Topics

1

Feature Requests / Approved: Prevent Nobles Lacking Honour From Having Police Units

« on: December 13, 2016, 08:13:58 AM »

Title:

Prevent Nobles Lacking Honour From Having Police Units

Summary:

Do not allow nobles with less than 15 honour make their units police units.

Details:

From what I have seen, read and been told nobles with less that 15 honour can make their units police units. This will result in their unit suffering from the downsides of being a police unit but, they are unable to enjoy the benefits (as the noble does not have enough honour to utilize the police work commands).  With this in mind, it might make more sense to prevent nobles with less than 15 honour  from designating their units as police units rather than allowing them to make a change that only disadvantage them.

Benefits:

As some nobles with less than 15 honour belong to new players, this would keep them from unintentionally taking on assignments that they can not fulfill or from weakening their units for no real reason.

Possible Downsides/Exploits:

There may be some cases in which a noble with less that 15 honour might want to set their unit as a police unit. My inquiries thus far suggest that this is unlikely to be the case but I am not 100% confident on this point yet.

2

Helpline / Police Work and Units

« on: December 12, 2016, 12:37:34 PM »

Is there a benefit to making one's unit a police unit besides gaining access to the Police Work commands?

If not, I was wondering if it might make sense to prevent troop leaders with less than 15 honour from making their unit a police unit as they wouldn't be able to access the police work commands anyways.

3

BM General Discussion / Creating an Adventurer

« on: November 30, 2016, 03:29:40 PM »

I read on the forum that you can create an adventurer 30 days after a new account has been created. Is this still correct? If it is, I will add it to the Adventurer and Class wiki page!

Forum Post: http://forum.battlemaster.org/index.php/topic,6724.msg144234.html#msg144234
Adventurer Wiki Page: http://wiki.battlemaster.org/wiki/Adventurer
Class Wiki Page:  http://wiki.battlemaster.org/wiki/Class

4

Helpline / Region Food Consumption

« on: February 20, 2015, 09:37:34 AM »

I seem to recall there being a place that told you how much food your region consumes versus how much it produces but I can not seem to find it! Would someone please provide me with directions?

5

Helpline / Treaties

« on: February 16, 2015, 11:56:59 AM »

I am playing a Diplomat/Ambassador for the first time and have a few questions regarding treaties. Though i looked, I was unable to find this info on the wiki

1. How long can a treaty be in characters?

2. Is it possible to delete or hide old treaties that are no longer signed by anyone?

3. How do revisions work?
3a. Is it possible to see past revisions of a revised treaty?
3b. Is there a way to see some kind of diff between a proposed treaty revision and the treaty before it?
3c. Are there common standards used when revising treaties?

I am sure I will have more questions later on but these are the first things that pop into mind...

6

Development / Estate/Tax Revamp Proposal Take 2

« on: January 16, 2015, 02:09:48 PM »

Recently I heard that the dev team was looking to make the following happen:

I want more knights to mean more gold per percent of estate—so that if the Lord has a 20% estate, and 1 knight has a 10% estate, and the Lord's weekly tax just from his estate averages 150, then another knight takes a 10% estate, the Lord's weekly tax goes up to 155. And the other knight's weekly tax goes up. Thus, not only would Lords who want to benefit the realm try to take on more knights, Lords who want to make a load of money on their own will, too..

I'm saying I would change the code so that the same estate you have today would start making more money, without the Lord making any changes to that estate, just because another knight took an estate in the region.

So I have been looking to find an formula that would make the following above goals happen. My first attempt failed miserably due to me misremembering what the dev team was looking for. Now that I have reviewed this I have a second potential proposal. Though my final proposal is detailed at the end, I have decided to go ahead and include all the work that lead me to the final suggestion.

Once again, I will use Dantooine as my base as it is the only region I have detailed information on. I am also assuming that production would average at 69% and that the regions tax rate is at 14%. The real averages might be different.

I will also assume that the lord will want to get the most gold possibly from the region by simply using the largest estates possible. From what I tested thus far, this system should yield the desired results regardless of how the lord chooses to divide his region.

