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spider wisdom posted:It's next on my to-read list. No spoilers! It's really a good read, and I can see a lot of the Bas-Lag setting in Clockwork Empires, at least in the sense that the arcane and wholly alien is taken at face value and incorporated into the bureaucracy as best it can. "Oh, a race of chitinous bug-people just showed up at the harbor from lands unknown in bizarre clockwork ships? Are they hard workers? Show them to the nearest pipe factory, would you? My ambulatory cactus bodyguard is reminding me that I have a previous meeting arranged for today." iirc, the Mayor of New Crobuzon literally has a portal to hell in his office, and he can call up the devil for favors. EDIT: Remembering Perdido has me thinking; most of the only "good" steampunk that I've seen occurs in societies that are fundamentally unhinged in one way or another. Brutal police state. Entire roving cities eating each other whole. A slowly rotting utopia underneath the ocean. A flying beacon of progress divided by jingoistic xenophobia. Rather than presenting how awesome the spirit of Victorian exploration, invention, and etiquette are, you need to show how low people can sink in spite of innovation. And that's how Clockwork Empires suceeds. The Empire worships those same ideals to the exclusion of everything else. Who cares if that coffin is loving creepy and a sin against nature. It has to do SOMETHING productive, and by God we'll figure out what it is. Then we'll just fit it into its socket on the Grand Frame, and the whole Empire might turn towards a brighter future. Triskelli fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Nov 5, 2012 |
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Nov 5, 2012 17:33
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ToxicFrog posted:Hey, I still like spiders.  Well, I thought it was really cool when I was a kid  . I wouldn't mind the ability to make mechanical spiders.As an aside, what's with the whole Diggle thing? I'm not familiar with them (or dungeons of dreadmore, unfortunately!). Aeble fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Nov 5, 2012 |
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Nov 5, 2012 18:19
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ToxicFrog posted:I did, and I thought the Weaver was the worst kind of Deus Ex Machina and the book would have been better without it. I'm not hugely bothered by its role in the story, and I find it such a compelling character perhaps because of my interest in Avant-Garde poetry and prose poetry and so find the way it speaks and the confluence of that with its actions to be hugely engaging. That's just me. Anyway, by far the worst and most irritating kind of Deus ex Machina I ever saw was last book of Peter F. Hamiltons The Nights Dawn trilogy, which is pretty tellingly called "the Naked God" In which, having spent 3 books each over 1000 pages in length building up the idea that each each species finds its own specific way of overcoming the reality dysfunction, humanity just finds alien space jesus who hand-waves the problem away suddenly and effortlessly at the end of the last novel I mean, I see what you're saying about the Weaver, but I think it's woven into the story appropriately and consistently enough that it avoids Deus ex Machina, for me at least. The protagonists have sufficient input in the resolution of the plot besides the Weavers help, so far as I'm concerned. Anyway! Bas-lag is still awesome, and I'm about to read Iron Council. Chooo chooooooo
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Nov 5, 2012 20:32
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Triskelli posted:Remembering Perdido has me thinking; most of the only "good" steampunk that I've seen occurs in societies that are fundamentally unhinged in one way or another. Brutal police state. Entire roving cities eating each other whole. A slowly rotting utopia underneath the ocean. A flying beacon of progress divided by jingoistic xenophobia. Rather than presenting how awesome the spirit of Victorian exploration, invention, and etiquette are, you need to show how low people can sink in spite of innovation. Yeah good steampunk shouldn't idealise blindly about how great empires are or just focus on the high life of an aristocratic inventor extraordinaire. There was a lot terrible poo poo that went down regarding anyone who wasn't a white man from the upper class and having these issues examined through the steampunk lens is really what I feel it should be.
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Nov 5, 2012 21:48
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Aeble posted:
There's a great story behind that scene, although most of the internet has already heard it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYhLIThTvk Geokinesis posted:Yeah good steampunk shouldn't idealise blindly about how great empires are or just focus on the high life of an aristocratic inventor extraordinaire. There was a lot terrible poo poo that went down regarding anyone who wasn't a white man from the upper class and having these issues examined through the steampunk lens is really what I feel it should be. Even more than that -- the label "punk" when applied to fiction means stories about underdogs, social rejects, and protagonist criminals. Without that you're just writing steam fiction, and who would admit to that? 
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Nov 5, 2012 22:11
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Speaking of SCP, 882 seems like a very Clockwork Empires kind of thing. It's an enormous metal gearbox which, if it's not rusted over, spins up with apparently infinite torque. Sounds great, infinite power! Except- 1. Anything of the same metal that comes into contact with it gets pulled in and integrated into the design as yet more gears. 2. People who stay near it for any length of time start hearing the grinding noise it makes all the time, no matter what's in between them and it. 3. People who can hear the noise it makes start getting compelled to add to the structure with any metal they can find. And hey, did you know what percentage of the human body is metal?
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Nov 5, 2012 22:17
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Aeble posted:
This is a Diggle   Stop by the Dredmor thread anytime!
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Nov 5, 2012 22:58
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That first image makes me want the chance of uncovering diggle nests - just imaging twenty of them running at your newly founded colony..... You know, we spend so much time in here thinking about the eldrich horrors, and not enough imaging the run of the mill ways of dying. Are the any plans for disease? or poisonous new food stuff that taste so so good?
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Nov 6, 2012 10:42
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Grey Hunter posted:That first image makes me want the chance of uncovering diggle nests - just imaging twenty of them running at your newly founded colony..... When I speak of poor Norrys they accuse me of this hideous thing, but they must know that I did not do it. They must know it was the diggles; the prancing tottering diggles whose drilling will never let me sleep; the daemon diggles that race behind the padding in this room and beckon me down to greater horrors than I have ever known; the diggles they can never hear; the diggles, the diggles in the walls.
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Nov 6, 2012 11:08
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Pozzo posted:Oh man you just reminded me of the Weaver, has anyone else read Perdido Street Station? I vote yes for reality reconfiguring arachnids. I almost suggested the same, but then decided that the Lovecraftian elder gods that might help you or might horribly hinder you pretty much fulfil the same role. The Weaver rules, though. 
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Nov 6, 2012 11:23
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John Charity Spring posted:I almost suggested the same, but then decided that the Lovecraftian elder gods that might help you or might horribly hinder you pretty much fulfil the same role. I mean, I guess it's fundamentally the same idea, in that Lovecraftian horrors are supposed to be so far beyond our comprehension that they drive you mad, which I'm pretty sure would be the same effect of attempting absolute comprehension of the Weaver
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Nov 6, 2012 19:27
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Triskelli posted:Remembering Perdido has me thinking; most of the only "good" steampunk that I've seen occurs in societies that are fundamentally unhinged in one way or another. Brutal police state. Entire roving cities eating each other whole. A slowly rotting utopia underneath the ocean. A flying beacon of progress divided by jingoistic xenophobia. Rather than presenting how awesome the spirit of Victorian exploration, invention, and etiquette are, you need to show how low people can sink in spite of innovation. I want titles for these books, so I can read them. Pozzo posted:I'm not hugely bothered by its role in the story, and I find it such a compelling character perhaps because of my interest in Avant-Garde poetry and prose poetry and so find the way it speaks and the confluence of that with its actions to be hugely engaging. Oh, I really liked the Weaver as a character and concept, I just found its role in the story to be hugely irritating. Main characters are cornered and facing certain death or capture? Weaver saves them! Main characters about to be hosed up by a nest of dreamshit bugs? That's right, Weaver! It wasn't just the Weaver, though; I thought the book as a whole had issues with characters swooping in out of nowhere to neatly resolve problems facing the protagonists. The Weaver is just the most dramatic (and, to be fair, interesting) of them. (I did like it enough nonetheless to go on and read The Scar, which I liked much more, and Iron Council is next on my list.) quote:Anyway, by far the worst and most irritating kind of Deus ex Machina I ever saw was last book of Peter F. Hamilton's The Night's Dawn trilogy, which is pretty tellingly called "The Naked God" No argument from me, I liked the trilogy as a whole but hooooly poo poo that ending was a letdown and far worse than any of my complaints about Perdido.
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Nov 6, 2012 20:35
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ToxicFrog posted:I want titles for these books, so I can read them. Well, I'm pretty sure the underwater one is Bioshock
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Nov 6, 2012 20:40
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Lprsti99 posted:Well, I'm pretty sure the underwater one is Bioshock Three of the four are BioShock. 
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Nov 6, 2012 21:26
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*Edit* Welp, taken. eonwe fucked around with this message at 15:31 on Nov 7, 2012 |
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Nov 6, 2012 23:06
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Orv posted:Three of the four are BioShock. Which Bioshock was the roaming cannibalistic cities one? Because I'm pretty sure none of the Bioshocks had any kind of police forces or working governments.
