Goblins Minesweepers: The Explorers

[Inspired]

Seeing the lack of interest in playing ninjas, how about trying the good old minesweeping game?

WITH SOME CHANGES.



Yep, this time we play on a map!

The layout is designed by me with the Tiled Map Editor, the landscape art is created by CuddlyColin, credit where its due.

So how will this work?

• Instead of a single goblin per player, everyone gets to play their own tribe / clan! You can decide to create a tribe together, in which case you start with the resources multiplied per participants, but then everything is shared, and you have to agree on stuff...
• Each tribe will have "special" goblins spawning on the map, which will do the exploring / fighting for you! You can name them if you like. They will be kind of like the characters of the old minesweepers game.
• You will unlock achievements and gain score! We all know achievements are pointless, but g'dam they are fun to collect ... Higher score will unlock new things! The game is not meant to be too competitive, so gaining more points than the next player is more like for self satisfaction, because:
• The game is won by everyone, when the last non-mine tile is revealed.

What are these tribe things?

• Tribes or clans are the "pool" of goblins you can play to win the game. You can come up with the tribe name and color! No logos or fancy stuff, maybe minimal pixel differences to distinguish similar choices.
• Each Tribe starts with 3 units, and a Resurrection Pool of 10. Which means every player can have 3 units on the map maximum, and if one of them dies, they can be revived by the pool, losing 1 point from that (so it falls to 9, 8, etc.). The pool can be refilled and widened later on, the maximum unit count too!
• Tribes have unlimited stock of basic flags (to mark possible mine locations), and each of their units score together.
• Each tribe has a homeland, they get some special quirks on. This must be specified upon creation! Homelands are map tile types, such as: plains, forests, desert, mountains, water, tundra, deadlands.
• You can play 4 kind of tribes, please specify it upon creation! You cannot change your tribe kind later on, but every type can "evolve" with gaining score, so you won't be closed off of everything.

The 4 types are:

1. Pure explorers. These tribes do not long for owning the land, they are driven by exploration, hunt, and trading. They start with 3 explorers, and cannot buy warriors.
2. Conquerors. These tribes thrill in getting to know new lands... and owning them. They are not that great at exploring because they are busy making sure the land they get to will be theirs. They start with 3 warriors, and cannot buys explorers.
3. Common tribes. Most goblin tribes are quite content with a bit of this or that. They don't usually restrict their folk in achieveing their goals, yet they aren't try to aim for special heights either. They start with either 1 explorer 2 warriors or 2 explorers 1 warrior. They are not restricted in buying.
4. Specializing clans. They are more like a group of individuals (clans) rather than a tribe. Their ultimate goal is being as multi-sided as goblinly possible. They start with 1 explorer 1 warrior 1 seer. They cannot have 2 units of the same type. As soon as one unit advances to a new type, the core type can be recruited again (for 1 new member).

So, about these Units ...

• Explorers can move 2 tiles per turn. They cannot fight monsters, but they can hunt animals. They have a hunting power of 1. They can be spawned on any edge tile of the map, or in lookout towers.
• Warriors can move 1 tile per turn. They can fight both monsters and animals. They have a fighting power of 1 and a hunting power of 1. They can be spawned in warcamps or on allied land next to a fight. A warrior automatically conquests unoccupied tiles, but cannot "raze" tiles already conquested by players. (We can make wars later on if the game turns out to be good, though.)
• Seers can teleport to a tile within 2 movement range. They can fight monsters and cast spells, but they cannot hunt (they could, technically, but they do not care. And you don't argue with magic users. Ever.). They have a fighting power of 1. They can be spawned in warcamps and at certain locations where it is explicitly stated.

Are you interested? Feel free to make your clan now!
Will start the game with 4-10 players. I will also share more technical details if there is enough interest, else I won't rob your time with more blabbering...

[WearsHats]

I'm a fan of the Minesweeper games. I'd be interested. But I'm currently in bad mental shape for keeping up and especially for strategizing. So... maybe. If things get better for me before you're ready to go.

