https://wiki.battlemaster.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Tom&feedformat=atomBattleMaster Wiki - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T20:25:02ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.33.0https://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=BattleMaster_Adventures&diff=180009BattleMaster Adventures2015-04-02T06:24:51Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>this was the 2015 [[April Fool's]] prank:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
BMA is a stand-alone spin-off about the adventurer gameplay. The exploring of ruins and deserted places in the wilderness, the fight against monsters and undead and other terrors.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The game is being developed in Unity 3D and will run on OS X, windows and Linux computers.<br />
<br />
It will require a reasonably recent graphics card to run properly.<br />
<br />
A teaser video is available at http://youtu.be/Kr92xUW3DGY<br />
<br />
<br />
Demo Downloads:<br />
<br />
* OS X: http://lemuria.org/~tom/BM-Mac.zip (73 MB)<br />
* Windows: http://lemuria.org/~tom/BM-Win.zip (77 MB)<br />
<br />
[[File:BMA.jpg|800px]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=April_Fool%27s&diff=180008April Fool's2015-04-02T06:24:18Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{RightTOC}}<br />
April Fools is a tradition of BattleMaster as well, and every year at least some of the players fall for it...<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, not all april fools mails have survived. If by some chance you are in posession of an older one, please add it.<br />
<br />
<br />
'''Please'''<br />
For the coming years, please don't spoil the fun. If you don't fall for it, then don't tip of the others who do, ok? That includes not updating this page until April 2nd.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==Troops Update (2003)==<br />
[BM-Discuss] troops update<br />
Tom <tom@lemuria.org><br />
Tue Apr 1 10:43:56 CEST 2003<br />
<br />
The combat system is still very much unsatisfactory, so I have decided<br />
to implement a major change that I've been working on for quite a while<br />
now:<br />
<br />
* Infantry<br />
Grunts are not exactly known for their intelligence, a factor that<br />
desperately needs to be included in the game. Under the new system, all<br />
infantry units have a 10% chance per turn of getting lost during travel<br />
(20% in woodlands, 25% in cities with 3 or more bars).<br />
<br />
* Archers<br />
Everyone knows that archers really are wimps, too afraid to face the<br />
enemy in real combat. Archer units engaged in close combat have a<br />
random chance of doing either of the below:<br />
- fight<br />
- immediately surrender<br />
- attempt to bury a hole to hide in<br />
- offer themselves to the enemy as sex slaves if only they are spared<br />
(they will then act much like a baggage train)<br />
<br />
* Cavalry<br />
Horses really aren't well represented in the game. Cavalry units will<br />
get a random combatstrength increase to simulate horses kicking and<br />
biting, but they will eat twice as much food. However, large cavalry<br />
units will also create dung, which will increase harvest in a region.<br />
<br />
* Mixed Infantry<br />
Does anyone else think these guys are sissies? Trying to do both, doing<br />
neither well. Mixed infantry will be booed at when entering any city or<br />
townsland, which will immediately lower morale. However, they will get<br />
another orders option: "Find someone to beat up" which will restore<br />
morale if successful (there is a 25% chance that they will meet someone<br />
who has friends and get beaten up themselves, however).<br />
<br />
* Special Forces<br />
Every special force unit will automatically create a lobbyist back in<br />
the capital, who as a representative of the military-industrial complex<br />
can affect diplomacy and other ruler actions. Specifically, 5 lobbyists<br />
are capable of declaring war on a random enemy once per week with or<br />
without the rulers consent.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Combat Free Week (2004)==<br />
[BM-Discuss] Combat Free Week<br />
Tom <tom@lemuria.org><br />
Thu Apr 1 14:56:54 CEST 2004<br />
<br />
You may have noticed that the server had some slowdowns, and was even<br />
down for about 10 minutes earlier today.<br />
<br />
There is a serious problem with the combat script, that in some<br />
instances runs one battle forever (the others work fine, just one<br />
battle hangs, about every 3-4 turns).<br />
<br />
So far, it was manageable, but it is getting worse. Today, it consumed<br />
so many system resources, that I could not even remotely log in to the<br />
machine anymore and had to have it rebooted!<br />
<br />
Obviously, that is unacceptable. Until the bug is fixed, all combat is<br />
disabled.<br />
<br />
Repeat: There will be no combat until this bug is fixed.<br />
<br />
Since I am away over the weekend, this may well last until monday or<br />
tuesday. Sorry for that. Let's all use the time to do some great<br />
roleplaying instead.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Oh, and if you believed any of the above, then you should seriously<br />
check your calender. April Fools! :)))<br />
<br />
(please, please! Don't post the above into the game. No need to have<br />
this run around as a rumour, ok? All in jest. No slowdowns exist. And<br />
the short downtime today was because I upgraded the Linux kernel, which<br />
requires a reboot.)<br />
<br />
<br />
==New Class (2005)==<br />
[Discuss] New Class<br />
Tom <tom@lemuria.org><br />
Fri Apr 1 11:05:38 CEST 2005<br />
<br />
For a long time, I've mentioned that internal politics and the<br />
occasional power-strife within a realm make the game more interesting.<br />
<br />
So I've worked on it, and created a new class: Courtier<br />
<br />
<br />
A courtier is a kind of merge between bureaucrat and infiltrator. He<br />
travels without a unit and at higher skill levels invisible. He can<br />
engage in intrigue and gossip.<br />
<br />
Gossip allows him to learn details about regions and troop leaders,<br />
many of which are unavailable to other classes. Through gossip, he can<br />
also "intercept" fragments of private messages anyone in the same<br />
region sends or receives.<br />
<br />
Intrigue gives him manipulative powers. They are not as disruptive as<br />
those of the infiltrator, but more difficult to spot. For example, he<br />
can spread rumours about troop leaders, impacting their honour and/or<br />
prestige values temporarily (they will recover over a span of one<br />
month). He can talk region stewards into handing him gold from the tax<br />
collection (very high skill levels required to do that in enemy<br />
regions). His most important intrigue power is the ability to<br />
manipulate elections.<br />
<br />
<br />
To give the courtiers some action, they can attend tournaments and they<br />
can fight the - requested before - duels. They can even force other<br />
troop leaders into duels by insulting their honour publicly, giving the<br />
victim the choice to fight the duel or lose tremendous amounts of<br />
honour.<br />
<br />
<br />
As a final step, there will be a realm-wide "intrigue level" large<br />
determined by the number of courtiers in the realm regions, regardless<br />
of which realm they actually belong to (courtiers can be used as a kind<br />
of ambassadors and live in other realms).<br />
At high intrigue levels, as in real life, only courtiers can survive<br />
the deadly politics and all government members are forced to either<br />
become courtiers themselves or step down from their positions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Should be in testing with the next update.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Death in BattleMaster (2006)==<br />
I have decided to reverse my stance on death in BattleMaster. Let me<br />
explain before you cry out in anguish:<br />
<br />
One, there is too little overturn in the government position. In the<br />
real world, politics often change because someone new gets in charge.<br />
We don't have that in BattleMaster and it's a shame.<br />
<br />
Two, the fact that you can't die makes roleplaying a lot less<br />
realistic. Characters in BM take chances no sane person ever would.<br />
<br />
Three, actually *killing* the other guy is just a lot more rewarding.<br />
<br />
Four, it allows an extension to the family system where you can now<br />
play consecutive generations.<br />
<br />
<br />
So, without further ado, the changes that'll go online after the<br />
weekend are roughly as follows:<br />
<br />
While serious wounds remain, there is now a considerable chance that<br />
you'll die because of them, either immediately or after a few days<br />
of suffering.<br />
<br />
In addition, starvation in a region will cause famine which might<br />
affect nobles as well, but that is a minor risk only to add some<br />
flavour.<br />
<br />
Duels to the death can not be refused anymore without a massive loss<br />
of honour/prestige, unless the challenger was below your status<br />
(i.e. not every pesky noble can challenge a king).<br />
<br />
<br />
But, death is boring to those subject to it, so I've made a couple<br />
of changes there. When you die, it's not immediately game over. If<br />
you were a member of a religion, you'll stay around as a ghost for<br />
a little while. If a priest of your religion finds your corpse<br />
during those few days, you can not only talk to him, he can pray<br />
for your soul, recovering parts of your experience for your next<br />
character, i.e. your "son" will start with slightly better values<br />
and the loss isn't as serious for you.<br />
In addition, ghosts can interact with each other, so that we have<br />
a small afterlife. This is all very primitive right now, being a<br />
ghost is just a status like being wounded, except that you're gone<br />
from all messaging of the living and can only message other ghosts<br />
(and priests) yourself.<br />
<br />
On the worlds where religion is not yet activated, the "a priest<br />
found you" thing is currently a simple random test.<br />
<br />
<br />
That's it, in short. As usual, there's a plethora of nice details,<br />
hidden features, etc. - but you're invited to discover those<br />
yourself. I hope the afterlife won't get too crowded.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Rollback to sunday (2007)==<br />
What you need to know to appreciate this one: April 1st was on sunday. Nothing happened on sunday. Well, at least not on the first one...<br />
<br />
[Discuss] Rollback to sunday<br />
Tom tom at lemuria.org<br />
Wed Apr 4 13:47:01 CEST 2007<br />
<br />
Due to a massive problem with the disk cache on the battlemaster.org <br />
server, there will be a massive rollback to sunday morning status.<br />
<br />
Apparently a disk in the RAID setup failed in some odd way I haven't yet <br />
been able to decipher. All changes were cached on the second disk, but <br />
never applied to the actual database or filesystem. All sorts of weird <br />
failures on the backend side kept me wondering for the past few days <br />
what the heck was going on.<br />
<br />
Since at the current rate of incoming data, the cache capacity would be <br />
filled up by this evening, there is not enough time left to properly <br />
address the problem. I have no idea what would happen when the cache <br />
bursts, and I don't intend to find out. Therefore, I will shut the <br />
machine down, revive the failed drive, and power the machine up again. <br />
Which means that one of two things is going to happen:<br />
<br />
a) We find ourselves in the state of sunday, as if nothing inbetween <br />
happened. For all intents and purposes, it'll be sunday.<br />
<br />
b) Everything that's in the cache (on the _second_ drive, remember!) is <br />
properly applied to the database and filesystem, which means everything <br />
will happen _again_. Like in Groundhog Day, you'll get all messages <br />
again, both in-game and on the mailing lists. All battles will be fought <br />
again, with the same results. Everything will happen a second time, but <br />
after that we're in the clear.<br />
<br />
My apologies in advance for any inconveniences, especially those <br />
subscribed to the unmoderated mailing list will probably be hit by a <br />
large amount of duplicate messages. Don't bother to unsubscribe to avoid <br />
it - since in the cached data you are subscribed, changing that now <br />
wouldn't change a thing.<br />
<br />
[Discuss] Rollback done<br />
Tom tom at lemuria.org<br />
Wed Apr 4 17:11:47 CEST 2007<br />
<br />
Welcome back to sunday. Sorry. The rollback (see below) has happened <br />
now. The cache didn't burst and did not get applied again as I had <br />
hoped, so for all the game knows, it is sunday and nothing inbetween has <br />
happened. Sorry again.<br />
<br />
I'm also having some troubles with the logins and sessions, but I'm sure <br />
that'll solve itself. I'm offline for a few hours now, if anything <br />
blows, I'll fix it in the evening.<br />
<br />
<br />
For a couple of hours after this last announcement, people who logged in found themselves presented with Tom's account, or more precisely, a static page [http://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php/Image:BM_04-01-07.jpg which you can see here]. All links on that fake page lead to an April Fools message.<br />
<br />
This April Fools joke was not run on April 1st, so does it count? One could argue, because due to the "rollback" (which was, of course, a fake) it "was sunday". So the joke is valid because of the joke. Geeks will (hopefully) appreciate the recursiveness.<br />
<br />
<br />
==New War Island (2008)==<br />
<br />
Subject: [Discuss] new war islands<br />
From: Tom <tom@lemuria.org><br />
Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:30:49 +0200<br />
<br />
When I closed down the war islands, there was some protest. From two<br />
factions, actually. One, from the strategy players who enjoyed a pure<br />
war environment, and from the roleplayers who feared the strategy<br />
players would now flood the rest of the game.<br />
<br />
So, I've taken some time and re-worked the concept. Remember that my<br />
reason was that the war islands never worked the way I intended them to.<br />
<br />
Opening later today, there will be a new war island ("South Island").<br />
The map is slightly expanded, but mostly the same. There are now five<br />
small realms initially. Some other features have been changed:<br />
<br />
* "War only" as you're used to, all non-war features are disabled, more<br />
complete this time<br />
* Looting has been much improved, to make it a viable strategy<br />
<br />
The most important change, however, is that I've decided to finally<br />
listen to those who want a much more "active" and speedy game. On the<br />
new war island, turns will run EVERY TWO HOURS. That's 12 turns in a<br />
day, 6 half and 6 full. This will provide our strategy friends with an<br />
entirely new challenge, because you really can't expect everyone to be<br />
active all the time with that schedule. You will have to plan with<br />
inactivity, something that I hope will then migrate to the rest of the<br />
game. Day- and Night-Armies are just one of the ideas that hit me.<br />
<br />
One disadvantage to the whole thing, however. Since the rapid turns<br />
would, in theory, allow people to leech gold off the islands very<br />
quickly, the war island is a one-way road:<br />
<br />
<br />
* You can't leave once you're there (no emmigration)<br />
* To prevent overcrowing, everyone is mortal on war island (same as for<br />
heroes elsewhere)<br />
* No family gold sending<br />
<br />
I have a few final touches to finish, such as uploading the new map and<br />
resetting the database, and then later today you'll read a second<br />
announcement when it opens.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Meta Jokes (2009) ==<br />
=== On March 31st ===<br />
Three jokes happened one day early<br />
<br />
* Due to legal concerns, all words appearing in the [[EAA]] filter had to be censored out of the game.<br />
<br />
* New Trade goods were [[New Economy|implemented]] in addition to wood, metal and stone:<br />
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#FFAD80" width="70%"<br />
| width="70%" bgcolor="#FFF7CB" | <br />
<br />
In addition to these, we also add trade goods. This is totally new. These goods serve no in-game purpose except trade, which is why we use abstract, <br>some might think slightly silly, "goods". These goods can be bought and sold, and (like those above) each region will have a "demand" of these <br>goods to stay happy. If there is less produced locally, the remainder should be brought in via trade, or moral of the region will suffer. The more goods<br> are "unsatisfied", the larger the morale hit.<br />
