Author’s Note: Readers should be aware that our event engine is not yet as robust as the one presented here. Firstly, there are, at present, only a fraction of the (evetual) total number of events in the pool, and secondly, we don’t have as many “chained” events in operation yet. All that is coming, however, and this is some of the thinking that lies behind it.
-V.

I know, I know, there are a wampum lot of people out there who feel that random events have ‘no place’ in a game of this type. These folks are generally die-hard gamers who enjoy Nth degree control over the game world.

Strangely enough, these are the same people who generally demand an extremely high degree of realism from games they play, which seems to me to be a…quite contradictory situation, because realistically, there’s no such thing as that degree of control over any environment, and certainly not something like Kingdom management.

Regardless of which side of the fence you’re on, you should know that Candle’Bre has events, and further, that the event engine is designed in such a way that they are actually an integral part of the game as a whole.

The most-often asked question I get about this is “will we be able to turn events off?” and the answer is…partially. There are some events that are story-oriented and faction-specific, and I envision a mechanism for turning these off in ‘non-historical’ games, but the rest are unaffected by this switch.

Believe me…I thought for a long time and quiet carefully before including this element, and implementation-wise, we’re doing things a bit differently than you might expect, or be accustomed to. I’m a gamer too, and in some ways, I can relate to and fully understand WHY a lot of people are leery of events, and I’ve taken steps to make sure that our events are not seen in the same light.

One of the biggest reasons that people are so down on the event idea is (or has been, in the past) a matter of implementation. Seems like events are most always used as punishments, you know? Just when you start getting ahead…WHAM! Out of nowhere comes this event that smacks you down. And, if they’re not used that way, then they’re used to blatantly cheat on behalf of the AI….you know, just when you’re about to wipe the last AI off the map…POOF! Random event and he gets a whole mess of new troops you have to slog through or something equally absurd.

That’s not fun, it’s annoying!

We don’t have those. Yeah, we have events that will help and events that will hinder, it’s true, but generally, you get to pick your own poison, which reasserts a measure of control.

A second (and less often cited) reason for the disliking of events is that it “un-evens the playing field” in MP.

I disagree. No more so than a random number generator in charge of combat “un-evens” the playing field.

Randomness is a part of gaming. Can’t escape it. If the goal is to eliminate all randomness from gaming, then combat should be resolved “Chess-Style,” but something tells me that’s not what the bulk of gamers are looking for. Sure, you can minimize it (randomness), but if it adds to atmosphere, realism and fun…why would you want to??

Our event engine implementation will add to all three.

To understand the event implementation, the best approach is to break it down into smaller segments, so here goes.

Events can be most broadly separated into two groups, story events, and everything else. Story events are (generally) faction specific, and are the events that can be turned off in non-historical games. They’re detailed, intricate, and full of flavor text (imagine an interactive version of SMAC’s interludes, and you’ll get the idea…interludes that ask you to make various in-game choices, and then change the flavor of the game based on the choices you make). But enough about them….they represent the minority of events, and to talk too much about them would be to give neat stuff away that I’d rather see you discover in the game, so….we’ll take a look at the ‘everything else’ category.

These are the events that are ‘always on’ and they can be broken down several different ways. The next breakdown we’ll do is “Arbitrary” events and “Choose” events. There are some events which are arbitrary in nature. They’re in the minority, and their effects tend to be relatively small, compared to the “Choose” events, but they’re out there. The reason for their inclusion is that, in a non-God game, shit happens. Since you don’t have Nth degree control over the game world, the event engine models “all the rest of the stuff” that’s going on around you. Sometimes, the stuff that’s going on around you works for you, and sometimes it doesn’t. These events are not terribly interesting from a gaming perspective, because they lack the element of choice, but they add atmosphere and flavor, and are important in their way for that reason (best way to look at these events is that they’re ‘seasoning’. They add flavor to the game world with minimal impact…pretty good stuff, that). Nonetheless, we’ll not spend much time talking about them, because in the greater scheme of things, what you’re really interested, I’d imagine, is choice.

