All kind of resources and factories, a standardized way to look at them.

from Elemental Forums

The reason for this post is to find a flexible structure for a great modding future.  To find a standardised way to create any resources, factories, or creatures/units a modder wants.  (Creatures obviously have other properties related to combat etc, but it is out of context here.)

Everything is a resource, which is subdivided to Creature Resources (CR), Natural Resources (NR) and Manufactured Resources (MR).  In this context they are the same.
All resources have the following properties:
1.    (Re)productive period: e.g. from 15 to 35 years of age, once per turn, or whatever season of the year,  etc
2.    (Re)productive rate/Growth rate: X units per turn per population, X units per turn, X unit per turn during reproductive period
3.    Maximum number of offspring: 0 to ∞ per lifetime

Warehouse has one or more of the following properties
1.    Every global map tile is considered as a warehouse.  Multiple Resources types & Factories types can be stored in a warehouse, depending on what tile it is. 
2.    Depending on the type of resource concerned, a quantity of 0 to ∞ can be stored
3.    When storage capacity is exceeded, excess resources produced are wasted or (re)production is stopped

Factory has one or more of the following properties, depending on the resource type concerned
1.    Process one resource stored in its warehouse into another resource type
2.    Multiply the (re)productive rate of a resource by a factor of X
3.    All recent (re)production is then stored at the warehouse
4.    At any turn, only Y units can be “extracted” out of the warehouse by caravans; unless it is CR that can walk out by itself.
5.    Factory can increases or decrease or limit the warehouse capacity of the specific resource
6.    Factory can be upgraded, for higher capability
7.    Factory can be built only on specific map tiles

All Resources, Factories, and Warehouses has all of the following universal properties
1.    Material type: Flesh, Plant, Ethereal, Machine, Crystal, Metal, Earth, Water, Fire, Magic, Wood, etc which is affected by magic spells, or other physics
2.    Weight: 0 to ∞ pound
3.    Hit point.  It is a % of its weight. A different % for different material.  Therefore everything can be destroyed by a means appropriate to its constituent material
4.    Current Age
5.    Lifespan: 0 day to ∞ day

In the game, Lifespan, Reproductive rate, # of offspring, Factory extraction Y/multiplication rate X, warehouse capacity can be changed by tech level, spells, gamers’ control, etc.

Take Iron ore (NR) as an example
One the map tile, as a warehouse of iron ore, it stores 5000 unit of iron ore (Resource) now.  The ore weighs 50000 pounds, it is Metal, it has ∞ lifespan, and cannot have offspring. (In some cases, certain NR can have offspring).  Gamer builds an ore mine (Factory) inside this warehouse/tile.  The ore mine do nothing, except it allows an ore extraction rate of 200 ore per turn.  When it is caravans to the Blacksmith (Factory), it sees it has 200 ore in the warehouse allowing it to convert them to 100 Swords.  If this production is not immediately caravanned away, it is automatically stored at the local warehouse.

Take Farm as an example
On the map tile, as a warehouse of wheat, it stores 10 unit of Wheat naturally.  Wheat weights 2 pounds, is plant, it has lifespan of 1 month.  If it is not caravan away in a month, its quantity becomes 0.  Since its reproductive period is twice per year (& ∞ number of offspring) & reproductive rate of 10 unit every XX turns, you will then expect there is 10 unit of Wheat next autumn.  Now, I build a farm on that tile, it is a factory that multiplies the wheat reproduction by a factor of 50.  I can expect a harvest of 500 Wheat next autumn instead.

Take a Bear’s Den level 1 as an example
On the map tile, the den is the warehouse of 50 bears naturally.  As a warehouse, the den can contain other buildings e.g. Barrack etc.  A level 1 Bear’s den has the storage capacity of only 100 bears.  Bear’s natural reproductive rate is 1 per 10 bear per turn.  Level 1 Den (as a factory) does not multiply this rate. 

When there is the bear population reaches 100 after 10 turns, the Den is automatically upgraded to Level 2 without cost.  As a better factory, it doubles the bear’s reproductive rate, population increases at a rate of 2 bears per turn.

Melt Metal spell
Assume there is such a spell,  I can cast it to my rival's Iron mine reducing the quantity stored.

