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[PHA/LLA WARS] Cyberspace WEBGAME :: Iteration 1, GAME OVER
Infidel
HereticRegistered User regular
HereticRegistered User regular
P H A / L L A • W A R S
Personalized Holographic Avatar / Laplacian Lattice Architecture
A Blarnfidel Production
Personalized Holographic Avatar / Laplacian Lattice Architecture
A Blarnfidel Production
Originally created as a webgame portion for the Phalla game of the same name, the online PHA/LLA Grid system allowed players to interact and investigate in real-time. Stripping away the Phalla game part, we'll be repurposing this game to function as a standalone one about competing factions engaged in a cyberspace turf war. The good news being this is already functional and just needs to be modified into a state that works and is balanced for the standalone goals.
To reiterate:
THIS IS NOT A PHALLA GAME
@MrBlarney and I will be doing some design work on this (he hasn't been told this yet har har) but feel free to pitch in on the design and balance and goals and all in this thread. I'll keep people posted about decisions made and state of the game. A couple screenshots of the game as it was in the Phalla game are below.
What's the game this time?
There are four factions. Sanguine Zealots, Choleric Knights, Melancholic Militia, and Phlegmatic Partizans.
You will receive a PM with your faction and game link. Every player will get the exact same PM, except that the URL and faction name are the appropriate ones.
There is no sharing of the PM through any means. Screenshots, adding to the conversation, etc. is strictly against the rules. You will not know who is on your team at the start. You will have to find them.
Upon logging into the system, you'll take note of your Tasks and Memory. This varies with player, and your starting macros may vary as well.
Scoring
When a system is brought under control (>50% of the players in the system are of one faction), the clock will start for that faction. Each hour, 1 point will be awarded for that system.
When the system is under full control (for a system of size X, there is at least X more of one faction than all others combined) then the clock starts again and will award X points for holding.
If control is dropped below the threshold, the clock still runs but will award only the single.
Systems with no players or no clear majority will award no points. The data trunk nodes (8x) have no part in the control goal.
Scoring will not be updated realtime. The tally will be given at each maintenance, each faction's score will be public. Also note that control will not be counted until 12:00 of Cycle 1, to give players some time to spread out.
The game will continue until the end of Cycle 14, at which point highest scoring faction declares victory.
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Every 24 hours there will be a cycle, starting with Cycle 1. At 00:00 hours, PHA/LLA undergoes maintenance, which does some housekeeping and starts the next cycle.
Within a cycle, there are slices. Every 10 minutes is a slice. All events transpire simultaneously at these slices. If you move, you only order a move; it will actually happen when the next slice comes. There are therefore 144 slices in the 24 hour cycle.
Moves are queued. A move between nodes can happen wherever there are edges. Movement between systems is not anything extra. Every time you move, you must wait 6 hours before you can move again. You can queue a move when you are waiting, and it will occur as soon as possible. Only one move can be queued at a time.
Movement occurs at the end of action resolution.
Macros are scheduled. You have the ability to say when a macro will start (and who it will target) for any future slice in the current cycle. Macros tend to have durations, executing and terminating on certain slices.
Macros require tasks and memory. You have a number of tasks per cycle you may perform, and an amount of memory. You must have enough tasks remaining to cover the costs of the macro when it executes, and you cannot execute a macro if the memory cost combined with the memory cost of all macros running at that time would exceed your total memory. If you cannot meet the costs then it will fail to execute.
Macros that require a target may specify Node or System or Grid. When targeting a macro, it must be valid at the time of scheduling. This means that if schedule a Node macro on someone in your local node for immediate execution, it will happen, but if you schedule it for a future slice, they may move to another node in the system, or off the system entirely, and it will fail when it tries to execute.
Synchronization is a reflection of your connection and unity with the PHA/LLA system. If it ever drops to 0% or below you will be dumped from the Grid for the rest of the cycle. Sync can be regained over time or by certain effects, and is spent during the process of spoofing. Spoofing is tricking the PHA/LLA system into acknowledging your avatar as another, which is a genuine hacker skill and not something anyone simply with the right macros can do. Spoofing is key to scoring unauthorized access to files and systems, in this game mainly the process of opening records.