So…we’ve brushed over the story events, mentioned the arbitrary events in passing, and that leaves us to talk about the ‘choose’ events, and that’s really where the gravy is. Just like before, these can be broken down into two broad groups….’common’ and ‘triggered.’

Common events are truly ‘always on.’ From the first turn of play, you stand a chance of seeing common ‘choose’ events. These are situations that arise in the kingdom which require a choice to be made. The choices, and often (usually) the consequences OF those choices are clearly spelled out in the event box itself, so you get to weigh your options and make the choice that works best for your current in-game situation (Note: All the ‘Arbitrary’ events are also considered ‘Common’ and so, it is possible to see them from turn one of play). Not all ‘Choose’ events are good, and some of the choices you’re faced with can be pretty tough calls, but then, nobody ever said that the life of a ruler of a fantasy kingdom was easy, right?

It can be hard to envision the kina thing I’m talking about without showing a couple examples, so here you go….

Sample Arbitrary Event

Favorite of the Clergy
You gain + 20 Influence with the Church.
During the Time of Troubles, even the Church played favorites now and again….
~Professor S. Burns, lecture in Argenia

Notes: Pretty simple and straightforward. Essentially gives you a freebie Intercession, which is nice, but not game-breaking by any means.

Sample Choose Event

Rivals
It’s amazing how quickly flashpoints can arise. The wizards and priests in provname$ have never been overly fond of each other, but recently, that dislike has reached new heights, and the whole province is simmering with barely contained anger. Because mishandling here could cause the conflict to spill over into a wider area, the Provincial Governor has wisely sent a plea for assistance in resolving the matter to you.

** Hold balanced and fair negotiations which give neither side the upper hand.

(-100g from your treasury, loyalty in provname$ drops by 20% as both sides loudly complain, revolt risk is 4% for the next ten turns. If you have any magical or religious buildings in the province, they stop working for the next 3-6 turns. Any revolt that occurs is 40% likely to destroy the religious/magical buildings in the province. Once the revolt risk fades, this province sees a +2gpt increase as both sides learn to work together.

** Hold negotiations but favor the Clergy in the province.

(-200g from your treasury, loyalty in provname$ drops by 10% as the Wizards and their supporters complain loudly. Lose half your stored Mana, and Mana Producing assets kingdom-wide operate at half capacity for 3-6 turns. If the province contains magical buildings, this loyalty impact is doubled, and those magical buildings stop working for the next twenty turns. Revolt risk in the province is 3%, doubled if magical buildings are present. Any revolt that occurs is 55% likely to destroy the religious/magical buildings in the province. If you lose control of the province, it has a 10% chance of declaring for the Order of Mystics (if you ARE the Order of Mystics, then the province simply reverts to neutrality). This value doubles if the province in question borders Mystic territory. Once the revolt risk fades, this province gains a permanent immunity to corruption (grateful Priests fervently working on your behalf to keep corruption down in the province)

** Hold negotiations but favor the Wizards in the province.

(-200g from your treasury, loyalty in provname$ drops by 10% as the Clergy and their supporters complain loudly. Lose half your stored influence, and influence-producing assets kingdom-wide operate at half capacity for 3-6 turns. If the province contains religious buildings, this loyalty impact is doubled, and those religious buildings stop working for the next twenty turns. Revolt risk in the province is 3%, doubled if religious buildings are present. Any revolt that occurs is 55% likely to destroy the religious/magical buildings in the province. If you lose control of the province, it has a 10% chance of declaring for House Castillar (if you ARE House Castillar, then the province simply reverts to neutrality). This value doubles if the province in questions borders Castillar territory. Once the revolt risk fades, this province gains a permanent bonus of +2 Construction Points per turn, or +20%, whichever is greater (grateful Wizards offering their services to construction projects in the province).

