Slow Results II

The last few years, Land of Strangers' development went into a hiatus, while ye olde questionnaire about content wishes stayed around in the sidebar. Now that I'm hoping to put more time on LoSt again, it felt about time to close the poll ;) We clocked in at 82 voters. (On a side note, I think 82 must be a lucky number in The Land, being the atomic weight of lead.)

I will compare the results to my own wishes and plans, of course, always happy about any feedback from interested parties. It helps understand how people are perceiving the project, and what I might do to further my own plans, increase overall "readability", as well as scratch the potential fan base's itch ;) 

With that said, here are the results in order:

Dawgs (1st – 4th; more than 30 votes) 

38 Mounts and vehicles
37 Camping, survivalism
31 Changing world
31 NPC companions

The contest for gold and silver is tight between Riding and Camping. I think horses and trains are a given feature for a game like LoSt (as well as boats and some oddities, like pogo sticks). Camping/survivalism is a feature I've personally been on the fence about. Seeing that it's a popular wish has of course made me think about possible designs – if so, definitely something in my own, slightly experimental style

… On a shared third place are "Changing world" and "NPC companions", both among my personal favorites. Going ahead, I'm definitely focusing on game world factions and groups, including the possibility for the player to form alliances, gain rumor etc. Being part of a posse should be a feature (and not necessarily as their leader).

Second Lead (5th to 11th; 25 votes or more) 

29 Drinkin' and drugs   
29 Rumors and investigation
28 Non-lethal combat
27 Dice games, gambling
26 Ropes and lassos
26 Tinkering, farming
26 Visions, dream quests

This tier of results have some strong contenders. Some feel genre-inherent in the psychedelic wildwestworld of LoSt, like booze (29), gambling (27), and rope use (26). Others relate to planned open world concepts like NPC companions and changing world (investigation mechanics and non-lethal combat). Regarding tinkering, we'll see – to me, it feels like a feature so prominent in many RPGs that doing anything new or interesting with it really demands a lot of work. It probably won't be a main concern in the next few versions, but I might yet find some fun way to add a tinkering system.

Miscellaneous (12th to 20th; 20-25 votes)

25 Fire and water
24 Calendar, seasons
24 Mines, caverns
22 Aging
22 Construction, base building
22 Dynamite and traps
22 Light and darkness
20 Disease
20 Height map

Some interesting options here; most of these are nifty ideas that can be implemented to enhance simulationist aspects of the game world. Which of these make it to the game, will depend on various factors, like whether they serve as auxiliary features to other content, or if the ratio between amount of work to add a feature, and how much fun it will bring, seems promising. A few are on my definite todo-list despite lukewarm responses in the poll, like a simple system for landscape elevation, at least as a way to create borders and bottlenecks in the landscape with ravines and plateaus.

Backwash (less than 20 votes)

13 Add better interface!
12 Retirement, ghosts
2 Other (Comment)

The "Add better interface" option is actually a jocular throwback to a previous poll about UI, most of which I've haven't gotten around to reacting to, although I've been working on it ::) So the next version will include important features like mouse support and a better graphics engine (another feature high on the todo-list is to add sound effects, and hopefully an original soundtrack). The option to retire player characters and have previous character runs affect later playthroughs did not garner a lot of support, although I can't guarantee that it won't pop up if it feels natural at some point. In the "Other" section, one voter left a comment asking for trading as a feature, and I've got to say it's a good idea, and frankly not overused in open world games, although I'll have to chew on it for a while to see what might come of it. Another voter clicked Other along with every single other poll option, but left no comment, whether that might have been a bot or a very enthusiastic player who simply wants more of everything.

With the poll closed, all that remains is to extend thanks to all who participated. I can now happily get to work on the system for dynamic NPC factions, which should scratch some of these itches. I will keep you posted as work progresses. 

In the meantime I think it's not yet too late to wish you all a happy, prosperous year ahead. Stay Lost, and keep fucking that chicken!

As always,
Minotauros

LoSt Polls: Feature Feeler

First we had a couple of feelers down at Tom's place.

   –T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land

Which feature(s) do you want in LoSt?