<br />
The important part is that at all times at least two demands must be met or the people will be very, very unhappy. A region with only one demand met <br>will spiral out of control, a region with no met demands will rebel instantly. If that sounds drastic, yes it is. Economics was one of the main<br> reasons for peasant uprisings during the middle ages, and it wasn't always about food.<br />
<br />
The following trade goods are currently available:<br />
<br />
* Llamas -- symbolic for all kinds of livestock, which was a huge part of trade in the middle ages, as keeping the animals alive was the <br>cheapest way of keeping the meat fresh in a time where refigeration had not yet been invented.<br />
* Fnords -- like the well-known modern term, this stands for all kinds of wares, goods, items and assorted crap that people manufacture, <br>sell and buy. If it's nothing else, it's a Fnord.<br />
* Seamonkeys -- our symbolic trade good for everything that comes from the sea, as such only available in river or coastal regions. Fish,<br>oil, sea-turtle shells, what have you.<br />
* Kitchen Sinks -- this stands for all machinery, tools and like items of trade. High production in most cities, high demand in rural and mining <br>regions. Also stands for ideas added to proposals made on the discussion list that have nothing whatsoever to do with the original <br>proposal but get constantly added to pretty much every idea that comes along in a cheap attempt to push them through somehow. Apparently, <br>we have a US senator or two playing. <br />
|}<br />
<br />
* Among new treaty types that were announced on that day, the "Easter Peace" treaty was included.<br />
<br />
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#FFAD80" width="70%"<br />
| width="70%" bgcolor="#FFF7CB" | <br />
Easter Peace <br />
<br />
Your realm declares peace and love for the upcoming holiday.<br />
<br />
This treaty ceases all hostile activity in a one-sided peace treaty. A<br />
gesture of good will and happiness. Your former enemy will no longer<br />
be attacked, and will be granted free use of all your workshops,<br />
trading and banks, in an attempt to convince them that friendship is<br />
better than hate.<br />
Also, you will send them flowers.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
=== On April 1st ===<br />
==== Posting to the Discussion List ====<br />
<br />
==== Web Page ====<br />
April Fool's pranks are a beloved BattleMaster tradition. Since we can't seriously expect our players to fall for pranks anymore after 8+ years, we've decided to incorporate the pranks into the game. It turns out that this does, in fact, have a historic base, e.g.:<br />
<br />
''It is said that on April 1st a 16 year old girl (name unknown) asked Heinrich IV., King of France (1589-1610), who was known for fancying young ladies, for a secret rendevous in a discrete love castle. As Heinrich showed up for the tete-a-tete, he was greeted by the entire court, headed by his wife Maria von Medici, who welcomed him to the "Fool's Ball".''<br />
<br />
On this page, you can play pranks on other characters in your realm. Of course the game will keep track of who pranked and who was pranked, and you can only prank those who did neither so far. So you have to be quick and inventive, since you must be the first to use a particular prank on a particular person, and you must use it before your target does a prank himself.<br />
<br />
You can gain small amounts of honour or even prestige if you prank enough characters in creative ways. Also, pranking someone else first is the best way to prevent pranks being played on you (see above).<br />
<br />
Pick your prank '''type''' below, then on the next pages you will design the prank details and target:<br />
<br />
* play a political prank<br />
* play a humorous prank<br />
* prank religion<br />
* play a prank on nobility<br />
* other pranks<br />
<br />
<br />
== Domain Suspended (2010) ==<br />
[[Image:suspended.png|thumb|left|2010 April Fools joke.]]<br />
For the 2010 April Fool's, the front page was replaced with a page (shown on the left) alleging the domain was shut down by the USPTO until the resolution of a trademark dispute.<br />
<br />
By clicking the contact link, you could play the game as usual.<br />
<br />
There was also a smaller joke on the testing islands where parts of the combat texts were replaced by easter references.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== Item Shop (2011) ==<br />
[[Image:itemshop.png|thumb|right|2011 April Fools joke.]]<br />
A link advertising the "BattleMaster Item Shop" was included in the user/family page. It showed the page shown in the image, with functioning selections and totals, might still be up at [http://battlemaster.org/itemshop.php the original link]. <br />
<br />
The "item shop" took up the current trend towards the 2006 business model [http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2006/03/the_freemium_bu.html "Fremium"] and appeared to allow players to buy in-game advantages like prestige, additional troops, etc. for real-world money.<br />
<br />
The joke was obvious to most people who've known the game for a while, but it quickly sparked two [http://forum.battlemaster.org/index.php/topic,322.0.html forum] [http://forum.battlemaster.org/index.php/topic,320.0.html topics] with angry outrage. Of course, getting people all upset has never stopped Tom from playing an April Fool's before.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== Netherworld Invasion (2012) ==<br />
Dark portals opened up on all game worlds and sons of Overlord (who had already been killed during the ongoing [[Beluaterra/Fifth Invasion|5th Invasion on Beluaterra]]) appeared as rulers of the Netherworld realm, declaring war on all human realms (but, on Dwilight, not on the Zuma).<br />
<br />
The portals were visible on the dynamic map for the entire day (click on the images for a larger view):<br />
{|<br />
| [[Image:A1-EastIsland.jpg|thumb|East Island]]<br />
| [[Image:A1-Atamara.jpg|thumb|Atamara]]<br />
| [[Image:A1-Colonies.jpg|thumb|Colonies]]<br />
| [[Image:A1-FarEast.jpg|thumb|Far East]]<br />
| [[Image:A1-Dwilight.jpg|thumb|Dwilight]]<br />
|}<br />
Completely unrelated, but with perfect timing, actual player activities had led to an in-game event on Dwilight (you can see the dark cloud over the inner sea in the map above).<br />
<br />
In addition to the IC prank, the wiki, forum and account pages were also "taken over" by the Netherworld, the BM logo replaced with the same Netherworld portal image, the forum board renamed from "BattleMaster" to "Netherworld Slave Islands", the account/family page renamed from "Player Page" to "Slave Register", and so on.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== Google Glass Integration (2013) ==<br />
A video was posted to the login page, originally with some fake tags indicating that it was not yet meant to be shown (and would thus be a "leak"). The video explains that there is a full voice-interface for the game in the works, together with a (doctored) demo allegedly showing it running on an iPhone. The video is on YouTube:<br />
<br />
http://youtu.be/9zLTWuJfBAY<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== 2014 ? ==<br />
Got lost to history. What happened?<br />
<br />
<br />
== BattleMaster Adventures ==<br />
[[BattleMaster Adventures]], with working demo downloads and a sweet video, due to the declining popularity of the game was kind of a dud.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category: Community]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=BattleMaster_Adventures&diff=180007BattleMaster Adventures2015-04-01T15:23:29Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>BMA is a stand-alone spin-off about the adventurer gameplay. The exploring of ruins and deserted places in the wilderness, the fight against monsters and undead and other terrors.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The game is being developed in Unity 3D and will run on OS X, windows and Linux computers.<br />
<br />
It will require a reasonably recent graphics card to run properly.<br />
<br />
A teaser video is available at http://youtu.be/Kr92xUW3DGY<br />
<br />
<br />
Demo Downloads:<br />
<br />
* OS X: http://lemuria.org/~tom/BM-Mac.zip (73 MB)<br />
* Windows: http://lemuria.org/~tom/BM-Win.zip (77 MB)<br />
<br />
[[File:BMA.jpg|800px]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=BattleMaster_Adventures&diff=180006BattleMaster Adventures2015-04-01T14:40:43Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>BMA is a stand-alone spin-off about the adventurer gameplay. The exploring of ruins and deserted places in the wilderness, the fight against monsters and undead and other terrors.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The game is being developed in Unity 3D and will run on OS X, windows and Linux computers.<br />
<br />
It will require a reasonably recent graphics card to run properly.<br />
<br />
A teaser video is available at http://youtu.be/Kr92xUW3DGY<br />
<br />
<br />
[[File:BMA.jpg|800px]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=BattleMaster_Adventures&diff=180005BattleMaster Adventures2015-04-01T14:39:59Z<p>Tom: Created page with "BMA is a stand-alone spin-off about the adventurer gameplay. The exploring of ruins and deserted places in the wilderness, the fight against monsters and undead and other terr..."</p>
<hr />
<div>BMA is a stand-alone spin-off about the adventurer gameplay. The exploring of ruins and deserted places in the wilderness, the fight against monsters and undead and other terrors.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The game is being developed in Unity 3D and will run on OS X, windows and Linux computers.<br />
<br />
It will require a reasonably recent graphics card to run properly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[[File:BMA.jpg|800px]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=File:BMA.jpg&diff=180004File:BMA.jpg2015-04-01T14:37:10Z<p>Tom: BattleMaster Adventures screenshot</p>
<hr />
<div>BattleMaster Adventures screenshot</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Expansions&diff=180002Expansions2015-04-01T14:31:15Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>Some spin-offs and expansions have been created or will be created. Here you can find:<br />
<br />
* [http://www.cafepress.com/trademaster ''Trademaster''] - Merchandise such as T-Shirts or coffee mugs that we created for the games 5th anniversary... Many years ago<br />
* [[BattleMaster Adventures]] - 3D standalone spin-off about the adventurer gameplay<br />
* [[The Dream]] - 3D standalone interactive fiction game, a mini-supplement tied into the 4th Invasion of Beluaterra<br />
* [[War Islands]] - a pure strategy game set in the BattleMaster universe, read about it here or hop over directly to http://war-islands.org<br />
<br />
* [[Beyond]] - originally announced for 2011, currently in limbo, the successor to [[The Dream]]<br />
* [[Beyond the Blight]] - the shadow history of Beluaterra<br />
<br />
* [[Future Expansions]] - Tom is planning to write more supplements. Here you can read about it, and also help as there are some things that are needed for those projects.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Inalienable_rights&diff=176632Inalienable rights2014-05-05T03:34:49Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{RightTOC}}<br />
== General ==<br />
Inalienable rights are the rights which every troop leaders has, simply because they are a noble. These rights can not be taken away or made conditional. They are absolute and final.<br />
<br />
Any violation of an Inalienable Right should be [[complain|reported]] to the [[Titans and Magistrates|Titans or Magistrates]].<br />
<br />
These rights are '''OOC fun-preserving tools'''. They are meant to guarantee you, the player, can participate in the game properly. They are not meant to replace in-character discussions about what is proper or where the limits of a ruler are. On the contrary, internal politics including the setting of such limitations, is one of the most interesting parts of the game and these basic rights should in no way prevent these in-game discussions.<br />
<br />
Also see the [[Government rules]] page for some more advice especially for those in (in-game) positions of power.<br />
<br />
<br />
== The Rights ==<br />
The inalienable rights are:<br />
<br />
* Playing at your own speed, timing and activity level, i.e. logging in as often or seldom as you like, at whatever times you like.<br />
* Choosing which type of unit to command<br />
* Going to tournaments<br />
* [[Pause|Pausing]] your character(s) because you have a real life to attend to<br />
* Choosing your class<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
== More Details ==<br />
=== Activity ===<br />
Some hardcore players worry about something they call "activity". It essentially means being online whenever something needs to be done, something important happens or some important information arrives. Since you never know when that might be, "activity" is essentially a codeword for "online 24/7".<br />
<br />
In BattleMaster, we made that first inalienable right for a very good reason. The game is designed so that constant activity is not a requirement and the amount of good it does to be online all the time, or always right there at the turn or even every day is not as big as lots of people make it. In fact, Tom himself has successfully played in almost every position in the game, including as ruler, with days and weekends in between where he didn't log in at all, and many days with just one login of a few minutes.<br />
<br />
Don't let some of those hardcore players ''create a problem'' out of activity. Being allowed to play at whatever activity level you wish also means you should not suffer disadvantages for doing so. If you are fined, banned, threatened or otherwise punished for "inactivity", or for not having been online at any specific time or day, the [[Titans and Magistrates]] will be very happy to counter, so please contact them with information.<br />
<br />
Also check our [[Inactivity]] page for some suggestions and ideas.<br />
<br />
<br />
=== Personal vs. Generic ===<br />
Note that the IRs are meant to protect ''individual players''. Generic requests or commentary aimed at nobody in particular is usually not a matter of IRs. Someone saying that activity in the realm is fairly low or that the army could use some more archers is ''not'' breaking any IRs.<br />
<br />
As with all things, this is not a 100% rule. Someone saying "nobody should attend the next tournament" ''is'' violating the IR, because while he is not using any names, his comment is directed at everyone, and by that at individual players. The difference between "we could use more archers" and "everyone recruit archers" is that in the first case, nobody is pressured to do anything unless he wants to. You can agree to the statement without having to act on it. You cannot in the second case.<br />
<br />
<br />
=== Exceptions ===<br />
We try to make the rules very basic and very strict, in order to prevent people from "gaming the system". That means that there are usually '''no exceptions'''.<br />
<br />
<br />
=== "however..." / "but..." / "Not Orders" ===<br />
Some people try to circumvent the restrictions by careful choice of words. Do not accept that. If your boss at work or your commander in the army says "could you please be so kind as to..." you would be foolish to assume that it was ''not'' an order you just received. Same in BattleMaster - a ruler saying "I can't (or don't want to) order you to ..., but ..." is violating your inalienable right.<br />
<br />
When it comes to inalienable rights, "requests" ''are the same as orders''.<br />
<br />
Any sentence that goes roughly like "I know that (xxx is a right, you can't be ordered to, etc.), '''however''' ... (continuation that refers to exactly that inalienable right)" is almost always a violation of the rules. If you refer to an inalienable right and then continue the sentence with "however...", "but..." or any other grammatical construct that negates the first part, you are almost certainly in violation of the inalienable right.<br />
<br />
<br />
=== How to Act ===<br />
How should someone in a position of power treat these rights? By acknowledging and moving on. Almost all long-winded texts are just sophisticated attempts to circumvent them. The basic rule is: ''Just shut up and stay 100 feet away from any and all inalienable rights, no matter how well-meaning you are.'' Some of the worst events of both human history and in BattleMaster were done by people with good intentions.<br />
<br />
If there's a tournament, don't point out how important it is not to go or discuss the political and strategic consequences. Many players will take such discussions as hidden threats. Do not speak out against going to tournaments, IC or OOC, for whatever reason.<br />