I am also not calculating in a lord taxing their knights. This is because knights will see a boost in income regardless of this tax rate as long as the boost in untaxed income is over 2 gold.

Also, I lack the information that I would need to perform a comparable check on a very rich region (like Giask) and a very poor region (like Desert of Silhouettes). This system might break down under such extremes but  I am not smart enough to know this without doing the calculations (though I suspect there may be an issue). If so, the problem might be fixable by simply adjusting the size of bonuses. If the devs find this proposal interesting they can either perform their own calculations using the information here or give me the missing info and I will happily run the numbers and post them. If there is no interest, that is fine too!

Finally, i would like to describe the formula I am using here which is based on what is listed on the wiki. I have included the math for each step but have sloppily rounded off the results to the nearest whole gold piece.

REGION_GOLD_STAT * CURRENT_REGION_PRODUCTION * CURRENT_REGION_TAX_RATE * DAYS_IN_A_WEEK * ESTATE_SIZE * ESTATE_EFFICIENCY

When there wildlands or empty estates and their income should go to the lord, I add this to the equation when determining the Lords tax share:

+ REGION_GOLD_STAT * CURRENT_REGION_PRODUCTION * CURRENT_REGION_TAX_RATE * DAYS_IN_A_WEEK * SIZE_OF_UNCLAIMED_LAND * .5

Toward the end I talk about giving the region lord a 10% boost to their earned income this is calculated by modifying his formula to the following:

REGION_GOLD_STAT * CURRENT_REGION_PRODUCTION * CURRENT_REGION_TAX_RATE * DAYS_IN_A_WEEK * ESTATE_SIZE * ESTATE_EFFICIENCY * 1.1

With Wildlands with income from wildlands and empty estates:

Code: [Select]

Lord has 40% Estate and 60% Wildlands:
No production boost needed
Lord: 456*.69*.14*7 * .40 * .83 + 456*.69*.14*7 * .60 * .5 = 102 + 92 = 194

Lord has 40% Estate and 20% Wildlands, Knight has 40% Estate:
+45% Production(45% total boost)
Lord: 456*1.14*.14*7 * .40 * .83 + 456*.69*.14*7 * .20 * .5 = 200
1 Knight: 456*1.14*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 169

Lord has 40% Estate, Knight 1 has 40% Estate, Knight 2 has 20% Estate:
+25% Production (70% total boost)
Lord: 456*1.39*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 206
1 Knight: 456*1.39*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 206
2 Knight: 456*1.39*.14*7 * .20 * 1 = 124
Here we can see that due to the loss of empty estates and wildlands to knights, huge productivity boosts are needed to ensure the Lord's income will actually increase thanks to taking on a knight. This is fairly problimatic and suggests that, in order to meet the requirements above, Lords should probably not make money from unoccupied land.

With Wildlands with no income from wildlands or empty estates:

Code: [Select]

Lord has 40% Estate:
No bonus needed
Lord: 456*.69*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 102

Lord has 40% Estate, Knight has 40% Estate:
+5% Production
Lord: 456*.74*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 109
1 Knight: 456*.74*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 109

Lord has 40% Estate, Knight 1 has 40% Estate, Knight 2 has 20% Estate:
+5% Production (10% total boost)
Lord: 456*.79*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 117
1 Knight: 456*.79*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 117
2 Knight: 456*.79*.14*7 * .20 * 1 = 70
Here we can see noticeable increase in income with much more reasonable production boosts. The problem now is that lords will, as a whole, earn a whole lot less money off of regions - especially with no or few knights. It is no longer possible to nearly double your earnings just by not having a knight. (Even if you tax your knights to the max. I like this but others might find it frustrating.

Also, the only benefit lords have to make estates out of wild lands is that my doing so makes it easier for knights to take estates which would than boost your income. The traditional idea is to allow a lord to earn income from empty estates but not from wildlands but this will cause the lord to lose significant income if an estate is taken which will require in huge production bonuses being needed (the same as describes in the first scenario) if we are to meet the goals listed above.

Instead, I suggest a bonus to the region lords income based on how much of their region is a part of an estate - empty or occupied. So if 100% of your region is a part of one estate or another you gain a 10% boost - always. If 77% of your region is a part of one estate or another you gain an 8% boost. If 44% is a part of an estate than you gain a 4% boost.