Aging

Calendar, seasons, weather

Camping, survivalism

Changing world, news flashes

Construction, home building

Dice games, gambling

Disease

Drinkin' and drugs

Dynamite and trap rigging

Fire and water

Height map, slopes and terraces

Light and darkness

Mines, caverns, underworld

Mounts and vehicles

Non-lethal combat

NPC companions

Retirement, ghosts

Ropes and lassos

Rumors, investigation

Tinkering, farming, crafting

Visions and dream quests

Never mind, add more interface!

OTHER (Comment)

pollcode.com free polls

It's pollin' time again, my bois and gyrls. This round of voting is all about feature requests. I've tried (not with great success) to keep the options at a sane-ish amount, but you're of course welcome to mention other wishes in the comments.

You can vote in the blog's sidebar for as long as the poll is open, or use the widget in this post. (People on phones may not see the sidebar.) So if you have an opinion – informed or not – go ahead and vote, already!

In the meantime, keep reading for my own comments regarding each option, after a word or two about the background for this poll :P

I was happy about the previous poll (results here), and wanted to chug out another one quickly.

What I'm really working on these days, is to add more world factions/influences, with assorted places and plots. Adding each faction is a big task. I've already put many hours into Arken Town, and it's far from finished. Influences like "religious faction", "toppled civilization" and "mafia network" will be even bigger. So it's a question of development strategy which groups to put in and in which order. Some ideas may be too similar to another be worth adding, others just similar enough to slip in with few modifications. Some will require entirely new systems to realize.

For inspiration's sake, then, I decided to ask which new gameplay features y'all would like to see in upcoming releases. I'll probably be consulting the results for the next few releases of LoSt, as always taking your advice to heart while keeping the privilege of the dictatorial vote ;) But if the crowd is shouting for animal handling and underground levels, there could be mining companies digging deep and ranches running cattle across the Land. Heck, maybe even underground cowboys herding cave beasts in that nadirian biome.

«Stetson!»

Rundown of the options

The options are hopefully rather self-explanatory, but I'll jump at the opportunity to continue ranting for a bit. I think the options can be roughly divided into five parts: Time, Activities, Physics, NPCs, and Miscellaneous.

☞ Passage of time

Aging: Experience as well as adverse effects of age and trauma. Start young and die old, or quit at the height of your fame, maybe to show up as an NPC in another game (see below: Retirement). Or something like that ;)

Calendar, weather and seasons: Keep track of months, with scenery/world changes for each season. Random seasons with special effects? There might be the option to stay at a location for months or years, and gameplay effects of that.

Camping, survivalism: Probably not a flat-out food clock. But maybe something like requiring to rest daily: It could spend 1♄ and carry a small chance of healing a wound. A simple resting interface might offer some welcome pacing, if done well. 

Changing world, news flashes: Events that change the world state. Anything from "bandits besiege monastery" to "you contract green fever". Mainly, these events should appear on the game board, as dialogue and action.

☞ Activities

Construct or buy a house/home base: 'Nuff said.

Dice games and betting on fights: Probably betting by dropping ♄ on the table. Races and fights can be played out on the game map. A simple dice game should also be doable like that. 

Disease: Probably randomized diseases. The basic formula would start at picking values for variables like effect, duration, incubation, contagiousness, and remedy.

Drinking and drugs: The motivation to use anything (including drugs) in the game, should be game related. So intoxicants need beneficial effects, as well as dangers of abuse.

Dynamite rigging, trap setting: Tactical: set up the perimeters before a fight, and lure enemies to your preset bombs and traps. Props and shticks related to TNT and trap engineering.

☞ Physics and world features

Fire and water: Wildfire, burning fuses, volatile matter, flowing water, etc. Swimming and diving probably also falls in this category.

Height maps, slopes and terraces: Maybe simplistic, with terraces as special obstacles. But an altitude system could shine if it allowed for stuff like climbing up on rooftops and speeding trains.

Light and darkness: Wouldn't have to be too deep, some touches to add tactical and aesthetic variation.

Mines, caverns, underworld: Underground levels and lore pertaining to them.
Mounts/riding, wagons, trains, boats…: Probably using a velocity/inertia system, with riding as "merging" the rider and the mount into one being temporarily. For moving platforms, brush up on Galilean relativity.