** Tell the Provincial Governor to handle it himself.

(no effect)

(the consequences of this choice are not shown to the player, but choosing this option is the trigger for the event “A Regional Powder keg,” which has a 4% cumulative per turn chance of occurring for the player who got this event, beginning on the turn after this event choice is selected)

Design Notes: if you lack the money to pay for some of the options, they are “greyed out” such that you cannot run a deficit to pay the cost of handling this problem

Other Notes: Tough day to be the king…but then, not every choice is going to see you swimming in gold…this is a pretty brutal event (though thankfully, its effects are limited to a singular province), but you can make it work for you, and it provides in-game choices that are not normally available.

The last broad category of events are the ‘Triggered’ events, and these are the rarest form of event, and also the most interesting.

Triggered events are….always on, but sleeping. That is to say, they’re on but not in the active event pool until the player meets certain pre-conditions. Even then, there’s no guarantee that a triggered event will occur…only that it CAN occur as it now resides in the pool of active events.

An example of a ‘Triggered Event’ would be something like this:

The Birth of the Middle Class
(this only occurs for the player with the largest number of corrupted provinces in-game)

Triggering:
Sum the corruption %’s in the Basin. If the sum-total of corruption values is in excess of 100%, this event trigger is satisfied (even if these conditions are later reversed, that they were met at all triggers this event). Further, there must be, or have once been, no less than twenty-five markets or market upgrades in the whole of Candle’Bre. Once these conditions are met, the event has a 3% cumulative per turn chance of occurring.

Story Text:
There can be only one explanation. This change has been brewing quietly in the background for quite some time.

Bubbling with energy just beneath the surface of the social consciousness of the Basin, and accelerated by the chaos of war, its time, apparently, has come, and it falls to you to deal with it in the best way you can.

So you find yourself torn between the tradition that brought you to a position of power in the first place, and this exciting, dynamic change on the wind.

On the one hand, the Nobles have been the unquestioned Masters of the Basin for two centuries (the Council of Seven as a minor player notwithstanding), and you are one of their number. How can you embrace the rising star of the Middle Class without betraying those who have secured the rule of your family for generations?

On the other, it is increasingly clear that this new class of men….landless (for now), but with considerable and growing resources, are here to stay, and to ignore them indefinitely is to invite disaster. They are vibrant and creative, and they are changing the face of Candle’Bre in ways and with a speed and efficiency that the Nobility have never been capable of. They are future. How can you possibly ignore them?

So….a quandary. What to do? You cannot help but feel that you are standing at the crossroads of history, and the decision you make here will echo through the Basin for decades to come. Choose wisely.

** Wholly embrace and support the creation of a Middle Class in your
realm

(-400g, Corruption levels are halved in all your provinces, every province you control gains +10g to its economic value, and every province you do not control gains +5g to its economic value. Loyalty value in every province you control drops by 25%, rebellion chance in every province you control is 7% for the next ten turns, rebellion in your most corrupted province (riots in the streets as the middle class takes some pent up vengeance against the nobles) and your loyalty cap drops by 10% (disaffected nobles, and an unruly middle class, more difficult to control, and more unpredictable). If you have positive honor, gain +15 honor for this selfless act, and recognition of a new class of citizen in the realm. Relations with the Council of Seven improve by +50 points, and with all other factions in the game, your relations suffer a –30 point hit (halve this if you are allied with the faction in question)

** Oppose the creation of a Middle Class in your realm

(loyalty in all provinces you control drops by 15%, loyalty cap drops by 5%(disaffected merchantmen). Revolts in your three most corrupt provinces (if you don’t have three corrupt provinces, then it goes to provs with the lowest loyalty). Rebellion chance in all provinces you control is 5% per turn for the next twenty turns. All your provinces see a –1 penalty to troop recruitment for the rest of the game. Gain +300g as grateful Nobles replenish your coffers, and this event passes to the player with the next highest number of corrupted provinces next turn). Gain twelve (12) units of Cavalry in your capitol as Nobles rally to your banner to help squelch the rebellious merchant class. Relations with the Council of Seven drop by –60 (half if you are currently allied with them), and improve with all other factions by +30. Any diplomatic initiative made with any faction other than the CoS has a 15% higher chance of succeeding this turn and next, if this choice is taken.

