Looking for some help on a Discworld scenario...

[Xuenay]

Looking for a kind soul to...

* Provide me a link to a good map of the Discworld
* Draw/suggest me some unit graphics for the units once I get a list of the ones I'm going to have (Luggage, anyone?)
* Suggest some stuff for tech advances (printing press, the klacks... haven't read all of the books yet, unfortunately )

In exchange, I'll do my best to make a great Disc scenario. Anybody up to giving me a little hand in this?

I'll post the ideas I have for this tomorrow, when I'm less tired.

[Cyrion]

A dream coming true...

Hi Xuenay,

A Scenario based on the Discworld!!! That's something I want to see!! Particularly if it's well done!!

So, I am kind of a Pratchett "fanatical" (I read all the discworld series between 3 and 5 times!! yeah, I know, I must be crazy...) and would be glad to try helping you!!

So this is what I propose:

1) I'll start looking for a good map

2) I'm afraid I can't be of any help for drawing... But many others can!! And in case you don't get any positive answer on this thread, I'll start asking the people I know from the other threads who are good at it: I'm sure we'll find what you need!!

3) I'll start thinking about the techs RIGHT NOW!! Expect some feedback in a few days (or maybe even sooner) !! and in case it doesn't come that fast, just remind me...


And to collaborate with efficiency, it might be good to talk online: I'm on MSN (some evenings or maybe on the week-end!!) and as we are both in Europe, it should be quite easy to find a time for that!!

And my Email is: vfrache@hotmail.com

What is yours??


I am expecting your ideas (with impatience... )

[Cyrion]

OK, I found your map !!!

[Xuenay]

Xuenay @Hotmail.com


All right. I've got the ideas for three civs and some of the tech stuff so far.

Technologies

There are three categories of technology. The first two ones are the same for everybody, while the third category is different for all civs.

Category 1: Normal Science
Covers advances such as the printing press and the klacks. Basically works just like science in Civ usually does.

Category 2: Thoughts from Outside
Covering advances like the moving pictures, Thoughts from Outside let you build powerful wonders and give you all-around great benefits, but also have the unfortunate tendency to create a few Things From The Dungeon Dimensions inside your territory, as well as other nasty surprises.

Category 3: Discworld Events
Causes the events that have taken place in the books to take place in the scenario. Each civ has a different Event tree - for instance, the Agatean Empire could research the Twoflower Departs advance, which would create them a Tourist unit in the Ankh-Morpork continent.

Civilizations: Ankh-Morpork

Ankh-Morpork is one of the dominating civs with its economical power and its wizards. In game terms, this translates into a bunch of wonders (including the Discworld equivalents for Michelangelo's Chapel, Colossus, King Richard's Crusade, Leonard(o)'s Workshop, and probably a few others as well) and a few wizard units.

The actual city square is surrounded by four or more squares of a special resource-rich "Ankh-Morpork" terrain, which hopefully will look like they were parts of the main city.

In order to discourage invasions by greedy computer players, the Ankh-Morpork player controls a group of smaller towns around A-M. These are considered to be completely dependant on the A-M economy, and thus in its control.

It has been mentioned in the books that the strenght of the Ankh-Morpork dollar keeps its enemies at bay. Demonstrating typical Disc literal-mindedness, in this scenario the Ankh-Morpork Dollar is actually a strong but non-buildable defensive unit with a movement factor of zero. Each of the minor towns has one as their sole defensive unit, and a few are fortified around and inside the main city. If the enemy manages to destroy one of these units, the Ankh-Morpork ruler loses 150 gold as the A-M dollar becomes weaker in value.

Merchants are another strong, immobile A-M defensive unit. Many army has entered Ankh-Morpork with the intention of conquering it, only to find themselves cheated penniless by the local merchants. The merchants can only be found inside and in the squares surrounding Ankh-Morpork, and destroying them costs 150 gold to the civ that does it, representing all the money the enemy army spent before coming to their senses and killing the merchants.

Civilizations: The Agatean Empire

Located far away on another continent, the Agatean Empire is immensly wealthy, much due to the plentiful Sapient Pearwood resources within their territory, and their inherent Agatean Wealth wonder (equivalent to Adam Smith's). They have no contact with the other continents or civs at first, but they are the only civ to have the Tourist (acts as a spy) and the Luggage (acts as a freight) units.

I'm not sure of how to prevent the Empire from using their wealth from completely conquering the rest of the world - maybe just have them be located a long way from the rest, and force them under a renamed Democracy?

Civilizations: Things From The Dungeon Dimensions

The obligatory Civ That's In A Permanent War With Everybody And Gets Icky Units From Events.

I'm considering the alternative that in one, far-away, TFTDD city (well, actually more like a rupture in the fabric of reality), there's an artifact left from the Creator, originally used in creating the world. Capturing this (very heavily-defended) city will allow the civ taking it to use the artifact in question to reinforce the fabric of reality, preventing the TFTDD's from entering the Disc, destroying their civ, and winning the scenario.


Well, that's what I have so far.

[Case]

That's sounding good Xuenay There was an 'offical' map of the discworld put out 5 or so years ago... (I've got the map of Ankh-Morpork if it's any help)

On the topic of Ankh-Morpork, I thought that the city was unguarded, and positively welcomed invading armies in order to fleece them (whereupon the armies would either go home or found their own ethnic district of the city )


edit: On closer examination it seems that you're including this

[Cyrion]

Graphic designer??

