[MUD-Dev] Self-Sufficient Worlds

[Chris Turner]

On Wed, 26 Apr 2000, Mordengaard wrote:

> Yes, I just had this beaten into me by the people I'm coding Yhared with...
> I unveiled my plans for a full-blown monster ecology engine, with monsters
> going out to find mates, laying eggs, the eggs hatching into hungry
> monsters...

Sounds like a fine idea...

> I was somewhat taken aback when one of the coders said "Erm, 'scuse me, but
> who's going to care?".  Then one of the area builders pointed out that it'll
> only take a minor disaster (he cited letting players into the mud) to upset
> the ecology and leave us with a dead world.  Ah well, you live and learn.
> Well, you live at any rate.

Well the obvious answer is - "I care!" - but I doubt that'll sway many
people *8).

As for players unbalancing things, you just have to make some kind of
artificle "problem solver" in there some how.  There is nothing to stop you
having part of the monster population breeding out of sight from the
players.  If you think about it, the population is going to be vastly bigger
than you're going to be able to have running around the game anyway.  And a
intelligent species would be unlikely to lay eggs where players are likely
to find them.

And if the players wipe out all the monsters, new monsters from other areas
could move in since there is no monsters to defend the territory and
food/resources are unused.  Unless the game is set entirely on a small
island, you shouldn't really make the ecology a closed environment.

I guess what you could really do with, is making the ecology of the monsters
depend on the players not killing them.  Say for example, if the monsters
produce something the players need.  One idea that has just sprung to mind,
is that if killing the monsters gives the players something of worth (gold)
then new monsters have vastly less of whatever it is than old monsters.

If the players wipe out all the monsters, the next batch will have hardly
anything worth killing for so the players would have less & less incentive
to kill them.  I guess this doesn't work if your players are blood thirsty
h'n's diku-types, but then those aren't really the types that appreciate
fancy ecology systems anyway.

Chris
--
christ at rd.bbc.co.uk   #include <stddisclaimer.h>   http://www.fysh.org/~maddy

   "So this is really me? A no-style gimbo with teeth druids could use as a
       place of worship" - Duaine Dibley (Red Dwarf - "Back to Reality")




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