AfterWorld::The Phenomenon

There is a very special feeling to the AfterWorld. It's very faint, but it's always there--behind all the forms, lights and colors around you.

It's hard to put a finger on it and not everyone can dig it.
Some people among those who can feel it don't appreciate it much, because...

It's the pure existential sadness.

It's like somewhere deep down there's this painful memory of the Paradise we've lost, mixed with the ancient Byzantine belief that all our attempts to (re)create the Paradise on Earth are ultimately destined to fail.

The only option left is to admit this bitter truth and try to face it with courage and dignity.

AfterWorld::Three Theories On Robot Hacking

the first theory - robot hacking is a hidden and locked taming profession

very high level of pet taming skill unlocks the robot hacking
all the mobs in the game make up one big ladder and you have to go through all of them from the tiny slugroach to the meanest drone to reach the top

the second theory - robot hacking is a hidden and locked crafting profession

it takes high level in something similar to hacking, like: computers, information, terminal interaction, knowledge, experimentation, etc
seems logical - the crafting is an interesting trade, but pretty soon people are through all that there is to craft, what then?
it would make sense to provide something new to them, some unique field of activity that works like maze or a mindgame - something for the guys with the big heads who don't care much for shooting the big guns

the third theory - robot hacking is a hidden and locked profession,
it requires a certain level in 2 skills from 2 different areas to unlock

however, it is a profession, so there should be some overlapping skills with the other professions

if so then it would show at least a tiny progress on behalf of the other skills that we already have - but it stands on the firm zero... seems the robot hacking is simply not implemented yet

now, from the devs point of view - as a developer i can work on this feature later, when someones skills are coming close to the designated treshold values in my master plan.
i think one day we will open our professions sheet and see that the zero behind the robot hacking is gone..

that day we will know that the bots are online.

AfterWorld::A Day in a Life

The story of the noobot AxelRod "Trample" Gunnarson

It all started easy and slow. When French Conquerors asked if i can help in their noobot run none of us could foresee how it all will end...

As i had the highest defense skills I took the job of carrying the noobot through the Labyrinth of Death, the courier's job.
Already in "Bear's Den" we meet the first green dot, somebody's waiting for us with few bears and wolfs
It's Syava from Highlanders. He dies fast, but as revival is close he is soon again on our trail. So he has to go back to start once again.
Everything on our way dies fast and easy, the mood is high. The noobot suddenly speaks up: "u guyz rock :) ...how long u play?" .. 
It's the calm before the st0rm - the word about our location and direction of movement has already got out.

At Main/East crossroad 2 more green dots appear on the radar: Snuffy (Pleasure and Power) and Mirror (NAP). Good for us, Mirror joins up with our team.

We meet St0rm (Shadow Corpse) near the lake, and pretty soon we lose our 1st team member, Windslow. We try to take down St0rm, but he is not easy to kill. No time to waste, the clock is ticking, so we give up and keep going.

In the valley NE from the lake i succeed in making 75 damage hit with my Akinakes Dak. St0rm's not ready for that, so he scores a free trip to the nearest revival - which at that point, unfortunately, is ahead of us.

Mirror follows, to clear the road and keep St0rm busy, but i can't follow - the courier has to go all the way on foot.
A moment of peace, only me and my soc mate Axle (Irken Invaders). I look at the coords, and at the clock.. and then i realize i'm in trouble. We had wasted too many time, it's almost impossible to make it from here to the noobot pad in time.

From that moment on i'm going at full speed, not doing anything but drinking the Red bears, and dragging everything i meet on the road after me. Soon the radar shows i have a long red tail.

The lines pop up in chat:

2010-08-06 20:46:07 [T] Mirror Fair: killed him
2010-08-06 20:46:32 [T] Mirror Fair: where are you?
2010-08-06 20:46:43 [T] Fifth: N from revival
2010-08-06 20:46:50 [T] Mirror Fair: kk
2010-08-06 20:46:57 [T] Fifth: damn, 5 min left

By the time i reach the others near the NE outpost, Shadow Corpse has got enforcements, i can see SFF, and St0rm has revived again too. Mirror keeps them busy and i rush past them like an express train.