With Wildlands giving no income and unmanned estates giving some income:

Code: [Select]

Lord has 40% Estate:
No bonus needed
Lord: 456*.69*.14*7 * .40 * .83 * 1.1 = 112

Lord has 40% Estate, Knight has 40% Estate:
+5% Production
Lord: 456*.74*.14*7 * .40 * .83 * 1.1 = 120
1 Knight: 456*.74*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 109

Lord has 40% Estate, Knight 1 has 40% Estate, Knight 2 has 20% Estate:
+5% Production (10% total boost)
Lord: 456*.79*.14*7 * .40 * .83 * 1.1 = 129
1 Knight: 456*.79*.14*7 * .40 * .83 = 117
2 Knight: 456*.79*.14*7 * .20 * 1 = 70
Here you can see that the lord has gained a small boost to their income simply for ensuring that 100% of their land is a part of one estate or another. This last proposal is my favorite of the three.

In summation, this would consist of:

* Do not allow lords to collect the income from empty estated or wild lands as no one is there to collect taxes
* Increase region production by 5% for each KNIGHT that has an estate due to the increased region efficiency gained from having an additional caretaker within the region
    * It might be a good ides to hide this bonus to productivity or treat it as a separate bonus that applies to total region income so it does not dirty up the region stats
* Increase the lords income by 1% for every 10% of their region that is a part of an estate due to the increased coverage of the regional government
    * Again, I would hide this information and not combine it with efficiency to keep all the details clear

7

Development / Estate/Tax Revamp Proposal

« on: January 15, 2015, 11:44:04 AM »

I was thinking about how we could best implement a estate/tax system that benefits from additional knights but also makes things simpler for everyone.

Code: [Select]

Dantooine
Luria Nova, duchy of Earth's Hall
Type: Rural
Location: coast
Local Lord: Alric Scarborn
Population: 15500/15500
Land Area: 4778 sq.miles
Production: Good (69%)
Morale: Content (69%)
Realm Loyalty: Friendly (73%)
Realm Control: Main
Economy: N/A
Gold: 456 gold
Food: 657 bushels
Weather area: East Pastureland
Tax Rate: 14%
To start, the tax gold collected per week remains the same Gold * Production * Region Tax Rate * 7. This means that Dantooine should make an average of 308g (456*.69*.14*7) per week. This bit would stay the same.

Next, we remove the lord's ability to tax his knights. In the end, the lords will earn more than the knights and this is assumed to be a result of taxes levied, a larger estate or whatever. the only cool button a lord gets is the ability to set the tax rate of their region.

Also, instead of allowing the lord to create and delete estates, each region is simply given a certain number of estate slots with set sizes based on the regions typical income. The idea is that each knight should earn around 80 gold per week (minimum 50g, maximum 110g) with the lord making double that (160g). Using Dantooine as an example, there would be three estates: the Lords Estate and two Knights estates. Each knight would earn 25% of the income while the Lord earns 50%

Dantooine Estates:

Code: [Select]

Name                   held by      Size Population Expected Tax
Castle Dantoon         Earl Suzzy  50 % 6200     154 gold          |rename|
North Shores Mannor    Sir Jimmy 25 % 4650     77 gold           |rename|
Sea Cliff Keep        (vacant)     25 % 4650     77 gold           |rename|
The only thing that can be changed here is the name of the estate. Estate Efficiency is also removed as there is nothing anyone can do to change it. Should only the lord be present he would earn 154g per week for a region total of 154g per week. Should he take a knight, he would continue earning 154g per week and the knight would earn 77g per week for a region total of 221g per week. Taking the third knight would finally bring the gold production to it's fullest (308g per week) with the lord earning 154g per week and each knight earning 77g per week.

Dukes would continue to be able to tax their lords by setting a duchy tax rate. this percentage is taken directly from each lords income. If Earl Suzzy's duke had a duch tax rate of 35% she would have to hand over 54g to her duke which would reduce her income to 100g per week. A duke can still take a lordship and would automatically receive the lord's estate.

