Does Anyone EVER look at the "Descriptions?"

[Exile]

Ok, thanks to Kobyashi's helpful advice about where to find the way to alter the "Governments" text in the Pedia, I now have a huge new opportunity for compulsive behavior. The addition (and alteration) of the "Describe" file into a scenario opens new horizons for pointless endeavor. Were I a complete and total masochist, I could alter the entire file.

There is quite a bit there.

It's a little like writing an encyclopedia for the period, as every Wonder, Improvement, Tech, and Unit all have their own entries. Every. Single. One.

When the Describe text is there, all the normal windows now have an added button--the "description" button. And this button now goes to the brief entry in the Describe text file. Now, I COULD change every one of these little, brief entries to suit the period and flavor of the scenario . . . . . . .

BUT . . . . . .

Does anyone bother to read them?

If not, I'm not going to take on another task, lol.

So, here is a poll;

[techumseh]

By the captions you wrote for the choices, I can tell this is what's called a "push-poll". Still, you don't seem to be getting your preferred answer.

I wrote complete descriptions for Red October. I also used the 'Game Concepts' section (also in the Describe txt) and even the 'About Test of Time' (Credits txt) to mod the rolling credits, all to add some historical color.

It was a hell of a lot of work, frankly, but kinda fun. I don't remember anyone noticing. I think it depends on what you want your scenario to be. If it's your Magnum Opus, go for it. If it's fodder for the masses, don't bother.

[AGRICOLA]

You betcha that we players need descriptions. Otherwise there is little hope of figuring out what improvements and wonders do. Anybody know what a "Firing Squads" improvement does?? Without a description, I sure don't.

I would say that units and techs do not necessarily need descriptions. Unit statistics are usually informative enough. An indication of the unit/improvement/wonder that can be built with a particular tech is good enough.

However, descriptions are mandatory for improvements and wonders....not only descriptions, but accurate descriptions. I have seen a dismaying number of examples in the last few years of:

1. Improvement names that either mean nothing or give no hint of their function.
For example, Black Markets that are supposed to increase government revenue (taxes) and luxuries when in reality they do exactly the opposite. The government does not collect a penny in taxes from black markets. Similarly, to this day, I have no idea what "Rations Office" means in the english language. Without a description, what is a player supposed to do short of replacing the improvements section of the scen's RULES file with that from vanilla CIV II.

2. Wonder names that have absolutely no connection with what the wonder does.
I experienced a lot of frustration and was thoroughly cheesed off at the author who had chosen a bloody shipyard, of all things, as the appropriate wonder to supply power to all factories. Not only that, but then it was left it to players to figure this out as there was no mention of it in a completely misleading description that was devoted to a discussion of the shipyard's history.

There is no shortage additional examples in my folder of downloaded scens.

In view of the many non-descriptive improvement and wonder names that are being introduced in striving for originality and the right historical "flavour" in scens, IMHO accurate descriptions are a must unless the intent is to make life difficult for players.

[jasev]

Of course we read the descriptions. It's an important part of a well-made scenario.

[N35t0r]

If the description button is there, then sure as hell i will read them when i notice it...

On some occasions, if one of the features of the scen is the modified descriptions, then i read it at the start of the game. Every one of them. (discworld scen, anyone? )

But i love it when there are descriptions...

[Mr. Oobir]

Are you joking? Reading well-written descriptions can be as fun as playing the scenario. With my dead scenario, I put more work into the descriptions than I did with many of the graphics and other text files. The descriptions are where the author's creative energy and passion are most apparent (I lnow, that's not true of everyone, just a generalization).

[Heresson]

I write descriptions for wonders, and for artwork, and for history of the scenario and history the scenario cover

[fairline]

Yes, definitely - adds a huge amount to the scenario atmosphere. Plus while you're still writing them I won't feel guilty about being slow with the Golden Horn graphic

[Boco]

Reading well-written descriptions can be as fun as playing the scenario.

Mr. O. has it right for many (most?) of us. C2 scens are often as much about historical atmosphere as they are about gaming.

You can also use descriptions to put in bits that don't fit elsewhere. In El Aurens, I used them to explain some events (Advice.txt, too).

It is a lot of work, but if you have Tech's disease, you'll actually have some fun with it. Kinda an extended 'designer's notes' section. Besides with your S&T collection, you should be overflowing with trivia.

To save time, you might want to omit descriptions for some entries. If player interest is a factor, see how many beta testers you attract before committing to the describe.txt.