Do I miss any common properties that are important to resources, factories & warehouses?

3,084 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm really torn on how I want resources.   I love the idea of being able to have every resource available to me, however at the same time I want to be able to play elemental in a more classic and casual way with just a few resources.   I have never played a strategy game with 100+ resources that I can remember, so I can't say its bad.  But I imagine it will be different enough that I will also want a natural resource only mode... or perhaps a "retro resource" mode that is only gold and food to make it similar to old MoM (mana and essense too, of course)

 

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Landisaurus,  I share a similar sentiment here.  There maybe times I just want to play with good & food as NR.   OTOH, I do want to play EWOM that will have 15-30 types of NR, and around 110 types of MR as normal game.    My point is that (almost) everything should be considered resources, and all resources are moddable.  And all resources should have some physical rule, creation/destruction characteristic that they commonly share.   I am looking for the “universal theory of physics in the game” & the game engine should handle this theory.

For example, I cast a fireball spell to my opponent’s wooden bridge in game.   The bridge will be most likely destroyed, because it is a MR that has is made of Wood, has certain amount of HP.   The same will not be true, if the bridge is made of Iron or stone.  Alternatively, you can easily exchange the word ‘bridge’ above to ‘Golem’ and the similar result is expected from the same fireball. 

So far in all TBS I played, how material is created/destroyed is very abstracted, which is ok if there are not a lot of resources.  But if there are lots of resources in EWOM, the Fireball spell needs to have a way to provide an effect to all those resources (& some of those resources are user created).  The rules governing how material is created/destroyed should not be that abstract.  The balance on what to abstract maybe is hard to find.

In the OP, I have listed a few ways that material is created ‘out of thin air’.  They are:
1.    Land tiles has certain amount of NR warehoused
2.    Factory (e.g. farm) can Multiply certain NR/MR, 1 pound of wheat to 10 pound of wheat
3.    Factory (e.g. blacksmith) can convert one resources to another, 10 pound of ore to 1 pound of Sword
4.    Creature’s reproduction or natural growth

I don’t want the facts that for most games, when you have defeated your opponent’s army, their body just disappear.

Let me attempt to write how material is destroyed.

Material is destroyed when its HP reaches 0.   Take the Fireball Spell level 1 as an example, it creates material of “Fire”, it has HP of 100 and ATT value of 50, and has lifespan of 1 turn.    The game’s physics engine calculates the effect the fire of this magnitude will have on the wooden material.  It calculates that it will reduce 200 HP for any wooden material that has DEF value of 50 each turn.   Since this bridge has only 150HP, the bridge is destroyed because its HP reaches 0.   When wood is converted to the material of Ash with 30HP, it is not represented in the game; as the game designer choose to abstract Ash as they don't consider ash is useful to the game.

If the same Fireball spell is targeted on a iron bridge instead, it’ll only reduce its HP by 10, so the iron bridge survives.

Most, if not all map tile will naturally warehouses some form of NR.   Take plains (a land tile) for example.  Let me say it is made of material of Soil, has 10000 HP, DEF value of 10,.   If I have custom make a machine called “Drill”, which is capable of damaging Soil 1000HP per turn, I am able to dig a hole on the ground after 10 turns.  Maybe it leads to the underground layer.

Take river as another example.  It warehouses 2 NR, water and the plain (I’ve mentioned above).   It stores 5000HP of water.  If a gamer is manages to caravan away all these water, the river run dries & become a plain tile.  But since it is a river, it is capable of ‘reproducing’ itself once per year.  Next year, the 5000HP of water returns.

Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

For simplicity sake, minimal storage of the end product at any production source, mines, farms, factories, whatever.  Necessity for regular, but less than constant caravan activity.  Universal storage at a warehouse, preferably ignoring the storage capacity present from production to cut down on needless number crunching by the computer.  Not the most realistic method of warehousing, but if the goods are all stored at the site of production, you don't have warehousing, thus can't manipulate your supply levels beyond the level of production at a point.

 

A forward training center is a tactical plus.  A forward production center for the underlying components to troop production is not a plus.  It's a high value target in a vulnerable position.  You want a good sized warehouse to ensure adequate supply levels, but you don't want to turn the place into a major production complex to do it.