The dukes income is the lord's income from his region plus all the dukes taxes.

The king an be a duke and region lord if they want (same restrictions as today) and can set a kingdom tax. Each duke would pay that percentage of their personal income to the king.

To get an idea of how this would affect a richer city, here is a breakdown of how Giask might look:

Code: [Select]

Giask
Luria Nova, duchy of Sky Hall
Type: City
Location: coast
Fortifications: Fortress (5)
Fort. Damage: 7 %
Local Lord: Aldrakar Renodin
Population: 90000/90000
Land Area: 744 sq.miles
Production: Good (69%)
Morale: Content (69%)
Realm Loyalty: Friendly (73%)
Realm Control: Main
Economy: N/A
Gold: 2936 gold
Food: 283 bushels
Weather area: East Pastureland
Tax Rate: 14%
Using the formula above we can get the weekly tax income: 1985g per week

Gisk Estates:

Code: [Select]

Name                   held by      Size Population Expected Tax
Lords Estate           Earl Suzzy  12 % 6200     239 gold          |rename|
Estate 1            Sir Jimmy 6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 2            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 3            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 4            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 5            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 6            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 7            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 8            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 9            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 10            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 11            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 12            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 13            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 14            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 15            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Estate 16            (vacant)     6 %     4650     119 gold          |rename|
Being a much more wealthy region, each knight would earn 119g (a bit more that 110 but as close as we can get to it using whole percentage points) and the lord would earn 199g per week. This means that Giask can only really realize it's full power by having quite a few knights in it's service. Though Giask is still a region that many would prefer due to it's higher earnings per lord and knight, the difference is not that huge when compared to Dantooine.

And now the poorest of regions:

Code: [Select]

Desert of Silhouettes
D'Hara, duchy of Sallowcape
Type: Badlands
Location: coast
Local Lord: Martin Longbow
Population: 350/350
Land Area: 11437 sq.miles
Production: Good (69%)
Morale: Content (69%)
Realm Loyalty: Friendly (73%)
Realm Control: Main
Economy: N/A
Gold: 36 gold
Food: 11 bushels
Weather area: East Desert
Tax Rate: 14%
The tax rate is simple: 24g per week

Desert of Silhouettes Estates:

Code: [Select]

Name                   held by      Size Population Expected Tax
Lords Estate           Earl Suzzy  100 % 350         24 gold          |rename|
That is it. If the region can not produce at least 150g per week on average, only the lord gains an estate.


In summation:
* lords can no longer tax knight income, this is assumed happen in the background if at all
* lords still set the region tax rate
* each region has a set number of estates
* the lord always receives the lors's estate
* each knights estate should produce between 50 and 110 gold (average 80)
* estates can be renamed but not removed or added
* estate sizes are static and unchangeable
* a region only earns gold on held estates
* regions that earn less than 150g have only a Lords estate
* duchy taxes are taken from the lords earnings, not from the knights
* realm taxes are taken from the dukes earnings (lords income if a lord plus duchy taxes)
* same allowances and restrictions apply regarding kings being duke and lords or dukes being lords.
* calculations assume average region production of 69% and average region tax rate of 14%
* this change would make wide spread realms very inefficient and dense realms very efficient
* most knights should have a reasonable income (enough to support a 500cs unit at 70g I think)
* actual money earned will vary based on tax rate and production values
* estate size % and population are probably not needed anymore
* estates will always be available to take by new knights.

8

Feature Requests / Per Vassal Taxes and Stipends

« on: January 13, 2015, 09:10:14 AM »

Title:

Per Vassal Taxes and Stipends


Summary:

Allow a liege to set individual tax rates for each vassal and to give their vassals a set, reoccurring, stipend.


Details:

First off, allow a liege to set the tax levels of his vassals on an individual basis. Currently a lord sets a single "lords share" tax rate and that rate is applied to all of his knights. I believe that it is the same when a duke taxes his lords and when a ruler taxes his dukes. This would allow a liege to tax each vassal more or less as they see fit.