Grid Overview
This is your regional grid and field of play.
While there are many more nodes in systems than this (some have thousands), these are the ones highlighted for play. Each coloured cluster represents a specific system the factions want to control. The intersystem nodes, aka the data trunk, are not part of systems at all, and function as if they were their own one-node systems.
Systems
Players start the game in a random data trunk node. When you are sync-dumped, you will appear after next cycle maintenance in a randomly assigned data trunk node.
Records
Occasionally, records will pop up on the Grid containing hacker desirables. This paydata usually takes the form of credits, but sometimes useful information may be gleaned, or for the very lucky, macros that enhance ones' abilities. Of course, some records may contain information along the lines of spam or even malevolent countereffects meant to deter hacking behaviours. When a record is found, it will take a certain amount of synchronization to spoof your identity to access the data. Records are refreshed over the course of each cycle, appearing at random times.
Macros
Macros are abilities that can be activated to perform special effects. Some of these allow you to gain information, some of them allow you to force malicious effects on others, most are defensive in nature. Each macro requires a certain number of tasks and free memory to run. In addition, each has a different scope of activation. "Self" scope macros can only be used on oneself, "Node" scope macros can only be used on players in the same node as you, and "System" scope macros can only be used on players in the same system as you. Make sure you note that the "trunk" nodes don't actually count as part of any system.
You can obtain more macros by finding shops on the Grid and purchasing them with credits. Certain shops also specialize in wetware, enhancing your general abilities. Each shop will only be open at certain times of each cycle, and different shops may have different prices for the same items.
Macro Examples
Tracer - (task 1, memory 1, system)
This macro allows you to trace movements made by another player along edges of the grid for six hours.
Sniffer - (task 1, memory 1, node)
This macro allows you to trace the macro invocations made by another player in your node for four hours.
Scramble - (task 1, memory 1, self)
This macro blocks the effects of Tracer and Sniffer on you for its four-hour duration. The macro user will be aware that he is being scrambled.
Hyperlink - (task 1, memory 1, self)
This macro allows you to transit to any other node in the current system. This requires a movement action to be free and will trigger movement cooldown.
Firewall - (task 1, memory 1, self)
This macro nullifies the effect of basic IC systems for four hours.
Shell - (task 2, memory 1, self)
This macro prevents other macros from affecting you for its four-hour duration, but also prevents you from invoking macros of your own. This macro cannot be cancelled once it has been invoked.
Invis - (task 1, memory 2, self)
This macro hides your presence on whois listings for eight hours.
Intrusion Countermeasures (IC)
Be careful when exploring. Intrusion Countermeasures, or IC, have been developed to deter unwelcome parties from accessing sensitive information on the grid. When you enter or remain in a node containing IC, you'll suffer from negative effects such as reduction of sync or restriction of movement. IC may also be present in hackable records. Only the activation of the Firewall macro will prevent these effects, and even then more powerful IC can still get through. (The Shell macro does not protect against IC.)
Transfers
Credits can be sent between players on the same node. Macros may also be traded, although some restrictions may apply. Trading of macros will eventually lead to degradation and loss.
What Is Going On?!
Alright, so with that all in mind, how do you play?
As a hacker, you'll want to maybe explore and spoof, looking for juicy info and gathering credits to further yourself. Eventually, you'll spend credits to obtain more macros and upgraded wetware to enhance your abilities.
Ultimately, you will want to find and work with other members of your team to dominate control of sectors to earn points. If a faction has more players in a sector than other factions combined, they earn 1 point at the end of each hour. If they exceed the number belonging to other factions by an amount equal to or more than the number of nodes in the sector, then they earn points equal to that threshold number instead. For instance, if one faction has three or more members greater than all the other factions combined in a three-node sector, then they will earn three points per hour. Any less, but still holding a majority, and they will earn one point per hour.