[spiderwrangler]

I haven't played other forum minesweeper games, but would be interested. I'll read things over and edit in some clan stuff here.

[Theis2]

Been fun in the past, I'll bite and play along
Likely going with a specializing clan

[GathersIngredients]

I'm interested in this as well. Should we already start to create a clan (name, colour, kind, home terrain) or will there be additional info before that?

[Inspired]

Yay, hi Gathers!

Now that there are at least 4 people interested, I say you can start fleshing out your clans. 1 - 2 players more would be awesome (given that Wears said he might not feel well to play consistently), but yes, you can start building your clan!

I will share some additional info, but you do not need them to actually create your clan.



Round mechanics

► Show Spoiler

A map is considered a single round, which is divided into turns.

Players can act simultaneously in every turn, although "first come, first served", so the one with the older post gets to act sooner in case of conflicting actions. If there are enemies / monsters / animals on the map, they get to act after the players, unless their speciality is to act first.

The players have two kinds of actions each turn:

• 1 tribal action. Managing the tribal, and inter-tribal life. See below.
• 1 action per active member. Exploring, fighting, hunting, etc.

Tribal actions

• Building a clan structure: Warcamp or lookout tower is available at the start, more buildings will come later. The first building built does NOT cost a tribal action, to speed up things.
• Activating a member: Allowing a new member to join the map. Activated members can act in this same turn.
• Resurrecting a member: Reviving a dead member. Revived members can act in this same turn if they are active too.
• Improving a member: When certain conditions are met, a member can be improved: they gain new stats or skills or change their class. Improvements take effect in this same turn.
• Organize hunts: Inactive, hunting capable units are sent out to hunt. While a hunt is on, no new members can be activated, resurrection still works. This action contributes to the Hunting Score, with 1 point for every successful hunting turn. Hunting does NOT stop if the members fail to find anything, it has to be explicitly stopped as a tribal action in another turn. (When the hunters return. Caught game will be evaluated in that turn.)
• Gather resources: Gather miscellaneous resources with all inactive members. Lasts only 1 turn. Found resources will contribute to the resource pool of the clan, but otherwise mean no additional score.
• Trade: with other tribes. This means players and NPCs, provided the latter ones are found on the map.
• Improve tribe: When certain conditions are met, upgrade the tribe: allow more members, restore revival pool, etc.

Member actions

• Spawn: Activated members can join the map per the rules of their class. Contributes to Exploration Score if it happens on an unexplored tile.
• Explore: Move N tiles on the map where N is between 1 and their Movement Points. A unit does not have to use all movement points, but can only move once per turn. Contributes to Exploration Score if it happens on an unexplored tile. Movement can be interrupted by map events (stepping on mines, triggering traps, etc.). Only 2 units can be on the same tile at all times, the first one arriving there triggering the new events.
• Place a flag: Place a flag on a tile that the user thinks is a mine. Contributes to Exploration Score if it happens on an unexplored tile. Flagged tiles can be passed safely, regardless if they are indeed mined or not. Placing a flag does NOT mean occupying the tile.
• Fight or Hunt: Fight monsters within range, or hunt down animals that are revealed. The former contributes to Conquest Score, the latter to the Hunting Score.
• Use special skills or spells: Use 1 available skill or spell per turn. Some of these goes on cooldown or is otherwise restricted.

[GathersIngredients]

Alright, how about the
tribe of phrenic explosions
homeland: plains
kind: common (unless they can't recruit seers at all, in which case I'd rather go for a specialised tribe, instead)
colour: white highlight
?

[Inspired]

Alright, how about the
tribe of phrenic explosions
homeland: plains
kind: common (unless they can't recruit seers at all, in which case I'd rather go for a specialised tribe, instead)
colour: white highlight
?