Additionally I would like it if a liege could chose to give stipends to specific vassals. This would be a set amount of gold automatically taken from the lieges income and paid to the vassal at tax time and treated as tax income. A liege could only give stipends to vassals that have a tax rate of 0% to prevent a loop-the loop from occurring in which the duke gives the lord a 50 gold stipend that is then taxed and partially returned to the duke.

The stipend would be set  in the same place as taxes are but would be for set amounts instead of a percentage. If I were a duke with 4 lords I could tax the wealthiest at 20%, the second wealthiest at 15% and give each of the poorer lords a stipend of 50 gold.

The gold would be paid after the taxes are worked out from a top to bottom fashion.

1. All taxes are collected and distributed like usual.
2. The king pays any grants he has set to his dukes.
3. The dukes pay any grants they have set to their lords.
4. The lords pay any grants they have set to their knights.
5. All done, taxes are now paid out like usual.

Should a liege lack the resources to pay a grant fully they pay all they can with the losses split proportionally between grants and looses h/p for being unable to pay.

This stipend should be viewed as a part of the oath/agreement between a knight and lord, a lord and duke or between a duke and king. Should the grant be increased by the liege it is a show if satisfaction while a decrease is either a punishment or a sign of inability. It could even be taken as the liege breaking their end of a deal.

Benefits:

This would allow realms to ensure that those who need money get in in a clean and automated fashion. Should a noble be in need of a certain level of cashflow (to support a unit for example), this can be ensured regardless of where their estate is. At the same time it is completely optional and individuals can chose to use or not use the system. This would allow a realm to calculate how much a unit of X strength should cost on average (weekly pay + new recruits + repairs + whatever) and tweak the taxes/stipends to ensure each noble gets at least that much every tax day. There would no longer be a need for proud nobles to go begging for money from the realm money council and remove the need for wealthy nobled to have to hang around banks on tax days so they can pass out gold to those who need it.

The system as presented also prevents a liege from taking any more than they already do - the maximum tax rate is still the same. It just allows for efficient redistribution should a liege decide that their vassal's service deserves or requires more than their current estate/region/duchy could possibly support.

It is also impossibly for a realm to implement a fully top-down system since the maximum tax level does not increase and because it is impossible to tax someone and to give them a stipend. To one can not chose to take all of their vassals' gold by setting the tax rate to 100% then hand out set amounts.

Possible Downsides or Exploits:

A realm that takes full advantage of the system would be more efficient than a realm that chose not to. Some might feel that the lure of efficiency might tempt people to implement a tax system that contradicts the values held by the country. Some might suggest that this would reduce interactions between characters but I feel that it would simply focus the interactions where they should be when it comes to money matters: between a vassal and his liege. I personally feel that giving stipends can be roleplayed into most any form of governmental system though.

First Knight: I would like to give you my oath!
Lord: I am a generous lord, I will give you an estate equal in size to my own! 40% of my region now belongs to you. I only ask that you serve me well and pay your taxes (10%).
Second Knight: I would like to give you my oath of service.
Lord: I am a generous Lord. You will receive the 20% of my region yet unclaimed as an estate and all it's revenue and a stipend of 50g per week in exchange for your loyal service!

Later:

Lord: My duke, I have taken on a new knight but I must pay him 50g a week out of my own pocket to cover the expenses he will have to maintain a proper unit.
Duke: Wonderful! I will see to it that your tax is reduced and, if necessary, a stipend awarded to compensate you for your loss. We need every man we can get!

9

BM General Discussion / How the number of knights affects gold earned in a region

« on: January 08, 2015, 05:03:28 PM »

I was reading an argument in another thread about whether a region made more or less money as it gained knights. So I decided to play around a bit using the region one of my characters has as a baseline and the formula's on the wiki page.

Of course, there are better and worse size/efficiency/lords_tax combos available with some being noticeably more profitable than others. I created a script to calculate every combination (16524 combos) of estate size (23%-40%) for one lord with an estate and one knight with an estate for every tax rate from (0%-50%) and found that total gold production for the region could range from 228 to 240 depending on estate sizes and tax rates. For this example I just picked fairly even values that I might imagine a player using.

I have also rounded down in every case so these values will tend to be lower than higher. None of this takes food production into account either.