When i see the noobot pad over the last valley i know already i will not make it.. the time runs out when i reach the last plateau. Silent "explosion" of the Dark matter, damage 370 points, blood, i'm falling down.. the last thing i see is St0rm running up to me and looking at my corpse.

We had won all the battles, but lost the war..

Well, at least now i know how exactly it explodes!

AfterWorld::Regional Transportation

the general idea is not new - the pets should be usable for riding/transport

all the transport besides cars could copy what is historically present: riding the reindeers in taiga, using the sledge or riding them, horses in the steppes and mountains and camels in the desert.

pets should be region-dependent - reindeer's health starts dropping the faster the warmer is the region, and camel starts feeling bad in the snow. also, all pets should get weary after passing long distances, and will need long time to eat and rest - the heavier was their load the faster they run down and the longer time they need for recovery. pack animals are no match for the mechanical transportation on the long distances and for the heavy loads.

the principle of region-dependency is usable for other things too, not only for the transport. there could be some tools, clothes, weapons and even buildings (if they will be constructable)that require a little different skills in each region.
on top of that, there might be some special mobs with unique damage types in each region - to gain avoidances against this you have to live there, and hunt with the local community.

the result will be - you can't ride into a new region on your brand new shiny car and feel like a king there - the natives will be far better than you in the mountains, you can't even follow with the car where they can go riding their pets, and trying to chase them on foot will be just a waste of time..

the ASP's of the region-specific stuff should be extremely hard to get for the outsiders (rare drops) - you either buy the stuff from the locals, or you buy the ASP's from them, if you can become friends with them - or if you can afford to pay enough.. ;)

the plains and long roads belong to the cars, but cars can't pass upsurges, thick forests, rivers and swamps - these areas belong to the pets... will be much harder to code, but the result will be much more realistic than riding the mountains in the car at the full speed.


if you put it all together, the outlines of the new world will take shape..

you can no longer be an "uber-hunter-jack-of-all-trades" at once - you can only be the best hunter in one region. if you move over to another region, you have to start it all over again(well, not all of it, but still..)

if you choose the career of the ultimate adventurer/mercenary who feels at home everywhere he goes, you have to live in all regions, get to know all the local people, learn their trade, skill their tools and weapons and get to know the local wildlife and landscape.. all these secret paths and fords on the mountain rivers of this huge territory, hundreds of square miles..

imagine the "natives" (read: noobs of the local region) defending their turf against heavily armored and highly skilled societies who run the global transportation and secure the trade routes... on the plains the local tribes will be annihilated very fast, but the heavily armored vechicles of the global corporations can't follow the natives into the mountains, if they try that, the roles will be reversed, and even if the natives will lose the battle, they can always withdraw to the safety of their mountain villages and caves, disappearing on their pet-rides so fast that you can't catch them...  the gangs of the "local bandits" on horses and camels riding the secret mountain paths, setting up ambushes in the remote mountain passes, causing a lot of headache for the caravans passing by... in the end of the day it could be cheaper for the Corporations to pay a small toll to the locals than hire mercenaries to defend against them..


as i see it - the regional transportation is the last missing piece for the developers vision of the future AW.

well, for now it's just an idea, for the future.. long live AfterWorld!