If you would like more traders in your realm, come up with incentives and find out why people don't want to be traders. Don't lament to the realm, come up with a solution, that's your job as ruler or banker.<br />
<br />
If some player explicitly asks for your advice, then feel free to give him some. Don't use it as an opportunity to give it to the entire realm.<br />
<br />
In general, it is best to stay well clear of these rights, no matter how well-meaning or innocent your intentions. With the sheer number of players with very different backgrounds, there is always a reasonable risk that someone will misinterpret you.<br />
<br />
=== Not Inalienable Rights ===<br />
Some things are '''not''' inalienable rights, even though some people think they are, or wonder why they aren't. This list is, of course, incomplete. It lists those things most often asked about, and explains why:<br />
<br />
;Protesting:There is a "silent protest" option precisely for the reason that you can use it to remain anonymous and/or avoid repercussions<br />
;Duels:Like in real life, duels can be made illegal, and yet you can still fight them. That is the way it was most of history in the real world, and we find it more interesting to keep it that way in BattleMaster. It also means that in many realms your honour has to have been wronged severely before you consider a duel, because it is not only dangerous but also illegal.<br />
;Voting:this used to be an inalienable right. We removed it in order to allow more politics to flourish. The right to vote is ensured by the fact that votes are anonymous and only in very extreme cases can reliable conclusions about voting behaviour be drawn.<br />
;Playing where you want:If you're banned from your favourite realm, or get deported from the only island you really like, that's simply part of the game. You don't have a right to play where you like or with whom you like. A ban or a deportation, even if underhanded and evil, is '''not''' an Inalienable Rights violation.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Enforcement ==<br />
The inalienable rights are defended with '''extreme prejudice'''.<br />
There's one simple reason for that: The second they were opened up to discussion, interpretation, exceptions, borderline cases, etc. the lawyer-weasels and others who get a thrill out of gaming the system would invade like locusts.<br />
<br />
Absolutely no violations of inalienable rights will be tolerated, no matter how minor or inconsequential. Absolutely no interpretations will turn a violation into a non-violation. Absolutely no "I didn't mean it" apologies will prevent the punishment - if you are the guilty party, consider it a lesson for next time and a reassurance that you yourself will be equally aggressively defended should someone else attack your inalienable rights.<br />
<br />
The absolute harshest punishments are reserved for those who try to "weasel around" the rights, by using standard lawyer-speech, creative interpretations or such tools. Obvious attempts of this kind '''do''' lead to immediate account terminations with no prior warning.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category: Inalienable Rights]]<br />
[[Category: Behaviour]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=BugtrackerMain_Page&diff=174952BugtrackerMain Page2014-03-13T12:50:24Z<p>Tom: Redirected page to Bugtracker</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Bugtracker]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Might%2B%26%2BFealty:Main_Page&diff=174951Might+&+Fealty:Main Page2014-03-13T12:46:26Z<p>Tom: Created page with "[http://mightandfealty.com/ Might & Fealty] uses the same bugtracker as BattleMaster, so the following page largely applies: Bugtracker"</p>
<hr />
<div>[http://mightandfealty.com/ Might & Fealty] uses the same bugtracker as BattleMaster, so the following page largely applies:<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Bugtracker]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Bitcoin_Donations&diff=172045Bitcoin Donations2013-08-20T08:03:18Z<p>Tom: Created page with "The german government has recently made a few statements that pretty much make sure Bitcoin is a legal currency (legally speaking, an accounting unit). With that, I'm now exp..."</p>
<hr />
<div>The german government has recently made a few statements that pretty much make sure Bitcoin is a legal currency (legally speaking, an accounting unit).<br />
<br />
With that, I'm now experimenting with Bitcoin donations.<br />
<br />
My Bitcoin address for donations is '''1LacGKT62c68e2W1LrhKkXVBqngd4Z3EMT'''.<br />
<br />
For the moment, I will handle Bitcoin donations manually. That means:<br />
* it might take a day or so for your donation to be handled. If you need goodies right now, use PayPal.<br />
* please do send an e-mail to tom@lemuria.org after you've made a donation so I can check my wallet and credit you with goodies.<br />
* I will calculate the Euro value (for the goodies) based on the MtGox exchange rate valid when I handle the donation<br />
* as a small incentive so I can actually get some experience with Bitcoin, I will give a 20% bonus in goodie time for the first 10 Bitcoin donations.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=User:Tom&diff=172044User:Tom2013-08-20T07:50:59Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Userdata|realname=Tom Vogt|homecountry=Germany|userid=35|familyname=Hawk}}<br />
Tom Vogt, creator of BattleMaster and [[/Games|several other games]].<br />
<br />
I play the game as well, of course, though sometimes more and sometimes less intense. A few of my characters are just for testing, others are GameMaster-NPCs (to run storylines, like the Beluaterra invasion). A very few are for actual playing.<br />
<br />
You can send mail to [mailto://tom@battlemaster.org tom@battlemaster.org], but please remember that I literally get hundreds of mails a day, and I don't always reply quickly and sometimes not at all.<br />
<br />
<br />
== TODO ==<br />
* [[Bitcoin Donations]]<br />
* [[Semantic Wiki]] changes and updates - this is a major project in itself.<br />
* [[Future Expansions]]<br />
* Maybe one day create a [http://stupidfilter.org/main/index.php Stupid Filter] extension and add it.<br />
* read [[User:Qmasterflex86/Project_Dwi_01]] - looks interesting<br />
<br />
== What is BattleMaster ? ==<br />
An attempt at summing it up:<br />
<br />
''BattleMaster is the game where when we say "you make history and decide the fate of your realm", we mean it. Here, your actions don't just decide whether plot A or plot B will come to pass. In BattleMaster, you can actually create history. From nothing, with no predefined storyline. You don't play the story through, you create the story. All of it.''<br />
<br />
<br />
I could also quote a player (Artemesia) and point out that BM is probably the only game on the planet where someone can say ''"I have only been playing since late September 2007,"'' in '''March 2011''' and everyone eats it up as the most normal thing to say. Yeah, you've '''only''' been playing for 3.5 years, you youngster, you. :-)</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Inalienable_rights&diff=171401Inalienable rights2013-07-23T17:37:12Z<p>Tom: small improvement to wording.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{RightTOC}}<br />
== General ==<br />
Inalienable rights are the rights which every troop leaders has, simply because they are a noble. These rights can not be taken away or made conditional. They are absolute and final.<br />
<br />
Any violation of an Inalienable Right should be [[complain|reported]] to the [[Titans and Magistrates|Titans or Magistrates]].<br />
<br />
These rights are '''OOC fun-preserving tools'''. They are meant to guarantee you, the player, can participate in the game properly. They are not meant to replace in-character discussions about what is proper or where the limits of a ruler are. On the contrary, internal politics including the setting of such limitations, is one of the most interesting parts of the game and these basic rights should in no way prevent these in-game discussions.<br />
<br />
Also see the [[Government rules]] page for some more advice especially for those in (in-game) positions of power.<br />
<br />
<br />
== The Rights ==<br />
The inalienable rights are:<br />
<br />
* Playing at your own speed, timing and activity level, i.e. logging in as often or seldom as you like, at whatever times you like.<br />
* Choosing which type of unit to command<br />
* Going to tournaments<br />
* [[Pause|Pausing]] your character(s) because you have a real life to attend to<br />
* Choosing your class<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
== More Details ==<br />
=== Activity ===<br />
Some hardcore players worry about something they call "activity". It essentially means being online whenever something needs to be done, something important happens or some important information arrives. Since you never know when that might be, "activity" is essentially a codeword for "online 24/7".<br />
<br />
In BattleMaster, we made that first inalienable right for a very good reason. The game is designed so that constant activity is not a requirement and the amount of good it does to be online all the time, or always right there at the turn or even every day is not as big as lots of people make it. In fact, Tom himself has successfully played in almost every position in the game, including as ruler, with days and weekends in between where he didn't log in at all, and many days with just one login of a few minutes.<br />
<br />
Don't let some of those hardcore players ''create a problem'' out of activity. Being allowed to play at whatever activity level you wish also means you should not suffer disadvantages for doing so. If you are fined, banned, threatened or otherwise punished for "inactivity", or for not having been online at any specific time or day, the [[Titans and Magistrates]] will be very happy to counter, so please contact them with information.<br />
<br />
Also check our [[Inactivity]] page for some suggestions and ideas.<br />
<br />
<br />
=== Exceptions ===<br />
We try to make the rules very basic and very strict, in order to prevent people from "gaming the system". That means that there are usually '''no exceptions'''.<br />
<br />
<br />
=== "however..." / "but..." / "Not Orders" ===<br />
Some people try to circumvent the restrictions by careful choice of words. Do not accept that. If your boss at work or your commander in the army says "could you please be so kind as to..." you would be foolish to assume that it was ''not'' an order you just received. Same in BattleMaster - a ruler saying "I can't (or don't want to) order you to ..., but ..." is violating your inalienable right.<br />
<br />
When it comes to inalienable rights, "requests" ''are the same as orders''.<br />
<br />
Any sentence that goes roughly like "I know that (xxx is a right, you can't be ordered to, etc.), '''however''' ... (continuation that refers to exactly that inalienable right)" is almost always a violation of the rules. If you refer to an inalienable right and then continue the sentence with "however...", "but..." or any other grammatical construct that negates the first part, you are almost certainly in violation of the inalienable right.<br />
<br />
<br />
=== How to Act ===<br />
How should someone in a position of power treat these rights? By acknowledging and moving on. Almost all long-winded texts are just sophisticated attempts to circumvent them. The basic rule is: ''Just shut up and stay 100 feet away from any and all inalienable rights, no matter how well-meaning you are.'' Some of the worst events of both human history and in BattleMaster were done by people with good intentions.<br />
<br />
If there's a tournament, don't point out how important it is not to go or discuss the political and strategic consequences. Many players will take such discussions as hidden threats. Do not speak out against going to tournaments, IC or OOC, for whatever reason.<br />
If you would like more traders in your realm, come up with incentives and find out why people don't want to be traders. Don't lament to the realm, come up with a solution, that's your job as ruler or banker.<br />
<br />
If some player explicitly asks for your advice, then feel free to give him some. Don't use it as an opportunity to give it to the entire realm.<br />
<br />
In general, it is best to stay well clear of these rights, no matter how well-meaning or innocent your intentions. With the sheer number of players with very different backgrounds, there is always a reasonable risk that someone will misinterpret you.<br />
<br />
=== Not Inalienable Rights ===<br />
Some things are '''not''' inalienable rights, even though some people think they are, or wonder why they aren't. This list is, of course, incomplete. It lists those things most often asked about, and explains why:<br />
<br />
;Protesting:There is a "silent protest" option precisely for the reason that you can use it to remain anonymous and/or avoid repercussions<br />
;Duels:Like in real life, duels can be made illegal, and yet you can still fight them. That is the way it was most of history in the real world, and we find it more interesting to keep it that way in BattleMaster. It also means that in many realms your honour has to have been wronged severely before you consider a duel, because it is not only dangerous but also illegal.<br />
;Voting:this used to be an inalienable right. We removed it in order to allow more politics to flourish. The right to vote is ensured by the fact that votes are anonymous and only in very extreme cases can reliable conclusions about voting behaviour be drawn.<br />
;Playing where you want:If you're banned from your favourite realm, or get deported from the only island you really like, that's simply part of the game. You don't have a right to play where you like or with whom you like. A ban or a deportation, even if underhanded and evil, is '''not''' an Inalienable Rights violation.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Enforcement ==<br />
The inalienable rights are defended with '''extreme prejudice'''.<br />
There's one simple reason for that: The second they were opened up to discussion, interpretation, exceptions, borderline cases, etc. the lawyer-weasels and others who get a thrill out of gaming the system would invade like locusts.<br />
<br />
Absolutely no violations of inalienable rights will be tolerated, no matter how minor or inconsequential. Absolutely no interpretations will turn a violation into a non-violation. Absolutely no "I didn't mean it" apologies will prevent the punishment - if you are the guilty party, consider it a lesson for next time and a reassurance that you yourself will be equally aggressively defended should someone else attack your inalienable rights.<br />
<br />
The absolute harshest punishments are reserved for those who try to "weasel around" the rights, by using standard lawyer-speech, creative interpretations or such tools. Obvious attempts of this kind '''do''' lead to immediate account terminations with no prior warning.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category: Inalienable Rights]]<br />
[[Category: Behaviour]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=April_Fool%27s&diff=169501April Fool's2013-04-02T14:23:26Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{RightTOC}}<br />
April Fools is a tradition of BattleMaster as well, and every year at least some of the players fall for it...<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, not all april fools mails have survived. If by some chance you are in posession of an older one, please add it.<br />
<br />
<br />
'''Please'''<br />
For the coming years, please don't spoil the fun. If you don't fall for it, then don't tip of the others who do, ok? That includes not updating this page until April 2nd.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==Troops Update (2003)==<br />
[BM-Discuss] troops update<br />
Tom <tom@lemuria.org><br />
Tue Apr 1 10:43:56 CEST 2003<br />
<br />
The combat system is still very much unsatisfactory, so I have decided<br />
to implement a major change that I've been working on for quite a while<br />
now:<br />
<br />
* Infantry<br />
Grunts are not exactly known for their intelligence, a factor that<br />
desperately needs to be included in the game. Under the new system, all<br />
infantry units have a 10% chance per turn of getting lost during travel<br />
(20% in woodlands, 25% in cities with 3 or more bars).<br />
<br />
* Archers<br />
Everyone knows that archers really are wimps, too afraid to face the<br />
enemy in real combat. Archer units engaged in close combat have a<br />
random chance of doing either of the below:<br />
- fight<br />
- immediately surrender<br />
- attempt to bury a hole to hide in<br />
- offer themselves to the enemy as sex slaves if only they are spared<br />
(they will then act much like a baggage train)<br />
<br />
* Cavalry<br />
Horses really aren't well represented in the game. Cavalry units will<br />