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Nov 7, 2012 00:45
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Blog posts are now on Wednesdays. To that end, here are some People! http://www.gaslampgames.com/2012/11/07/putting-people-together/
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Nov 7, 2012 20:18
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nvining posted:Blog posts are now on Wednesdays. To that end, here are some People! They look really good, the moustaches are excellent! Cannot wait to see later shots that incorporate different skin colours into the generation of citizens.
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Nov 7, 2012 20:37
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Well, now that we have an additional ingredient for crimble, I can fairly accurately guess the recipe. First of all, the crimble crust. You want two cups of either oat or wheat flour, a cup of buttermilk and a teaspoon of sugar. Half a cup of butter is advised, but such luxury is usually reserved for crimble for special occasions or for special people. Mix them all together to something resembling batter. Then, the filling. Some poor people use fruit in their crimble, but only meat will do if you don't want to be mistaken for a peasant. You want to use a blade (or an automated blade) to mince the filling until it's roughly the consistency of glue. Then add wheat and/or oat flour until it can hold a shape. And finally, the crucial part, the preparation. Make a ball out of the filling, then surround the ball with the crust. Cook using anything - a less hard-working man may use an oven, but an open flame, preferably in an unusual color, is essentially required for us who do care about the quality of our food. The flame's color adds flavor to the food, and the metallic taste makes it clear it has none of those filthy natural components left. Fry until you can smell the smoke and the crimble's surface is roughly black in color. And now for the special part that truly separates crimble from the food made by the barbarians. That is, freezing. Proper Cogsmass crimble is frozen for at least two months - as cold as possible - and where some peasants may eat their crimble fresh, all finer members of society will insist that their crimble be well and truly frozen. Where anyone can have their Cogsmass crimble properly frozen, given the temperatures, being able to enjoy proper crimble in the summer is a mark of both wealth and taste. And now all that's left is to enjoy it. Let the crimble thaw to room temperature overnight, add lard, petroleum or butter to taste, and if any younger members of society are present, remember a fine birch switch to, if so necessary, remind them of the importance of appreciating proper crimble. EDIT: Cleared foreign measurements. Ahem. endlessmonotony fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Nov 7, 2012 |
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Nov 7, 2012 21:29
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I can just anticipate fashion wars amongst the people. As the middle class is able to approximate the nobility closer and closer, the nobility will of course have to change the fashion.
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Nov 7, 2012 22:07
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Iunnrais posted:I can just anticipate fashion wars amongst the people. As the middle class is able to approximate the nobility closer and closer, the nobility will of course have to change the fashion. ... it's mainly about hats, actually.
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Nov 7, 2012 22:28
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ColonelMuttonchops posted:Which Bioshock was the roaming cannibalistic cities one? Because I'm pretty sure none of the Bioshocks had any kind of police forces or working governments. Roving cities eating each other was the not-BioShock one, actually. BioShock 1 (or was it 2?) had a police state in place before you showed up for a little while, according to audio logs. Though less actual police and more "the people with guns run poo poo". nvining posted:... it's mainly about hats, actually. Isn't it always? Orv fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Nov 7, 2012 |
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Nov 7, 2012 22:30
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nvining posted:... it's mainly about hats, actually. Procedurally generated hats? Please don't feel it necessary to implement such a thing on my account, just asking...
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Nov 7, 2012 22:32
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Iunnrais posted:Procedurally generated hats? Hat Designer to go with the Building Designer tool. Build a Hat Factory, get access to design your own hats!
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Nov 7, 2012 23:08
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Orv posted:Roving cities eating each other was the not-BioShock one, actually. BioShock 1 (or was it 2?) had a police state in place before you showed up for a little while, according to audio logs. Though less actual police and more "the people with guns run poo poo". I haven't played 2, but 1 had a rapidly collapsing libertopian nightmare that tried to turn into a police state briefly and then ended up as the anarchic wasteland the player arrives in, yes. I still want to know about the flying beacon of progress and the roving cannibalistic cities, though!
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Nov 7, 2012 23:11
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Hey, I've been wasting too much money lately, I probably shouldn't preorder more gaDaynab posted:"Steampunk Dwarf Fortress meets Anno with Lovecraft Influences."  Well, poo poo. edit: It isn't possible to preorder it yet, so I'm saved.