☞ NPC interactions

Non-lethal combat: When your last ♥ is greyed out, you get incapacitated but not necessarily dead. Depending on who defeated you, they may spare your life, rob you, leave you to bleed out, finish you off, etc. The player could get similar options when winning a non-lethal fight. Could also be put in as functions of the AI, making NPCs run away more often, and/or adding a gesture of surrendering (like dropping your weapon), that NPCs should also recognize if the player does it.

NPC companions: NPC means Non Player Critter (human or animal :) There could be ways to solicit help for single missions, or gain long-term allies. In some cases, enslaved or captive NPCs can be an option. And of course a possible shtick to start out with a dog or equivalent animal.

Retirement, ghosts, legacies of players past: It could be possible to retire characters, who may even show up as NPCs in later games. Actual ghosts is another option. Something like Shiren's mechanism of mailing items to your future selves could also be used.
Ropes'n'lassos: Really a utility feature, but ties in (sorry) with social interaction. From bringing hogtied criminals to the tribunal, to parking your horse, ropes can be an interface helper. Lassos would be non-lethal weapons, and rope physics could be used for tripwires, fuses, nets, etc.

Rumors, investigation, lore gathering: I loathe to put in dialogue trees or spamming the villagers for rumors, but may yet try my hand at this. Look for interesting ways to convey and connect in-game lore and info. From learning about the flora and fauna, to simple whodunnit puzzles. 

☞ Miscellaneous

Tinkering, farming, crafting: The nature of crafting would probably lean on existing content. The game works well without, but it might be interesting to add something here.

Visions and dream quests: Thrown in for good measure.

If you read through all of that, I salute you! If you did scroll down to the bottom, I don't blame you. Now go and tick off some options here or in the sidebar! And walk in peace, and all that.

As always,

Minotauros

The LoSt Polls: Interface poll results

The results are in, as LoSt's UI poll closes at the respectable number of 42 voters (I can think of no number more respectable than 42). A heart-felt thanks goes out to all who participated.

Participants were allowed to pick multiple options, which is why there are slightly more ballots cast than people who cast them.

To test everything, I did leave a vote myself, ticking "Other". It bears noting, perhaps, that I put up the poll in part to gauge interest in the project, and I feel like I'm coming out on the other side with increased motivation, as this shows that LoSt does indeed have a little base of interested players.

Now, to get to the meat of the matter – the results, in order of popularity:

More gameplay (24 votes): Not surprisingly, this option got the most votes. The current interface is certainly acceptable, but the game absolutely lacks content. In the time ahead, I'll try to concentrate on this, adding more encounters, bounties, critters and props, and things to do in general.

Mouse support (13 votes): I'm partial to the keyboard, myself, which is probably why the mouse has gotten so little love up until now – but I am also aware of the fact that a pretty big chunk of computer gamers prefer a workable mouse interface, so had anticipated this option to get a fair amount of votes. The good news is that I've started, and the current testing version on my own laptop is already 100% playable with the mouse. I just need to polish off some rough edges before I can call it officially done, which shouldn't take more than a coding session or two. Expect to read more about the details in the monthly update for December.

Sound and music (7 votes): Moving on, we get to the less obvious options, perhaps. Among these features, audio came out on top. I tend to mute Roguelike games, myself, playing either in silence or with my own preferred soundtrack (The Residents' Mole Trilogy is a personal fave in that department, for that good ol'e chthonian feeling). Also, while I do possess a modicum of musical ability, I really don't have the know-how, or the equipment, to make decent recordings. But I aim to please, and have taken note that music and sound would be a welcome addition to the game, although it may still have to wait for a while. Sound effects I can probably rip from various free sources. Regarding music, I could try to solicit outside help – although being a one-person shit storm does have its benefits. Conversely, I may find the time and motivation to learn some music making on the computer, or make recordings using the equipment I have available (a crappy microphone, some string instruments, plus my kids' electric pianos and various bits of percussion). Surely, I'd have a lot of fun hacking together a grainy sounding, psychedelic honky tonk soundtrack befitting my overall vision of The Land.