Looks good to me!
You can recruit seers as soon as you widen your population limit to 4, which will happen after getting some score.
Do you want to start with 2 warriors 1 explorer, or 2 explorers 1 warrior?

As a common tribe of the plains, you can choose one of the following Gods:

• Ymur the Nomad: This is the great God of Plain Folk, Travellers and Merchants. You gain favor by exploration, trading, or not having your buildings at the same place for more than 5 turns. His divine power allows you to recruit seers specialized in movement spells*, or to have favorable ratios with NPC trades. As a special perk the first explosion you would suffer on a plain tile would be free to revive (won't drain your pool).
• Arkorn the Bloodthirster: The warrior God of Large Scale Battles (which are great to happen on open places, like plains...). You gain favor by fighting monsters, conquest, or raising many warriors. His divine power allows you to recruit seers specialized in devastating attack spells, and to be a dominant tribe among other warring nations**. As a special perk the first three deaths that would happen in a fight would be free to revive (won't drain your pool).
• Aira the Huntress: The Goddess of Herds and Migrating Animals. You gain favor by hunting, gathering, or not having your buildings at the same place for more than 5 turns. Her divine power allows you to gain increased hunting score, and to randomly gain hunting score from different activities like exploration or gathering. She gives no special benefits to seers as she is more of an animal goddess, but it's been said that items made of animals of her care tend to be magical on her followers. As a special perk animals and monsters triggered on plain tiles won't attack or run away from you instantly and remain neutral as long as you don't interact with them.
• No gods at all: You have a down-to-earth clan which does not believe in gods. Your seers learn ordinary magic, and do not specialize in anything initially. Since you waste no time on gods, as a special perk you can have 2 tribal actions every 5 turns of the game.

Notes:
* Seers having bonus in a kind of spell-family means they can learn those spells quicker. It also means that is their starting spell family. They can learn other spells later on, when they are wise enough (= upgraded) to grasp the concepts of those. "Atheist" seers can choose a spell family at the start of their liking (individually), but they do not get the reduced learning bonus.
** Being a dominant tribe means that your warriors will conquer an unoccupied land in a turn, even if someone else steps on that tile first by posting sooner. (The other tribe member will trigger the tile's normal effects, though, such as exploration score in case of a new tile) It also means that lesser NPC tribes are easier to make diplomacy with (make them join you, coerce a submission, disperse them, etc.).

[GathersIngredients]

so, erm, please don't feel swamped now, but QUESTION TIME!

What are these tribal actions you are mentioning?
Also, where would the war camp/look out tower be, does each clan get their own?
And you write a follower of deity x gains favour by not having their buildings in the same place for more than 5 turns. How does that work, can buildings be moved?

AWhat benefits does one have by conquering land?
Does the home land affect anything but the god's bonuses?
What is "allied terrain next to a fight"?

How does a turn work exactly?
(hopefully all) players posting, then the update, so far so obvious, but what phases will there be in the update (probably movement, events triggered by exploration, fighting, ...)?
when does the reviving (if any) happen? Can a revived/spawned unit be moved?
how many of the special goblins (warriors etc.) a clan has can be moved each turn?

I didn't know I get to choose the # of warriors and scouts for a common clan, I thought it would be assigned randomly. But if I get to pick, I would like to know the answers to my questions first, please. Same for choice of deity (if any).

[Inspired]

Hi, thanks for the questions!

I don't want to infodump just for the sake of it, I'd rather explain things that are actually asked about!

What are these tribal actions you are mentioning?

I have listed the tribe and member actions in the pre-previous post in the spoilered part to save space. I think that is what you are referring to, but if not, feel free to ask again! I went back and embossed the title so it doesn't go unnoticed. I will put all the info in the games resources in a more collected manner if we get enough activity to be able to play.

Also, where would the war camp/look out tower be, does each clan get their own?

Each clan gets their own, and they get to build them on a map tile as a tribal action (see the aforementioned post).

And you write a follower of deity x gains favour by not having their buildings in the same place for more than 5 turns. How does that work, can buildings be moved?

