Developer's Blog #24: Engine Combat

Discussion on the 1879 roleplaying game.
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
TarlimanJoppos
Posts: 335
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 4:17 pm
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Developer's Blog #24: Engine Combat

Postby TarlimanJoppos » Sat Mar 29, 2014 10:11 pm

Andrew Ragland
Line Developer, 1879

Slimcreeper
Posts: 394
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 11:18 pm
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Re: Developer's Blog #24: Engine Combat

Postby Slimcreeper » Tue Apr 01, 2014 7:35 pm

Glad to see these on the forums.

My question about this sort of thing is how does the player internalize and visualize engine combat to make the numbers come alive? Physical combat is easy;we can visualize what is going on in space to physical things. Lots of cyberpunk settings make the computer 'combat' into a virtual reality; that won't work here. But we don't want a game of 'a hah! I got 30 of your percentage points and win!"

Defining the peripherals you referred to? Locking up sections of the stack, almost like a map of the engine, like a tactical war-game where the combatants are trying to take the high ground and flank each other, tie up key resources? Clearly defined time-sensitive goals (get the data in 3 rounds)?

User avatar
Kasbak
Posts: 414
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:22 pm
Location: Illinois
Contact:

Re: Developer's Blog #24: Engine Combat

Postby Kasbak » Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:00 pm

Analytical engines work better than regular PC's for visualizing because they are entirely mechanical, which means you can actually see all the parts moving. Just in normal operation, they're more interesting to watch because you can observe all of the processing taking place. By contrast, cyberpunk needs the extra visualization because you can't see inside a microchip to understand how it works. Analytical engines are also massive, usually occupying huge rooms that are filled with nothing but their clockwork. Also remember that the engine is still running during the whole process.

Now take the operation of all of those moving parts, and pit two people against each other in trying to control them. They'll have to read gear positions to decipher numbers, then interpret the numbers into data, and then mechanically alter the clockwork in the section they're in to change the process how they want. They'll be jamming and skipping gears, forcing transmission shifts, altering pressure in the steam power supply, and so on.

To give a good visual representation, imagine being inside a clock tower, filled with many many more and much smaller gears. You have to read the gears and adjust how the clock works while it is still running, with someone in another location that you can't see also adjusting the clock trying to fowl up your changes. At the same time, there are also alarms going off and guards searching for you, and your companions are the only thing that will keep them off your back long enough to finish up your work.


[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1266: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Return to “Roleplaying”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests