The TattleMaster/Archives/Issue 14

From BattleMaster Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
TattleHeader.png
This is an archived issue of The TattleMaster.
Issue 13 Issue 14 Issue 15
State of the GameApril 30, 2009
Tom posted a quick, general status update outlining some of what the dev team has been working on lately:

We've been doing a lot of cleanup work recently, and fixed a whole lot of minor bugs. The codebase has been streamlined and old, unused code removed, to make bugfixing and adding of new features easier.

The new layout is now completed and we're also working on further improvements, including a special layout for mobile devices, because more and more of our players are using mobile devices to play.

In addition, I'm again working on the New Economy things, which are the foundation of many great changes to come (e.g. the new warehouse trading stuff, better estates, and a lot more).

Tom

Indirik
More Scrolls to Play WithApril 30, 2009
From the Discussion List:

Several more scrolls have been implemented, so if you have a scroll or two, you are invited to test if they are among them.

Tom

Indirik
Some Details on Looting Temples of Evil ReligionsApril 21, 2009
Two times in the last few months I've seen questions come up regarding the looting of temples of evil religions. "Why can't I loot this temple? We won the battle, my religion views the other as evil, we're at war, and I still don't get the option." Danaris, a member of the dev team, posted the following clarifications on the looting of temples in response to a report on the bugtracker:

First: sacking temples is a subset of looting, which means you can never do it in your own realm.

Second: You need to have a significant number of troops compared to the population of the region you're in. So yes, it's quite possible that you can't sack temples in a city even with 150+ men. It would depend on the size of the city.

Third: Once the region belongs to you, the region lord can close down the temple and take the gold out.

Danaris

Indirik
New Warehouses Options for Lords on TestingApril 20, 2009
The new warehouse options allowing lords to set thresholds for automated buy/sell orders based on warehouse levels is now available on testing islands. You can find these options under the "Warehouse... - check the warehouses (new caravan system)." option on the Command menu. This allows the lord to set blanket buy/sell orders such as: "If there are less then A bushels in the warehouse, buy at a price of B gold." And: "If there are more than X bushels in the warehouse, sell at a price of Y gold." These values can be set, but are not currently available for use by traders.
Indirik


Ox Carts Going Away. Eventually...April 14, 2009
In a recent Discussion List thread about the new Stewards and moving of food, Tom had the following to say about ox carts:

You're talking about the old ox cart system, which will be going away once caravans work as they should. And caravans can go multiple regions distance.

Tom

Source URL:http://news.battlemaster.org/pipermail/discuss/2009-April/038797.html
New Warehouses Options Planned for LordsApril 14, 2009
Tom posted the following message to the Discussion List, outlining some proposed features to help region lords deal with caravans and food supplies.

new warehouses / trading
Thanks in part to the feedback on [the discussion list] I'm thinking about an additional trading option.
The caravan system as it is now will stay, of course. This is an additional feature.
Original I had planned something like automatic caravan offers. Turns out that's a ton too complicated. However, I think I've finally found a

better idea. Here is how it works:

  • You can set a "sell" and a "buy" value for your warehouse. These will act like permanent but variable caravan offers. The values are an amount and a price. Their meaning is very simple:
"if there is less than X stored, buy for Y gold until there is X."
or for selling:
"if there is more than X stored, sell for Y gold until there is Y."

This should be as easy to set up as ox carts. Of course, they can be empty, so that no automatic selling or buying takes place.
Example:

  • Region A has these options:
Buy: for 10 gold until we have 100 units
Sell: for 20 gold if we have over 300 units.

Region A currently has 190 units stored. No automatic trading will happen, if a caravan arrives, it will be sent home (unless there is a seperate offer, of course).
A now uses up some units, and drops to 80 stored. It will now automatically buy for 10 gold. A caravan arrives with 50 units. The region will automatically buy 20 units for that price.

A while later, A has 400 units stored. It will now automatically sell for 20 gold, until the stores contain 300 units or less.

Tom

Indirik
New Feature: StewardsApril 2, 2009
Tom has implemented a new feature, which has two major impacts: First, only the region lord has access to his region's warehouse. The banker can no longer move food around on his own (unless he's a region lord, and then only for his own region), and the duke can no longer move food around for his duchy (again, except for his own region). In compensation for this, the region lord can appoint one of his knights as the Steward for the region. The Steward has access to the local warehouse, allowing for two people to be able to move food around.

New Feature: Stewards
There has been a change in the way that regional warehouses are handled. In the past, the local lord and the banker could access these. From now on, the banker no longer has access to local warehouses. However, every lord can announce one of his knights as a steward, who can access the warehouse of the region in question.

This change will go live during the day.