get a random combatstrength increase to simulate horses kicking and<br />
biting, but they will eat twice as much food. However, large cavalry<br />
units will also create dung, which will increase harvest in a region.<br />
<br />
* Mixed Infantry<br />
Does anyone else think these guys are sissies? Trying to do both, doing<br />
neither well. Mixed infantry will be booed at when entering any city or<br />
townsland, which will immediately lower morale. However, they will get<br />
another orders option: "Find someone to beat up" which will restore<br />
morale if successful (there is a 25% chance that they will meet someone<br />
who has friends and get beaten up themselves, however).<br />
<br />
* Special Forces<br />
Every special force unit will automatically create a lobbyist back in<br />
the capital, who as a representative of the military-industrial complex<br />
can affect diplomacy and other ruler actions. Specifically, 5 lobbyists<br />
are capable of declaring war on a random enemy once per week with or<br />
without the rulers consent.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Combat Free Week (2004)==<br />
[BM-Discuss] Combat Free Week<br />
Tom <tom@lemuria.org><br />
Thu Apr 1 14:56:54 CEST 2004<br />
<br />
You may have noticed that the server had some slowdowns, and was even<br />
down for about 10 minutes earlier today.<br />
<br />
There is a serious problem with the combat script, that in some<br />
instances runs one battle forever (the others work fine, just one<br />
battle hangs, about every 3-4 turns).<br />
<br />
So far, it was manageable, but it is getting worse. Today, it consumed<br />
so many system resources, that I could not even remotely log in to the<br />
machine anymore and had to have it rebooted!<br />
<br />
Obviously, that is unacceptable. Until the bug is fixed, all combat is<br />
disabled.<br />
<br />
Repeat: There will be no combat until this bug is fixed.<br />
<br />
Since I am away over the weekend, this may well last until monday or<br />
tuesday. Sorry for that. Let's all use the time to do some great<br />
roleplaying instead.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Oh, and if you believed any of the above, then you should seriously<br />
check your calender. April Fools! :)))<br />
<br />
(please, please! Don't post the above into the game. No need to have<br />
this run around as a rumour, ok? All in jest. No slowdowns exist. And<br />
the short downtime today was because I upgraded the Linux kernel, which<br />
requires a reboot.)<br />
<br />
<br />
==New Class (2005)==<br />
[Discuss] New Class<br />
Tom <tom@lemuria.org><br />
Fri Apr 1 11:05:38 CEST 2005<br />
<br />
For a long time, I've mentioned that internal politics and the<br />
occasional power-strife within a realm make the game more interesting.<br />
<br />
So I've worked on it, and created a new class: Courtier<br />
<br />
<br />
A courtier is a kind of merge between bureaucrat and infiltrator. He<br />
travels without a unit and at higher skill levels invisible. He can<br />
engage in intrigue and gossip.<br />
<br />
Gossip allows him to learn details about regions and troop leaders,<br />
many of which are unavailable to other classes. Through gossip, he can<br />
also "intercept" fragments of private messages anyone in the same<br />
region sends or receives.<br />
<br />
Intrigue gives him manipulative powers. They are not as disruptive as<br />
those of the infiltrator, but more difficult to spot. For example, he<br />
can spread rumours about troop leaders, impacting their honour and/or<br />
prestige values temporarily (they will recover over a span of one<br />
month). He can talk region stewards into handing him gold from the tax<br />
collection (very high skill levels required to do that in enemy<br />
regions). His most important intrigue power is the ability to<br />
manipulate elections.<br />
<br />
<br />
To give the courtiers some action, they can attend tournaments and they<br />
can fight the - requested before - duels. They can even force other<br />
troop leaders into duels by insulting their honour publicly, giving the<br />
victim the choice to fight the duel or lose tremendous amounts of<br />
honour.<br />
<br />
<br />
As a final step, there will be a realm-wide "intrigue level" large<br />
determined by the number of courtiers in the realm regions, regardless<br />
of which realm they actually belong to (courtiers can be used as a kind<br />
of ambassadors and live in other realms).<br />
At high intrigue levels, as in real life, only courtiers can survive<br />
the deadly politics and all government members are forced to either<br />
become courtiers themselves or step down from their positions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Should be in testing with the next update.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Death in BattleMaster (2006)==<br />
I have decided to reverse my stance on death in BattleMaster. Let me<br />
explain before you cry out in anguish:<br />
<br />
One, there is too little overturn in the government position. In the<br />
real world, politics often change because someone new gets in charge.<br />
We don't have that in BattleMaster and it's a shame.<br />
<br />
Two, the fact that you can't die makes roleplaying a lot less<br />
realistic. Characters in BM take chances no sane person ever would.<br />
<br />
Three, actually *killing* the other guy is just a lot more rewarding.<br />
<br />
Four, it allows an extension to the family system where you can now<br />
play consecutive generations.<br />
<br />
<br />
So, without further ado, the changes that'll go online after the<br />
weekend are roughly as follows:<br />
<br />
While serious wounds remain, there is now a considerable chance that<br />
you'll die because of them, either immediately or after a few days<br />
of suffering.<br />
<br />
In addition, starvation in a region will cause famine which might<br />
affect nobles as well, but that is a minor risk only to add some<br />
flavour.<br />
<br />
Duels to the death can not be refused anymore without a massive loss<br />
of honour/prestige, unless the challenger was below your status<br />
(i.e. not every pesky noble can challenge a king).<br />
<br />
<br />
But, death is boring to those subject to it, so I've made a couple<br />
of changes there. When you die, it's not immediately game over. If<br />
you were a member of a religion, you'll stay around as a ghost for<br />
a little while. If a priest of your religion finds your corpse<br />
during those few days, you can not only talk to him, he can pray<br />
for your soul, recovering parts of your experience for your next<br />
character, i.e. your "son" will start with slightly better values<br />
and the loss isn't as serious for you.<br />
In addition, ghosts can interact with each other, so that we have<br />
a small afterlife. This is all very primitive right now, being a<br />
ghost is just a status like being wounded, except that you're gone<br />
from all messaging of the living and can only message other ghosts<br />
(and priests) yourself.<br />
<br />
On the worlds where religion is not yet activated, the "a priest<br />
found you" thing is currently a simple random test.<br />
<br />
<br />
That's it, in short. As usual, there's a plethora of nice details,<br />
hidden features, etc. - but you're invited to discover those<br />
yourself. I hope the afterlife won't get too crowded.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Rollback to sunday (2007)==<br />
What you need to know to appreciate this one: April 1st was on sunday. Nothing happened on sunday. Well, at least not on the first one...<br />
<br />
[Discuss] Rollback to sunday<br />
Tom tom at lemuria.org<br />
Wed Apr 4 13:47:01 CEST 2007<br />
<br />
Due to a massive problem with the disk cache on the battlemaster.org <br />
server, there will be a massive rollback to sunday morning status.<br />
<br />
Apparently a disk in the RAID setup failed in some odd way I haven't yet <br />
been able to decipher. All changes were cached on the second disk, but <br />
never applied to the actual database or filesystem. All sorts of weird <br />
failures on the backend side kept me wondering for the past few days <br />
what the heck was going on.<br />
<br />
Since at the current rate of incoming data, the cache capacity would be <br />
filled up by this evening, there is not enough time left to properly <br />
address the problem. I have no idea what would happen when the cache <br />
bursts, and I don't intend to find out. Therefore, I will shut the <br />
machine down, revive the failed drive, and power the machine up again. <br />
Which means that one of two things is going to happen:<br />
<br />
a) We find ourselves in the state of sunday, as if nothing inbetween <br />
happened. For all intents and purposes, it'll be sunday.<br />
<br />
b) Everything that's in the cache (on the _second_ drive, remember!) is <br />
properly applied to the database and filesystem, which means everything <br />
will happen _again_. Like in Groundhog Day, you'll get all messages <br />
again, both in-game and on the mailing lists. All battles will be fought <br />
again, with the same results. Everything will happen a second time, but <br />
after that we're in the clear.<br />
<br />
My apologies in advance for any inconveniences, especially those <br />
subscribed to the unmoderated mailing list will probably be hit by a <br />
large amount of duplicate messages. Don't bother to unsubscribe to avoid <br />
it - since in the cached data you are subscribed, changing that now <br />
wouldn't change a thing.<br />
<br />
[Discuss] Rollback done<br />
Tom tom at lemuria.org<br />
Wed Apr 4 17:11:47 CEST 2007<br />
<br />
Welcome back to sunday. Sorry. The rollback (see below) has happened <br />
now. The cache didn't burst and did not get applied again as I had <br />
hoped, so for all the game knows, it is sunday and nothing inbetween has <br />
happened. Sorry again.<br />
<br />
I'm also having some troubles with the logins and sessions, but I'm sure <br />
that'll solve itself. I'm offline for a few hours now, if anything <br />
blows, I'll fix it in the evening.<br />
<br />
<br />
For a couple of hours after this last announcement, people who logged in found themselves presented with Tom's account, or more precisely, a static page [http://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php/Image:BM_04-01-07.jpg which you can see here]. All links on that fake page lead to an April Fools message.<br />
<br />
This April Fools joke was not run on April 1st, so does it count? One could argue, because due to the "rollback" (which was, of course, a fake) it "was sunday". So the joke is valid because of the joke. Geeks will (hopefully) appreciate the recursiveness.<br />
<br />
<br />
==New War Island (2008)==<br />
<br />
Subject: [Discuss] new war islands<br />
From: Tom <tom@lemuria.org><br />
Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:30:49 +0200<br />
<br />
When I closed down the war islands, there was some protest. From two<br />
factions, actually. One, from the strategy players who enjoyed a pure<br />
war environment, and from the roleplayers who feared the strategy<br />
players would now flood the rest of the game.<br />
<br />
So, I've taken some time and re-worked the concept. Remember that my<br />
reason was that the war islands never worked the way I intended them to.<br />
<br />
Opening later today, there will be a new war island ("South Island").<br />
The map is slightly expanded, but mostly the same. There are now five<br />
small realms initially. Some other features have been changed:<br />
<br />
* "War only" as you're used to, all non-war features are disabled, more<br />
complete this time<br />
* Looting has been much improved, to make it a viable strategy<br />
<br />
The most important change, however, is that I've decided to finally<br />
listen to those who want a much more "active" and speedy game. On the<br />
new war island, turns will run EVERY TWO HOURS. That's 12 turns in a<br />
day, 6 half and 6 full. This will provide our strategy friends with an<br />
entirely new challenge, because you really can't expect everyone to be<br />
active all the time with that schedule. You will have to plan with<br />
inactivity, something that I hope will then migrate to the rest of the<br />
game. Day- and Night-Armies are just one of the ideas that hit me.<br />
<br />
One disadvantage to the whole thing, however. Since the rapid turns<br />
would, in theory, allow people to leech gold off the islands very<br />
quickly, the war island is a one-way road:<br />
<br />
<br />
* You can't leave once you're there (no emmigration)<br />
* To prevent overcrowing, everyone is mortal on war island (same as for<br />
heroes elsewhere)<br />
* No family gold sending<br />
<br />
I have a few final touches to finish, such as uploading the new map and<br />
resetting the database, and then later today you'll read a second<br />
announcement when it opens.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Meta Jokes (2009) ==<br />
=== On March 31st ===<br />
Three jokes happened one day early<br />
<br />
* Due to legal concerns, all words appearing in the [[EAA]] filter had to be censored out of the game.<br />
<br />
* New Trade goods were [[New Economy|implemented]] in addition to wood, metal and stone:<br />
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#FFAD80" width="70%"<br />
| width="70%" bgcolor="#FFF7CB" | <br />
<br />
In addition to these, we also add trade goods. This is totally new. These goods serve no in-game purpose except trade, which is why we use abstract, <br>some might think slightly silly, "goods". These goods can be bought and sold, and (like those above) each region will have a "demand" of these <br>goods to stay happy. If there is less produced locally, the remainder should be brought in via trade, or moral of the region will suffer. The more goods<br> are "unsatisfied", the larger the morale hit.<br />
<br />
The important part is that at all times at least two demands must be met or the people will be very, very unhappy. A region with only one demand met <br>will spiral out of control, a region with no met demands will rebel instantly. If that sounds drastic, yes it is. Economics was one of the main<br> reasons for peasant uprisings during the middle ages, and it wasn't always about food.<br />
<br />
The following trade goods are currently available:<br />
<br />
* Llamas -- symbolic for all kinds of livestock, which was a huge part of trade in the middle ages, as keeping the animals alive was the <br>cheapest way of keeping the meat fresh in a time where refigeration had not yet been invented.<br />
* Fnords -- like the well-known modern term, this stands for all kinds of wares, goods, items and assorted crap that people manufacture, <br>sell and buy. If it's nothing else, it's a Fnord.<br />
* Seamonkeys -- our symbolic trade good for everything that comes from the sea, as such only available in river or coastal regions. Fish,<br>oil, sea-turtle shells, what have you.<br />
* Kitchen Sinks -- this stands for all machinery, tools and like items of trade. High production in most cities, high demand in rural and mining <br>regions. Also stands for ideas added to proposals made on the discussion list that have nothing whatsoever to do with the original <br>proposal but get constantly added to pretty much every idea that comes along in a cheap attempt to push them through somehow. Apparently, <br>we have a US senator or two playing. <br />
|}<br />
<br />
* Among new treaty types that were announced on that day, the "Easter Peace" treaty was included.<br />
<br />
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#FFAD80" width="70%"<br />
| width="70%" bgcolor="#FFF7CB" | <br />
Easter Peace <br />
<br />
Your realm declares peace and love for the upcoming holiday.<br />
<br />
This treaty ceases all hostile activity in a one-sided peace treaty. A<br />
gesture of good will and happiness. Your former enemy will no longer<br />
be attacked, and will be granted free use of all your workshops,<br />
trading and banks, in an attempt to convince them that friendship is<br />
better than hate.<br />
Also, you will send them flowers.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
=== On April 1st ===<br />
==== Posting to the Discussion List ====<br />
<br />
==== Web Page ====<br />
April Fool's pranks are a beloved BattleMaster tradition. Since we can't seriously expect our players to fall for pranks anymore after 8+ years, we've decided to incorporate the pranks into the game. It turns out that this does, in fact, have a historic base, e.g.:<br />
<br />
''It is said that on April 1st a 16 year old girl (name unknown) asked Heinrich IV., King of France (1589-1610), who was known for fancying young ladies, for a secret rendevous in a discrete love castle. As Heinrich showed up for the tete-a-tete, he was greeted by the entire court, headed by his wife Maria von Medici, who welcomed him to the "Fool's Ball".''<br />