_______________________
* 1st published in the restricted section of the AW Tech Forum

reflections on the early press-release about Afterworld:Survival

it is still hard to make conclusions based on so little info.. but first thoughts/assumptions:


we have approximate size of the area--it's staggering.

if the total number of people ingame remains the same (will not rise hundredfold - and it probably won't), it will be almost impossible to find anyone unless you know exactly where to find him--or if it is a town, revival, one of the quarantine zones or a bridge on the long insurmountable river, swamp or ravine.

chances of simply running into someone on the open field are close to zero. you can pass by someone (or a small village full of people, in the hilly/mountain area) @ 250-300m and not see them.


that would mean a pretty lonely life, the soc chat is your only contact with the other people most of the time. creating a team may become a huge task, although it could be a little easier if we can use cars.
car is useful if you know exactly where to go, but if you have to search for someone, it won't help much.

in this situation splitting the soc in two could create additional problems, not solve them.

another effect--the number of conflicts will drastically decrease. conflicts will be possible only if both sides search for each other (plus a few successful ambushes now and then).
deliberately hunting the members of another soc or harassing noobs will be almost impossible.

tactics will change... suppose you found a member of another soc. info on their base could be the most valuable "loot" to get--and defend. he will probably ctrl+d right away. if you on the car and alone you've lost him for good..

there will be a whole new profession: scout/messenger, the guy with a good armor and all PANE's on stamina.

transporting valuable ores or other stuff will be a huge military operation that can last days, maybe even weeks.

PvP areas is a big unknown factor. for people to come there it has to contain something, a reward or bait. rare resources? ways to make awd?

if so, it will change the game--to be the most powerful can become a profitable business.


this will bring along another new profession: a mercenary/headhunter

competition in PvP--on skills and team sizes--will get fierce and ruthless.
there can be only one winner, and many losers.

for example:
most likely there won't be a storage at the lootable PvP area revival. if the miner succeeds in ctrl+d-ing (before he was looted) he and his bodyguard(s team) will be held hostage there. now both sides will be waiting for reinforcements.. for hours, or days.
as soon as defenders decide they might have a chance they will try to break out and make a run for the closest storage or town. number of skilled members and their location/mobility will decide the outcome. there will always be a shortage of skilled people.

in some cases it can end with a huge battle, involving many societies/alliances.
also, it could easily spread all over the map--whoever is able to control strategical bridge or mountain pass will probably do it, to keep reinforcements of the other side away. a small team with the armored car can destroy arriving groups one by one there, before they can unite.

then again, a secret pass found by the wandering scout or miner may be worth a small army..


in a word--a new layer will be added to the economy, construction and warfare-- strategical planning.
we might need to create alliances ourselves--some to get additional manpower, some to get information/scouts.

Cayden::Noone Will Ever Really Fuck with America

Fifth: I have met a man who had powers. He fixed my eyesight, for 30 mins.. so I know he had.
He did it just by looking at me, btw.
Cayden: Too bad they were only temporary powers. :)
Should have paid the full subscription fee after the trial 30 minutes.
Fifth: Well, I think the effect was not intended, was just a collateral..

Anyway, he had about 5 of his students, as he called them, with him on that forest clearing
He was a shaman, so they were chanting there something holding hands, in a circle.
Suddenly he stops and asks "Wanna see UFO?"
Everybody fell silent.
Then he says, "OK, look up..." and after a few sec, there is an UFO.
Every last one of em saw it, and the descriptions matched.
That's it. ;)

Cayden: Heh. I once saw a UFO... and I became a conspiracy theorist...
I saw it over Fort Bliss in El Paso.
It moved around mach 17-20.... impossible speeds.
At least, that's how fast it looked, because of the distance it seemed to be at.
It seemed to be about the size of a football field... but very far off.

Years later, I joined the military and got a security clearance and I found out what it was.
Haven't believed a single UFO story since, lol.
Fifth: ok.. and what was it?
Cayden: The sort of thing you need a security clearance to read specs on.
But nothing extraordinary.
Turns out it was slightly larger than a stealth bomber, not anywhere near as far as it seemed (that was apparently intentional) and only moving about mach 7-8.
Fifth: holy shit!
Cayden: Lol, well, yeah, that's still a wow.
But still, SR71 broke what, 4,5 back in the 70s?
Fifth: umm yeah
Cayden: Long story short, noone will ever REALLY fuck with America. They will end before they really start, lol.

Cayden::The Story of the Flying Capuchin Fireball Monkey

Hi Tinstaafl, just in time for the strangest story you will ever hear.
Which is entirely true btw.