** Offer a measured response. Do not actively oppose the creation of the middle class, but do nothing in particular to support it.

(Loyalty drops by 25% in all your provinces, due to your indecision, and your loyalty recovery rate is halved for the next ten turns. Revolt risk simmers at 3% for the next twenty turns. Revolt in your most corrupt province. Ten turns after making this decision, all provinces in Candle’Bre will see a +5gpt increase as the Middle Class takes root and begins to thrive).

** Seek guidance from the Church: Influence rates triple for you for the next ten turns.

(Loyalty drops by 5% in all your provinces, and every province in Candle’Bre gains +5gpt as the Middle Class takes root and thrives with the Church’s guidance and blessing. (selecting this option is the trigger for “The War against your own Nobles” event, which has a 3% cumulative per turn chance of occurring)

**Postpone the decision (only available the first time you see this event) – Delays your response to it for four months…the event will appear again, minus this event choice, in four turns.

Summary

Our implementation of events in Candle’Bre was designed with the following goals in mind:

**We wanted/needed a mechanism to deliver story content in a dynamic way that oftentimes solicited or required player input.

**A system that would allow players receiving certain events to bend or break normally unbreakable rules

**Replay value – there are simply a staggering number of events built into the game, and we plan to include an editor, which will allow players to create their own sets of events (effectively. Given that the major in-game events can dramatically redraw the landscape of the game, each one makes for a fundamentally different play experience, and given the number of events available, that translates into LOTS of replay value.

**Even-handedness. The events should not be constructed or delivered in such a way that they are perceived to be a ‘punishment’ for excellence in playing. On the other hand, some events should be scalar in nature (impacting larger empires more than smaller, for good or ill), and some should be reserved only for larger or smaller empires, in keeping with their respective stations (the bigger the empire, the bigger the event…sometimes good, sometimes bad).

In my analysis of the potential downsides to adding an event engine to the framework of the game, I only came up with two:

**Events have, in a great many other games, been doled out as punishments for excellent playing, which has turned popular opinion against them – This, I feel is not applicable to us, because that’s not how we are structuring our events.

And

**Many MP’ers complain that events muck up the MP environment by introducing an element of randomness to the game – While the gist of the argument is valid (yes, events certainly DO add an element of randomness to the mix), I think that the argument is too simplistic, because ALL games of this type make heavy use of randomness in-game…it is simply that they all tend to do so using the same methodologies, and few dare veer from the established path. Further, I point to EU2’s MP experience, which is one of the best MP games of all times, and it is positively SWIMMING with random events (and what’s utterly blasphemous is that many of the events are not random at all, but exceedingly biased toward a nation in particular). Despite this, and perhaps in part because of it, the MP experience is unbelievably rich. This is what we’re aspiring to.

One final, closing note where the events are concerned. I suspect that this section of the game will get the longest, hardest looking at by all players who are interested in what we’re doing. For the people who love it, they’ll be looking closely at the “innovation value” of the events, and helping us cull it and refine our event pool for the game’s release. For those who despise it or are leery of it, they’ll be turning their attention to making sure that we keep our word about what we’re doing and why, and they’ll be the ones to quickly point out if an event is unbalancing, or too harsh, or too punishing, and taken together, it’ll be awesome…

-=Vel=-

Author’s Note: In its current incarnation, Honor is NOT a finite resource, but this essay outlines a number of intriguing possibilities for it, and as such, I wanted to include it in the discussion of game mechanics, as by shifting it away from an open-ended, essentially unlimited resource, we can (and would) radically alter the flavor of the game, and IMO, for the better. Still, it is something that does not have an overly high priority at present.

Here’s something that’s not been touched on to any great degree, but most definately something that warrants more discussion.

First, a bit of background about these components

Honor and Influence are “alternate forms of currency” in the game. They have their specific uses (Honor can protect you from the machinations of Espionage, Influence can be used to buy “intercessions” from the Church), and are stored in a “treasury” for each player, but they are fundamentally different from gold in a number of ways.