How to navigate PHA/LLA
Each player has their own personal page linking them to PHA/LLA. No sharing of links or screenshots of the grid. When you access your page, you will be asked for a PIN, provided in your link PM.
Entering your PIN will bring you to the main page. Game features may be accessed from this and connected pages.
In the center of the screen, you can see the local area of the Grid you are in. To make a movement, you can click on a node adjacent to yours, connected with a glowing edge. A box will pop up asking you to confirm the choice. If your movement action is available, then you will move at the start of the next slice (each slice is 10 minutes). Otherwise, the movement will be queued up and will be resolved once your movement cooldown period has ended (normally 6 hours). The upper right-hand box gives information about your location, including node number and system name. You can also find a link to show the entire grid map. If there is an open shop in the current node, you can also find information about items sold there.
If there are records in the current node, you will find them in the lower right corner. To try and hack a record, click on its name and a box will pop up telling you its sync cost to hack. If you confirm that you wish to spoof the record, and you have sufficient sync to do so, an attempt to open it will be made at the next slice. If multiple players try to open the same record simultaneously, the attempt will fail and some sync will be lost. Otherwise, you will be informed at the next slice the results of your hacking.
In the upper left, you can see your personal information. This tells you your sync level, the number of tasks you have remaining in the current cycle, your maximum memory, and the amount of credits you have. To the right of the user information box is the whois listing. The whois listing shows the players that are in the same system as you. A double chevron next to a player's name indicates that they are also in the same node as you. If someone is in the same node as you, you can transfer credits or macros to them. Click on their name, and a box will appear asking how much you wish to transfer. A minimum of 20 credits must be transferred. If you want to transfer macros, click «trade» and select the macro you wish to give. You can't give away your starting macros, however.
In the lower left, you can see your most recent log messages. If you want to look at messages further back, you can click the link in the upper right corner of the box to bring up complete reports from the current and past cycles.
In the centre left, you can see your action information. At the top of the box, you can see your movement cooldown bar. If you are able to make a movement, the bar will be full, and the status "Ready". Otherwise, you can see at what time your next movement can or will be made. Below the movement information, you will find a summary of currently executing macros. Clicking the upper right corner of the box allows you to access, set, and cancel your macros.
The macro screen is divided into three areas. In the lower left, a listing of your current macros is given. Clicking on a macro icon brings up information about the macro's costs and effects to the box on the right. If applicable, a box with a list of applicable macro targets will be shown in the lower right hand corner. To queue up a macro for execution, the bar in the right-hand box can be dragged to the timeline in the upper box. If a target is needed for the macro, the player's name must be selected first.
The upper box shows the timeline progress of the current cycle and allows you to manage the cancellation of your macros. The current slice is highlighted, while past slices are dimmed out. When the current slice hits the location of a queued macro, the macro begins to run. If insufficient tasks or memory is available, the macro will be cancelled instead. If you want to look at a queued or currently-running macro's information, you can click on the bar; information will show up in the lower-right box. Macros can be cancelled from the «cancel» link. If the macro is currently running, then a box will pop up to confirm the cancellation.
________________________________________________________________________
PHA/LLA Questions and Answers
Q: Something is broken.
A: Give a detailed description of what exactly is broken and send it to Infidel.
Q: What's the difference between Tasks and Memory?
A: Tasks are used up when a macro is invoked, based on the macro. The number of tasks that can be run each cycle is limited, but reset each cycle. Memory is the limit on what you can run all at once. You cannot be executing more than what the macros take up in memory combined.
Q: How do I add a macro to the timeline? How do I remove one from the queue?
A: To add a macro to the timeline, you need to click on its icon in the lower left box then drag the time bar from the right-hand box. To remove a macro from the timeline, select it from the timeline, then select «cancel» from the lower-right box. See above for more details.
Q: Can I queue up a movement to occur in a new cycle?
A: Yes. However, you are still subject to normal movement cooldown restrictions.
Q: Can I move and take a macro action simultaneously?
