[MUD-Dev] Biosystems (was Fair/Unfair? Scenarios)

[Douglas Couch]

>Richard Ross wrote:
>>The basic idea (for me anyway) was to have creatures that only came out of
>>their lairs when they were hungry.  A griffin that only ate once a month
>>might seldom be seen out of it's lair (nest?), and when it is out (and
>>hungry) it attacks smaller creatures it encounters on the way, roams around
>>until it's full, then goes home.
>
At 11:48 PM 12/9/99 -0600, dundee wrote:
>The npcs don't need to be playing the game in order to give the illusion
>that the npcs are playing the game.

<clippage>

>But don't do the sim-planet thing.  Just shoot for the end-result.  It's
>quick.  It's easy.  The players see the same thing as if you do some kinda
>neato deallie that takes a year to perfect.  And that is all that matters.

How's about a compromise of the two.  I like the sim-planet idea, but agree
that full scale npcs trotting around the deserted portions of your mud may
be a bit intensive.  What about setting up a smaller scale simulation.  I
was thinking you could have a small routine which keeps track of the
migratory patterns and numbers of smaller prey and general locations and
hunting patterns of predators.  If a user intersects any of these locations
at the proper time they may encounter a predator, various prey, or a
predator preying on its various prey.  The npc's don't have to even exist
until they are spawned by the intersection of a user in their current
location.  It might be cooler than simple random happenstance.  Might also
aid Tracker/Ranger style characters.  You could give them predictive tools
to help them find particular animals.  You could also add in traps and snares.

Doug Couch



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