[MUD-Dev] Re: Idea: Hive-mind monster

[Derrick Jones]

On Thu, 30 Oct 1997, Sauron wrote:

> > Depending on what you are using to write this...
> > 
> > A non-realtime hive mind: information is exchanged and linkage occurs when
> > two members of the hive meet. The hive has a central information net that
> > can be accessed by any member, any member has full knowledge of the hive
> > to the time of last central unit contact.
> > 
> 
> as has been said b4 on the newsgroup, the problem w/ this implementation
> is that you have a bunch of individuals w/ the same knowledge, not the
> same "mind". in other words you don't have a single entity (which is
> what i'm trying to do) you have a bunch of little entities all knowing
> the same thing. that doesn't mean they all act the same.

First, by 'all act the same' I assume you mean this in the larger scale,
and not literally.  (would be interesting in itself to create a truely
single-minded race where all members attempt the same actions at the same
time at different locations, but I wouldn't conscider that a hive
mentality.)  To establish a hive mentality you need to disect the mind of
its members into the Group Mind (information, abilities, and instructions
shared by the hive) and the Local Mind (the stuff to which the individual
alone has access), as well as create some mechanisms for a two-way
exchange between the two.

Picture for example an ant searching for food.  The motion of the ant is a
random walk, moving about and reacting to its surroundings with its Local
Mind.  If the ant finds food, a bunch of other ants are on the scene
shortly.  How?  The first ant somehow (last I heard the exact mechanism is
still a mystery) communicates its location and the fact that there is food
to the Group Mind, which then sends other ants over to aid the first in
its food gathering.

What aspects are controlled by the Group and Individual differs from
species to species.  An ant conlony will assign tasks to each ant, and
equip that ant (to the best of the ant/hive's ability) with the knowledge
needed to accomplish that task, while the actual tasks are handled by the
individual assigned to the task.  The individual, in turn, reports
'important' information back to the hive, which then re-assigns its
members accordingly.

I've actually toyed around a little with a borg mob.  I assumed a 
flawless, continuous connection between Local and Group minds.  As one
borg learned information/skills/tactics, every borg learned the same
things.  The main problem I faced was that if the borg were allowed a
sufficient foothold in an area, they became impossible to kill.  For
example, if enough borg were attacked by fire, all borg became resistant
to fire;  if they faced enough characters wielding swords, their
dodge/block/parry skills would improve for the entire race.  I soon found
that players would quickly run out of ways to kill the borg, much like the
Star Trek version.  While my original goal was to create a nigh
indestructable race, I found that they became unwieldy and unplayable.
I'll probably never release them unless my players _really_ piss me off.

Gunther