A: Yes. Moves are independent of using macros or other actions. Moves occur last in each slice, for timing issues.
Q: Does sync increase happen over time at the end of a cycle, or is it slowly happening during the day?
A: Sync is regained at a fixed rate throughout the day, 1% every three slices baseline IIRC. You get an up to 20% boost to sync based on your sync at maintenance, with someone at 0% (disconnected) being brought back into a random Data Trunk node at 20% and someone at 100% getting nothing of course.
Q: Usually in Phalla it is considered bad form to edit posts. What's the policy here?
A: No votes, no rules on edited posts. Say what you like, do what you like. Include me in PMs/proboards/whatever you setup if you like, I don't mind reading. The only thing that is similar to phalla is NO PROOFS. If sharing something (a PM, a link, etc.) host-verifies something, that is against the spirit of the game. The unknowns are unknown for a reason, you are to sort them out through the means of the game and interaction.
Iteration 1 (confirmation/timezone):
Reserves:
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
I'll probably be doing all the development myself still but I intend for this to be organic and played in iterations. The setup and goals will change game to game potentially, full resets so that things do not go on forever without any victory.
This looks amazing. Its not really phalla so much as just an awesome game.
You may want to change the title a bit to better reflect that this is not a Phalla? Depends on how much you care that people know.
3DS Friend Code: 3110-5393-4113
Steam profile
Was already working on that yeah, emphasizing the Webgame part more and putting a very bold line in the OP.
If people are still confused it really doesn't matter. :rotate:
REND IS BACK!
Also
Pepper Park is mine, bitches.
MINE
3DS: 2981-5304-3227
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
Depends. It is not exactly a turn-based type webgame, it is something that runs on a daily cycle and has instant effects but you are not playing single player. What kinds of things do you like really?
The first iteration, I have something phalla-like in mind in that it will be a faction game and player alignment will be something you have to seer or trust. Players won't know who is on their side, and much discussion will take place in this thread and PM/proboards.
It won't have votes or mechanics outside of the webgame.
The idea is that this will be perpetually iterating, so you can register to play a game that you know will last a couple weeks say and then not play again ever. Or play the next one, or all of them forever, which might be significantly different from the previous ones in mechanics, goals, setup etc.
So I'll signup!
Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before
Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
I would think that cyber death should have some kind of long term negative, otherwise disabling or just avoiding someone would seem more popular when someone can just pop back up after spending several turns taking them out. Some kind of benefit for the killer though like in the Battle Royal games might balance that.
If I remember correctly we had little information on the other players readily available at our fingertips, being able to scan time stamped information about others and maybe share and trade it between players would be fun. Maybe even a Macro to put a constantly updating spy on a player?
I am assuming that there will not be a true mafia, the Jack-trace power was really a good balance for the mafia in the original game though it was really not knowing WHAT it was that kept the mafia alive. The multiple different victory conditions was also fun and allowed some strange alliances, I doubt any one side would be able to take a majority of the map without some kind of allies. Not sure if you want to add ally possibilities in or let them develop naturally between people who will eventually have to defeat each other.
Maybe instead of a jack-trace type power you could have a seer type program? or something.
I just put it here cause, well, I can create threads in CF for my games as I see fit and it's my home dammit.
soco and lime
PHA/LLA was so much fun, I can't wait to run around in cyberspace again...
Ringo you rascal, it's been ages!
This seriously looks awesome, and I applaud your efforts on this! I'll take a look at it this a little more this weekend.
Confusion will be my epitaph
Put it in SE++ because we're a fun bunch.
And let's go digital
Invite your SE/G+T/whatever friends!
For where the thread should reside, I don't see any justification for SE though. G+T I was thinking due to it really being a video game and nothing tabletop related.
But now I am considering that CF works on the aspect that the game design I intend to be a little bit of collaboration right now (and ongoing possibly). Help design the game you want to play!
Sign me up for one of those MooMoMos
We're cooler.
G+T vs CF vs SE++ vs H/A!
Do it.