To start, here is the basic region stats that will stay the same for all examples:

Code: [Select]

456 Region Gold
14% Tax Rate
70% Region Production

This is how the region looked when I took it over. The Lord earned 160g, the knight 77g for a total of 237 gold for the entire region.

Code: [Select]

Tax on Knight Earnings: 25%
Lord: Size - 40% Efficiency - 83%
Knight 1: Size - 40% Efficiency - 83%
Wild: Size - 20%
If the region has no knights the Lord will earn 196 gold for a total of 196 gold for the entire region.

Code: [Select]

Tax on Knight Earnings: 25%
Lord: Size - 40% Efficiency - 83% 196
Wild: Size - 60%
The text three samples have the goal of ensuring all knights earn 77 gold if at all possible

With two knights earning 77g each the lord would earn 124g for a total of 278 gold for the entire region.

Code: [Select]

Tax on Knight Earnings: 16%
Lord: Size - 34% Efficiency - 89%
Knight 1: Size - 33% Efficiency - 90%
Knight 2: Size - 33% Efficiency - 90%

With three knights earning 77g each the lord would earn 71g for a total of 302 gold for the entire region.

Code: [Select]

Tax on Knight Earnings: 1%
Lord: Size - 22% Efficiency - 100%
Knight 1: Size - 26% Efficiency - 97%
Knight 2: Size - 26% Efficiency - 97%
Knight 3: Size - 26% Efficiency - 97%
With four knights earning 77g each the lord would earn 4g for a total of 312 gold for the entire region.

Code: [Select]

Tax on Knight Earnings: 1%
Lord: Size - 0%
Knight 1: Size - 25% Efficiency - 100%
Knight 2: Size - 25% Efficiency - 100%
Knight 3: Size - 25% Efficiency - 100%
Knight 4: Size - 25% Efficiency - 100%
The next three samples have the goal of ensuring the lord continues to earn 160g if at all possible.

Two knights could each earn 59g if the lord maintained 160g for a total of 278 gold for the entire region.

Code: [Select]

Tax on Knight Earnings: 36%
Lord: Size - 34% Efficiency - 89%
Knight 1: Size - 33% Efficiency - 90%
Knight 2: Size - 33% Efficiency - 90%
Three knights could each earn 47g if the lord maintained 161g for a total of 302 gold for the entire region.

Code: [Select]

Tax on Knight Earnings: 40%
Lord: Size - 22% Efficiency - 100% 161
Knight 1: Size - 26% Efficiency - 97% 47
Knight 2: Size - 26% Efficiency - 97% 47
Knight 3: Size - 26% Efficiency - 97% 47
Four knights could each earn 37g if the lord maintained 161g for a total of 309 gold for the entire region.

Code: [Select]

Tax on Knight Earnings: 48%
Lord: Size - 8% Efficiency - 100% 161
Knight 1: Size - 23% Efficiency - 100% 37
Knight 2: Size - 23% Efficiency - 100% 37
Knight 3: Size - 23% Efficiency - 100% 37
Knight 4: Size - 23% Efficiency - 100% 37

10

Helpline / Melee Formations

« on: January 05, 2015, 04:41:12 PM »

I was going over the strengths and weaknesses of various formations and am left with questions regarding the use of various formations by melee troops.

1. Does a box formation benefit a melee troop when facing another melee troop? From what I have read, they would have decreased attack strength but increased defense. It suggests to me that the damage output per battle would equal out and end up being similar to what you would get using the line formation.

2. Does a skirmish formation benefit a melee troop when facing a ranged troop? As above, they would have decreased attack strength but increased defense. Again, it suggests to me that the damage output per battle would equal out and end up being similar to what you would get using the line formation.

3. The wedge also seems to equal out in the reverse: attack is increased but defense decreased. Would this formation fare better in any way than the line formation when used by melee troops?

11

East Island / Is Perdan Dying?

« on: January 05, 2015, 01:06:04 PM »

I have been in Perdan for 49 days and it often feels like a ghost town. Is Perdan falling apart at the seems? Is it just a quiet community? Am I just not hearing much because I am not in any special message groups?