<br />
On this page, you can play pranks on other characters in your realm. Of course the game will keep track of who pranked and who was pranked, and you can only prank those who did neither so far. So you have to be quick and inventive, since you must be the first to use a particular prank on a particular person, and you must use it before your target does a prank himself.<br />
<br />
You can gain small amounts of honour or even prestige if you prank enough characters in creative ways. Also, pranking someone else first is the best way to prevent pranks being played on you (see above).<br />
<br />
Pick your prank '''type''' below, then on the next pages you will design the prank details and target:<br />
<br />
* play a political prank<br />
* play a humorous prank<br />
* prank religion<br />
* play a prank on nobility<br />
* other pranks<br />
<br />
<br />
== Domain Suspended (2010) ==<br />
[[Image:suspended.png|thumb|left|2010 April Fools joke.]]<br />
For the 2010 April Fool's, the front page was replaced with a page (shown on the left) alleging the domain was shut down by the USPTO until the resolution of a trademark dispute.<br />
<br />
By clicking the contact link, you could play the game as usual.<br />
<br />
There was also a smaller joke on the testing islands where parts of the combat texts were replaced by easter references.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== Item Shop (2011) ==<br />
[[Image:itemshop.png|thumb|right|2011 April Fools joke.]]<br />
A link advertising the "BattleMaster Item Shop" was included in the user/family page. It showed the page shown in the image, with functioning selections and totals, might still be up at [http://battlemaster.org/itemshop.php the original link]. <br />
<br />
The "item shop" took up the current trend towards the 2006 business model [http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2006/03/the_freemium_bu.html "Fremium"] and appeared to allow players to buy in-game advantages like prestige, additional troops, etc. for real-world money.<br />
<br />
The joke was obvious to most people who've known the game for a while, but it quickly sparked two [http://forum.battlemaster.org/index.php/topic,322.0.html forum] [http://forum.battlemaster.org/index.php/topic,320.0.html topics] with angry outrage. Of course, getting people all upset has never stopped Tom from playing an April Fool's before.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== Netherworld Invasion (2012) ==<br />
Dark portals opened up on all game worlds and sons of Overlord (who had already been killed during the ongoing [[Beluaterra/Fifth Invasion|5th Invasion on Beluaterra]]) appeared as rulers of the Netherworld realm, declaring war on all human realms (but, on Dwilight, not on the Zuma).<br />
<br />
The portals were visible on the dynamic map for the entire day (click on the images for a larger view):<br />
{|<br />
| [[Image:A1-EastIsland.jpg|thumb|East Island]]<br />
| [[Image:A1-Atamara.jpg|thumb|Atamara]]<br />
| [[Image:A1-Colonies.jpg|thumb|Colonies]]<br />
| [[Image:A1-FarEast.jpg|thumb|Far East]]<br />
| [[Image:A1-Dwilight.jpg|thumb|Dwilight]]<br />
|}<br />
Completely unrelated, but with perfect timing, actual player activities had led to an in-game event on Dwilight (you can see the dark cloud over the inner sea in the map above).<br />
<br />
In addition to the IC prank, the wiki, forum and account pages were also "taken over" by the Netherworld, the BM logo replaced with the same Netherworld portal image, the forum board renamed from "BattleMaster" to "Netherworld Slave Islands", the account/family page renamed from "Player Page" to "Slave Register", and so on.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== Google Glass Integration (2013) ==<br />
A video was posted to the login page, originally with some fake tags indicating that it was not yet meant to be shown (and would thus be a "leak"). The video explains that there is a full voice-interface for the game in the works, together with a (doctored) demo allegedly showing it running on an iPhone. The video is on YouTube:<br />
<br />
http://youtu.be/9zLTWuJfBAY<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category: Community]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Might_and_Fealty&diff=168259Might and Fealty2013-01-20T02:58:04Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Might and Fealty}}<br />
<br />
(upcoming)<br />
<br />
<br />
Soon: [[MaF Alpha]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=MF_FAQ&diff=168258MF FAQ2013-01-20T02:56:50Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{ Might & Fealty }}<br />
<br />
==Here are some frequent asked questions about Might and Fealty: ==<br />
<br />
<br />
==== Does this mean that assuming you have enough resources and won't starve, that the optimal method of production is to assign a small number of workers to every single available building to be constructed? ====<br />
Building a reasonable amount of projects in parallel is going to be better than putting everything on just one thing at a time. Basically, there are only so many people who can work on building a house before they get more in each other's way than help. It's mostly for the large projects, or when you try to rush something by throwing half the population at it. Until you assign more than a hundred workers, it doesn't make much of a difference.<br />
<br />
<br />
==== What do you mean by the game can do everything? ====<br />
Please make a difference between "the game tries to not artificially restrict you" and "you can do everything". Those are not the same things.<br />
<br />
What I mean and try to code is that the game does not say "you can not do this" unless there is something like a physical law you'd violate. Example, you can loot your own settlement. You can make trade deals at absolutely any exchange rate, even 100:0 - yes, zero. You can attack any other character, including your superiors. The game will never say "you do not have enough soldiers to conquer this settlement" - it will give you the information, but if you insist on trying, it will let you run against the wall all you like.<br />
<br />
That doesn't mean you will not come up with ideas that the game simply doesn't offer. I do not intend to create a perfect simulation. I intend to create a game engine that for the actions it supports only evaluates what you do, not stops you from doing it. With reasonable exceptions. If constructing a wooden tower takes X amount of wood then you simply can't do it without.<br />
<br />
<br />
==== What existing game is most like this? ====<br />
If any existing game, I would compare it to EVE online, though there are also many differences. But they share the core philosophy that the players should be the source of conflict and story.<br />
<br />
<br />
==== Will this situation happen in Might and Fealty? "my neighbour had played one month longer and therefore had time to build more stuff and produce a bigger army and this means he can kick my butts as soon as he wants to" ====<br />
It's not like that at all, be assured of that. While the game does have a bit of a tech tree and building system, it is much closer to BM in that respect.<br />
<br />
Early on, there will probably be a bit of a build rush, just because everything is unsettled. But that'll be over very quickly.<br />
<br />
<br />
==== What will be the new country protection time for attacks? 3days? One of the other problems I have seen in several similar games, people just create many feeder settlements which they can keep looting for resources. Have you thought about this scenario? ====<br />
<br />
Yes, I have.<br />
<br />
There is no new country protection, because there is no such thing as a new country. The problem those other games suffer from is that they have exponential resource growth. I don't have that. Feeding off other places (and there are better ways to do that than looting) will just yield you their resources, not start an exponential growth in your own place. You just shift resources around. The enemy moving in and taking your feeder settlements will undo most of the gain. If you can't defend what you conquer, it won't be much good for you, neither in the short nor in the long run.<br />
<br />
It's a totally different game than other strategy or social games.<br />
<br />
<br />
==== What about, if, say, a new player unwittingly creates a character in an especially dangerous zone? ====<br />
We can not give people total protection. We can give them information. But mostly, since characters start with nothing, they don't have much to lose.<br />
<br />
<br />
==== Any idea when the alpha version will come out? ====<br />
I'm working on it every day. I plan to launch a Kickstarter project in February, and open the alpha to the contributors when it is complete, which would mean mid/end of March.<br />
<br />
<br />
==== Will trading/tax changes be automatic? ====<br />
You guys are assuming trade would work like it does in BM. :-)<br />
<br />
Don't worry. Trade works differently and you will NOT have to do something like go back to your estate to send out the agreed-upon shipment of wood every week. That would be stupid. I don't want to give away too much while I'm still working out the details. Let me just say that by "not automatic" I mean that you can not click a button to have SOMEONE ELSE's estate send you stuff. The owner of the estate really is the owner and unless he sets it up, it won't happen. But if he does, it's a "fire & forget" mechanics.<br />
<br />
So if you, the king, decide that you want to raise the tax from 10% to 12% then your announcement alone doesn't do squat. If you really have the authority will become obvious when your vassals start raising their tributes - or not. What will you do with knight John who keeps his at the old 10%, inventing more and more reasons why he couldn't change it yet?<br />
<br />
But even for John, those 10% will keep coming in - unless he specifically changes it to something lower, or cancels it. It is NOT the case that he has to manually send it every week (or whatever). He sets it once and it will happen. But any changes require the owner of the estate to change it. You can not raise the realm taxes by pushing one central button.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==== Am curious how do you put a rival character out of business in this new game. ====<br />
Kill him, for example. Or take all his land. Or all his power. Or imprison him, or, or, or...<br />
<br />
<br />
==== Does this game have multiple languages being used on the same server? ====<br />
Bingo. <br />
<br />
The feature is that the game is fully translatable. As long as I can find people to do the translation, I can offer it in pretty much any language.<br />
<br />
And one planned feature is that realms can declare an official language. When playing a character in such a realm, the game interface will switch to that language, creating a deeper immersion and simulating language barriers.<br />
<br />
Of course there will be code to prevent you are stuck in an interface you don't understand, and you can change the language at any time.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=MF_Bugs&diff=168257MF Bugs2013-01-20T02:54:52Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Might & Fealty}}</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=MF_Character_Creation&diff=168256MF Character Creation2013-01-20T02:54:14Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Might & Fealty}}</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Template:Might_and_Fealty&diff=168254Template:Might and Fealty2013-01-20T02:53:16Z<p>Tom: Tom moved page Template:Might and Fealty to Template:Might & Fealty: CI</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Template:Might & Fealty]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Template:Might_%26_Fealty&diff=168253Template:Might & Fealty2013-01-20T02:53:15Z<p>Tom: Tom moved page Template:Might and Fealty to Template:Might & Fealty: CI</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:mightandfealty.jpg|center]]<br />
<includeonly>[[Category: Might & Fealty]]</includeonly><br />
<noinclude>Please use this template on '''all''' pages related to [[Might and Fealty|Might & Fealty]]</noinclude></div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=MF_FAQ&diff=168251MF FAQ2013-01-20T02:52:09Z<p>Tom: Tom moved page Might and Fealty: FAQ to MF FAQ: better naming</p>
<hr />
<div>==Here are some frequent asked questions about Might and Fealty: ==<br />
<br />
<br />
Does this mean that assuming you have enough resources and won't starve, that the optimal method of production is to assign a small number of workers to every single available building to be constructed? <br />
Building a reasonable amount of projects in parallel is going to be better than putting everything on just one thing at a time. Basically, there are only so many people who can work on building a house before they get more in each other's way than help. It's mostly for the large projects, or when you try to rush something by throwing half the population at it. Until you assign more than a hundred workers, it doesn't make much of a difference.<br />
<br />
<br />
What do you mean by the game can do everything?<br />
Please make a difference between "the game tries to not artificially restrict you" and "you can do everything". Those are not the same things.<br />
<br />
What I mean and try to code is that the game does not say "you can not do this" unless there is something like a physical law you'd violate. Example, you can loot your own settlement. You can make trade deals at absolutely any exchange rate, even 100:0 - yes, zero. You can attack any other character, including your superiors. The game will never say "you do not have enough soldiers to conquer this settlement" - it will give you the information, but if you insist on trying, it will let you run against the wall all you like.<br />
<br />
That doesn't mean you will not come up with ideas that the game simply doesn't offer. I do not intend to create a perfect simulation. I intend to create a game engine that for the actions it supports only evaluates what you do, not stops you from doing it. With reasonable exceptions. If constructing a wooden tower takes X amount of wood then you simply can't do it without.<br />
<br />
<br />
What existing game is most like this?<br />
If any existing game, I would compare it to EVE online, though there are also many differences. But they share the core philosophy that the players should be the source of conflict and story.<br />
<br />
<br />
Will this situation happen in Might and Fealty? "my neighbour had played one month longer and therefore had time to build more stuff and produce a bigger army and this means he can kick my butts as soon as he wants to"<br />
It's not like that at all, be assured of that. While the game does have a bit of a tech tree and building system, it is much closer to BM in that respect.<br />
<br />
Early on, there will probably be a bit of a build rush, just because everything is unsettled. But that'll be over very quickly.<br />
<br />
<br />
What will be the new country protection time for attacks? 3days? One of the other problems I have seen in several similar games, people just create many feeder settlements which they can keep looting for resources. Have you thought about this scenario?<br />
<br />
Yes, I have.<br />
<br />
There is no new country protection, because there is no such thing as a new country. The problem those other games suffer from is that they have exponential resource growth. I don't have that. Feeding off other places (and there are better ways to do that than looting) will just yield you their resources, not start an exponential growth in your own place. You just shift resources around. The enemy moving in and taking your feeder settlements will undo most of the gain. If you can't defend what you conquer, it won't be much good for you, neither in the short nor in the long run.<br />
<br />
It's a totally different game than other strategy or social games.<br />
<br />
<br />
What about, if, say, a new player unwittingly creates a character in an especially dangerous zone?<br />
We can not give people total protection. We can give them information. But mostly, since characters start with nothing, they don't have much to lose.<br />
<br />
<br />
Any idea when the alpha version will come out?<br />
I'm working on it every day. I plan to launch a Kickstarter project in February, and open the alpha to the contributors when it is complete, which would mean mid/end of March.<br />
<br />
Will trading/tax changes be automatic?<br />
You guys are assuming trade would work like it does in BM. :-)<br />
<br />
