Re: Olympia Times v4n1

From: skrenta@cbnewsg.att.com (Rich Skrenta)

Date: Mon, 18 May 1992 06:23:52 +0000

srt@aero.org (Scott "TCB" Turner) writes:
> >>	107  Shipbuilding, level 2
> >>	     9107  Build small boats, level 0
> >>	     9215  Repair ship, level 1
>
> What I'm wondering is, can you Build small boats with level 0, or do you
> now have to study this to level 1 before you can use it?

Level 1.

Here's how it would work:

You study 107 Shipbuilding.  When you get to level 1, >poof<, you
get a couple of sub-skills at level 0.  These might be the above
"build small boats" and "repair ship".

You can study these up to level 1 and use them, if you like.  You
can also keep studying 107 Shipbuilding to see what other sub-skills
pop out.

On your way to becoming a master shipbuilder, you might get a sub-skill
which looks like this:

9237  Shipbuilding research, level 0

Use of this skill would attempt to learn new shipbuilding uses,
unattainable through mere study.

Objection to this system:  It will take forever before you can use a skill.

Response:  Not true.  In fact, for any particular skill, you will be
	   able to use it sooner than in the current system.

I recently eased study times, so you can reach useful levels of a skill
rather quickly (level 1 in two weeks, even without guild or teacher
assistance).

You only need to know a sub-skill at level 1 to be able to use it.  So,
at most it would take you two weeks longer to learn any particular use.
However, I'll probably devalue the levels somewhat, so you'll get
Build galley at level 6 instead of 8.  You'll come out way ahead in
terms of study time required.

A level 1 Build galley unit would make okay galleys.  But galleys from
a level 6 unit might be faster and hold more.  They would certainly
fetch more when sold.

I'm also considering factoring experience into skill progression, so
you wouldn't need to spend all of your time in the library reading
books, you could learn while doing.  Perhaps high levels of a skill
would require actual field experience to attain.  The upshot of all
this is that you will pick up skills faster, so it's okay to have a
larger field of skills to study.

More ideas:  subskills for Combat, reflecting different military
maneuvers which can be done.  The magic system will be broken up
into different areas, so Summoning, Weather magic, etc. will each
be distinct with their own sub-skills (spells).

--
Rich Skrenta

References

Re: Olympia Times v4n1
srt@aero.org (Scott "TCB" Turner)
Mon, 18 May 1992 01:59:04 +0000

Referenced By

Re: Olympia Times v4n1
srt@aero.org (Scott "TCB" Turner)
Mon, 18 May 1992 01:59:04 +0000