Smoother graphics (6 votes): This one would entail an improved gaming experience without demanding too much work, and is something I do hope to sink my teeth into in the not too distant future. First of all, a lot of the choppy graphics in the current release will be fixed by defining dedicated layers for drawing backdrops, sprites, speech bubbles, menu popups, etc. Currently, everything is painted to a single pygame surface – a horrible design decision dating back to earlier releases, when there was much less happening on the screen. At some point, I'll have to retrace my steps and implement a more robust engine. Fixing it shouldn't prove too challenging, but will take some manual work, so it may or may not be something I get around to before the next release. Secondly, some graphical problems (like unevenly tessellating wall tiles) stem from the fact that LoSt uses dynamic scaling. While it's cool that the player can set the tile size to any value their heart desires, the result will look better if I set some predefined sizes, and then go over the sprite sheets by hand. But this may still be a while – it's going to entail a pretty big overhaul, as I'd probably take the opportunity to repaint some sprites I'm not quite satisfied with, fine-tune the walking animations for each critter type, etc.

Gamepad support (3 votes): I don't own a gamepad myself, but I've had this option in the back of my mind since quite early in development. Getting it in the game should probably not be too hard. The Pygame framework, which LoSt is built with, includes support for various joystick peripherals, so it's probably just a question of adding some lines to the code here and there to let the game register gamepad input in the same way as it does keyboard events and the like.

Other (3 votes): As noted, one of these votes was my own, to test that the poll was working. The second vote was cast without any comment, so what that player had in mind remains an open question. The third vote for "Other" came with a comment, namely to add an Android version of LoSt… I have to say, it's a pretty compelling thought, and I do believe the interface itself could bear being ported to a smaller touchscreen. The biggest hurdle, however, would be that LoSt is written in Python, and to my knowledge, there isn't any easy way to get Python applications working under Android. I'll certainly look into whether or not it's feasible at all. Barring that, I would have to port the game to a language or engine with native Android support, but that's not something I've planned at the moment. If I were to start using Godot, for instance, it would probably either be something like LoSt 2, or more likely a different game altogether (maybe a Roguelike with superheroes, or a more puzzle/story heavy game in a world inspired by Carl Barks and Tove Jansson). So while I'm sympathetic to the idea of LoSt running on mobile devices, I wouldn't hold my breath to see it happen.

OS X version (2 votes): Most likely, LoSt is coming soon to a Mac near you. It's not a big deal to "compile" Python applications for personal computers (I'm using pyinstaller, myself) – if you have access to the appropriate hardware. Since my partner just got a new computer, and it's a Mac, I'll try to put my filthy hands on that, and start shipping native binaries for OS X in the near future.

Terminal support (2 votes): I was rooting a bit for this option myself, but the community didn't give it a lot of loving. It means I'll be postponing a terminal version for now, since it'll definitely entail quite a lot of work, and not just of the brainless sort, either. But further down the road, I do hope to get a proper terminal version. It would bring some sweet bonuses, like being able to play LoSt over a ssh/telnet connection, and adding features to support playing with a screen reader.

Integrated content editor (2 votes): This is also an idea I've been kicking around for a while, including a dynamic editor for game data, and the option to enable various mods. Even if it didn't garner many votes, it's still something that might make it into the engine soon. The game's content is kept in human readable text files, which I'm writing by hand. However, I have done some experiments with an automated editor, and found that the process of adding game data became easier and less bug-prone. So while I'll still be relying on my trusty text editor to meet the demand for more content, I would probably be able to chug out more stuff if I put a bit of work into making the editor more streamlined. If and when the editor reaches a certain point of polish, it might as well be included with the public release. I don't see a huge modding community for LoSt emerging, but it certainly won't be a problem if the game at some point supports custom extensions.

That's all, folks. I hope to be able to shoulder the immense responsibility given to me by the poll results ;) Also, since I felt like the poll was a success experiment in and of itself, I'll be broiling my head to come up with another one soon. In the meantime, feel free to drop me a line with comments of any kind, regardless. I'm all ears.

As always,
Minotauros

LoSt Polls: an Interface Inquiry

Land of Strangers has gotten an official poll, located on the right hand side of this page. It's intended as a simple way for anyone who might have tried the game to offer their opinion. I have my own plans and hunches going ahead, of course, but am glad for any outside influence. The plan is to use this informal poll to inform further development. The result will be made public when I close the poll. If the process feels like a success, there will probably come follow-ups.

So if you have tried the game and have any opinions either way (you can also pick multiple options), please take the chance to exert a little influence on the developer. There are a few options I anticipate will get the most votes, but I'm also interested to see what may be the most popular fringe choices. And hope I haven't missed any options :P

As always,
Minotauros