Planet M.U.L.E.

(So I made this in advance before posting it and didn't realize that they were looking at making a MULE2 ... so I'm changing this proposal to be made not to the current game but to the MULE2 that is currently in development ... so any references to a hi-score table and what not ... try to look past that? I spent at least a couple hours on this and really don't want to have to change anything and accidentally mix something up ....... sorry =X )



Okay, now we all know that racial attributes for the game of MULE has been a long and grueling debate on what the bonuses should be and whether or not it should even be done. So, the main goal of racial attributes has not only been what these bonuses/penalties should be and keeping them balanced, but also making it fair to the opponents as well, not to mention that some players would be more than happy just leaving the game the way it is. My proposal on introducing racial attributes will attempt to cover all concerns so that those who want racial attributes get what they want and those who would rather avoid racial attributes can stay happy as well.



The first major concern is that many players would like to be able to use these abilities, especially where tournament mode is concerned, while others would much rather just leave the game the way it is. This proposal can be split into two parts—one of which applies to the web site
~Introduce two modes when playing in a tournament; a STANDARD mode where all racial attributes are nullified and the game plays through normally, and an ADVANCED mode where racial attributes take effect throughout the entirety of the game.
~Introduce a second weekly hi-score table for those that play in the ADVANCED tournament mode, which is tracked and reset in the same manner as the current one.



The second major concern is that most players would probably want to change their race at least once in order to try out the different abilities each one has (or perhaps they're just downright unhappy with the bonuses that apply to their already selected race), but at the moment race selections are permanent and cannot be changed. I propose that players get the opportunity to re-select their race once per week, with the reset occurring at the same time as the weekly hi-scores reset. This ensures that players get ample time to try all aspects of their race, without abusing the ability to change races by limiting it to once per week. It may also be a good option to make the Mechtron race playable by human players; since they are the “default” race and have no bonuses/penalties, they would be a good option for those that want to play the ADVANCED mode without worrying about specific bonuses/penalties that apply to themselves, which could translate to a slight disadvantage (or advantage, depending how the other colonists play compared to your own play style).



The third major concern, and possibly the largest, is what the racial attributes should actually be. This really is the million dollar question, isn't it?
My proposal for what the race attributes should be is still well in the making and definitely not finalized, but I might have come up with attributes that would work well in giving players a slight advantage over others while still maintaining a balance where it wouldn't be unfair.
Before I get into it though, I should mention that I use dice rolling to determine almost every single one of the racial bonuses/penalties. In the descriptions, you will see something like this:
d4-2 (-1/+2)
For those that play D&D (or something similar), this shouldn't be too hard to figure out, but I will explain it for everyone else:
“d4-2” indicates how the bonus is applied. In this case, a 4-sided die is rolled and then 2 is subtracted from the result. “(-1/+2)” indicates the range that this equation provides; the minimum result on the left and the maximum result on the right.
You may also see something like this:
2d2-2 (0/+2)
This equation follows the same as the first one, but instead 2 die are rolled, and these ones are only 2-sided (basically, a coin flip).
If you're still confused, feel free to ask, but I imagine nobody will need to … just a hunch =P
Okay, now onto the racial attributes; I'll just go down the list, including their provided description, and tell you what I've got.



HUMANOID: From the Earth Systems. Humanoids are maybe too smart!
I remember in the NES version of MULE, humans actually started with $400 less at the start of the game. While I don't know if they ever got any production bonuses, perhaps we should go off of the racial description and use that to the humans' advantage:
~ -$400 at the start of the game
~ 2d2-2 (0/+2) production on each plot owned (any terrain, any resource) per turn

GOLLUMER: From the Neckite Galaxy. Gollumers love land. To get it they are willing to stick their necks out!
This was quite possibly the most difficult race to decide on attributes for. Land is something you can't work with every single turn, since its usually completely filled almost halfway through the game. My proposal for the Gollumer race attributes will probably be the most debated, but as I said before these are definitely not final and open to opinions. I will explain why I chose some of these attributes further down, but for now I'll just tell you what I've come up with:
~ If a Gollumer wins a land auction, they pay 20% less than the price they won it for, and the seller receives 10% less money than the selling price
~ If a Gollumer sells a plot of land, the buyer must pay 10% more than the price they won it for, and the Gollumer receives an extra 20% profit
~ For any goods the Gollumer sells in an auction, they receive 10% less profit and the buyer saves 5%
~ For any goods the Gollumer buys in an auction, they pay 10% more and the seller receives 5% more

MECHTRON: Evolved from a robotic Mutation Mechtrons are quick deciders and efficient doers.
This will be the default race, with no bonuses or penalties of any kind, but should now be a playable race as well rather than this race being “AI only”.

