ALFA: The next platform

[Rumple C]

http://shardsonline.com/

This is currently in Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14 ... your-rules

It has...

A DM client
Mod-able rules
Lots of stuff

Perhaps more importantly it has a lot of nwn1/nwn2 communities asking questions about "Can we use this as -our- next generation tool" (Spolier - it's looking like they/we can)

Watch this space (and consider backing the game/system)

[FoamBats4All]

From what I have been able to tell, this is the single best platform change we can make. We can rewrite everything from combat to setting, host our own servers where we have all the control over content, have permadeath, recreate D&D, etc.

Some discussions aimed at NWN1/2ers:
http://shardsonline.com/forums/index.ph ... -community
http://shardsonline.com/forums/index.ph ... red-to-nwn

The major red flag at the moment is that they want us to pay $200 for early access to the tools we'd need to get a head start on making an ALFA3. Ouch.

Still, a project to keep an eye on. Curious what other community members think.

[Zelknolf]

I also give a hairy eyeball to the price point, but $200 is doable, and if indeed the Paizo-Obsidian partnership is just going to make 'adventure card games,' it might be our only option.

[Heero]

Looks neat. Good opportunity to switch off DnD to a better system as well.

[Rumple C]

There is probably a "What makes ALFA, ALFA?" question brewing somewhere. Rules, setting?

*mumbles* pillars *mumbles*

[Zelknolf]

Well, D&D and Forgotten Realms are written into the charter.

There is of course a provision for revising the charter, but we'd need an active LA for that; on the plus side, someone interested can run in 10 days.

[Rumple C]

Heero's time to shine.

[Adanu]

If you have a choice, what system would you switch us to, heero?

[Zelknolf]

I sincerely doubt that we would be able to use an established system in this project, on account if IP laws. We get away with what we already have because our software licenses include a clause about creating variations of the game (which is already D&D and Forgotten Realms) -- in this case, we'd be trying to convert someone else's system into something more conducive to our particular habits and preferences. If we straight copied Dungeons and Dragons (and used their trademark and/or their copyrighted settings), we're destroyed by the first cease and desist.

The closest we'd be able to get to a new platform for the existing patterns of ALFA would be to follow in the footsteps of Pathfinder-- making a new variation on the 3.5 ruleset, careful to never actually publish the rules for character creation or advancement, call it something that doesn't infringe on trademarks or IP (especially those trademarks; they pursue those whenever they have knowledge, because they lose the trademark if they fail to do so), and then not try to control what the swarming masses do to describe it. And then we'd have to put it in a homebrew setting. Or a parody of a published setting, but I suspect that the community generally wouldn't be keen on playing a parody and then trying to prove fair use if someone calls us on it.



That said, further prodding makes this still looks plausible. Which is unusual; it's usually only a couple hours before I find a dealbreaker with these new games.

The server code is Lua-- which is super popular with the skiddies, but still reasonably functional. The client is Unity, which there's a lot of common resources for, provided that we can figure out a distribution scheme. Sounds like we'd find out what they want to do with it when the software reaches beta. Multiple-server environments are a bit balls, unfortunately; the infrastructure behind the game is being built to make that happen, but they're going to actively prevent us from writing our own multi-server handling and charge a subscription fee for theirs. This is probably how they intend to pay to keep their servers up, though, so I can't grump too hard about it.

Really, the only huge problem I've found so far is that the software is pre-alpha on a publisher who I'm pretty sure has no experience. Most such games fail before they reach beta -- doesn't necessarily mean that this one will, so I'm for watching how it goes until January. If it's still going strong, it might be time to throw some development effort at it and design a ruleset that we don't get lawyer'd for using.

[boombrakh]

The major red flag at the moment is that they want us to pay $200 for early access to the tools we'd need to get a head start on making an ALFA3. Ouch.

Then find nine more like me, and we're there. I'll gladly pitch in a twenty to make that happen.

[Ronan]

Lua is vastly superior to nwscript, and is what you'd expect any upcoming platform to use. Its really probably the best language you could hope for in a game like this, since no one is going to want to make game modders learn a decent static type system. The platform also seems vastly more customizable than NWN - evidently even hitpoints can be removed.

That its being made by UO devs is a big plus for me. Also, if they raise $20k more (which looks very likely) they'll code perma-death rules for us.

I admit to being turned-off by the cartoony graphics. After experiencing the technical wizardry of Sui Generis, its hard not to be disappointed on this front.

I guess I'll post more whenever I start to play around with the dev tools.

[FoamBats4All]

There are some important questions to ask the developers, and ourselves. Let's compile a list.

1) Under what condition will developer tools be available post-release?

2) Developer, admin, and GM all seem to be synonymous at the moment. Will a shard allow multiple admins/developers/GMs (particularly under different permission masks)? E.g., a server can have an admin, several developers, and several (not necessarily developer or admin) GMs?

[Ronan]

<Ronan-> Have the devs revealed what database the game will use?
<Supreem_CS> Ronan - our game data is stored in a rather non traditional way
<Supreem_CS> Ronan-: its not easy to explain hehe
<Supreem_CS> as a modder you dont ever have to interact with the database itself that stores the game data
<Supreem_CS> we've talked about adding a database interface to lua so you can still store your own stuff in a db if youd like
<Ronan-> Well, presumable the modder has some way to store and access a persistent store?
<Supreem_CS> persistent data is stored on objects
<Supreem_CS> if you want to store a bunch of data you make an invisible "controller" object that only gods can see
<Supreem_CS> and set persistent variables on it
<Supreem_CS> sounds wierd but it allows you to manipulate the data easily from within the game as a god character
<Ronan-> Will Lua run inside a sandbox preventing access to the host OS? Or could we run something like LuaSQL from within it?

There was no answer to my last question.

While object-based storage makes some sense from a GM-management point of view, it is still disappointing.

[t-ice]

For what it's worth, I've never thought D&D to be very conductive to a persistent world setting like the one we have. Mainly due to the exponential power growth per level.

DM-led adventurers, one DM per handful players, and hardcore roleplay are the two elements that I think make ALFA-esque gaming special. Ruleset and setting are entirely expendable, the ruleset possibly even preferably so.

I would think Shard is thinking about 100 players and one admin, which can never really be anything but hack'n'slash, with this:

Server admins have the tools to generate content on the fly like the ability to possess creatures and spawn items. Citadel Studios official servers will have regular live events where your interactions will change the course of history.

But the tools should be the same to create a true DM-led adventure where the PCs can do anything - not just anything that has a "do this button" programmed into the game.

[maxcell]

Yay, glad someone saw my post in FB about this. Also, +1 to everything Zelk said. And I also would donate to get ahold of whatever we would need, IF this is a direction we move in AND the kickstarter doesn't flop. (or reverse those two rather) Of course I would prefer FR, or even LOTR, or hybrid. But even if it just turns out to be a "fantasy" setting, that would be nice. Likely though, if this becomes a reality, the game user base as a whole would probably lean more strongly in one direction or another and thus provide a larger wealth of resources to share within the game's player base, making the efforts here somewhat easier.