Re: Version 2 enhancements I'd like to see

From: Bryan Thexton <bethexton_at_...>
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 06:59:59 -0800 (PST)

I doubt whether it makes economic sense to do a major revision on this game, as opposed to putting their programming efforts into a new game (I heard a distant rumor of a similar game, but based on directing a tribe of praxian nomads.....). All the same, I'll comment on Martin's comments, and add a couple of my own, because if it doesn't change KoDP, maybe it will help some other future game.

• Martin Crim <MCrim_at_...> wrote:
  > Here are some things I'd like to see in the next
  > version of KoDP:
  >
  > 1. Agriculture info in sync between the tula screen
  > and the agriculture
  > screen (previously discussed).
  Although it could be hard to fit in, perhaps your ring could tell you "we need 36 hides of pasture for our herds, and X (54?) hides would be better."
  >
  > 2. Patrols return to previous levels when
  > weaponthanes return. Sheesh.
  I've not had the experience that patrols always drop after raids--I thought it was only when you had taken wounds, that the patrols dropped to proportionately to how many healthy weapon thanes you had?
  >
  > 3. Clan type (war/balanced/peace) and legendary
  > history (first event,
  > first god awakened) affect the gods your nobles
  > worship. E.g., if you're a
  > war clan, you have more worshipers of war gods than
  > a balanced or peace
  > clan; if you're a peace clan, you have more Barntar
  > and Uralda worshipers
  > than the others.
  Agreed, AND I'd like to see the "first god you awakened" and your primary deity given a little more weight....the very first clan I built were Orlanthi, and my leaders included not a single Orlanth worshipper! I've also had clans that followed Odayla out of the darkness, and not have a single worshipper of the hunting god. I'm not saying that your starting choices should fix your starting leaders too firmly, because that would get boring, but I think a little more weighting might be good.

>
> 4. The Relations screen tells you the allies and
> feuding clans of all the
> other clans. This is something that people *would*
> know in this type of
> clan-based society.

I'm torn on this personally. It some ways it would be nice, but also it would be an awful lot of information to display, not to mention for the game to track. I have doubts as to whether it constantly tracks the other tribes in that level of detail, or whether it uses a simulator to keep them at appropriate levels of development and conflict.

My personal wish list is:
1) Have the tribe-making negotiations have more effect on play afterwards. You often let certain other tribes permanently hold certain seats on the tribal ring, yet you never know how many seats you hold, or who voted for or against you. And when other clans promise to to provide weaponthanes, either they appeared and I never noticed, or they never showed up....basically, I'd like a little more detail on tribal politics.

2) Similarly, I'd like to know all of what is in our tribal regalian!

3) A fix for the sheep lock problem. I understand that worrying about sheep is a little below the dignity of kings, but if the game gives you problems for becoming short on sheep, it should offer some sort of solution too. Even if it is just an event, similar to the ones that happen when you are short of farmers or weaponthanes ("Your crafters come to you, saying that without more sheep soon there will not be enough wool to clothe the clan. What do you do? 1) sacrifice to Nevala (sheep goddess), 2) send your trader out to buy sheep right now (triggers selection of how many goods & cattle to trade), 3) authorize your traders to start trading for more sheep when they are doing other transactions in the future, 4) ignore them) Or possibly, much the way Harst provides Spare Grain for Issaries, Nevala could provide sheep blessing through Uralda?

--Bryan
>
> --Martin
>

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