I occasionally get the urge to play a big sandbox-style video game, like Minecraft or the Elder Scrolls series, in which I can theoretically wander anywhere and see all sorts of interesting sites. Unfortunately there are no games in that style accessible to the blind.
So I thought I would try and emulate them in solo form. I have always had a problem with mapping, and a while back I posted a blog comment asking for possible solutions which didn't involve hexes. This link is the most promising so far. The blog is home to a lot of wonderful sandbox stuff in general, and will probably appeal to a certain kind of soloist. I was thinking about the problem again tonight, and trying to come up with a character concept that might work for exploration—cartographer, maybe? :) At any rate, enjoy.
http://9and30kingdoms.blogspot.com/2014/11/random-hexless-terrain-tables.html
I hear you there. I do a fair amount of computer programming, and the amount of up front work still remains daunting.
ReplyDeletethe link to 9+30 seems like a cool system, but it requires a lot of bookkeeping and knowledge of state of surrounding area to generate the next area. I stare at those enviously but the work to automate that stuff is definitely not trivial.
The tradeoff that I make is that I accept random results that are sort of gonzo for the sake of quicker generation.
I'm a sucker for random tables, but I want the computer generating the results, not me, since that's less time that I spend with the GM hat.
There are lots of examples of state-less hex or cell generation, here's one that uses cells.
site here:
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?750468-OSR-Random-Subhex-Wilderness-Generation
pdf here:
https://app.box.com/s/p0w9in1qmsb6411g0d3djml6vb2qdtoa
most of these tables I put into a random generator (I took randlistgen and hacked it to do what I want, it's at path-o-logic.com ), but a lot of those tables can be nested and put into a random table thing, easier than generating a macro. table smith and inspiration pad pro are two examples.
I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I think you and I have the same goal here. :D
I've done a system for a partially sighted friend in the past. It isn't scientifically accurate, and might, at times, feel a bit gonzo, but the system works which is what matters. He uses it for solo play and for GMing. What I did was take a checkerboard that has raised edges to keep the pieces from sliding about, but if I were to do it again I'd use an Othello board.
ReplyDeleteThe checkers got a hot glue gun treatment, using shapes to signify terrain types on either side (Circle for forests, triangle for mountains, etc).
So to make a map, my friend just had to draw a checker, put it down on the board, and then could touch-read the terrain type.
Just wish I had a 3D printer to make the pieces better.
that sounds awesome Daniel. It makes me think of mighty empires hexes. it's out of print but it looks like they can be found on eBay... i wonder what Shapeways has for this.
ReplyDelete