Tom

Indirik
More on the New EconomyMarch 30, 2009
Tom has posted a bit more about the New Economy. Here are some snippets form recent Discussion List posts:

New Economy Progress
I've finished some more code on the new economy thing. You'll see unbelievable things when the additional code goes live in a day or two. No worries, like most new code it'll go "live" in an inactive form at first, so you can look and help me complete it.


New Economy - More Details
I've decided that the introduction of the new economy system will be the point where I'll finally do what I have wanted to for so long, but never could because it does mean a considerable change in the dynamics of the game:

Reduce the population of cities and raise the population of rural (and other non-city) regions.

Right now, the game has a LOT higher share of the total population concentrated in the cities than the real middle ages ever had. I will fix that, moving to a more distributed power system. Cities will still be powerful economic centers, but no longer will they earn more income than the rest of their duchy combined.


In the new economy, production depends more directly on population.


Tom

Indirik
More Experiments with OrdersMarch 23, 2009
Tom has started Part Two of the Orders experiments for testing islands:

Second "Orders" Experiment
Thanks for all the participation and feedback.

We will now be conducting a second experiment on orders on the testing islands. For the next days, orders are enabled again, and without restrictions, meaning that everyone can issue orders to anyone else. If you feel like you shouldn't be ordered by that person - e.g. if you are king and some lowly knight sends you an order - roleplay your reaction.

There will be "no punishment of orders" during this time, so Titan complaints of the "sending orders as a request" type will be ignored (because everyone could have sent them as an order).

Again, your feedback on the discussion list is appreciated.

Tom

Indirik
New Economy Showing UpMarch 20, 2009
Elements of the new economy are starting to become visible in-game, although they are not yet functional. On all islands you can now see a new entry on the region details page: Economy. According to Tom, these values are only accurate for East Island and Atamara at the moment. Values for these two islands can be copied over to the region pages on the wiki anytime. For more information, see the New Economy page.
Indirik
No More Orders for TestingMarch 18, 2009
Tom has decided to run a test of the Testing islands, disabling the "Orders" message type. Let's try it out, and see how well we can operate without the Orders message type, and not sending any message that can be considered an Order.

No more "Orders"
After another one of those unhappy discussions on the mailing list, I have disabled the message type "Orders" on testing. This is a bit of an experiment. And it does mean not only the message type, it does mean I want orders to disappear from the game, at least for the moment.

In the game setting, "orders" are simply inappropriate for noble interaction. Orders are what the noble gives to his troops, or servants. But even the lowliest knight would not be ordered around by anyone, not even the king. I want to invite you all to participate in this experiment and see if you can work entirely without orders for a week or so. I know it is possible.

So if you need the army to move to place X, the message can easily be "I have decided that our army would be in a much better position in X". If you desperately need food, the message "The realm is starving" is more effective than "buy food!". Also, incentives work greatly. Offer your knight 1% more tax share if he does this and that. Offer up 10 gold for every volunteer for some deed.

BattleMaster is at its core a simulation of nobility, not of the army. Let's see if we can play it that way. If it turns out that orders are absolutely essential, I can re-enable them in less than 60 seconds.

Tom

Indirik
New and Improved Economy Progressing WellMarch 18, 2009
There has been a lot of talk about the new economy model being work done by Tom and the other devs. You may have pieces of this during the region rating project Tom announced by the login message many weeks ago, and invited everyone to participate in. The basis of the system is the addition of new resources that will be required to do certain things. i.e. Metal may be required to recruit highly armoured units, wood may be needed to train archers, or stone required to build fortifications. (Examples only, I don't know any actual details...) If the regions you own don't produce these resources, you will need to either trade with another realm to obtain these resources, conquer additional regions that do produce them, or get by without them and the things they enable. Tom has posted the following comments about this on the Discussion List:

I'm making some good progress with an improved economy model, which serves a few purposes. The main purposes are two: To make trading more interesting, and to give people more things to fight over. For example, metal will be required for some units and will only be available in certain regions. So you have to either trade for it, or conquer them.
...
I could take a first look at the numbers now, and I can tell you, this is going to be fantastic.

Tom

Indirik
If You Want to Build a Temple in a Region, You Must be the Region LordMarch 17, 2009
In response to a request for an option to allow someone other than the region lord to build a temple in a region:

No. You will not ever be able to build a temple of a religion you are not a part of. That is a vital part of the religion game, that you have to convert lords in order to spread. It will not be changed.

Tom

Indirik


Merging the IG and Wiki Region Descriptions?March 17, 2009
Tom recently proposed this idea on the Discussion List:

Region Description
I'm currently thinking something:

We now have region descriptions both in-game and on the Wiki. I think we should merge them, shouldn't we?

