Hi Everyone, I have been unusually quiet for the last few weeks (post Winter Holidays,) and I wanted to let everyone know what I have been up to and that I did not fall into a snowbank somewhere :) My brain has been totally occupied with a new system that has caused a domino effect with other cool potential additions, which I shall explain below. Note: Usually I update the Testing Branch at least a couple times a week, and I know the testing branch crew (anyone can join) have been particularly wondering what's going on. I have not been able to update the testing branch because the system that I am currently working on is very much in progress, evolving and quite large. [h2]So What Happened[/h2] When I got back to work after the holidays, the first thing I did was continue the Outcast Mother's story with "The Father Returns" That eureka moment mentioned in the Update 13 notes where I was able to create group based tasks via the Story Element system allowed me to assign some Guards to the Outcast Father, and that is where things got...interesting, and where the last 3 weeks vanished for me in the blink of an eye. So the Outcast Father comes back demanding the Mother and Child return. This lead me to do a lot of thinking and MANY prototypes on what conflict could mean in Clanfolk. The Outcast Father likely would not just leave, so there had to be the danger of a fight. So how to to handle this? I didn't want to dive straight into traditional combat, so I needed something completely different and hopefully more personal. I also needed a system that would work for Tax Collectors, Emissaries from the King, and Conflict from within the Clan. One system to rule them all. If the end result was a fight, how did we get there? The important part is why did the fight break out. So after many iterations, I am ready to at least explain the system and show the current interface. It is vitally important to explain that this is a glimpse of current development and the end result may change as I work on it and get opinions. But you all do deserve to at least see what is going on behind the scenes and what it all currently means. So again, this is "in-progress" design work and over the last few weeks have undergone a lot of iteration and this is likely not final, but I am very excited about showing it none the less. [h1]The Negotiation System[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41036152/7cbf38b472bdb252d148475045f32bf008ea6898.jpg[/img] So, the Negotiation System is now fully integrated into the Story Element system, and some Story Element choices will now trigger Negotiations. A Negotiation is a real time conversation between your Clan Leader (more on this later) and a Messenger of some sort (in this case a very angry Father.) The goal in the Negotiation is to move the Patience, Authority, and Courage values to the required thresholds to allow the desired choice to be picked. It is like a battle of wits. The Negotiation progresses between the two Clanfolk, each speaking and responding based on their Personality Traits (more on this later.) The Player guides the flow of the conversation, using the Conversation Topics slider seen in the picture above. This is a balancing act because the further the player deviates from the Clanfolk's natural personality, the more forced the conversation becomes and the quicker the Patience decreases. Patience reaching 0 is a failure case for the conversation, and in this case would mean a fight breaks out. The player wants a particular outcome, BUT, the Clan Leader is their own person and will tend to have either a more Aggressive or Persuasive personality type. This means that when an Aggressive person picks an Aggressive conversation topic, that topic would have more impact overall. They are just better at being intimidating. Having a very aggressive leader negotiate with the Angry Father is probably very effective (and believable), but not so much with a Tax Collector who has the might of the King behind them. The player may shift the conversation topics slider to the Persuasive side, but the more they shift the conversation, the less natural it will be and the quicker patience decreases. The Conversation will progress live in the game and the other non player participant will make their own choices as well. So while the Patience ticks down, the conversation will start to unfold and between the Clan Leader's personality and the Other. The Player does their best to weight the topics to get the result they want, but it is not guaranteed. So the choice of Clan Leader directly impacts what choices likely become available as the Negotiation progresses. If we look at the image above, for "Demand Andrew leaves the area" to be valid, Andrew's Courage needs to be quite low, and Andrew's sense of Authority also must be diminished. On the other hand, this demand can be made at any Patience level. So the player wants to get the White lines into the dark yellow portions of the meter by guiding the Conversation... Or using other means. [h2]Other Means[/h2] A very powerful side effect of the Negotiation taking place over time is that environmental factors can also modify how the Authority and Courage values change over time. Triggering the Negotiation in a favorable environment can add environmental Afflictions to either side of the Negotiation. A couple scenarios below will demonstrate. In the Case where it is desirable to have the Courage bar very low, the Player could position some of their Clanfolk near the Negotiation as backup. In the picture above, Poor William is all alone, facing Andrew and three guards, but in the case where William had a dozen Clanfolk supporting him, Andrew's Courage would naturally decrease over time as an "Outnumbered" Affliction could be triggered. In the Case of trying to impress a visitor, Meeting them in a grandly appointed Clan Hall, could give just the authority boost needed. On the other hand, meeting the Tax Collector next to the dump may be a smart idea if trying to explain how poorly the Clan has been doing. Currently these examples are all theoretical, but I really love the idea of these Negotiations taking place over time like a little mental battle and having unit placement and environment matter. [h2]Clan Leader[/h2] The Idea of a Clan Leader has been on my mind for a while, but now with the Negotiation System, their role has become very important. The choice of leader and their personality would really guide the future of the Clan. The system for choosing the Clan leader as well as the outcomes from within the Clan if multiple people thought themselves in line for the role will also lead to a whole new set of Negotiations and interpersonal relationships/alliances. The Clan Leader system will likely develop over time as the Negotiation System itself is the priority right now. For Update 14, I want to focus mainly on expanding the Story Generator using the new Negotiation System which puts us in a great position for delivering the Year 2+ content in an interesting way. I suspect Update 15 will be about fleshing out the Clan Leader system. [h2]Elephant in the Room[/h2] So, this whole Outcast Father returns with guards has lead to another obvious question. Combat? Well not exactly. I want to keep to the spirit of Clanfolk which is a peaceful homstead in 1300's Scotland and not the front line of a warzone. But I also realize that in some cases arguments will get physical, and I think there is a good solution to this. In 1300's Scotland, there were still laws and people having disputes did not randomly murder each other, for the most part. So in the case where words fail them, the Clanfolk will be able to get physical, but not stabby. This system will be an extension of the Negotiation system and is directly connected to Courage/Intimidation. The goal is not to kill an opponent, it is to get them to flee or surrender. Based on the outcome of a Negotiation, the level of the Courage bar will be given to all the "enemies" on the map. (but modified by their personal attributes. This means new quirks like being fearless or a coward come into play) So a fight can break out, but this Courage bar is "mostly" what is taking the brunt of the damage vs health (though health will go down, and more importantly injuries will happen.) Again, unit placement is important here. Someone who is surrounded will have a negative Courage affliction, diminishing their courage per second. Call the deerhounds, enemy afraid of dogs, boom, they may flee. If someone gets pushed, or a particularly nasty insult is thrown from the nearby mob, or is hit with a Haggis, more Courage loss. So the end result is supposed to be more of a brawl, with shoving, insults, and positioning. The goal is to make it interesting to watch, but also remaining mostly hands off. I don't want this to be an RTS or a bloodbath. Just an argument that got out of control. There are a few large positives from this. Injuries are a great way to modify gameplay and give some long term consequences. All kinds of new quirks become valuable in relation to personality. And we don't kill off our story actors, so the Player can get to know them when they return looking for trouble in the future. I am going to get back to work on this now. As you can see there are a LOT of moving and interconnected parts, but the whole interconnectedness is what I think will make it awesome :) Thanks again everyone! Andrew Hume (Blorf) MinMax Games Ltd.