War Season 2007

From FiranMUX

This year (2007), war season will be run differently. I (Adam) am planning sweeping changes to the way war is run. This page discusses some of those plans.

Useful Links

• War Season 2007-2008 for Staff
• Web forum thread for questions
• Web forum thread containing Combat 3.0 schedule

Schedule

This is a tentative schedule. Check back frequently, as dates may change. I am planning to hold the Feb 15 start date for War Season very firm, though, and if other things (like Combat 3.0 functionality) are not complete by then, we go with the old code.

Mon, Jan 21	Final tests for Combat 3.0 (phases 1, 2, 5, maybe 4)
Sat, Jan 19	Olympics start
Tue, Jan 29	Olympics: Battle Royale -- combat test
Thu, Jan 31	Olympics: Pentathlon (Sword Fighting) -- combat test
Sun, Feb 3	Olympics end
Fri, Feb 15	War Season starts (ship out)
Sun, Mar 2	War Season ends (return to Anarinuell)

Goals

Many war seasons have come and gone. Players seem to raise some perennial complaints. "We can't win." "The war shamis are too tough." "There's nothing for generals to do." A new system cannot make everyone happy but perhaps it can make war season more fun for more players. These are my goals for war season this year.

Every participant gets to do something that matters. Past war seasons have focused on the fighting. While the fighting is important, there are other aspects. I want the warriors to have fights that matter. I want the supply people to feel that their work matters to the Front. I want the generals to make strategic decisions that matter. I want scouts to bring back information that could make or break battles.

Staff intervention is minimal. As much as possible, I want war season to run itself. War shamis should be unnecessary. GMs should be freed from tedious work to run plots that are fun and exciting.

Players better understand what they need to do to take back Ellish. Ellish has been the main goal every year. I've pretty consistently told players how they could win (cleverness, unity, dedication, sacrifice, and luck) but players haven't felt they had the means to do that. Steph and I believe that it's been possible all along, so obviously there's a major communications disconnect. This year, I want to lay the cards on the table and show several paths to retaking Ellish. They will be difficult. They'll require many years to achieve, most likely. But it is possible and at least the military leadership should have a better idea how it could be done.

Changes

Here are some of the main things that will be different this year. The new Combat 3.0 system offers many new features, but not all of them impact war season in the large.

Unique geography replaces the numbered battlefields. Right now, the path to Ellish is an abstract series of 10 numbered battlefields. It's a linear path. You fight your way up the path. I am replacing that with a set of perhaps five different paths. All of these rooms will have unique names and descriptions, including differences in terrain that can be exploited by one side or another. Some paths will be short, some will be long. Some will be more treacherous than others.

Terrain will matter. Soldiers will get bonuses or penalties to reflect their fighting conditions. If it's raining, everyone will fight at a disadvantage. If the Firans are fighting downhill, they'll get an attack bonus. If the Firans have a ledge or some other natural cover, they'll get a defense bonus. If the Firans find a way to ambush the enemy, they'll lower their attack difficulties. That kind of thing.

Army movement will require supplies. Each general will have an army object that he moves around. The PC soldiers will be expected to stay near it or lose significant protection. Moving the army from one area to the next will take supplies, energy, and a certain amount of RL time. Generals will have options that allow them to force a march, thus traveling faster, but putting all their soldiers at a disadvantage. A GM will move Shamibelian armies around from the other side.

Firan infantry will fight in rank and file. The Combat 3.0 system will be complete by war season. This system offers a defend command that lets one combatant defend another. Attempts to engage a defended person result in you engaging the defender instead. Thus, the Firans can put swordsmen up front to defend a line of spearmen, who defend a line of archers, who defend the officers. People with spears will be able to attack over the shoulders of their defenders, allowing the swordsmen, spearmen, and archers all to attack, but leaving only the swordsmen vulnerable to attack. This should provide the tactical punch that Firans are supposed to have over Shamibelians.

Leaders and heroes will inspire soldiers to fight better. Generals and other officers will get a Command roll during each battle and success will mean that all their soldiers get a small combat bonus. Princes and other heroes who fight on the battlefield will inspire their fellow soldiers with a small morale bonus. Heroes will be defined as people with high Glory Point scores.

AI-controlled Shami mobs will replace PC-controlled Shamis and auto-damage. The Shamibelian army will have a location (or several, if they split up). When the Firans confront the Shamis in battle, there will be a certain number of Shamibelian objects to fight. These will use the same combat system the Firan PCs use. The ratio of NPC Shamis to NPC Firans in each army, plus the number of Firan PCs connected and in the battle, will determine how many Shamibelian "mob" objects are created. Battles, then, will be fought entirely using the combat code.

Discuss

You are encouraged to discuss this topic on the Firan web forums.

Notes and Checklist

This is a section for Adam to track stuff he needs to do to get War Season ready for 2007.

Battlegrounds

Build and describe a series of interlinked rooms between Ellish and the Firan starting point.

• Using the actual world map, draw a simple terrain map for the land around Ellish.
• Note special geographical features on this map.
• Partition the map into zones of like geography that will become "rooms" on the MUSH.
• Decide how the zones connect.
• Decide, in loose terms, what advantages and disadvantages each zone offers.
• Build the rooms: dig and describe.
• Create a system for applying ads and disads to combatants.
• Create a system for army movement.
• Create a system for scouting by land and air.

Combat 3.0

Upgrade the existing combat system to the new 3.0 version. Get basic features working, plus "defend" commands to allow simple military formations.

PHASE 1 (BASIC COMBAT)

• Copy the existing code files and split them into new files by function, for 3.0. DONE.
• Set up CVS for new code. DONE.
• Design and code a combat timer system. DONE.
• Write basic player AI (engage --> attack, etc.). DONE.
• Write "stub" player commands (engage, disengage, attack, wield, hold, etc.). DONE. And test. TESTED.
• Write utility combat commands (@engage, @disengage, @attack, @wield, @hold, etc.). DONE. And test. TESTED.
• Create a couple sample techniques and show how they work.

PHASE 2 (MOBS)

• Write basic mob AI. Test with animals. DONE.
• Write Shami mob AI. Test with war shamis.

PHASE 3 (DEFEND)

• Write player commands for defend etc.
• Write utility combat commands (@defend) etc.

Testing

Test the new combat system in some mass battles. This will help the players better understand the new system and will shake out the bugs. Test with experienced combat twinks and inexperienced noobs.

• Test basic PvP combat.
• Test en masse PvP combat.
• Test basic defending.
• Test "defensive lines" using defending and multiple people.
• Test basic PvE mob combat using animals.
• Test basic PvE mob combat using war shamis.
• Test en masse PvE mob combat (mobs vs. mobs, mobs vs. players, etc.).
• Test en masse PvE mob combat using Shamis and Firans in defensive lines.

GMing

Prepare the GMs (including me) to run the war season.

• Write up standard rules and make available to all players for comment and improvement.
• Write up standard operating procedures for GMs.
• Well in advance of war season, let players know logistical/supply requirements so they can prepare.
• Schedule and run intro event.
• Schedule and run battles.