Re: Technical Question

From: "Rob Harper" <stateofmind@breathemail.net>

Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 00:00:00 +0000

Chris Williams wrote...
> I'm working on my PBM, which will be computer moderated, and I've come to
my
> first major hurdle. (Ok, perhaps not major, but significant...)
>
>
> 1st question: What is the fairest method for processing identical orders
> issued in the same location at same time.
>
> Ex: Player A and Player T are both in a room, and there is a piece of
> treasure on the floor. Assuming they are both an equal distance from the
> treasure, and they issue orders in the same sequence (i.e. move, move,
> grab), how do you determine who gets it?  Pure random?

In a game like that, I would assume that characters have some sort of
speed or agility attribute/statistic.  In that case, you could use
some sort of randomness, modified by that speed stat.

> 2nd question: When you have a dungeon full of characters, monsters and
NPCs,
> how do you process all the orders simultaneously?
> Assuming each character (and monster & NPC) can perform multiple actions
per
> turn. Do you:
> a) loop through each map location and process everyones (including
monsters
> and NPCs) first action, then loop through and process 2nd action, 3rd,
> etc...
> b) loop through each character and process each first action, then repeat
> for 2nd, 3rd, etc
> c) another way I haven't thought of
>
> B doesn't really seem fair as the same characters would always go first,
> right? Unless you sort the list by Character (or monster) speed.

I'd probably use something like (b) but use the character's speed, plus
a bit of randomness to determine the sequence of action.  Or, if you
want things to be a bit more predictable for the players, sort by speed
and break ties at random.

Good luck,
Rob.
--
--------------------------------------------------
State of Mind [Too much work and not enough brain]
Take a look at: http://users.breathemail.net/stateofmind/
and find out about postal games and other time wasting activities.

References

Technical Question
"Chris Williams" <williac6@rjrt.com>
Wed, 19 Jul 2000 00:00:00 +0000