Honor – a “finite” resource in Candle’Bre. That is to say that there is a set maximum of 250 “points” of honor in the kingdom. No player may ever have more than 200 points of honor (game ends, victory for that player), but all players may run honor deficits freely.

Honor deficits (Infamy) reduce the total amount of honor available in the kingdom. At game start, there are 250 points of honor available, and each faction begins with 20 points (the rest are held in a “common pool” where initial honor gains are drawn from). If you behave dishonorably, and lose your initial 20 points, they do not transfer into the common pool, but are removed from the game entirely (shrinking the total honor available in-game). Thus, it is within the realm of possibility that dishonorable behavior (resulting in the total loss of 51 points of honor) will render an honor victory impossible.

It is possible for players to temporarily run an honor deficit, and then, through “reformed” behavior, get back into a positive honor situation.

It is also possible that Fate will increase the total honor supply in the kingdom (some fate cards grant an increase in Honor to the drawing player…this honor does not “come from” anywhere…it is generated by the card itself, and is the one way that the total honor pool of Candle’Bre may be increased.

When Honor is gained by a player, a check is made. If there is honor available in the “common pool” then the honor is deducted from that account, and deposited in the honorable player’s account. If there is no honor available in the common pool, then the honorable deed is presented to the reciever in the form of a popup. Accepting it (say, money or troops) from the donating player must be paid for if that player has a positive honor rating. If the player has a negative honor rating, then the gifting player will be informed that there is no honor in the transaction, but may still make it freely.

*Addition – The following marks a slight rules change, and as such, will be posted in the appropriate thread shortly, but there IS NO LOSS OF HONOR when calling on a Church Intercession if the player calling for the Intercession is being attacked by an Infamous player (negative honor). If two honorable players are involved, then the normal honor loss applies.

Influence: Will likely serve as the basis of our magic system in the commercial release of the game. For the time being, however, the only purpose Influence with the Church serves is the act of Intercession.

Where we are now:

For the initial release, here’s the scaled back version of what the three (Honor, Infamy, Influence) will do:

Honor: Represents an alternate win condition. Collect 200 Honor, and that’s the game. You win, by being the most beloved and honorable leader in the Kingdom.

Infamy: Negative honor = Infamy. In the free release, the penalties of infamy are as follows:

a) Research costs are 10% higher

* – Addition b) Any of your troops listed as captured BY AN OPPONENT WITH A POSITIVE HONOR RATING (cos if you’re fighting an infamous opponent, there won’t BE any captures) may be converted into mercenaries by the capturing player after the current battle resolves (such captured units may be placed in any province the capturing owns).

* – Addition c) You gain no further influence with the Church. If you have stockpiled Influence, you may spend it freely, but once it’s gone…it’s gone.

The benefits of infamy are:

a) No captures. If your troops make an attack that would result in a capture, count it as a kill (higher kill rate)

* – Addition b) Looting/Pillaging/Grave Robbing – Any time you kill enemy troops, you gain 1/10th of their value (rounding in force) in gold, added directly to your military coffers (stripping the valuables off of the dead). Also, when an infamous player captures a new territory, if there are any provincial improvements IN that territory, any ONE of them may be ripped down in exchange for 40% of the build cost. This is effective immediately, and is only an option on the turn the province changes hands.

***

A few things of note here, that have changed since the essay was originally written.

First, Influence has obviously expanded to do a great deal more than was originally discussed here. Not a bad thing in the least, but definitely a difference.

Second, a thing which had fallen off the game-scope RADAR for a time is the notion of capturing enemy toops in battle and what to do with them. Honor and Infamy represent a tremendously convenient lever for determining a whole range of possible fates of the captured troops, as briefly touched upon here.

Thirdly, (and another thing that has been off-RADAR for some time) is the notion of expanding the current “pillage” option that’s currently in the game to include “scavaging the dead” (obviously not an honorable activity), which could be a potential source of supplemental income for an Infamous player.

At any rate, MUCH to contemplate in this essay, and I wanted to make it available for review, here on the site.

-=Vel=-