Don't worry. Trade works differently and you will NOT have to do something like go back to your estate to send out the agreed-upon shipment of wood every week. That would be stupid. I don't want to give away too much while I'm still working out the details. Let me just say that by "not automatic" I mean that you can not click a button to have SOMEONE ELSE's estate send you stuff. The owner of the estate really is the owner and unless he sets it up, it won't happen. But if he does, it's a "fire & forget" mechanics.<br />
<br />
So if you, the king, decide that you want to raise the tax from 10% to 12% then your announcement alone doesn't do squat. If you really have the authority will become obvious when your vassals start raising their tributes - or not. What will you do with knight John who keeps his at the old 10%, inventing more and more reasons why he couldn't change it yet?<br />
<br />
But even for John, those 10% will keep coming in - unless he specifically changes it to something lower, or cancels it. It is NOT the case that he has to manually send it every week (or whatever). He sets it once and it will happen. But any changes require the owner of the estate to change it. You can not raise the realm taxes by pushing one central button.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Am curious how do you put a rival character out of business in this new game.<br />
Kill him, for example. Or take all his land. Or all his power. Or imprison him, or, or, or...<br />
<br />
Does this game have multiple languages being used on the same server?<br />
Bingo. <br />
<br />
The feature is that the game is fully translatable. As long as I can find people to do the translation, I can offer it in pretty much any language.<br />
<br />
And one planned feature is that realms can declare an official language. When playing a character in such a realm, the game interface will switch to that language, creating a deeper immersion and simulating language barriers.<br />
<br />
Of course there will be codeto prevent you are stuck in an interface you don't understand, and you can change the language at any time.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Might_and_Fealty:_FAQ&diff=168252Might and Fealty: FAQ2013-01-20T02:52:09Z<p>Tom: Tom moved page Might and Fealty: FAQ to MF FAQ: better naming</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[MF FAQ]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=MF_Character_Creation&diff=168245MF Character Creation2013-01-19T18:02:03Z<p>Tom: Created page with "{{Might and Fealty}}"</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Might and Fealty}}</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=MF_Bugs&diff=168244MF Bugs2013-01-19T18:01:59Z<p>Tom: Created page with "{{Might and Fealty}}"</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Might and Fealty}}</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Might_%26_Fealty&diff=168241Might & Fealty2013-01-19T17:56:23Z<p>Tom: Redirected page to Might and Fealty</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Might and Fealty]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Might%26Fealty&diff=168240Might&Fealty2013-01-19T17:56:18Z<p>Tom: Redirected page to Might and Fealty</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Might and Fealty]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Category:Might_%26_Fealty&diff=168239Category:Might & Fealty2013-01-19T17:53:58Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:mightandfealty.jpg|center]]<br />
<br />
Pages related to the commercial BM sibling [[Might and Fealty|Might & Fealty]].</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Might_and_Fealty&diff=168238Might and Fealty2013-01-19T17:53:20Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Might and Fealty}}<br />
<br />
(upcoming)</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Might_and_Fealty&diff=168237Might and Fealty2013-01-19T17:53:00Z<p>Tom: Created page with "{{Category: Might & Fealty}}"</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Category: Might & Fealty}}</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Template:Might_%26_Fealty&diff=168236Template:Might & Fealty2013-01-19T17:52:20Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:mightandfealty.jpg|center]]<br />
<includeonly>[[Category: Might & Fealty]]</includeonly><br />
<noinclude>Please use this template on '''all''' pages related to [[Might and Fealty|Might & Fealty]]</noinclude></div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Category:Might_%26_Fealty&diff=168235Category:Might & Fealty2013-01-19T17:51:58Z<p>Tom: Created page with "{{Might and Fealty}} Pages related to the commercial BM sibling Might & Fealty."</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Might and Fealty}}<br />
<br />
Pages related to the commercial BM sibling [[Might and Fealty|Might & Fealty]].</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Main_Page&diff=168233Main Page2013-01-19T17:51:07Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>__NOTOC__<br />
This is the <b>BattleMaster Community</b>, made not only for, but also largely by players.<br />
It is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki WikiWiki] system, using [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki], the same software that powers [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia].<br />
<br />
= Official Manual =<br />
All pages in this section have been written by contributors and are occasionally reviewed for accuracy. The manual is intentionally incomplete in some details and does not reveal everything, simply because it makes for a more interesting game to discover some stuff on your own.<br />
<br />
<table><tr><td valign=top align=left><br />
; [[BattleMaster Basics]] : For the impatient, what you really should know to play the game.<br />
<br />
; [[Manual]] : The full manual, with all the details we are willing to share.<br />
<br />
; [[FAQ]] : The <b>F</b>requently <b>A</b>sked <b>Q</b>uestions (and their answers).<br />
<br />
; [[OOC Instructions]] : A list of instructions to do various OOC things such as subscribe to news list, access IRC, or use bugtracker.<br />
</td><td width=40>&nbsp;</td><td valign=top align=right><br />
; [[Introduction]] : An in-character introduction to BattleMaster.<br />
<br />
; [[Rules and Policies]] : Rules and policies across BattleMaster.<br />
<br />
; [[Titans|The Titans]] : Social Contract enforcers.<br />
<br />
; [[Roleplaying]] : Guidelines and other information about the roleplaying aspect of BattleMaster.<br />
<br />
</td></tr></table><br />
<br />
= The Game Worlds =<br />
* [[East Island]]<br />
* [[Atamara]]<br />
* [[Beluaterra]]<br />
* [[Colonies]]<br />
* [[Far East]]<br />
* [[Dwilight]]<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
<br />
= Other Battlemaster Content =<br />
* [[War Islands]] - '''[http://war-islands.org http://war-islands.org]'''<br />
* [[Expansions]] - Stand-alone expansions, mini-games, etc.<br />
* [[Forum]] - '''[http://forum.battlemaster.org http://forum.battlemaster.org]'''<br />
* [[Bugtracker]] - '''[http://bugs.battlemaster.org http://bugs.battlemaster.org]'''<br />
<br />
* [[MaF Alpha|M&F Alpha]] - the Might and Fealty Open Alpha Test<br />
<br />
<br />
== Community Portal ==<br />
The purpose of the [[Community Portal]] is to allow convenient access to the various sections of the BattleMaster wiki to assist users in creating new pages, editing older pages, and finding the desired information. On this page, you will find summarized links to the other various aspects of the community (FAQs, community resources, feature requests, who the community manager is etc.).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==Statistics==<br />
We have about '''{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles''' at this time. Our '''{{NUMBEROFUSERS}} registered users''' have made a total of '''{{NUMBEROFEDITS}} page edits''' in their time.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=File:Mightandfealty.jpg&diff=168232File:Mightandfealty.jpg2013-01-19T17:49:52Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Template:Might_%26_Fealty&diff=168230Template:Might & Fealty2013-01-19T17:46:42Z<p>Tom: Created page with "center <includeonly>Category: Might & Fealty</includeonly> <noinclude>Please use this template on '''all''' pages related to [[Might & Fealty]..."</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:mightandfealty.jpg|center]]<br />
<includeonly>[[Category: Might & Fealty]]</includeonly><br />
<noinclude>Please use this template on '''all''' pages related to [[Might & Fealty]]</noinclude></div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Main_Page&diff=168228Main Page2013-01-19T17:44:02Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>__NOTOC__<br />
This is the <b>BattleMaster Community</b>, made not only for, but also largely by players.<br />
It is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki WikiWiki] system, using [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki], the same software that powers [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia].<br />
<br />
= Official Manual =<br />
All pages in this section have been written by contributors and are occasionally reviewed for accuracy. The manual is intentionally incomplete in some details and does not reveal everything, simply because it makes for a more interesting game to discover some stuff on your own.<br />
<br />
<table><tr><td valign=top align=left><br />
; [[BattleMaster Basics]] : For the impatient, what you really should know to play the game.<br />
<br />
; [[Manual]] : The full manual, with all the details we are willing to share.<br />
<br />
; [[FAQ]] : The <b>F</b>requently <b>A</b>sked <b>Q</b>uestions (and their answers).<br />
<br />
; [[OOC Instructions]] : A list of instructions to do various OOC things such as subscribe to news list, access IRC, or use bugtracker.<br />
</td><td width=40>&nbsp;</td><td valign=top align=right><br />
; [[Introduction]] : An in-character introduction to BattleMaster.<br />
<br />
; [[Rules and Policies]] : Rules and policies across BattleMaster.<br />
<br />
; [[Titans|The Titans]] : Social Contract enforcers.<br />
<br />
; [[Roleplaying]] : Guidelines and other information about the roleplaying aspect of BattleMaster.<br />
<br />
</td></tr></table><br />
<br />
= The Game Worlds =<br />
* [[East Island]]<br />
* [[Atamara]]<br />
* [[Beluaterra]]<br />
* [[Colonies]]<br />
* [[Far East]]<br />
* [[Dwilight]]<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
<br />
= Other Battlemaster Content =<br />
* [[War Islands]] - '''[http://war-islands.org http://war-islands.org]'''<br />
* [[Expansions]] - Stand-alone expansions, mini-games, etc.<br />
* [[Forum]] - '''[http://forum.battlemaster.org http://forum.battlemaster.org]'''<br />
* [[Bugtracker]] - '''[http://bugs.battlemaster.org http://bugs.battlemaster.org]'''<br />
<br />
* [[M&F Alpha]] - the Might and Fealty Open Alpha Test<br />
<br />
<br />
== Community Portal ==<br />
The purpose of the [[Community Portal]] is to allow convenient access to the various sections of the BattleMaster wiki to assist users in creating new pages, editing older pages, and finding the desired information. On this page, you will find summarized links to the other various aspects of the community (FAQs, community resources, feature requests, who the community manager is etc.).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==Statistics==<br />
We have about '''{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles''' at this time. Our '''{{NUMBEROFUSERS}} registered users''' have made a total of '''{{NUMBEROFEDITS}} page edits''' in their time.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Attributes&diff=166747Attributes2012-11-03T10:53:22Z<p>Tom: removed misleading information</p>
<hr />
<div>Attributes are basic characteristics of your character. Two of these, honour and prestige, are based much on outside perception, i.e. what other people think of your character. [[#Skills|Skills]], on the other hand, are what your character has learnt and trained.<br />
<br />
Most actions in game have a chance of gaining you a point of prestige or honor. Things like bureaucracy work that courtiers can do, police work, civil work,<br />
investments, even looting, all give you a chance to gain honor and prestige. The easiest and fastest way to gain prestige and honour is through battles however.<br />
<br />
Sending messages, even as a courier or ambassador, will not gain you honour or prestige. This is likewise <sup>(confirm?)</sup> true for drafting treaties. That is because it would be too easy to game the system.<br />
<br />
==Honour==<br />
Honour represents how courageous the character is. Generally, this mostly depends on the number of battles your character fights. Soldiers who avoid battle are usually viewed as less honourable than soldiers who are always there to meet with the enemy. Also, which kind of battles you choose affects your honour. Fighting even when outnumbered raises it more, as long as you are not leading your men on a suicide mission (which may be courageous, but not honourable). As a young inexperienced noble, you start with 8 honour.<br />
<br />
Honour also determines the [[Honour and Recruitment|number of troops you may lead]]. You start the game with a small amount of honour, representing earlier deeds that brought you into your current position. The number of infantry or archers you can have in your unit depends on your honour. You may only command less than half as many Cavalry or Special Forces with the same amount of honour. If you are a Priest or a Courtier you command even less units.<br />
<br />
Certain positions require a minimum amount of honour. For instance, in order to normally be eligible for being elected ruler, you need at least 20 honour.<br />
<br />
==Prestige==<br />
Important victories, such as the defence or assault of a major city, bring even more prestige.<br />
You start the game with a prestige of 1. Some [[unit]] types can only be commanded after you reached a certain prestige value. Cavalry requires a prestige of at least 5 and Special Forces require a prestige of at least 10.<br />
<br />
In addition, you need certain prestige values to become eligible for titles, command posts or to be elected as a realm [[ruler]]. For instance, you need a minimum of 10 prestige in order to run in a government election.<br />
<br />
==Skills==<br />
Your character can also learn to do certain things better. Skills improve through using them, but can also be trained at the [[Buildings#Academy|academy]]. If you do not use skills for a long time, they will deteriorate. They will also deteriorate with age, noticeably after age 30. Note that some skills are only available to certain character classes.<br />
<br />
Skills available are:<br />
* Swordfighting - used in duels, tournaments, while commanding infantry/mixed infantry, and sometimes, to fend off an attacking infiltrator<br />
* Jousting - used in tournaments and while commanding cavalry<br />
* Leadership - (Note that a captain's leadership skill is added to your unit for the purposes of things that are unit-specific)<br />
** influences the percentage rate at which your unit can withdraw (both how low and how high)<br />
** influences how likely your unit is to actually follow the withdrawal rate, and for example not break early<br />
** marshals with high leadership will have more [[formation]] options<br />
* Trading - increases trade distance<br />
* Bureaucracy - used by [[Class#Courtier|courtiers]] to improve [[region]] [[Region#Region_Stats|statistics]] such as morale, loyalty, and production<br />
* Infiltration - used while carrying out infiltrator actions<br />
* Oratory<br />
** used by priests to convert commoners to his/her religion<br />
** used by diplomats to influence the attitudes of a region towards a realm<br />
* Adventuring - Used by adventurers for several actions, such as hunting and gathering<br />
* Spellcasting - used by any noble performing a ritual as written down on a [[scrolls|scroll]]<br />
<br />
[[Category: Manual]]<br />
[[Category: People]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Help:Sea_Travel&diff=166399Help:Sea Travel2012-10-11T08:22:49Z<p>Tom: Created page with "{{help-page}} for the moment, please see Sea Travel == More Details / See Also == * Sea Travel"</p>
<hr />
<div>{{help-page}}<br />
<br />
for the moment, please see [[Sea Travel]]<br />
<br />
<br />
== More Details / See Also ==<br />
* [[Sea Travel]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Sea_Travel&diff=166398Sea Travel2012-10-11T08:21:54Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{RightTOC}}<br />
This is a new feature (added late 2012).<br />
<br />
At coastal regions, you can embark ships and travel by sea. While at sea, your available actions and orders are dramatically reduced. In addition, sea travel always uses up provisions, since there is no land to forage.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sea Travel works slightly differently from land travel.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Embark ==<br />
