The City

[SilentThief]

I'll be DL-ing a city part soon (figure in next 2-4 weeks, but hopefully sooner), but currently have no time . My financial situation has turned for the worst... I'm looking for work, unemployed but have a vehicle, and only my fiance is working. I recently sold my modest collection of Xbox games to get some money for gas to go look for a job. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into me having to move out of my home for lack of rent

ST

[manikus]

Well, gentlemen, I think the project will still be around in a couple of weeks.

ST, home first, family/work second, DC third.

I've been working on The City just a little between writing some papers. I've created a long list of things to place in the city center and have placed three of them so far. Three doesn't sound like a lot, but they're pretty good, with good art for the NPCs. I have two more to place, and then I'm out of the portraits that I want to use. I promised myself that I would finish the project using Dinonykos and Uatu's art and do a bunch of playtesting on another project before I do any new art for The City (or anything else).

[SilentThief]

Originally Posted by manikus Well, gentlemen, I think the project will still be around in a couple of weeks.

I hope so! This wouldn't be the first collaboration I've had to drop due to personal issues that have nothing to do with DC. But this seems much easier on time when I might be free-er with my time.

Originally Posted by manikus ST, home first, family/work second, DC third.

No doubt about that. My wife wouldn't let it be any other way . I'm sure you understand the peace keeping efforts that married life leads to

ST

[manikus]

Married life is all about compromise and damage control.

This project is different than the other collaborations which have been tried (one of which is still on-going). I got the idea for this some time ago reading an old UANL about a similar project being tried for FRUA. The original as laid out in the UANL was done by one or two people as a base for people to make their own designs. Each UANL they would release a couple of NPCs that could be used.

So far I've placed an inn, a shop and a feast hall. The two I have left to place are a vault and a temple. I'll probably do an update to the base after that.

[Arminius]

Originally Posted by SilentThief I'll be DL-ing a city part soon (figure in next 2-4 weeks, but hopefully sooner), but currently have no time . My financial situation has turned for the worst... I'm looking for work, unemployed but have a vehicle, and only my fiance is working. I recently sold my modest collection of Xbox games to get some money for gas to go look for a job. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into me having to move out of my home for lack of rent ST

I've been going through a similar crisis ST. Hang in there. Keep a positive attitude, don't let yourself fall into a slump. When I've tried everything I can think of to get back on my feet and nothing seems to be working I don't sit around feeling sorry for myself [not to imply that you do that...] I go to the nearest mountain [we have a few of them around here] and take an all day hike through the wilderness in search of Ginseng root. It can be profitable.

I can get $1000 per pound at the local herbalist right now for it. But whether I find a pound or an ounce it's really just the act of doing something, being active, adventurous, staying busy that helps me the most when times are tough. Also it is good excercise and I get pretty dirty and nicked up so I feel it keeps me from getting too soft and forgetting what it's like to work for a living.

@manikus: I love this idea. I want in too! Going to check out the page now... I'd like to make something inspired by the Guardian of the Flames series of novels by Joel Rosenberg and the game Arcanum which has a similar mixture of magic and low-tech. Steam power, gunpowder, chemistry, mechanical gear driven gadgets, and maybe a little Edison and Tesla thrown in to make it more mysterious and awe inspiring to a world accustomed to seeing the miracles of real magic everyday.

I wonder about that though. Should certain things be predefined as global realities of the primary world in which this game takes place? For example, you wouldn't have a polar climate in the same place as a tropical one. And with different worlds of fantasy magic appears in different degrees of frequency and power.

In some fantasy magic is prevelant and can be seen to be a part of every day life. In other fantasy worlds it is restricted to only the most intelligent and experienced practictioners. In the later case the average character or NPC may have great respect for such a master of such rare arcane powers or they may fear and distrust those who practice it.

But I guess that could make for interesting dialog too. If say one area is pretty much devoid of magic-users while a neighboring area seems to be full of them then perhaps the people of the more magically inclined area would look down their noses at the less-magical area as being backward, less intelligent or less educated, or more primitive. While people from the less magical area could look upon anyone from the high-magic area as being demonic or mutants or something abominable and unnatural.

One interesting thing about the game Arcanum is the rules regarding the operation of magic and of technology when in close prosimity with each other. Since science depends on the laws of nature being fixed and magic depends on the laws of nature being unfixed or bendable or maybe not existing at all but an illusion it is easy to see why the two might behave unexpectedly when practiced too near each other.

That might also explain why one place could be so full of magic while another place might have hardly any sign of magic at all. Perhaps it has to do with the unstable relationship between magic and science/technology.

[Arminius]

Could not dl http://one.xthost.info/city/base.zip. Using Firefox it just sends me to the xthost home page.

[manikus]

Originally Posted by Arminius Could not dl http://one.xthost.info/city/base.zip. Using Firefox it just sends me to the xthost home page.

I left out a 'key' word. Sorry. Here's a temp link to the index page and I will correct the page immediately. Thanks a bunch for pointing this out to me.

http://one.xthost.info/elminster/city/

Edited to add: it turns out I didn't leave a word out, it was because I was using relative addressing which has now been changed to absolute. The web page is now correct.

[SilentThief]

Another thought is a city like from the Planescape setting, where the city is in a crux between worlds and is subject to the influence of the gates nearby to which the outer realms attach to. It would make for possible expansions outside of the "city", as well.

ST

[manikus]

Well, gentlemen. As I've said before, and will undoubtedly say again, The City is whatever we want to make it. Do you want steampunk in your part of the city? Think up and implement a good reason why. Do you want to say that the city is extra-planar? Maybe the folk in your Ward believe that (and maybe they're the ones that are right.

I should have an update done sometime this week. I just want to add a few more places to go to...
For what it's worth, the City Center will have dealings with other cities in the Forgotten Realms. But, I am not explicitly setting the city in the Realms. Though, I will most likely be adding a familiar deity or two from that world.

[Arminius]

Thanks for the quick fix manikus.

Well it would seem that no one has spoken up to claim a superblock for their [sub]urban renewal project so if there are no objections my guild of engineers have set their collective eye upon Lot A of the NW quadrant of Erraxy.

With the consent of Mayor Manikus a team of our best engineers and urban architects will be dispatched to survey the area. We will submit a plan to city hall for approval. Our corp of Dwarven master builders and stone masons will follow shortly thereafter to begin escavation. Within a few tenday all guildsmen and their hirelings shall be in place and prepared to commence construction.

Signed
Guildmaster Arminius