12

Feature Requests / More Help Page

« on: December 29, 2014, 10:30:53 AM »

Title:

More Help Pages


Summary:

Have an in game link to a wiki help page on EVERY page within the game.


Details:

Some pages have a question make help button on them that leads to a help page on the wiki that describes what that page is about and what the options there mean. I think it would be great of EVERY game page had that icon and an associated help page on the wiki.

I would be willing to create content for the new pages I have access to.


Benefits:

It would help let new players jump right in to the game if every page had such a help link and a quality wiki page behind it. Once could simply say (make sure to read the help pages as you go to learn more about the system. It would also make more information about the game available from within the game itself without the need to go searching the wiki or forums.

It also gives a bit of consistency. Knowing that every page has that help button makes would be nice and could make the game more accessible.


Possible Downsides or Exploits:

Redundancy and excess verboseness. Some may see this as a downside but I do not. I would rather have help wiki pages on seemingly obvious features and talk about the same features multiple times and from multiple angles than to find wholes in the coverage.

Additional links would also lead to blank wiki pages initially and that would seem less professional. This would hopefully be temporary though.

13

Feature Requests / Dynamic Army Assignment

« on: December 29, 2014, 10:20:44 AM »

Title:

Dynamic Army Assignment


Summary:

Allow a character to pick a preferred army at all times and a lord to respect that preference or manually assign.


Details:

We currently allow a character with no liege to assign themselves to an army. Once they take an estate, however, the option disappears and only their liege can assign them to an army or change the standing assignment.

I suggest that the "Assign yourself to an army" option always be present and be renamed "Army of Choice:" The drop down for this would present each Army of the realm as an option as well as an additional "None" option. Default would be "None".

The lords would continue to have their existing "Assign vassal to an army" option but in addition to the having the realms armies as options and the "None" option, they have a "Let your Vassal chose" option. Additionally, each vassal's "Army of Choice" would be displayed for the liege to see. Default would be "Let your Vassal chose".

So there would be two layers here. Each character could select an army of choice and they would be assigned to that army as long as they did not have a liege or if they had a liege and their liege allowed them to chose for themselves. Should a knight have a liege and should their liege chose an army (or chose "none") that choice would override the vassal's choice.


Benefits:

This would allow lieges to easily see what armies their vassals prefer. It would allow lieges to delegate responsibility to their vassals should they chose to. Also, given the default settings, should a character take a liege before assigning themselves to an army and end up having a slow-to-react liege, they could still assign themselves to an army as they desire without having to wait for their liege to get to it.


Possible Downsides or Exploits:

I can not see this as being more exploitable that our present system. A vassal could betray their lieges trust if they are allowed to chose their own army and ignore their lieges orders (Liege: "You may chose your own army - just not the Barren Weasels." Vassal: "Right. I just joined the Barren Weasels!"). Not much abuse here though.

14

Helpline / Courtier H/P

« on: December 16, 2014, 08:57:43 AM »

Can Courtiers gain honor and/or prestige from doing bureaucratic work?

15

Development / Reputation System

« on: October 10, 2014, 09:15:17 AM »

Inspired by another thread here is a sketchy idea:

First off, determine a set list of opposing key words plus Neutral. Something like:

Liked/Disliked/Neutral
Cruel/Kind/Neutral
Stubborn/Easily Influenced/Neutral
Intelligent/Stupid/Neutral
Honest/Deceptive/Neutral

Then place a link at the bottom of every IC message you receive from characters that says "View/Give Reputation" or the like.

When you click the link you have the chance to set your opinion of the character by selecting one of the options for each category. This way your character can only declare their opinion of a particular character once (though they can change it as often as they want) and only in regards to characters they have had interactions with - even if not direct communication.

Also on this page is a graph describing the characters results in each area. Something like this:

Liked         ####   
Disliked      ##

Cruel         #
Kind         #######

Stubborn      ###
Easily Influenced   ######

Intelligent      ###
Stupid         ###

Honest         ######
Deceptive      ##

This way characters can state their opinions of other characters, it is impossible for players to write in silly things like "I heard he makes love to sheep", keeps players from spamming other characters.

Just a random idea I though might be fun discussing!