AMPU Updates

[vcczar]

I've created this thread so people can check the progress on the CPU game I'm making, which is planned for development in Late Spring/Early Summer. 

[vcczar]

Update 4/8:

I'm currently still working on filling out the Scripted Events, Legislative Proposals, War Charts, and Presidential Actions for the Era of Independence (1774-1788) and for the Era of the Future (beyond the present to 2099). This is likely going to take me several days and possibly up to a week. 

Following this I'll create the rules for these new eras, assuming @MrPotatoTedhas finished improving the language of the rules and such. 

After this is done, a new playtest can begin. While the playtest is going on, I'll go through every spreadsheet again an look for obsolete directions/language, fill any holes, and possibly make the spreadsheets more user-friendly for use in developing the game. 

Once this is done, and assuming I don't think of anything else I need to do. I will improve my drafts of the screens. 

I think it will be time for development once all of this done. 

[vcczar]

Update: I'm editing a 60,000+ manuscript for someone that's due in a week. This will cut into my time to work on the game significantly. I'll still work every day on it, but we might not get to playtesting for a week or more. 

[vcczar]

I need a volunteer. We now have a database of given names and surnames. However, we need the CPU to know what gender a given name is and what race or religion is often attached with a surname, etc. 

We got A LOT of names but a lot are also duplicated. Let me know if you have time to do this. 

@ConservativeElector2 @Hestia @Zenobiyl or anyone else that would like to help out on AMPU. 

[Hestia]

I need to finish the 80s elections, then if I work on the spreadsheet for the playtest as well, I'm not sure that I'll have time to pick up an additional task, with school still going on and all. 

[vcczar]

I've finished filling out the Era of Independence Scripted Events and Legis Proposals. I'll need to do other actions next and integrate this era into the spreadsheets. I might wait in filling out Era of the Future for these reasons:

• It's a massive era so it needs a massive number of Legis Props and actions to feel as full as the other eras.
• It's so geared towards science and tech that anyone that isn't holding these lobbies have a huge weakness. I need to balance it out. 
• I've still got a lot to do to have the game ready and I might be able to do Era of the Future once other parts of the game are being worked on. 

Basically, everything that is remaining is stuff only I can do, except maybe attaching gender to names in the name generator. I might need some help later if I change how information is held in the spreadsheets. 

[vcczar]

Special rules for Era of Independence are now ready. 

[vcczar]

War Charts and War Treaty for Rev War now ready. The Canadian invasion can be used as a bargaining chip to end the war early with an outside possibility of annexing Canada. This war chart will need to be tested to make sure it isn't impossible to win. 

[vcczar]

Set the meters for every era in the game. For most of US history, the various ideologies are fairly balanced between both parties, aside from traditionalists. By 2000, all but moderates are firmly in one part or the other. 

[vcczar]

I've now added all the historical era lingering effects, biases, bonuses, etc., etc. for every era. Most were filled out already but some weren't. None of Era of Independence or Era of the Future info was there, but it is now there. 

[vcczar]

Now adding Era of Independence actions for Governors. This spreadsheet will have to be filled out completely at some point soon. 

[vcczar]

I've now filled out all of the Gov Actions, including those for the Era of Independence.

Up next: Adding ratio of Gen Events occurring for Era of Ind and Era of Future 

I'll do that tomorrow. After that, I'll add anything else from my "to do" list before going back over the screens. The game should be "ready" by May 1st. 

 

[vcczar]

45 minutes ago, vcczar said:

I've now filled out all of the Gov Actions, including those for the Era of Independence.

Up next: Adding ratio of Gen Events occurring for Era of Ind and Era of Future 

I'll do that tomorrow. After that, I'll add anything else from my "to do" list before going back over the screens. The game should be "ready" by May 1st. 

 

I went ahead and filled out the Gen Events for Era of Ind and Era of Future. Might add some new ones specific for Era of the Future. 

[vcczar]

Set rules for generated politicians in the game. In the Era of the Future, players will be able to draft any player so that parties can start resorting themselves and evolve their ideology to meet the dynamic future. 

I really like the name generated. I added some crazy names to it, but most of them come from historic names. I've also added the names of all of those who have helped make the game. Here's a sample draft class for the Era of the Future: 

1. Bob Pepper
2. Margaret Wolf
3. Ossian Strong
4. Angus Granger
5. Shiva Law
6. Rahm Levin
7. John Walker
8. Alfred Presley
9. Malala McKellar
10. Jewett Bloomfield
11. Anthony Gravelove
12. Deacon Herrick
13. Alexander Sotomayor
14. Robert Blaine
15. Elizabeth Hearst
16. Gordon Gravel
17. John Allen
18. Gilbert Castro
19. Henry Holcolmb
20. Cathay Duff
21. Scott Tremblay
22. Merrick Randolph
23. Josiah Grassley
24. Gabriel McHenry
25. Clyde Crockett
26. Gray Danforth
27. Ebenezer Hoar
28. Lee Guthrie
29. Hoyt Williams
30. Harold Blackburn
31. Sherman Park
32. Grace Frelinghuysen
33. Presley Dixon
34. Gus Koch
35. Anna Fitzgerald
36. Okey Bowsher
37. Len Fudge
38. Pierre Madison
39. Madeleine Gill
40. Jim Fortin
41. Santa Duncan
42. Roger Bulloch
43. Marco La Follette
44. Brereton Noble
45. Purgatory Lott
46. Keith Yu
47. Cheri Moore
48. Gabby Folk
49. Adlai Mattocks
50. Eggburst Jones

One generated politician will be noticeably more talented than the rest. There will be 9 second-tier politicians, and then 20 third tier and 20 bottom tier. In addition to the generated Era of the Future drafts. I have rules for when a politician needs to be generated within the historical timeline. For instance, MT needs a governor but no player has a politician eligible for the spot. If this is the case, a politician is generated with 1 Gov ability and the spot goes to the player with the lowest score. 