First, you need to embark ships. This happens as soon as you press the button, and you are no longer considered inside the region as you are now at the coast, loading men and material into ships. Embarking has a substantial cost in both time and gold, depending on several factors including your unit and the location you use to embark.<br />
<br />
The most important factors are:<br />
* more men will be more expensive and take longer to load<br />
* cavalry is very expensive and takes longer to load<br />
* siege engines are very, very expensive and take forever to disassemble and store<br />
* other [[Paraphernalia]] are fairly cheap<br />
* a harbor in the region you embark in makes a huge difference, making everything both cheaper and faster<br />
* being in a friendly (or own realm) region makes things cheaper<br />
* retreating unto ships from an enemy region is the worst option, as it takes longer, costs more '''and''' you might lose some equipment and/or provisions<br />
<br />
<br />
== Sail ==<br />
Once on ships, you need to reach the open ocean first. This will happen at the next turn. Then, you can choose to either land somewhere else (see below) or sail to other sea zones.<br />
<br />
Sailing is much like land travel - you pick your target and every turn you will move closer to it. The main difference is that travel does not depend on your personal hours, because you can do all sorts of things (well, the few that you can do at sea) while the ship is moving.<br />
<br />
So while sailing times might look crazy (20-30 hours are common), you will actually travel 12 hours every turn, 24 hours every day.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Landing ==<br />
When you have reached the sea zone bordering your destination, you will land at the coast. This, again, takes your personal hours.<br />
<br />
The most difficult and dangerous part of landing is when you land in enemy lands. You can not scout while at sea, so you do not know how many enemy troops are waiting for you and if they are guarding the coast or not. If the region is heavily defended, you will suffer considerable casualties even before you enter battle with the defending troops. Marine landings were largely unknown in the time period BM is set, and while unloading at the beach, your troops are easy targets. However, the more attacking troops land in the same turn, the fewer casualties each will suffer, as you can more easily suppress harrassment and ranged fire.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Sea Invasions ==<br />
On the defending side, if you are afraid of your enemy attacking you by sea, the same rules apply just in reverse.<br />
<br />
First, you can not scout sea zones as they are way too large. You can patrol them (to be implemented) so you get at least information about the number of ships sailing through and their flags.<br />
<br />
Second, any defenders in the region that is being invaded, will cause massive casualties to landing armies. Especially if they have the support of fortifications. A well-defended fortress is virtually immune to assaults from sea.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Exile&diff=166394Exile2012-10-10T07:22:24Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>Exiling a noble is a power granted only to the ruler of a realm. It is generally considered a last resort. A way to try and deal with a noble who the judge can't, or won't, take care of on their own.<br />
<br />
Exiling a noble essentially instructs the realm to not have any dealings with that noble. They will no longer be able to use the banks, recruiting centers, shops, or any other such realm infrastructure. Unlike banishment, however, they will ''not'' be removed from the realm. They will continue to be a noble of the realm until they choose to leave on their own. While they will continue to receive their taxes as normal, any bonds received will not be able to exchanged for gold.<br />
<br />
Anyone can be exiled by the ruler, even those who cannot be banned. This includes Royals, other council members (include the judge), and nobles who are protected from banishment by their lords by good marks. This makes it a powerful tool for dealing with these otherwise untouchable nobles.<br />
<br />
Exile is not, however, without its own cost. It is a test of wills between the ruler and the exiled noble. For so long as the exiled noble remains within the realm, both he and the ruler will slowly lose both honor, and even prestige. This gradual loss will only end when either the exiled noble leaves the realm, or the ruler steps down from the throne.<br />
<br />
Once exiled, a noble can no longer be [[ban]]ned. The contest between the ruler and the exiled noble can only end when one of them admits defeat.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Manual]]<br />
[[Category:Government]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Tempus%27_Book_of_the_Blessed&diff=166343Tempus' Book of the Blessed2012-10-08T09:19:21Z<p>Tom: sorry, can't use links in the template</p>
<hr />
<div>This item was found on Mansbridge, an Alpha monster of undead was carrying.<br />
<br />
Tempus' Book of the Blessed was purchased by Maduin Eirikr on Oct. 7th. Upon opening the cover, he knew he was going to have a good time.<br />
<br />
[[Category: Unique Items]]<br />
{{Infobox Unique Item<br />
|type=Book<br />
|discoveredby=Danya<br />
|discodate=Oct 06 2012<br />
|discoregion=Mansbridge<br />
|island=Atamara<br />
|prestige=2<br />
|abilities=<br />
|owner=Maduin Eirikr<br />
}}</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Buildings&diff=166342Buildings2012-10-08T09:17:58Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{RightTOC}}<br />
Throughout your realm, various buildings, workshops and other craftsmen offer their services to you and your unit. Cities especially often contain many different buildings that you can put to use. The price shown below for constructing each type of building is only a guideline. The cost will vary based on the number of buildings already in the region, the type of region, and possibly other factors as well.<br />
<br />
==Recruitment Centers==<br />
Recruitment Centers train peasants from the region to be soldiers, who can then be recruited in the realm's capital. When building a recruiting center, the region lord can only choose from Normal, [[Unit#Infantry|Infantry]], [[Unit#Archers|Archery]], or [[Unit#Cavalry|Cavalry]]. If the construction of a specific type of center is attempted, there is a chance that suitable equipment or specialists will not be found, and the construction attempt will fail. If it fails, then most of the money invested will be returned. If a Normal recruiting center is selected, there is a small chance that a [[Unit#Mixed_Infantry|Mixed Infantry]] or [[Unit#Special_Forces|Special Forces]] center will be produced instead. The region lord ''cannot'' explicitly choose to build a Mixed Infantry or Special Forces recruiting center. <br />
<br />
The total number of recruits that can be trained and available in a recruiting center at any one time is a function of the size of the center. When a new recruiting center is constructed, it is size 1 and can hold a maximum of 25 troops. The total number doubles each time it is enlarged. For example, a size 2 recruiting center can hold 50 troops, and a size 3 can hold 100 troops. The maximum size of a recruiting center is related to the type of region in which it is located.<br />
<br />
Recruitment centers can be damaged, and there is no direct way to repair them if this occurs. They will be repaired automatically over time though, if the production in the region is high enough.<br />
<br />
The rate at which a recruitment center is replenished is variable. Some of the things that can slow down the training of recruits include:<br />
* Low regional population prevents recruits from being trained.<br />
* Low regional production prevents recruits from being trained.<br />
* Centers with higher ratings recruit slower.<br />
* Cavalry and Special Forces centers recruit even slower.<br />
<br />
It is ''not'' dependent on the following:<br />
* Building damage.<br />
<br />
So if you have a really high quality Special Forces center, you will get very few recruits per day. For instance, a stronghold with a size 3 Special Forces recruitment center may train 2 recruits a day.<br />
<br />
== Buildings ==<br />
Workshops can be built in regions, the available type of workshops being dependent on the type of region. For example a city can build an Academy, but can't build a Demolition Workshop. The cost of creating subsequent buildings rises with each building that already exists in the region. Or more accurately, it rises with the total amount of gold already invested in workshops in the region. Also of note is that the cost of a building is independent of the number of Recruitment Centers already in the region.<br />
<br />
The prices to build shown below are relative to each other, to give you a rough idea of how they compare. The upkeep cost is constant, regardless of how many buildings are already in the region.<br />
<br />
The buildings are listed in order of least expensive to build to most expensive.<br />
<br />
===Cartbuilders===<br />
Makes [[Paraphernalia#Carts|carts]]. Cost: 60+ gold, Upkeep: 1 gold<br />
<br />
===Marketplace===<br />
Allows traders to engage in trade deals directly with other traders in that region, without needing to involve the lord. Can only be built in a townsland, city, and stronghold regions. Cost: 140+ gold, Upkeep: 2 gold<br />
<br />
===Scouts Guild===<br />
Allows recruitment of [[Paraphernalia#Scouts|scouts]]. Cannot be built in cities. Cost: 170+ gold, Upkeep: 2 gold<br />
<br />
===Banner Manufacture===<br />
Creates [[Paraphernalia#Banners|banners]]. Cost: 150+ gold, Upkeep: 2 gold<br />
<br />
===Weapon/Armour Smiths===<br />
Makes it possible to repair equipment in the region. Can only be built in townsland, city, and stronghold regions. Cost: 240+ gold, Upkeep 4 gold<br />
<br />
===Traders Supplies===<br />
Builds [[Paraphernalia#Caravans|caravans]]. Cost: 190+ gold, Upkeep: 3 gold<br />
<br />
===[[Demolition Workshop|Demolitions]]===<br />
Makes it possible to build [[Paraphernalia#Demolition Tools|Demolition Tools]]. Cost: 280+ gold, Upkeep: 5 gold.<br />
<br />
===Workshop===<br />
Constructs [[Paraphernalia#Siege Engines|siege engines]]. Can only be built in cities.<br />
<br />
===Academy===<br />
Makes the [[Training#At_the_Academy|skill training]] action available. Can only be built in cities and strongholds.<br />
<br />
===Houses of Healing===<br />
Allow the recruitment of [[Paraphernalia#Healers|healers]]. Cost: 310+ gold, Upkeep: 5 gold<br />
<br />
===Tournament Grounds===<br />
Allows [[tournament]]s to be held in the region. Can only be built in city and stronghold regions. Upkeep: 3 gold<br />
<br />
===Harbor===<br />
A harbor allows for faster and cheaper embarking and landing of friendly troops, important for [[Sea Travel]]. Harbors can be built in cities and townslands.<br />
<br />
===Shipyard===<br />
Builds and repairs warships, used to patrol sea zones. Shipyards can be built in cities, townslands, strongholds and woodland regions.<br />
<br />
[[Category:Manual]]<br />
[[Category:Economy]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Sea_Travel&diff=166253Sea Travel2012-10-01T11:29:35Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>This is a new feature (added late 2012).<br />
<br />
At coastal regions, you can embark ships and travel by sea. While at sea, your available actions and orders are dramatically reduced. In addition, sea travel always uses up provisions, since there is no land to forage.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sea Travel works slightly differently from land travel.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Embark ==<br />
First, you need to embark ships. This happens as soon as you press the button, and you are no longer considered inside the region as you are now at the coast, loading men and material into ships. Embarking has a substantial cost in both time and gold, depending on several factors including your unit and the location you use to embark.<br />
<br />
The most important factors are:<br />
* more men will be more expensive and take longer to load<br />
* cavalry is very expensive and takes longer to load<br />
* siege engines are very, very expensive and take forever to disassemble and store<br />
* other [[Paraphernalia]] are fairly cheap<br />
* a harbor in the region you embark in makes a huge difference, making everything both cheaper and faster<br />
* being in a friendly (or own realm) region makes things cheaper<br />
* retreating unto ships from an enemy region is the worst option, as it takes longer, costs more '''and''' you might lose some equipment and/or provisions<br />
<br />
<br />
== Sail ==<br />
Once on ships, you need to reach the open ocean first. This will happen at the next turn. Then, you can choose to either land somewhere else (see below) or sail to other sea zones.<br />
<br />
Sailing is much like land travel - you pick your target and every turn you will move closer to it. The main difference is that travel does not depend on your personal hours, because you can do all sorts of things (well, the few that you can do at sea) while the ship is moving.<br />
<br />
So while sailing times might look crazy (20-30 hours are common), you will actually travel 12 hours every turn, 24 hours every day.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Landing ==<br />
When you have reached the sea zone bordering your destination, you will land at the coast. This, again, takes your personal hours.<br />
<br />
The most difficult and dangerous part of landing is when you land in enemy lands. You can not scout while at sea, so you do not know how many enemy troops are waiting for you and if they are guarding the coast or not. If the region is heavily defended, you will suffer considerable casualties even before you enter battle with the defending troops. Marine landings were largely unknown in the time period BM is set, and while unloading at the beach, your troops are easy targets. However, the more attacking troops land in the same turn, the fewer casualties each will suffer, as you can more easily suppress harrassment and ranged fire.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Sea Invasions ==<br />
On the defending side, if you are afraid of your enemy attacking you by sea, the same rules apply just in reverse.<br />
<br />
First, you can not scout sea zones as they are way too large. You can patrol them (to be implemented) so you get at least information about the number of ships sailing through and their flags.<br />
<br />
Second, any defenders in the region that is being invaded, will cause massive casualties to landing armies. Especially if they have the support of fortifications. A well-defended fortress is virtually immune to assaults from sea.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Sea_Travel&diff=166249Sea Travel2012-10-01T07:34:12Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>This is a new feature (added late 2012).<br />
<br />
At coastal regions, you can embark ships and travel by sea. While at sea, your available actions and orders are dramatically reduced. In addition, sea travel always uses up provisions, since there is no land to forage.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sea Travel works slightly differently from land travel.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Embark ==<br />
First, you need to embark ships. This happens as soon as you press the button, and you are no longer considered inside the region as you are now at the coast, loading men and material into ships. Embarking has a substantial cost in both time and gold, depending on several factors including your unit and the location you use to embark.<br />
<br />
The most important factors are:<br />
* more men will be more expensive and take longer to load<br />
* cavalry is very expensive and takes longer to load<br />
* siege engines are very, very expensive and take forever to disassemble and store<br />
* other [[Paraphernalia]] are fairly cheap<br />
* a harbor in the region you embark in makes a huge difference, making everything both cheaper and faster<br />
* being in a friendly (or own realm) region makes things cheaper<br />
* retreating unto ships from an enemy region is the worst option, as it takes longer, costs more '''and''' you might lose some equipment and/or provisions<br />
<br />
<br />
== Sail ==<br />
Once on ships, you need to reach the open ocean first. This will happen at the next turn. Then, you can choose to either land somewhere else (see below) or sail to other sea zones.<br />
<br />
Sailing is much like land travel - you pick your target and every turn you will move closer to it. The main difference is that travel does not depend on your personal hours, because you can do all sorts of things (well, the few that you can do at sea) while the ship is moving.<br />
<br />