Yes, although this has not been explicitly stated in the tribal actions. It happens in 2 turns: in one turn you deconstruct your building, and in the second you build it up. Note that placing a building does NOT reveal that tile in itself, you still need to spawn (and potentially kill) a member there for exploration. Also, warcamps can only be built in allied tiles except for the very first time when you obviously have none of those. Lookout towers have no such requirements. Each tribe starts with materials enough for 1 building, but they can collect more.

AWhat benefits does one have by conquering land?

It turns the tile into an "allied tile". It gives you Conquest Score. I will write about scoring below in spoilered tags.

Does the home land affect anything but the god's bonuses?

The simple answer is: "No, it's more like fluff"
The more exact answer is: "It influences the buidlings/items/skills your tribe will likely get at random", but 1) each tribe will get to do almost everything the others can, 2) wanton actions have deterministic results, you just have to try...

What is "allied terrain next to a fight"?

A "fight" happens when the players explore a tile that has a monster or other enemy on it, and they interact. (If you remember the old minesweepers game, when you unleashed a crocodile in the swamp, skeletons in the graveyard, or desert wolves in the desert... someone tried to tame one iirc). A fight can also happen if a monster remains unslain and starts to wander on the map. As soon as it gets interacted with, it's a fight.
"Allied terrain" is a tile that has been conquered by you or by any other players.
I don't want to introduce hard PVP just yet, so other players are automatically mean "allies" for the sake of simplicity.

How does a turn work exactly?
(hopefully all) players posting, then the update, so far so obvious, but what phases will there be in the update (probably movement, events triggered by exploration, fighting, ...)?
when does the reviving (if any) happen? Can a revived/spawned unit be moved?
how many of the special goblins (warriors etc.) a clan has can be moved each turn?

The aforementioned spoilered post will likely answer these, I think. If not or not exactly, please ask again.

And now about ...

Scoring

► Show Spoiler

The measurement of your "efficiency" on the map is by the score you make. There are 3 main types of score. You can get points in all of them, obviously you have to decide whether you want to focus on only one, a bit of everything, or just ignore them and have fun.

These are:

1. Exploration Score: Is earned by visiting unexplored tiles, abandoned buildings, flagging, etc. Gaining exploration points allows you to upgrade your explorers, and get items/buildings/spells relevant for this aspect of the game.
2. Conquest Score: Is earned by conquering lands and fighting enemies. Gaining conquest points allows you to upgrade your warriors, and get items/buildings/spells relevant for this aspect of the game.
3. Hunting Score: Is earned by hunting actions (either on tribal or on member level). Gaining hunting points helps you to sustain and increase your tribes limits (max levels, members, pools, etc), or to spend on other things (trading).

You get some of the benefits listed above by reaching certain amounts of score. The score can only go upwards.

Aside from these, there are 3 "currency" you can collect and trade in similarly to the above 3. These do not count as "score", though, and the used up amount will be subtracted:

• Divine favor: is gained by doing stuff your god likes. It can be used to improve seers, get divine spells/actions, etc. Atheist clans do not earn favor points "naturally", but they can earn points by certain actions (like restoring shrines, etc.), which they can spend similarly, because gods exist regardless if you believe in them or not ...
  Divine favor is not tradeable directly.
• Building materials: can be gained by exploration, looting and gathering. Helps to improve buildings and are tradeable.
• Item materials: can be gained by looting and gathering. Helps to create items and are tradeable.

And of course there will be achievements, for fun and bragging rights...

[GathersIngredients]

Right. I thought I had read something about them somewhere, but only looked at the first post for some reason, not your more recent ones. Silly me.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I will read it soon (it's past midnight for me right now and I ought to be in bed) and if I got any more questions, I'll just ask.

[GathersIngredients]

Sorry for the double post. I really can't make up my mind. all of them sound useful.