[Exile]

[our_man]

Yes, I read the descriptions. Notable examples are El Aurens, Red October and Hannibal's War. In each case I thought they greatly enhanced the atmosphere of the game. It also allowed for a greater historical understanding of the period.

[skipper]

As Boco wrote, yes it's a lot of work but I think it's worth. I posted the files of my scenario Das Reich at cdgroup.org and if you like, you can see what I've done with the different text files. The scenario is not finished yet, but the text files are done.

[Exile]

Ok, there might be a little confusion here. I'm not talking about the short descriptions that one normally places in the pedia.txt file. I'm talking about the describe file, and it is MUCH bigger.

You guys all got together and said, "we hate him. He won't release the damned thing. Make him do more work" didn't you?

[kobayashi]

He is right, some of you are getting confused (and some are not). The descriptions being referred to are not the functions and stats but one level deeper. They are in fact completely irrelevant to game play and only explain the historical or scientific basis for units, wonders, improvements and advances.

For all the scenarios I made, I only ever did this once and that was because of the Scenario Design Contest i.e. my Rape of Nations. Believe me, you do want to attempt this light-heartedly as it will take a few hundred man-hours. For me it was like writing a long thesis on the history of Europe over 300 years and the associated changes in shipbuilding techniques. (For my own satisfaction, did anyone who played Rape of Nations actually read my describe entries?)

Here are the first four entries (note the original advance name is used in the describe.txt and this is very confusing.)

@@Advanced Flight
The Angles were a Germanic tribe that occupied the region still called Angeln in what is now the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Together with the Saxons and Jutes, they invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. With their kindred ethnic groups, they formed the people who came to be known as the English. The name England is derived from them. In the 825 A.D. the title of Bretwalda, or Ruler of Britain fell to Egbert of Wessex after he defeated the Mercians at Ellendun. In the next century his heirs came to rule all England and this could be considered the beginning of England.

@@Alphabet
In 1566 protestant riots spread across the low countries and in response, a wrathful Spain sent to the Netherlands the inquisition as well as troops who introduced excessively harsh policies resulting in open revolt in the Low Countries. William I, the Silent, prince of Orange, who was one of the principal noblemen of the region, led the revolt. Eventually in 1579 the Union of Utrecht, an anti-Spanish alliance of all northern and some southern territories, was formed. The union signified independence from Spain and the divergence of the Netherlands from what is Belgium and Luxemburg today. For the sake of balancing the tribes, the revolt takes before the scenario starts and Benelux (which did become part of the Netherlands prior to WW one) is not retained by the Spanish.

@@Astronomy
In 1093 Henry of Bourgogne came to the assistance of Castile when it was invaded by the Moors. In gratitude Alfonso I of Castile made Henry count of Portugal. On the death of Alfonso in 1109, Count Henry refused to continue feudal allegiance to Castile and by 1139 his son, Afonso Henriques, rebelled and declared Portugal independent from the Spanish kingdom of Castile and León, and took the title Afonso I. Four years later, through the Treaty of Zamora, King Alfonso VII of León accepted Portugal's sovereignty and Afonso's position as king. Portugal was recognized as independent by the pope in 1179. King Afonso III, who reigned from 1248 to 1279, completed the expulsion of the Moors and moved the capital of Portugal from Coimbra to Lisbon.

@@Atomic Theory
In the last quarter of the 5th century, as Roman imperial authority collapsed in the West, Gaul was conquered by a Germanic tribe, the Salian Franks. Their leader Clovis was a tough warrior, married to a Christian Bourguignon princess, he became a Christian himself in 496. Clovis's dynasty, the Merovingian, ruled until 751 when Pepin the Short, deposed the last Merovingian ruler and had himself crowned king of the Franks. His son Charlemagne was a great conqueror and established the modern borders of France today under the Carolingian dynasty. He was crowned in Rome by Pope Leo III in the year 800 and received the title emperor of the Romans for his achievements. There were sucessive dynasties, the Capetians, Valois and Bourbons which continued to rule until 1789 when the French Revolution took place.

[fairline]

Originally posted by Exile
Ok, there might be a little confusion here. I'm not talking about the short descriptions that one normally places in the pedia.txt file. I'm talking about the describe file, and it is MUCH bigger.

You guys all got together and said, "we hate him. He won't release the damned thing. Make him do more work" didn't you?

Yup

We added appropriate describe.txt entries for Hannibal's War which were effectively 1-liners and took a week or 2. Actually, I'm lying when I say 'we': Palaiologos wrote 90% of the entries and I did the remainder.