PACKER: From the Silicon System. They love food, and make excellent farmers when they don't gobble their crop.
Food is a tricky resource to work with, and the Packer is an even trickier race. Here's my proposal:
~ increased food requirement (1 per turn)
~ each turn, 10% chance (d10 or d100 roll) that one food plot will not produce, but player will also require d4-1 (0/+3) LESS food for the next turn if this occurs; a riverbed plot takes priority in not producing
~ d4-2 (-1/+2) on each food-producing plot (any terrain) per turn

LEGGITE: From the Afcany Plains. Leggites have their feet on the ground, head in the clouds, and legs everywhere.
So, a creature from the plains … easy enough:
~ d2-1 (0/+1) production on each plains plot owned (any resource) per turn

BONZOID: From the Armpull Galaxy. Bonzoids love climbing and are often found hanging around in the mountains.
A preference to the mountains, implies they may not be so efficient elsewhere:
~ d2-1 (0/+1) production on each mountain plot owned (any resource) per turn
~ d2-2 (-1/0) production on each non-mountain plot owned (any resource) per turn

SPHEROID: From the Rolldoe System. Spheroids are well rounded pioneers that hate square corners and straight lines.
Hmmm … Riverbed, maybe? Let's see:
~ d2-1 (0/+1) production on each riverbed plot owned (any resource) per turn
~ d2-2 (-1/0) production on each non-riverbed plot owned (any resource) per turn

FLAPPER: From the Boird-Drop Galaxy. All Flappers like money.
Once again referencing the NES version, Flappers started with $600 extra, giving them a huge advantage early on … but this also made them much more vulnerable to the bad random events, especially early on in the game. Therefore, their “bonus” also qualifies as their penalty, and should be left as such:
~ +$600 at the start of the game



Going back on the Gollumer bonus, I'd like to explain the bonuses/penalties and some of the reasoning behind them:

LAND BATTLE – buying vs selling
The Gollumer loves land, so I figured discounts in buying and profits in selling would be the best option, since extra grants might be a bit difficult and probably very unfair.
Buying land, they pay 20% less and the seller gets 10% less. This means that if a Gollumer wins a land auction for $1000, then the Gollumer only pays $800, and the seller receives only $900 (say the store covers the loss in profit to the seller).
Selling land, the buyer must pay 10% more and the Gollumer gets 20% more. This means if the Gollumer sells a plot for $1000, the buyer must pay $1100 and the Gollumer receives $1200 (again, say the store covers the difference).
HOWEVER, if a Gollumer wins a plot of land from another Gollumer, then the bonuses are muddled. If a Gollumer buys, they pay 20% less, but since this Gollumer is buying from another Gollumer, then they also pay 10% more, so the total bonus for buying is 10% less. The selling Gollumer gets an extra 20% profit, but also receives 10% less from the other Gollumer's effect, so his bonus is a 10% profit as well. This means, if a plot is sold for $1000, the buying Gollumer only pays $900 and the selling Gollumer receives $1100 (the store now hates Gollumers =P ).
This is by far the largest aspect of any racial attribute that is up for debate, and definitely open to change.

RESOURCE BATTLE – buying vs selling
Since land is such a luxury for the Gollumer, this is where the penalties kick in: what the land is used for.
Buying resources, they have to pay an extra 10% and the seller gets an extra 5% profit. This means, if the Gollumer attempts to buy 1 unit of any resource for $20, then they must pay $22 and the seller gets $21. (Small profit for the store.)
Selling, they receives 10% less and the buyer saves 5%. If the Gollumer attempts to sell 1 unit of any resource for $20, the buyer only has to pay $19 and the Gollumer only gets $18. (Another small store profit.)
HOWEVER, if two Gollumers trade resources, the bonuses are muddled once again. A buying Gollumer pays 10% more, but the selling Gollumer's effect gives him a 5% discount making the total penalty 5%. same goes for the selling Gollumer: they receive 10% less, but the other Gollumer gives him 5% making a total loss of 5%. This means, if a Gollumer buys 1 unit of any resource from another Gollumer at $20, then the buying Gollumer pays $21 and the selling Gollumer receives $19. (Now the store doesn't mind Gollumers so much =P but they're still jerks over their abuse of land sales.)
one thing I would suggest, if this idea is used, that any divison made by these percentages is rounded UP to the nearest integer. This ensures that there is always an absolute minimum of +/- $1 to each party, and boosts the penalty any way possible, making the difference between buying/selling for $20 and buying/selling for $21 has an impact.



SO … that's my proposal for racial attributes. Feel free to dissect as you wish, and feel free to offer your own suggestions, or make up your own proposal on another thread based off of my ideas—I don't care =P None of this is set in stone and I would welcome any questions/comments/complains/opinions on any/all of this.

I wasn't sure if you were aware, based on reading your post... but in MULE2 the current situation is you pick your species EACH TURN, rather than picking a species permanently... so you aren't choosing your species long-term based on the bonus, but rather choosing your species each turn becomes another part of the game's strategy.

Sorry if you were aware and were referring to something else?

I personally like the idea of more options when hosting a game, like many/most other multiplayer games do... disabling/enabling species bonuses is something that could go in that category.

Hi all

One minor concern, and I think it is easily fixable if the programmers see it as a problem to fix, is the fact that choosing race each turn means they game is paused completely to the discretion of the person choosing.  can't immediately think of any other situation in Mule 1 where that happens, with the exception of the space bar at end of summary.  People taking time to choose their species will hopefully improve as people get used to their characteristics, but it only needs 1-2 new players for the game to slow right down. It can also lead to some abuse by players deliberately slowing the game to agitate others.

Is a timer (either from round 1, or later e.g. round 3) a good idea,and if the person has chosen by the end fo the timer, the AI chooses it automatically for him a good solution?

Nice Idea gohar, you took the words out of my mouth.







Dm

I find it just as annoying in PlanetMule personally, there's always one player who seems to take ages so I don't know choosing species will make it worse.

BUT... we're currently trialing a new version where you pick your species at the start of the game and don't change it each turn, meaning we're back to simply pressing your button each Summary. See here: http://www.planetmule.com/forum?topic=1729.msg8405#new

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