I used to do my schoolwork on a Windows 3.1.
At any rate, this 3.1 was SO high tech, it had a 3,5 inch floppy drive...
And a 5 inch FLOPPY drive. Lol.
It seriously took like 10 minutes to save a document.
I could hit save, walk away and eat, come back, and still have to wait. So, I normally just didn't bother to save.
And I had this English paper...
About 3 hours had gone by, I was REALLY on a roll, just typing my fucking ass off...
Oh no, was a psych paper, excuse me.
Was a  300 class, undergrad, so no need to do any real research. Just bullshit for like 10k words, or however many it was.
So here I am, fingers blazing, and suddenly, the computer crashes and the electricity goes out.

Everything.
Complete power down, including street lights outside, for like three blocks down.
And this FIREBALL, I shit you not, a FIRE BALL, goes careening across my yard, flies like 30 metres, from a good 20 metres in the air... bounces a couple times, lands in a patch of mud... and it just burns.
I see this shit out the window and I turn to my chick, and I'm like "!!!!"
And she's like "!!!!"
So we run outside and get to this FIREBALL.
Which is, seriously, a ball of fire.
We're looking at this... and there is a CAPUCHIN MONKEY - like the one from Aladdin? - laying there, on his back, charred all to shit, SHAKING.

I have a really great emote I do when i tell this story in reality.
It is one of life's great travesties that you will never see it.

So, he's laying there with this complete "oh shit" look on his face.
And we're looking at each other with a complete "oh shit" look on our faces.
Just to reiterate - this is El Paso, Texas.
Just north of the Mexican border.
I had enver seen a monkey in my life. Ever.
And here's this fucking monkey, who's laying there KFC-style in a ball of fire.
We stood there, not knowing what we should do, and the guy's emitting these little monkey-coughs of smoke.
*Cough* [tiny puff of smoke]

Then a car pulls up.
Some bigass Towncar or something, early eighties, a complete BOAT of a car - huge.
This, at the time, was a REALLY expensive car.
And it pulls up with this four foot eight EIGHTY YEAR OLD MAN in a white pimp-suit.
He gets out, and he's screaming: "WHO SHOT MAH MONKEY!!!"
"WHO SHOT MAH MONKEY!!!"
and I'm saying... "Umm... Nobody shot your monkey, sir...
But he was on fire...
I mean, what do you really say, right?
"Well, there I was working on a paper that will define my Abnormal Psychology 347 class, and suddenly a monkey exploded out of thin air and flew amidst a fireball across thirty metres of yard to land on the ground."
No. Just doesn't work, right?
So I was like "ummm... he was on fire?"
Which was pretty obvious.
He grabs this monkey, still smoldering, cradles him against what must have been a 10k usd suit, gets back in his car and drives off.
That's it.

Half an hour later the electric company truck shows up.
One of the ones with a big basket on it, that lifts to a higher storey.
We go out to find out what the fuck is going on and this guy is up there working on the transformer.
He says "what THE FUCK is THIS?!" and he tosses it down to me.
And I said "Ummmm... I think.... that that's a monkey paw."
And so it was.
There was a fried Capuchin Monkey paw in my transformer.
Which actually explains the whole Capuchin Monkey Fireball.

So, the next day I go to class, and I tell my professor I don't have the paper.
HE is shocked, as I'm a 4,0 student and demands to know why.
I tell him there is a very good reason, but I wil never be able to tell him, because he would believe I was lying, and that would follow me for the rest of my time in University.
Well, he got me to tell him anyway...
When I finished the story, he says "That is the most incredulous thing I have ever heard in my life.
"There is no way on God's Green Earth that you seriously expect me to believe that.
"That is SUCH a FUCKING REDICULOUS story...
"That you have either got to be telling the truth or you are the ballsiest liar I have ever met in my life.
"You have until Monday."

So... that is the story of the Flying Capuchin Fireball Monkey in El Paso Texas.