I think about benefit would be promotion of people from different classes but of the same race working together to increase the size of their quarter. A parallel class based system where southies work against Freeman again nobles would mean everyone would have multiple angles to work on. Overall this would affect how NPCs in different regions act. Maybe the tubori quarter kicks people out, the vavardi quarter becomes more welcoming and the vandagans just start insulting other races assuming that's how it plays out. Similarly the streets and shops on the borders could switch allegiances. Also this would make it possible with enough work to make Southside more or less lethal for outsiders, and maybe push the border back and forth?

Another benefit of this I believe, would be a greater change for split loyalties. I think the vast majority of Orderites have a vested interest in increasing piety, and mages, criminals, and reeves are all similarly pigeonholed. Sure there may be the odd self-loathing mage priest here and there, but even still, there going to fall down pretty easily on one side or the other. Race and Class though give you more than binary options. There's characters in interracial relationships that may feel torn between which race to support. There's guildleaders who may no longer be gentrified if they lose their position, and similarly great lords may find it difficult to fight against the lower classes knowing they could be one again soon.

I think I'd be more interested in those sorts of dynamics.

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:32 pm
by Taunya
I also think it should be decoupled from guilds, though I don't know if race wars is the answer either.

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 6:10 am
by wimple
I'd challenge that Racism isn't a big part of game mechanics - it certainly is for Charali and Hillmen. They are unable to take part in prestige, contribute to projects (via game mechanics, they can certainly be shook down for donations that nobles add themselves), etc. The only real way to get IP in those races is net/direct support, even being the highest non-GL in a guild doesn't give you a bonus. Consolidating wealth is difficult. I'm not saying those things can't be done or it's wrong for that to be the situation for Charali/Hillmen, but I'm saying that racism is VERY much a part of game dynamics. If those playing non-barbarian races feel that racism isn't a part of dynamics for their races, maybe the systems and dynamics already in the game need to be adjusted for those races.

In the suggestion made, Charali and Hillmen aren't part of the scenario at all, despite having their own enclaves outside the city. I suppose it's fine, because there'd be an enormous hurdle for them to be able to compete for their territory via numbers and in-game mechanics against them (i.e. 0 Hillmen/5 Charali on census, least non-Barbarian racial group is Vandagans with 10 - as it stands, anyone go and claim the Hillmen territory if they wanted to.) If something like this is explored, there should be adjusted blocks on access to the Hillman and Charali areas, with sections accessible that have their shops but some areas not for outsiders unless you're grouped with someone of that barbarian race or hasn't been declared 'friend' or given a pass by a barbarian.

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 11:11 am
by Geras
Zash does not want a race war. His army of goats will win too easily.

Re: Turf Wars Spec - 1st Draft

Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 5:20 pm
by Myrella
Ok, race wars have again proven to be a bad idea all around. I didn't really consider that Charali/Hillman perspective. I still don't like the initial idea for the reasons I mentioned earlier.