So, if a scout can move 2 hexes in a round, does that mean he can explore both of them (provided they were unknown before and that he doesn't trigger something in either of those two hexes that stops that), or is exploring something that only happens in the hex that you end your turn in?

Also: where do the starting units spawn? You said each tribe gets their own [war camp/look out tower] - which makes me wonder: do I get to choose which & where or is it dependant on the tribe kind or random?
Scouts can spawn on the edge of the map, too, id there is no lookout tower
Since there won't be any allied hexes near a fight (or places explicitly stated for seer spawning) in the beginning (at least that's my assumption), the warriors & seers can only spawn at the war camp.
What if someone picks a common tribe or specialized tribe and chooses to make a lookout tower? Can't he spawn his warrior(s and possibly seer) in the beginning, then?

Oh, and since "items made from animal materials" gets mentioned in the "Aira the Huntress" description: what's up with that? Will there be crafting?

Originally, I came here to tell you that as of tomorrow, I'll be on vacation for a full week. I'll have internet access, but I won't be on much, though, too busy with vacation activities.
Please excuse any delays that causes and fee free to start without me, I can catch up when I'm back.

[Inspired]

Hi Gathers, enjoy your vacation!

So, if a scout can move 2 hexes in a round, does that mean he can explore both of them (provided they were unknown before and that he doesn't trigger something in either of those two hexes that stops that), or is exploring something that only happens in the hex that you end your turn in?

They explore all the hex they are passing through unhindered, and each tile scores individually. (So a scout can score 1-2 exploration points per turn. A warrior scores 1 exploration 1 conquest score per turn, provided they move to a new tile.)

Also: where do the starting units spawn? You said each tribe gets their own [war camp/look out tower] - which makes me wonder: do I get to choose which & where or is it dependant on the tribe kind or random?

You can place your buildings on the map as you see fit. You cannot build on the same tile as someone else, though, hence post order. Since you choose a homeland, that might make placing your initial warcamp on a tile with the same type reasonable, but as said, it's entirely up to you.

Scouts can spawn on the edge of the map, too, id there is no lookout tower

Scouts can always spawn on the edges of the map, provided they are activated. (You will run out of map edges anyway.) I added this so the game indeed has some "explorer" feeling where you venture in from the unknown outskirts into the depths. Lookout towers are kind of like "savepoints", when you don't want to start the exploration over from the sides after blowing up...

Since there won't be any allied hexes near a fight (or places explicitly stated for seer spawning) in the beginning (at least that's my assumption), the warriors & seers can only spawn at the war camp.
What if someone picks a common tribe or specialized tribe and chooses to make a lookout tower? Can't he spawn his warrior(s and possibly seer) in the beginning, then?

Yes, as you say it. Warriors and seers need a good fixed starting location, you don't just roam around conquesting stuff. Since you can spawn your explorers without lookout towers and at the start there are plenty of edge tiles (76 altoghether, well almost, as deep sea tiles won't play), there is not much point in starting with a lookout tower, unless you want to explore from the middle of the map, or something.

Bear in mind that you can spend tribal actions in gathering building materials, so even if you started with a lookout tower you might be able to build a warcamp soon enough.

Oh, and since "items made from animal materials" gets mentioned in the "Aira the Huntress" description: what's up with that? Will there be crafting?

There will be crafting later as tribal actions, or if you improve a member into an artisan. But mostly you will start making "common" items which can be traded with NPCs for other stuff you need (magic items, favors, information).

Originally, I came here to tell you that as of tomorrow, I'll be on vacation for a full week. I'll have internet access, but I won't be on much, though, too busy with vacation activities.
Please excuse any delays that causes and fee free to start without me, I can catch up when I'm back.

As stated above, enjoy your vacation!

[GathersIngredients]

So, I'm easing my way back into the forum, after needing some 'recovery time' from my vacation. ^^

I think I'm gonna go with the huntress deity (all of them sound good, but I'm curious about the crafted items) and have 2 scouts and one warrior at the start.