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Nov 7, 2012 23:13
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ToxicFrog posted:I still want to know about the flying beacon of progress and the roving cannibalistic cities, though! Columbia, the new city in BioShock Infinite, is a flying city that was a technological marvel and lead to the progression of technology for America. Of course, it's now torn in two (metaphorically) by rival factions, one of which is superjingoist and the other which is more accepting of minorities. Infinte's timeline, kinda spoilery. E: Roving cannibalistic cities I can't comment on. Orv fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Nov 7, 2012 |
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Nov 7, 2012 23:15
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Orv posted:E: Roving cannibalistic cities I can't comment on. Gone for three days, and you guys couldn't hazard a guess? I'm referring to Phillip Reeve's book series, alternatively known as The Mortal Engines Quartet, the Predator Cities series, or the Hungry City Chronicles in the US. After the apocalypse, all the cities of Europe have strapped on tank treads and rove about the countryside, "eating" up smaller cities in a perverted display of Social Darwinism. But yeah, the remainder of titles were guessed at, "brutal police state" referred to Perdido Street Station, though. On topic though, I love the models, but the discolored skin on the character models makes them look more like zombies than citizens. Temporary I know, but it's a little disconcerting.
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Nov 8, 2012 20:44
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I found this thread a couple of days ago, thought it looked interesting, and bookmarked it. I only just caught up with reading about what the game actually *is*, and I have to give my utmost applause to the devs behind it! This game looks utterly astounding - it hits a spot for citybuilding, RTS-ish elements and a community simulator (like Dwarf Fortress, of which I could never penetrate the less-than-helpful UI/graphics). The lore behind everything is incredible (I just read the first blog of the Sogwood settlement); you all have hit the nail on the head when it comes to that 19th-century British colonialist outlook. As I read more about the individual-citizen behaviour, the assigning method of work (which I've fallen in love with lately - it makes things feel more organic) and the whole losing-as-fun ethos... I'm smitten  I don't really have much to add to the thread, apart from... keep doing what you're doing, I guess. The game has definitely jumped onto my watchlist! Now to read all the blog entries...
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Nov 10, 2012 17:38
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ColonelMuttonchops posted:Which Bioshock was the roaming cannibalistic cities one? Because I'm pretty sure none of the Bioshocks had any kind of police forces or working governments. That sounds like Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series, which starts with the book of the same name. Now that I think of it some of the characters in that series would fit into CE very well (Overzealous scientists, skeezy archaeologist novel-writer, ancient cyborgs, heroic airship pilots, etc etc)
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Nov 10, 2012 18:16
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Cicadalek posted:That sounds like Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series, which starts with the book of the same name. Now that I think of it some of the characters in that series would fit into CE very well (Overzealous scientists, skeezy archaeologist novel-writer, ancient cyborgs, heroic airship pilots, etc etc) Triskelli two posts up posted:Gone for three days, and you guys couldn't hazard a guess? I'm referring to Phillip Reeve's book series, alternatively known as The Mortal Engines Quartet, the Predator Cities series, or the Hungry City Chronicles in the US. After the apocalypse, all the cities of Europe have strapped on tank treads and rove about the countryside, "eating" up smaller cities in a perverted display of Social Darwinism. I think you may be right. I've been looking for something to read, too, so I may grab that.
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Nov 10, 2012 18:25
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Triskelli posted:On topic though, I love the models, but the discolored skin on the character models makes them look more like zombies than citizens. Temporary I know, but it's a little disconcerting. Now I want the ability to make zombie servants that nobles can have in their households that occasionally go insane and eat their brains. They also can be used on giant treadmills or hamster wheels to generate power.
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Nov 11, 2012 00:34
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Deadmeat5150 posted:Now I want the ability to make zombie servants that nobles can have in their households that occasionally go insane and eat their brains. They also can be used on giant treadmills or hamster wheels to generate power. Better yet, put convicted criminals in front of them on the treadmill. The zombie is chained near the back of the treadmill, the con chained to the sides in a way that he can slide from the front all the way to the back (with the zombie), and he's in reach of the zombie unless he pushes forward, causing the treadmill to move. Likewise, as the zombie tries to reach him, the chain prevents the zombie from moving forward, so it powers the treadmill as well. And, if the con stops moving, the treadmill carries him back to the zombie.
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Nov 11, 2012 02:29
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Triskelli posted:Gone for three days, and you guys couldn't hazard a guess? I'm referring to Phillip Reeve's book series, alternatively known as The Mortal Engines Quartet, the Predator Cities series, or the Hungry City Chronicles in the US. Traveling "predator" cities also appeared 50 years earlier in the Cities in Flight series by James Blish. It's really interesting science fiction because of the entire role of the anti-gravity flying, traveling cities are meant to approximate migrant worker "Okies" like in the Grapes of Wrath. James Blish explored a lot of social commentary like Steinbeck in the way he imagined the future in Cities in Flight . Cities that have failed and gone broke become unable to afford food, repairs, and anti-aging medicine and are forced to be broken up or become piratical predators against their fellow cities. That said, I think it would be really interesting if past (failed or abandoned) settlements could interact with your current settlement. Like having the half starved/mad/cursed citizens from other players games emigrate into your current city. Being able to recognize in the lucky escapees of horrible disasters as the names of survivors from previous playthroughs might be a neat touch.
