255 lines
14 KiB
Twig
255 lines
14 KiB
Twig
{% extends 'website/_layout.html.twig' %}
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{%- block init -%}
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{{- parent() -}}
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{%- do app_set_page_title_page('State of the Game: July 2015') -%}
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{%- endblock -%}
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{% block content %}
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<header class="jumbotron">
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<div class="container">
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<div class="row">
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<div class="col-12">
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<h1>State of the Game: July 2015</h1>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</header>
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<div class="container">
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<div class="row">
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<article class="col-12">
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<h2>Preface</h2>
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<p>
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(Discuss this <a href="https://forums.shintolin.com/discussion/13/state-of-the-game-july-2015"
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rel="external">on the forums</a>.)
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</p>
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<p>
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Welcome to the first ever “State of the Union address”-style post for <code>Shintolin</code>.
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I’d like to do these roughly quarterly, so be on the lookout for the next one this October.
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</p>
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<p>
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In this address I’m going to talk about where we’ve come from over the last couple of weeks,
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and where I think we’re going over the next two or three months.
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</p>
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<h2>Pre-History</h2>
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<p>
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I believe everyone currently playing the game knows that there was a prior version of the game
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(hosted at <code>shintolin.co.uk</code>). For the annals of history I’d like to summarize what has come
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before us (feel free to skip this if you’d like):
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<strong>March 2009:</strong>
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<a href="https://github.com/IsaacLewis" rel="external">Isaac</a> launches <code>Shintolin</code>.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>October 2009:</strong>
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<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100104062210/http://nexuswar.com/" rel="external">Nexus War</a>
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shuts down; the “Nexal Invasion” of `Shintolin` begins.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>November 2009:</strong>
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A serious bug (the “White Screen of Death”) prevented anyone from playing for over a month; in response,
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<strong>Isaac</strong> <a href="https://github.com/IsaacLewis/Shintolin" rel="external">open sourced</a>
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<code>Shintolin</code>.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>February 2010:</strong>
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<a href="https://github.com/Buttercup2k" rel="external">Buttercup</a>
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and <a href="https://github.com/Mikoko" rel="external">Miko</a>
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began developing <code>Shintolin</code> in Isaac’s stead.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>October 2010:</strong>
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<code>Shintolin</code> development pauses.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>June 2011 – August 2011:</strong>
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<code>Shintolin</code> development briefly resumes, then stops again.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>June 2012 – September 2012:</strong>
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Another brief spurt of <code>Shintolin</code> development.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>January 2013 – December 2013:</strong>
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Seeing the lack of activity (and flagging player counts)
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<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170425114243/https://www.shintolin.com/profile/ecce"
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rel="external">Ecce</a> works on a new version of <code>Shintolin</code> using a new codebase.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>December 2013:</strong>
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<strong>Ecce</strong> proposes that he take over the existing <code>Shintolin</code> game;
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<strong>Buttercup</strong> declines.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>May 2014:</strong>
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<strong>Buttercup</strong> asks <strong>Ecce</strong> to become an administrator of <code>Shintolin</code>;
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responsible for helping to quell a zerg problem that got out of hand.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>July 2014:</strong>
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One last code change by <strong>Buttercup</strong>.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>July 2014:</strong>
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<strong>Ecce</strong> again proposes that he take over <code>Shintolin</code> development
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(this time offering to buy it from <strong>Buttercup</strong>);
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<strong>Buttercup</strong> again rejects the offer.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>June 2015:</strong>
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<strong>Buttercup</strong> <a
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href="http://shintolin.forumcircle.com/viewtopic.php?p=21189#21189"
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rel="external">shuts down the game</a>, rejects <strong>Ecce</strong>’s offer to take over the hosting of
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the current database (to keep player’s characters intact), and rejects <strong>Ecce</strong>’s offer to take
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over the forums (to keep prior conversation threads alive and relevant).
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>June 2015:</strong>
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<strong>Ecce</strong> launches <a
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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220926122551/https://www.shintolin.com/"
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rel="external">shintolin.com</a> using a new codebase designed from scratch.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<h2>Launch Retrospective</h2>
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<p>
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<strong>Thank you</strong> to all of you who have helped me resurrect <code>Shintolin</code>.
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I wasn’t sure there was sufficient interest to make this worth doing, but decided to take a leap of faith
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– and you have all proven that there is at least a chance of bringing this game back to a being a thriving,
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relevant choice in the free, persistent browser-based MMO game space. You all get an extra special thank you
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for being so patient with me as you helped to identify the many bugs and missing features that were still
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to be found after launch.
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</p>
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<p>
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As a thank you, all players that joined within the first two weeks of the <code>Shintolin</code> relaunch
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(before July 16th at 23:59 GMT) will be granted the <em>“Beta Tester” badge</em> in the
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<strong>new Badges system</strong>, an early version of which will launch by the end of this week.
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</p>
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<h2>UI/UX Modernization</h2>
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<p>
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As the rush to fix the initial mega-bugs slowed down, my attention turned toward something of a pet-peeve
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of mine: <code>Classic Shintolin</code>’s horribly outdated <strong>user interface</strong>.
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That effort is now “complete” in that I’ve reached my original goal of updating all of the old screens
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to be something I considered usable/playable. I also spent extra attention to make sure the game played well
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on a <strong>smartphone or tablet</strong>. You’ll continue to see UI tweaks and perhaps whole overhauls
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as time goes on, but the focus can now finally shift over toward the actual gameplay mechanics
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– in other words, making Shintolin fun to play.