Tom

The basic idea would be to merge the in-game description set by the region lord into the wiki page. The wiki page would then be transcluded into the game and displayed for the regional description.
Indirik
You Want an Island Reset? That'll be €100,000, please!March 17, 2009
Another recent Discussion List thread brought forth the frequently asked, frequently rejected idea of resetting the East Island. Following a long and involved argument, Tom finally steppe din with this:

Why is this coming up all the time? I think it should be added to the frequently rejected page.

There will not be a full reset on any game world, ever. (now that the south islands are sunk, where that was part of the concept.)

End of discussion. Absolutely nothing you can say that doesn't start with € and doesn't end in at least five zeroes will convince me otherwise. :-)

If you think the EI sucks, then move your character somewhere else. It is that simple.

Tom

Indirik
A BattleMaster Skin for MediaWiki?March 17, 2009
Another recent Discussion List thread brought the following response:

Do we have volunteers for creating a different skin? Mediawiki is skinnable, and a BM skin would certainly be cool.

Tom

So, anyone out there have any experience with MediaWiki, and is willing to try their hand at a BattleMaster skin for the wiki? Some useful links, perhaps:

New Treaties Will not be Visible to All RealmsMarch 17, 2009
Some asked Tom if the treaties created under the new Enhanced Diplomacy would be visible to everyone on the island, or only those realms that either sign or are targeted by a treaty. His reply: "The later. More mystery, more potential for 'misunderstandings'."
Unique Items Get a Mysterious New FeatureMarch 17, 2009
No, we don't know what it is. Yes, we are excited. Why? Read this:

Unique Items Improved
I've added something very interesting for the top unique items, via the sages. This should yield us more importance etc. - I think you'll love it and yes, it is a mystery for a reason. Find out yourself, but I promise you'll be thrilled.

Tom

Indirik
In-Game Help Pages Moved to the WikiMarch 17, 2009
In a recent Discussion List thread Tom revealed that all of the in-game help pages have been moved over to this wiki. This means that all wiki users can now contribute to developing and enhancing the documentation for the game. All of these pages have been added to Category:Help, where you can see the full list of available help pages. Feel free to edit these pages to help improve the documentation. However, make sure you read BattleMaster_Wiki:Writing_Help_Pages first! The help file articles have a slightly different style than the normal wiki pages. While you are free to edit the pages as desired, note that your changes will not appear on the page until they have been approved by a wiki editor. Please do not create new pages. If you find an IG link to a help page that does not exist, them post a note about it on Tom's talk page, and include a note on which IG page the link is on.
Indirik


Claims and Claim EnforcementMarch 17, 2009
A recent Discussion List thread revealed this little bit of info:

The reason we don't more strongly enforce the (claim) system is that right now, it is incomplete. That's also were the weirdness comes from. There are a couple things that ought to generate claims that don't, right now.

Once the system is complete, it will_ be strictly enforced. We _will_ make sure that realms who appoint lords based on the outlandish concept of "competence" instead of what every true noble should consider the most important trait: Heritage, will implode.

Tom

Source URL:http://news.battlemaster.org/pipermail/discuss/2009-March/038158.html
Indirik
New Feature: Rumours and Random Comments/QuotesMarch 17, 2009
Occasionally I run across various comments and/or quotes that I think could be interesting, but not really deserving of a full article. So I'm going to start a new feature here to post these kind of things. The things posted in this manner won't really be new features or things that we'll see in-game any time soon. Just interesting tidbits I thought you'd enjoy. So... Enjoy!
Indirik
Stable UpdatedMarch 9, 2009
Stable islands have now been updated with all the latest bug fixes and new features.

Stable Updated
The stable branch has been updated to the latest testing code today, so for today both branches are running on the same code and stable can enjoy all the new features and bugfixes.

Tom

Indirik
New Diplomacy/Treaty SystemMarch 9, 2009
The new treaty system using diplomats is now available for testing on all islands. (It was added to stable after the following announcement was made.) Some information regarding the new treaty system has been added to the new Enhanced Diplomacy page.

New Treaty System in testing
The new treaty system is now set up on the two testing islands.

It does not yet do anything, so please do test it for us and report any bugs to the bugtracker. You should be able to draft, sign, reject and propose treaties. Tell us any problems on the bugtracker so we can fix them before the system goes live. All treaties you create now will be deleted before the new treaty system is activated, so don't be afraid to test things.

Tom

Indirik
New Diplomacy System Starting to Appear on Testing IslandsFebruary 25, 2009
Tom sent the following short note to the Discussion List today with some news about the new diplomacy system. Parts of it are now available for people to look at, but don't have any actual effect yet. There is also a new "Diplomatic Treaties" entry on the Information page.

Fragments of the new diplomacy system are now appearing on testing.

This is not yet operative, so play around and check it out if you are a diplomat. It is not yet possible to actually sign treaties, but they can be drafted.

