Platform Change And Other Random Notes

I'm primarily developing on a Windows Vista system now rather than Ubuntu. This means that my primary focus will be on Windows, but Ubuntu is available inside a virtual box easily enough. I should still be able to provide Linux builds.

Towns - I plan on making multiple towns with different populations, industries, and etc depending on geographic location. However, for the sake of early simplicity (and I haven't wrote up world generation yet), towns will have items that come from every location. In a short while I'll write constraints for areas on which materials can be found.

NPCs - I want the NPCs in Stone and Steel to have some flavor. I'll have a basic scheduling system for the AI to hunt/fish, eat, sleep, and whatever else their daily lives may require. I think I'll write the schedule instructions in a moddable file, but hardcode to whom the schedule is given. That way villages don't end up with 100% butchers and no hunters, for example. As for conversations, there's not an easy way to make things not generic in a completely random world. I'll be trying to make every topic discuss-able though.

Raids - Raids on towns would be a neat feature. Raids would be composed of creatures in nearby environs that are allied together, or at least not enemies, and enemies with the town. A basic faction system will be in place very soon, but it won't do much good, other than determining enemies to the player, until neat features like this are implemented.

Constrained Random Generation - As much as I want the game to be completely random, there would be some things that are just out of place for the environment. I'll be using some sort of constraint system when generating items for an area to keep a strong sense of setting and structure.

As always, feel free to comment/critique the ideas. My current focus is on towns and NPC interaction. This may shift back towards combat soon enough. Also, I'm adding a TODO page for this blog.