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Nov 11, 2012 03:54
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Just found this thread a few days ago and good lord this game looks insane, and insanely awesome. Just a few questions, sorry if these were answered (I only skimmed the thread) -Is the world technically infinite like Minecraft or are there different map sizes? I was imagining once you get a large enough colony you could build distant watch posts and research stations, if any colony can last that long and get that big. -Is the ocean going to be a playable area or do you just have a harbor and that's that? I saw sea monsters are in the game and it would be awesome to send out a navy (supported by an armada of airships) to fight them. -Are there any benefits to aristocrats or do they just suck? I saw that you can get prestige to buy emergency things from the capital, I would hope that rich people in your colony can do the same thing and call in favors or something (or just give you more prestige)
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Nov 13, 2012 04:15
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Dreadwind posted:-Are there any benefits to aristocrats or do they just suck? I saw that you can get prestige to buy emergency things from the capital, I would hope that rich people in your colony can do the same thing and call in favors or something (or just give you more prestige) I'd honestly love it if they were just useless annoying lumps, in an attempt by the developers to copy Dwarf Fortress' nobles. Why? Because finding creative ways to kill your nobles was one of the most satisfying things in Dwarf Fort, and with steam and cogs it would only get better. 
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Nov 13, 2012 19:59
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All I want to know is 'will it possible to recreate the basic premise of Ghostbusters II?'
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Nov 13, 2012 20:04
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Snowbot posted:I'd honestly love it if they were just useless annoying lumps, in an attempt by the developers to copy Dwarf Fortress' nobles. Why? Because finding creative ways to kill your nobles was one of the most satisfying things in Dwarf Fort, and with steam and cogs it would only get better. Now now sah, if we inserted our nobles into recombobulative units and turned them into plowshares or steam tanks, we'd be no better than those.. other gents in the The République Mécanique!
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Nov 13, 2012 21:47
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I just found out about this game. And I'm not happy. It sounds like the most awesome thing ever, and won't be out for ages. Now I'm going to be sitting here for who knows how many months just salivating. Dehydration is going to be an issue. Seriously, steampunk lovecraftian Dwarf Fortress... it's like it's targeting my soul with uncanny precision. And those stories... that story released on Halloween was the first thing I read about this game and... good god. It's perfect. I don't have the time to keep up with the Dwarf Fortress succession games these days, but I had a ton of fun writing for Talllabored and Syrupleaf, and if this game provides half the hilarity and fun of Dwarf Fortress I could see myself really getting into this. Dreadwind posted:-Are there any benefits to aristocrats or do they just suck? I saw that you can get prestige to buy emergency things from the capital, I would hope that rich people in your colony can do the same thing and call in favors or something (or just give you more prestige) Aristocrats and nobles are, as in real life, an obstacle to be overcome. Though it does sound like at the very least they do work... not the work you want them to do mind you, the work they want to do. Like that big game hunter in the first gameplay writeup. If you got prestige bonuses for placating them, and penalties for pissing them off or killing them... well, that would make sense, given that prestige represents how the establishment in the home country views you. But honestly, if they're more trouble than they're worth, I'd consider that a good design feature. Tias posted:Now now sah, if we inserted our nobles into recombobulative units and turned them into plowshares or steam tanks, we'd be no better than those.. other gents in the The République Mécanique! 
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Nov 13, 2012 22:15
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I REALLY hope one of the nobles is an Indiana Jones/Would be heroic explorer, whom upon actually succeeding in unearthing That-Which-Should-Not-Be-Moved, demands it to be put in a museum of your own construction, and the horrible, horrible spirals that will come out of it as you struggle to build said place and house what should not be housed. Infact, i just hope a bunch of the nobles live up to stereotypes, including heroic ones. Band of adventurers off to raid the dungeon you just found? They die inside it and now the horrors are awake, grumpy and hungry. AND the news papers are claiming their deeds to be a "heroic death", which is only making it worse because more would be heroes are coming to help and... and... 
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Nov 13, 2012 22:40
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