Hi Case,

glad you found this thread, because your name was on my personal list when I mentioned "people I know" on my first post up there...

So, are you ready to help with the units graphics??

It seems that Xuenay has already been thinking quite a lot about this scen, and I have a few ideas too, so we can hope to make something nice and original...

[Xuenay]

'k, I got my hands on the map (or actually I just noticed that the map they have in GURPS Discworld is the best map of the Disc out there), so I'll see if I can manage to transform it over to Civ. I'm not used to making worlds based on "real" maps, though, so no guarantees of how good it'll be... if somebody thinks they could get a better result, just go ahead and give it a try.

EDIT: Oh, and Cyrion, feel free to post your ideas here. Even if you'd have mentioned them to me on MSN, it's easiest for us all if we have all the suggestions in one place.

[St Leo]

Which part of the Discworld universe are you basing it on? Will it be an RPG based on one of the books? That's probably the hardest to do, unless you have a knack for thinking of the ideal events the first time through.


Will it be a slugfest between Ankh-Morpork, Sto Helit, Sto Helat, Genua, the vampire/werewolf lands, Magrat's kingdom? That's not that hard to do and would be really cool.



Will it be an intra-Ankh-Morpork conflict (see Roman Riots? That would also be pretty cool.

if somebody thinks they could get a better result, just go ahead and give it a try.

I will if you care to send me a scan of it.
petrazi@sprint.ca

[Dr. Nick]

Don't forget those Klatchian towel-heads!

[Xuenay]

Preferrably, the scenario would cover most of the Disc, and lack any clearly defined goal (with the possible exception of taking the TFTDD city), instead letting one develop the history of the world as one saw fit. However, seeing the number of civilizations mentioned in the books, including all of them might not be possible.

Unfortunately, I don't have a scanner. However, there are a few scans of it online - see

http://www.gre.ac.uk/~mp807/places/themap2.htm

http://website.lineone.net/~tigerwalms/disc/discmap1.html

http://www.elffantasy.nl/KOBOLD/discworld/discworld.html

[St Leo]

(with the possible exception of taking the TFTDD city)

The what city? The Lost City of Ee? I am yet to read all 25 books.

Well, I definetly don't feel like making a Discworld gigamap, so once I compile the magnified sections into a multimeg map I'll select a comfortable area (something with Uberwald, Ankh-Morpork, and Klatch) and turn it into a map no larger than 125x80

[Xuenay]

The what city?

:grins: The Things From The Dungeon Dimensions city, assuming that we indeed do use the storyline where they have invaded.

Great thing that you're making the map. I made a few pathetic tries at drawing it myself, but, well, I'd prefer not to talk about them.

[Cyrion]

About the units...

So here are some of the things I have been thinking about!!


First the civs:

1. A-M : no comment
2. Klatch : no comment needed again, big and described in Jingo
3. Agatean Empire : big, typical and described in Interesting Times
4. Uberwald : nice units, special, described in Fifth Elephant and Carpe Jugulum
5. Krull : Special, described in Colour of Magic; could be replaced, though

6. Neutral : all the nations not included up there; further comments below; forces of Nature as well; not playable
7. Dungeon Dimensions: described by Xuenay, not playable


What I thought about the Neutral: if you make ALL the neutral units (and the improvements for them as well) obsolete, then the cities will have to keep on building the units they were already producing, right?? if this is correct, then we could have Lancre producing Witches, Djelibeiby mummies, Omnia inquisitors and so on: it could give "flavour to the game.

What do you think about it?? Or is there a way to use the Barbarians for that, which would free a civ slot or allow us to make a more "conventional" Neutral...

Or the other possibility would be, as proposed by Xuenay, to include the "minor nations" in some of the playable ones!!

Or we could even make a mix of both solutions...


I tried to find interesting units for all playable nations, as well as to help make the plot!! A few comments on the units file I mailed are needed!

1) For each civ, I would like "upgradable units", that is an evolution due to the tech tree!! That is why you'll find "offense 1/2" or "spell 1/2".

2) The wizards (A-M and Krull) are kind of "missile carrier", the "spells 1-3" acting as the missiles!!

3) A few units are common to all civs: caravan, 2 ships, maybe something else!!

4) the "luggage" could be freight, but with really go defense, and maybe "helicopter"?? to allow Agatean to trade more easily?? I don't know if it's possible and would be good...

5) I tried to give at least 1 special unit to each civ, but there is still work to do on some (Vampire= flying??)

6) we could use some units with events: appearing to help a civ, or needing to be destroyed to get a key tech, for instance (Wyrmberg, Temple of Bel-Shamarot, etc...)


I'm not sure what I wrote is intelligible...


And St Leo, about the map: why not make a (flat) map including the whole Disc with Rim units (static, defense of 50) marking the round border of it: that would give a nice Discworld feel: if you try to go across the Rim (i.e. attack it), you die...But I don't know how difficult it would be to make the map, so... it's up to you!!!


Ok, that's all for this time, I'm awaiting you remarks!!

[St Leo]

This is the area that I am turning into a map (I've done the Klatch/Omnia region). Once I am finished, we'll probably have to resize it to roughly one quarter of its current size due to the sparsity of information.

[Caspian]

Hey, Discworld! Fantastic. Don't forget to add Cohan the Barbarian and his silver horde (a band of geriatric heroes) as units.

I always thought about a DW scenario set in Ankh-Morpork with the guilds (wizards,assasins etc) battling each other for supremacy of the city (kinda like Roman riots.)