Inventions, technology and knowledge

[Snickie]

I dislike this suggestion in general.

I dislike it firstly because I know of several incidents where people have spawned in places where it's impossible to get food from the land, the other people in the location are sleepy, and hunting is a nightmare with a bare fist. But, oh wait! I got a kill! Maybe now I can make something like, oh, I don't know, a bone knife? Oh, but I don't know how to make one, I need something to tell me. Maybe until then I can make some food in this small fire pit? …But I don't know how to grill meat! I guess I'll just have to starve then, or hope that somebody happens to stumble along my poor, starving defenceless state.

Secondly, it would make places like Fu impossible to settle because anybody who spawns there is most likely in a place far too primitive to build anything that might bring it to a higher level of technology, and who would want to sail there when they likely came from a place that already has better weapons and technology available to the general public?

Thirdly, it would discourage certain types of roleplay (if people playing those specific types roleplayed them well). Illiterate characters would disappear—I would assume I'd have to know how to read when reading a blueprint. The same goes for blind people: you have to be able to see it to utilise it, and I doubt that anybody here would want to try to establish some type of Cantr-Braille (but I may be getting too realistic here). Granted, this could be roleplayed out, but, as I see it, most people with those characters might render those characters useless because they can't do anything, and the world of Cantr would be that much closer to having assimilated characters.

As I have said in various other places, there may be flaws in my argument. Feel free to point them out (as I know you will) and/or expand upon them.

[diavel]

Speaking of my idea:

I dislike it firstly because I know of several incidents where people have spawned in places where it's impossible to get food from the land(...)

Yes that would make single-player aspect of Cantr more difficult. You'd have to cooperate with others asking them how to do things or spend more time establishing your own civilisation. IMHO it's a good thing to motivate people to make communities. That's what Cantr is about or so I've heard. I agree that it can be dangerously frustrating, I even wrote about it yesterday(?).

Secondly, it would make places like Fu impossible to settle because anybody who spawns there is most likely in a place far too primitive to build anything that might bring it to a higher level of technology, and who would want to sail there when they likely came from a place that already has better weapons and technology available to the general public?

To conquer land and gain diverse resources, and possibly acquire new knowledge. Or to eradicate old civilization and force their version of "World order".

Thirdly, it would discourage certain types of roleplay (if people playing those specific types roleplayed them well). Illiterate characters would disappear—I would assume I'd have to know how to read when reading a blueprint.

I used the word "blueprint" as a nickname for an abstract object representing "idea", "knowledge", "ability" to make a thing. Sharing "blueprints" can be roleplayed as explaining them or showing or even demonstrating.

[EchoMan]

This whole idea would be better off for the Cantr III project (if there is such a thing). Implementing something like this "gradually", and get players of older chars to accept it will be very hard I think.

[diavel]

This whole idea would be better off for the Cantr III project (if there is such a thing). Implementing something like this "gradually", and get players of older chars to accept it will be very hard I think.

Well I even described how it may be executed gradually (gradually from game-play point of view). So do you think it is a bad idea? Thank you for your critique but I think it would be cool if you gave some hints about how to solve it too.

[EchoMan]

I'm only saying it will be difficult to implement programatically, and equally difficult to convince players of old chars to accept it.

The idea in itself isn't bad, but better suited for next version of Cantr IMHO.

All in the "don't fix what is not broken" methodology.

[diavel]

Oh you're from Programming Dept. Nice. Can you tell why exactly would it be difficult to program? Can you send me a DB schema (mysqldump-like) and some info about your php solutions. I know something about php (I make money for a living from it) so in my free time and with I-have-a-new-awesome-idea-look-everybody energy I'll think about some solutions and simplifications.

As for game-play, when implemented gradually it can be added quite seamlessly...