So while sailing times might look crazy (20-30 hours are common), you will actually travel 12 hours every turn, 24 hours every day.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Landing ==<br />
When you have reached the sea zone bordering your destination, you will land at the coast. This, again, takes your personal hours.<br />
<br />
The most difficult and dangerous part of landing is when you land in enemy lands. You can not scout while at sea, so you do not know how many enemy troops are waiting for you and if they are guarding the coast or not. If the region is heavily defended, you will suffer considerable casualties even before you enter battle with the defending troops. Marine landings were largely unknown in the time period BM is set, and while unloading at the beach, your troops are easy targets. However, the more attacking troops land in the same turn, the fewer casualties each will suffer, as you can more easily suppress harrassment and ranged fire.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Buildings&diff=166145Buildings2012-09-27T12:04:43Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{RightTOC}}<br />
Throughout your realm, various buildings, workshops and other craftsmen offer their services to you and your unit. Cities especially often contain many different buildings that you can put to use. The price shown below for constructing each type of building is only a guideline. The cost will vary based on the number of buildings already in the region, the type of region, and possibly other factors as well.<br />
<br />
==Recruitment Centers==<br />
Recruitment Centers train peasants from the region to be soldiers, who can then be recruited in the realm's capital. When building a recruiting center, the region lord can only choose from Normal, [[Unit#Infantry|Infantry]], [[Unit#Archers|Archery]], or [[Unit#Cavalry|Cavalry]]. If the construction of a specific type of center is attempted, there is a chance that suitable equipment or specialists will not be found, and the construction attempt will fail. If it fails, then most of the money invested will be returned. If a Normal recruiting center is selected, there is a small chance that a [[Unit#Mixed_Infantry|Mixed Infantry]] or [[Unit#Special_Forces|Special Forces]] center will be produced instead. The region lord ''cannot'' explicitly choose to build a Mixed Infantry or Special Forces recruiting center. <br />
<br />
The total number of recruits that can be trained and available in a recruiting center at any one time is a function of the size of the center. When a new recruiting center is constructed, it is size 1 and can hold a maximum of 25 troops. The total number doubles each time it is enlarged. For example, a size 2 recruiting center can hold 50 troops, and a size 3 can hold 100 troops. The maximum size of a recruiting center is related to the type of region in which it is located.<br />
<br />
Recruitment centers can be damaged, and there is no direct way to repair them if this occurs. They will be repaired automatically over time though, if the production in the region is high enough.<br />
<br />
The rate at which a recruitment center is replenished is variable. Some of the things that can slow down the training of recruits include:<br />
* Low regional population prevents recruits from being trained.<br />
* Low regional production prevents recruits from being trained.<br />
* Centers with higher ratings recruit slower.<br />
* Cavalry and Special Forces centers recruit even slower.<br />
<br />
It is ''not'' dependent on the following:<br />
* Building damage.<br />
<br />
So if you have a really high quality Special Forces center, you will get very few recruits per day. For instance, a stronghold with a size 3 Special Forces recruitment center may train 2 recruits a day.<br />
<br />
== Buildings ==<br />
Workshops can be built in regions, the available type of workshops being dependent on the type of region. For example a city can build an Academy, but can't build a Demolition Workshop. The cost of creating subsequent buildings rises with each building that already exists in the region. Or more accurately, it rises with the total amount of gold already invested in workshops in the region. Also of note is that the cost of a building is independent of the number of Recruitment Centers already in the region.<br />
<br />
The prices to build shown below are relative to each other, to give you a rough idea of how they compare. The upkeep cost is constant, regardless of how many buildings are already in the region.<br />
<br />
The buildings are listed in order of least expensive to build to most expensive.<br />
<br />
===Cartbuilders===<br />
Makes [[Paraphernalia#Carts|carts]]. Cost: 60+ gold, Upkeep: 1 gold<br />
<br />
===Marketplace===<br />
Allows traders to engage in trade deals directly with other traders in that region, without needing to involve the lord. Can only be built in a townsland, city, and stronghold regions. Cost: 140+ gold, Upkeep: 2 gold<br />
<br />
===Scouts Guild===<br />
Allows recruitment of [[Paraphernalia#Scouts|scouts]]. Cannot be built in cities. Cost: 170+ gold, Upkeep: 2 gold<br />
<br />
===Banner Manufacture===<br />
Creates [[Paraphernalia#Banners|banners]]. Cost: 150+ gold, Upkeep: 2 gold<br />
<br />
===Weapon/Armour Smiths===<br />
Makes it possible to repair equipment in the region. Can only be built in townsland, city, and stronghold regions. Cost: 240+ gold, Upkeep 4 gold<br />
<br />
===Traders Supplies===<br />
Builds [[Paraphernalia#Caravans|caravans]]. Cost: 190+ gold, Upkeep: 3 gold<br />
<br />
===[[Demolition Workshop|Demolitions]]===<br />
Makes it possible to build [[Paraphernalia#Demolition Tools|Demolition Tools]]. Cost: 280+ gold, Upkeep: 5 gold.<br />
<br />
===Workshop===<br />
Constructs [[Paraphernalia#Siege Engines|siege engines]]. Can only be built in cities.<br />
<br />
===Academy===<br />
Makes the [[Training#At_the_Academy|skill training]] action available. Can only be built in cities and strongholds.<br />
<br />
===Houses of Healing===<br />
Allow the recruitment of [[Paraphernalia#Healers|healers]]. Cost: 310+ gold, Upkeep: 5 gold<br />
<br />
===Tournament Grounds===<br />
Allows [[tournament]]s to be held in the region. Can only be built in city and stronghold regions. Upkeep: 3 gold<br />
<br />
===Harbor===<br />
A harbor allows for faster and cheaper embarking and landing of friendly troops, important for [[Sea Travel]].<br />
<br />
===Shipyard===<br />
Builds and repairs warships, used to patrol sea zones.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
[[Category:Manual]]<br />
[[Category:Economy]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Sea_Travel&diff=166144Sea Travel2012-09-27T12:02:01Z<p>Tom: Created page with "This is a new feature (added late 2012). At coastal regions, you can embark ships and travel by sea. While at sea, your available actions and orders are dramatically reduced...."</p>
<hr />
<div>This is a new feature (added late 2012).<br />
<br />
At coastal regions, you can embark ships and travel by sea. While at sea, your available actions and orders are dramatically reduced. In addition, sea travel always uses up provisions, since there is no land to forage.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sea Travel works slightly differently from land travel.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Embark ==<br />
First, you need to embark ships. This happens as soon as you press the button, and you are no longer considered inside the region as you are now at the coast, loading men and material into ships. Embarking has a substantial cost in both time and gold, depending on several factors including your unit and the location you use to embark.<br />
<br />
The most important factors are:<br />
* more men will be more expensive and take longer to load<br />
* cavalry is very expensive and takes longer to load<br />
* siege engines are very, very expensive and take forever to disassemble and store<br />
* other [[Paraphernalia]] are fairly cheap<br />
* a harbor in the region you embark in makes a huge difference, making everything both cheaper and faster<br />
* being in a friendly (or own realm) region makes things cheaper<br />
* retreating unto ships from an enemy region is the worst option, as it takes longer, costs more '''and''' you might lose some equipment and/or provisions<br />
<br />
<br />
== Sail ==<br />
Once on ships, you need to reach the open ocean first. This will happen at the next turn. Then, you can choose to either land somewhere else (see below) or sail to other sea zones.<br />
<br />
Sailing is much like land travel - you pick your target and every turn you will move closer to it. The main difference is that travel does not depend on your personal hours, because you can do all sorts of things (well, the few that you can do at sea) while the ship is moving.<br />
<br />
So while sailing times might look crazy (20-30 hours are common), you will actually travel 12 hours every turn, 24 hours every day.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Landing ==<br />
When you have reached the sea zone bordering your destination, you will land at the coast. This, again, takes your personal hours.<br />
<br />
The most difficult and dangerous part of landing is when you land in enemy lands. You can not scout while at sea, so you do not know how many enemy troops are waiting for you and if they are guarding the coast or not. You will have to sail towards the coast and then take a look. You can't judge the amount of troops well, either, but you can decide if you see any camps at all or none.<br />
<br />
When ordering to land in enemy lands, you need to decide if you want to play it safe or land at all costs. One means you turn around if you spot any war camps, the other means you land at the beach in any case. If you do that, you might find yourself in a very, very tight spot if the region is heavily defended, and you will suffer considerable casualties even before you enter battle with the defending troops.</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Manual&diff=166143Manual2012-09-27T11:46:05Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>__NOTOC__<br />
If you are looking for a brief overview of the game, you should read [[BattleMaster Basics]]. After that, you can come back here and look at the topics in depth.<br />
<br />
*[[Creation Screens]] - What the various family/character creation screens look like.<br />
<br />
* [[New Random Features]] - This is Tom's short info on newly added features. He'll put rough cuts here which are later sorted into the manual proper.<br />
* [[Manual:Getting Started|Getting Started]] - this is how to get going as a new character.<br />
* [[New Players Guide]] - Helps guide you in your journey as a noble.<br />
* [[Allegiance]] - To whom is your allegiance?<br />
* [[Name Rules]] - before you pick a name for your family and character, read this.<br />
* [[Useful Tools]] - Ever wanted to check your tax share, or use many other useful tools? This is your page.<br />
<br />
The list below points you to the major manual sections. We also have a [[/TOC|full table of contents]] and if you look for a specific article, you should check the [[:Category:Manual|article index]].<br />
*[[The Menu Panel]]<br />
**[[Messages]]<br />
**[[Information]]<br />
**[[Politics]]<br />
**[[Travel]] and [[Sea Travel]]<br />
**[[Character Actions]]<br />
**[[Orders]]<br />
**[[Command]]<br />
<br />
* [[/Characters|Characters, family and various character actions]]<br />
* [[/Realms and Regions|Islands, Realms and Regions]]<br />
* [[/War|Troops and Combat]]<br />
* [[/Economy|Economy, Trading and Buildings]]<br />
* [[/Elections|Elections]] - How Elections take place, who can be elected and when<br />
* [[/Miscellaneous|Miscellaneous]] - Guilds, Prison and other details<br />
* [[/Lingo|Lingo]] - Common Terms and Short-forms<br />
* [[Government_System|Government System]] - The different forms of Government and how they work<br />
* [[Hold Court Command]]<br />
<br />
* [[/Behaviour|Behaviour]] - Rules and restrictions on behaviour<br />
* [[Security]] - Security and anti-cheating measures<br />
<br />
<br />
<small>Some articles appear in more than two sections, because they are appropriate in both and we want to make sure you find the information you are looking for.</small><br />
<br />
<br />
== Other Versions ==<br />
[[Manual/es |Spanish Version]] - (Updated)<br />
<br />
[[Manual(nl) | Dutch Version]] - under construction<br />
<br />
[[Category: Manual]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Eno&diff=166109Eno2012-09-25T11:12:32Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox RegionData|4|196}} <br />
<br />
==Description==<br />
Eno was a massive city in the south of [[Beluaterra]] that sank beneath the seas at the end of the [[Beluaterra/Fifth_Invasion|5th Invasion]]. The text below should be considered historical records only.<br />
<br />
<br />
===The City===<br />
The Dominion of Alluran banner flutters above the guardhouses overlooking the harbours. A temperate ocean breeze sweeps over the bustling dock to the south-west as merchants unload their wares for sale in the vibrant commercial district. The smaller dock to the east is mostly used by locals and government officials for their business. To the south are the limited farmlands that feed the granaries and silos and serve as an emergency food supply in the event of a siege. The mighty walls and towering spires stretch from east to west across the north with only three major gates each one opening to the splendor of an architectural masterpiece. The grandeur of the stonework and design of the fortified bridges leading to Brovyl, Bolkenia and Xween, are widely admired. The north is the training ground and armouries for the city's garrison along with the workshops and military academy. Each knight of the city is granted an estate in the city's many residential communities. Each of these communities consists of a plaza complete with a local marketplace, blacksmith, inn and tavern. The duchess estate is located by the central plaza along with the government offices and main temple of Alluran. The duchess is rumoured to spend her spare time in her rooftop garden overlooking one of the most populous cities on the continent.<br />
<br />
===Surroundings===<br />
<br />
The city is bordered on three sides by the rivers coming down from the mountains. In the south is open ocean. Across the bridges to the west and east lies the rural regions of [[Xween]] and [[Bolkenia]], respectively. To the north townships dot the sides of the river in [[Brovyl]]. <br />
<br />
==Military==<br />
<br />
===Recruits===<br />
<br />
'''Defenders of Alluran''' <br />
The Defenders of Alluran are the backbone of the Alluran military. They draw their recruits from the able bodied commoners of the city. They are well equipped with a range of melee weapons and have adequate training to make them a potent fighting force in the field.<br />
<br />
'''Eno Macemen'''<br />
The Eno Macemen are a well trained to wield their heavy maces for crushing enemy armour. They are lightly armoured to increase mobility and allow them to bring their weapons to bear. These men serve more as emergency recruits and fight well from behind fortifications to protect them from range fire.<br />
<br />
'''Eno Swordsmen'''<br />
The Eno Swordsmen are the veteran fighting force of the Alluran army. They are a highly trained soldiers with additional armour so they can put that training to good use. As their name suggests, these men wield long swords for slashing through poorly armoured foe. Unfortunately because of their higher cost most nobles will not be recruiting a large number of these elite troops.<br />
<br />
'''Alluran Archers'''<br />
<br />
'''Eno Volunteers'''</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Invasions&diff=166108Invasions2012-09-25T11:08:18Z<p>Tom: Created page with "Invasions were a feature of Beluaterra. There were five invasions, only two of which were fully documented: * 4th Invasion * [[Beluaterra/F..."</p>
<hr />
<div>Invasions were a feature of [[Beluaterra]]. There were five invasions, only two of which were fully documented:<br />
<br />
* [[Beluaterra/Fourth Invasion|4th Invasion]]<br />
* [[Beluaterra/Fifth Invasion|5th Invasion]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Invasion&diff=166107Invasion2012-09-25T11:07:04Z<p>Tom: Redirected page to Invasions</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Invasions]]</div>Tomhttps://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Help:Gossip&diff=165689Help:Gossip2012-09-02T13:32:36Z<p>Tom: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{help-page}}<br />
Gossip is an in-character way to give players feedback on their style. You can rate other messages as good or bad, and if the same message receives several identical ratings, feedback will be generated for the player, and there may be further consequences (such as loss of honour for using too much vulgarity).<br />
<br />
<br />
== See Also ==<br />
* [[Vulgarity]]<br />
* [[Serious Medieval Atmosphere]]</div>Tom