– Tom

Indirik
Ambassadors Can Now be AppointedFebruary 24, 2009
Tom made the following announcement to the Discussion List a few days ago:

Rulers on the testing islands can now promote diplomats to ambassadors (and demote them back to diplomats).

There are no special actions for ambassadors right now, they should be the same as diplomats. But you can start the lobbying and in-fighting and begging, bribing, backstabbing now. :-)

– Tom

Indirik
SMA Violations ReportingFebruary 17, 2009
A new feature for Dwilight has been enabled: SMA Violation Reports. The new option, located under the Messages tab above the Titans report link, allows you to report those who you feel have violated the Serious Medieval Atmosphere of the island.
Indirik
Major Wiki Changes to Region PagesFebruary 13, 2009
Until now, all region pages have been subpages of the island on which the region is located. i.e. the page for the region of Partora was located at: [[East Continent/Partora]]. Today Tom and Bishamon Family have begun a project to move the region pages so they are no longer subpages of the island. This means that if you want to link to the region of Zawr, you would just link to the region name, like this: [[Zawr]]. You no longer need to specify an island name, a region name, and then pipe the link with the region name. The template that was created to make the old style linking easier, Template:Reglink, is not needed in the new system and should no longer be used.
Indirik
Adventurers, Stick Close to HomeFebruary 10, 2009
New code has been activated on testing that gives adventurers better chances at hunting, fighting undead, etc when they are in or close to their home region, and worse chances the farther they are away. An adventurer's "home region" is the region in which the adventurer started, or the region in which he or she last changed realms.
Danaris
Big Change for TradersFebruary 10, 2009
According to a message posted by Tom on the Discussion List, regions are now required to have a marketplace in order for trader characters to conduct food purchases and sales in the region. If no marketplace is present trading in the region can only be conducted using caravans.
Indirik
Semantic WikiFebruary 9, 2009
In case you hadn't heard yet, the BattleMaster Wiki has been enabled with semantic markup. You can read about it here: Semantic Wiki. The MediaWiki site devoted to Semantic Wikis can be found here: http://semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Semantic_MediaWiki. This is a very powerful update to the wiki, that will allow the wiki to be more dynamic, requiring less manual updates. Eventually, it may even allow for automated updates of statistical information. Check out the Semantic Wiki page for more information.
Indirik
March 21, 2009
Bug 5038 Adventurers applying bandages to themselves should no longer receive a "Failed access" error.
March 21, 2009
Bug 5029 Police units should be able to either arrest or hang rebels again.
March 21, 2009
Bug 5021 A bug making it harder for adventurers to successfully hunt when closer to home has been fixed.
March 20, 2009
Bug 5020 "Residual" good/bad marks should be removed from region lords by the hierarchy clean-up script. This will allow lords who were previously immune to bans/fines due to leftover good marks to be banned or fined again.
March 20, 2009
Bug 5009 The links to give medals to other players should be available again on new messages.
March 20, 2009
Bug 5002 Regional sympathy to the TOing realm is now properly calculated following a failed TO.
March 20, 2009
Bug 4662 Region lords posting monster/undead bounties for adventurers now takes one hour.
March 10, 2009
Bug 4949 Adventurers "home" region will now be shown on their character status page.
March 10, 2009
Bug 4935 Regional food production values on Dwilight should now display the proper value adjusted for the current season.
March 10, 2009
Bug 4910 Region lords/Dukes can now only change allegiance of their region when they are in their region.
March 10, 2009
Bug 4841 A few bugs regarding the success of adventurers when hunting have been fixed.
March 9, 2009
Bug 4210 Multiple elections issues with the Dwilight referendum-style elections have been fixed.
March 9, 2009
Bug 4844 Region lord elected by Referendums should not be able to change the region allegiance before 7 days have elapsed.
February 24, 2009
Bug 4861 "Too Much Peace" will not cause any problems in winter.
February 23, 2009
Bug 4317 Food production values on Dwilight should now display correctly for all seasons.
February 23, 2009
Bug 4806 A lord's unit should no longer be dropped as militia when they auto-abdicate from lordship due to inactivity.
February 23, 2009
Bug 4852 Nobles should no longer be dropped from message groups when they auto-abdicate from lordship due to inactivity.
February 9, 2009
Bug 4691 Notification of adventurer execution will now only be sent to the adventurer's "owner" (i.e. his "region lord"). The notice will no longer include a link to the player's family page.
February 9, 2009
Bug 4079 Family names should not be shown for adventurers at all.
February 9, 2009
Bug 4793 All nobles on the island will receive a message when a region changes realms by any means.
February 6, 2009
Bug 3893 Adventurers killed by monsters and undead will have an entry in the family history.


New ArticlesOld ArchivesWriting Guide