@Beetlejuice @Cal @ConservativeElector2 @Dobs @Edouard @Hestia @jnewt @MrPotatoTed @Rezi @Rodja @Sean F Kennedy @vcczar @WVProgressive @Zenobiyl

[Dobs]

1 minute ago, vcczar said:

Eggburst Jones

Now this is podracing.

[vcczar]

Just now, Dobs said:

Now this is podracing.

I know the movie that has podracing, but I'm unsure what you mean by that statement. 

[vcczar]

Added hypothetical EVs through the 2090 US Census. Additionally, I've added hypothetic EVs for potential states. Brazil and the Philippines would dominate the US Representatives. Fortunately, it's very difficult to acquire these places and rare to even get the chance to do so. 

[ConservativeElector2]

11 minutes ago, vcczar said:

Added hypothetical EVs through the 2090 US Census. Additionally, I've added hypothetic EVs for potential states. Brazil and the Philippines would dominate the US Representatives. Fortunately, it's very difficult to acquire these places and rare to even get the chance to do so. 

Yeah I really hope that the US will have in let's say 95% of the games nearly the shape it has in real life. That's what I would expect from playing a US political game. If it's common that the US just looks like a half cookie with a Senate of 36 people in 2020, I'd be rather disappointed as a gamer to be honest. Especially if that's too common.

[vcczar]

1 minute ago, ConservativeElector2 said:

Yeah I really hope that the US will have in let's say 95% of the games nearly the shape it has in real life. That's what I would expect from playing a US political game. If it's common that the US just looks like a half cookie with a Senate of 36 people in 2020, I'd be rather disappointed as a gamer to be honest. Especially if that's too common.

My guess is that the US will be 50 states more than half the time. I'm not sure if that will be 60% of the time or 98% of the time. I think getting the 50 states won't be to difficult. I think it will be hardest for players that dislike expansion for moral reasons, such as refusing to take Native American tribal lands, even if it is just a computer game. You might have pacifists that refuse to wage war with Mexico. It really depends. The CPU will likely aid in expanding, but if you are playing with 7 other humans, and a lot of them are progressives that stick to their personal ideology even in the game, then you might be the 13 original states for the entire game! I doubt that happens very often though. I'm more worried about the game too often being about taking over the world. if that's the case, South America will basically run the country. Fortunately, it's rare to have the opportunity. 

[vcczar]

Governors now have the chance of changing their state's primary to earlier or later in the calendar. 

[vcczar]

A random Gov of each party will set the delegate #s for primaries/conventions -- there will be 5 allocation options. 

[vcczar]

3 minutes ago, Patine said:

Wait, wait, what? I must have missed something in my skimming. Brazil and the Philippines? How do you figure? (My personal belief that the U.S. will far more likely Balkanize rather than become a huge, mega-empire, aside, here).

Balkanization and Expansion are possible in the game. US controlled the Philippines for several decades as a territory. Brazil is much harder to explain. The slave state expansionists, once abolitionism became more prominent, considered expanding the country Southward to create more slave states. Some dreamed of the Caribbean, some dreamed of Mexico, some dreamed of Central America, and some thought the goal was annexing the entire Western Hemisphere. 

The game isn't really about territorial gain but the game allows for it, although the option to get Brazil and other places will be very rare.

[vcczar]

6 minutes ago, Patine said:

I don't recall seeing Brazil on any of the Golden Crescent ambition maps. I've never seen them dip that far south. That must have been another scheme, perhaps related.

It was mentioned in some book I read years ago. It was certainly a minority ambition, hence why it will rarely happen in a playthrough. 

[MrPotatoTed]

10 hours ago, vcczar said:

Added hypothetical EVs through the 2090 US Census. Additionally, I've added hypothetic EVs for potential states. Brazil and the Philippines would dominate the US Representatives. Fortunately, it's very difficult to acquire these places and rare to even get the chance to do so. 

Maybe they need to be broken into smaller states?  Hard to imagine Brazil would join as a single state.  It's 5 times the size of Alaska, our biggest state.

[vcczar]

• Fixed some minor things in Legis Props. 
• Breaking up large hypothetical states into more states
  • Brazil is now 5 states. The Super State of Rio is going to be the largest potential state in the game in regards to population.
  • South American states have been broken up into several more states. 
  • Central America is now split into three states
  • Caribbean is split into more states
  • Mexico is now 5 states
  • Canada is now 5 states 
  • Philippines is now 3 states