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</p>
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<h2>New Gameplay Mechanics & Balance</h2>
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<p>
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You’ve started to see a few <strong>new or modified gameplay features</strong> get rolled out.
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Just today <em>longhouses</em> and <em>cottages</em> gained the ability to store items like a stockpile.
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Last week the <em>hunger system</em> was revamped to act as an AP-recovery debuff instead of something
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that reduced your character’s health and could ultimately kill it. There is an innumerable list
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of such features that can be built and tweaked to help make the game more fun for all players,
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new and experienced. That said, you’re going to start to see a shift in how these features are discussed,
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considered, and implemented moving forward. Rather than consider every mechanic or every point of balance
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independently, as has been done in the past, I’m going to start taking a “top down” view of these mechanics
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and implement or tweak mechanics that move <code>Shintolin</code>
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toward <strong>fun, cooperative, social gameplay mechanics</strong>.
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</p>
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<h2>Core Gameplay Mechanics</h2>
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<p>
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In both the current iteration of <code>Shintolin</code> and the <code>Classic Shintolin</code> version
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there has been one overarching weakness to the game: there is no reason to play it. What makes it fun?
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What is the point? What is a player supposed to try and accomplish? Certainly some players
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(<em>Achievers</em>) would try to reach maximal level, some would sit in a hut or longhouse and roleplay
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(<em>Socializers</em>), and some would murder & pillage other settlements (<em>Killers</em>)
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but there wasn’t much gameplay to support any of those archetypes – and certainly nothing to encourage
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<strong>bringing players together</strong>. I want to fix that. Here is how I’m going to approach it.
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</p>
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<p>
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<code>Shintolin</code> is a game about a land of <strong>primitive people</strong>,
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coming together to <strong>seek the favor of their spirits</strong>
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and <strong>start the first vestiges of their civilization</strong>.
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You can play the game as a lone wanderer if you wish, but to get the most out of the game you will want to
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start or join a settlement. <code>Shintolin</code> will be balanced under the assumption that you are part
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of a healthy settlement. Let’s learn a bit more about <strong>the favor of the spirits</strong>:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<strong>Settlements</strong> will have to build <em>Shrines</em> to the spirit(s) of their choice.
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Settlement <strong>members</strong> can give offerings to those shrines (the mechanics of said offering
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will differ by the kind of <em>spirit</em>) which ultimately grant <strong>favor</strong> toward
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the Settlement, <strong>not the player</strong>.
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</li>
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<li>
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<code>Shintolin</code> will support (and to a certain extent encourage) competition between settlements,
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but the primary means of progress will be via cooperation between the members of a settlement.
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This is not <code>Dealt In Lead</code> and <em>raiding/PvP</em> is not the <em>focus</em> of the game.
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Raiding another settlement can <strong>harm their favor</strong>,
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but will never <strong>increase your own</strong>.
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</li>
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<li>
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At the end of each <strong>Cycle</strong> the settlement with the <strong>highest total favor</strong>
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will be granted <strong>boons</strong> by the gods. Sometimes these boons will be <strong>temporary</strong>
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(lasting for the next <strong>Cycle</strong>), sometimes they will be <strong>permanent</strong>
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(items or <em>Badges</em> that you cannot otherwise obtain), and sometimes they will be
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<em>a mixture of both</em>. The boons will be announced before the beginning of the <strong>Cycle</strong>.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong>Cycles</strong> will last for one real-world month to start,
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and are intended to eventually last three months.
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</li>
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<li>
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Unlike <a href="https://www.nexusclash.com/" rel="external">Nexus Clash</a> and other games,
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a new Cycle <strong>does not reset</strong> your character’s progress, the map, a settlement’s buildings,
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or anything else beyond the favor that has been accrued by each settlement.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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I’m still working out the individual mechanics that will drive this new style of gameplay,
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but the above should get your head pointed in the right direction.
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I hope to <strong>launch the first Cycle on August 1st</strong>.
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If you want to be well-prepared for the first Cycle, here are some tips:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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If you aren’t part of one already, <strong>join a settlement now</strong>.
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If you aren’t a part of a settlement you have no chance at a boon, and joining a settlement too late
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in the Cycle will mean you don’t earn any of that settlement’s rewards if they are the victor.
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</li>
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<li>
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Ensure your members have a <strong>mixture of skills</strong>: hunting, farming, construction, exploration.
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I’m going to be looking for mechanics that encourage the full use of the skill tree.
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</li>
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<li>
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<del><strong>Do not</strong> build any shrines yet; I can't promise that I won't significantly change them.
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</del>
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<em>FYI: I have temporarily disabled shrine creation just-in-case.</em>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<h2>New Player Experience</h2>
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<p>
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Once the above gameplay systems have been put in place and had some time to gel, I’d like to focus
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on the new player experience. I’d like to add <strong>a tutorial</strong>, easy ways for experienced players
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to <strong>mentor</strong> newer ones, and additional ways to <strong>contribute immediately</strong>
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to the success of a settlement. With some of these new experiences in place I will begin advertising the game
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elsewhere in ~October, and work to <strong>increase the population</strong> of <code>Shintolin</code>.
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</p>
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<p>
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These are exciting times for <code>Shintolin</code>. This land has a rich history already,
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but you all are present for the very first days of a new era. Thank you for coming along with me
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on this ride – I can't wait to see what happens next.
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</p>
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<p>
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(Discuss this
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<a href="https://forums.shintolin.com/discussion/13/state-of-the-game-july-2015"
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rel="external">on the forums</a>.)
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</p>
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</article>
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</div>
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</div>
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{% endblock %}
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