[players get the opportunity to re-select their race once per week]

(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.

another thing I was considering was giving each race a disadvantage as well as their advantages; might give Mechtrons more of a purpose other than just being a handicap race some abilities posted already have disadvantages (like the Packer which requires 1 extra food per turn), so technically I'm already started on that aspect too
of course, some races, like the Flapper and the Humanoid, already have their disadvantages built-in -$400 MIGHT make things a little more difficult in early rounds, and +$600 would cause you to suffer more of the bad random events in early rounds

(by the way, if you think THIS is persistence, you should see the RuneScape clan I'm in; I've written more guides than NASA has astronauts I even came up with Dual-Wielding as a skill its something I never could finish though ... stupid complaining noobs )

I was waiting for another one to post first, so my answer look less agressive. :p

gee thaaaaaaanks jk

Considering that the production per plot goes from 0 to 8, percentage bonuses would be unnoticed most of times. +20% means an extra unit for every 5 units you have, not a great deal.

yep I suppose that's true, which is probably why most of the % bonuses for abilities will be changed to +/- Unit bonuses (a couple already have)

-Bonzoids are used to hang around at mountains, so I supposse they should suffer less speed reduction when walking through mountain plots. A little help when you have mountain plots surrounding the city. Not treating them as plain plots, just going slightly/moderatedly faster than the other species.

would be a good addition to my ability suggestion already listed above

-The +50% speed bonus for Leggites would reduce their need for food, aswell as giving them a lot of adventage when reaching the plots that are located further from town, placing more MULEs or making massive assays in a single turn. Maybe less speed reduction in all terrains might balance it slightly better than increasing their speed.

hmmm ... well the speed increase would still be affected by movement reduction when moving through mountain/riverbed plots, but I do see where you're coming from

-Flappers might get those extra $600 without problem. (Notice I'm using a Flapper. :p) That makes starting a little easier, allowing you to buy surplus or save money for plots. However, they would have no special trait other than those extra bucks, on long term they might suffer the bonus adventages from the other players' species.

another thing to keep in mind is, like kipley said, that being solidly in the lead during the early turns in the game will give you the more harsh random events that occur, so +$600 has its advantages AND disadvantages (and yes, I usually play as a flapper too but in the NES version; I haven't actually picked a race here on the site yet due to this exact thread )

-Gollumers might get priority to get the plot when grabbing it, but making 2 plot granting turns would make games terribly longer. :p People would hate playing with Gollumers. Or maybe they can increase the chances of having plots actions each turn (like when you get 4 auctions in the same turn and nobody buys them. :p).

sooo you're saying an extra 30 seconds per turn because of adding an extra land-grand phase for the Gollumers would make the game far too long? and not all land-grant phases even take 30 seconds

-Packers might have a minimal food production of 1 unit in food plots. That means, that even in worst case of a plot producing 0 units, they would produce 1 unit. No use against pest attacks (they eat all they can and more). A little help to prevent total starvation caused by other players.

Random Variation takes care of that but *points to first post* with the way its altered for the Packer as in my suggestion, there is a chance that 0 food will be produced, which fits the description that they tend to gobble their crops ... although, this does give me an idea ...

-Humanoids might have the cash penalty, and if they are that intelligent (I doubt it :p) maybe they might want to gain intelligence adventages. Perhaps something like making other players unable to see the number of units they own of each resource. Changing numbers for a "?" to mask them. That would make other players harder to know if they really need some kind of resource of just want to stack surplus. Competence among sellers/buyers might be altered. I don't know, I can't think anything better for an intelligent ape. Tongue

HAHA nice but anyway, if resources were made invisible that would make auctions really confusing especially for the other players ... I see what your idea is, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea or even if it would work

-Mechtrons? How about minimal energy production to 1 unit in energy plots?

Nope. The Mechtron is the true handicap race with no abilities whatsoever; that's why the computer ALWAYS plays as this race, so it only seems right to leave it that way (though I would like to see the Mechtron selectable by players as well due to this handicap, just because ).

-Spheroids? What unique trait can a living bag have? Floating on rivers, maybe? :p Totally random guess here. I can't even deduce their shape in the C64 version.

yeah I had a hard time coming up with some kind of ability for Spheroids too and what I have listed doesn't really make the best sense but it works I guess

Finally, an option to allow Species' Special Traits in game or not. For those who want to play in a more traditional way.

THAT is a good idea as well, and maybe even an option to allow only certain races to participate as well (if abilities are turned on in the host's game).



Changes made:

BONZOID:
-"+10% production per mountain per plot" changed to "+1/+1 to Random Variation per mountain per plot" (example: a plot with no mountains normally has +3/-3; a plot with two mountains has +5/-1 when playing as a Bonzoid)
-added ability: "25% movement speed bonus when traversing across mountain plots"

LEGGITE:
-"+50% movement speed" decreased to "+25% movement speed" (reduction when moving through riverbed/mountain plots is still applied)

PACKER:
-"+5/-4" Random Variation when producing on food plots changed to "+4/-1"
-added ability: "requires 1 extra food unit per turn excluding the first turn of the game"

(GENERAL):
-host has option to allow race abilities to be active
-if race abilities are active, host has option to allow only certain races to participate

I have also changed all the +x/-x Random Variation calculations into dice rolling; hopefully people aren't too confused by this

again, that's why I posted the ideas open for discussion and debate.
I would eventually like to see the different races have at least SOME advantage over the others--personally I don't see a point in having 8 different races if there's NO difference between them other than the way they look.
It doesn't even have to be these that I'm suggesting, it could be ANY bonuses that the developers see fit; these are simply my ideas

and yes, I agree; stuff that gets you thinking is fun and useful



I read through the "How-to-play?" and came up with a couple ideas that might work out a little better

Changes made

HUMANOID:
"+20% production on all plots" changed to "+3/-3 Random Variation changed to +4/-2 for all plots"

PACKER:
"20% chance to double/half food production" replaced with "+3/-3 Random Variation increased to +5/-4 on food-producing plots"

SPHEROID:
added ability: "plots that are not adjacent to other plots owned by the Spheroid gain +1Unit production per turn excluding the first turn of the game"



I also had an idea for the Flapper, but unsure if it would be reasonable or even possible
the idea is to have the Flapper start out with the same amount of money (so no +$600 at the beginning of the game), but receive a 5% discount on all purchases made and a 5% bonus on all sales made through auctions
the one who buys/sells from a Flapper would still pay/receive the posted amount (including the store)

Yo! I'm new to this site, but I have been playing the NES version of MULE and have always been a fan of its simplistic yet elaborate design. I was always disappointed that there were 8 different races, but no real difference between them other than the way they looked.
I dunno how many times race attributes have been suggested or even if they've been suggested at all on this site, but I've come up with ideas for each race awhile ago, after reading character descriptions, that might be beneficial, and I'd like to post them here to see what the pro MULE players think.

Each race as listed below will include:
-description; the ones used below are taken from the NES version, though they are fairly similar to the site versions
-suggested ability; all are open open to debate and can/will more than likely be slightly altered based on discussion and suggestion
-note; just a brief little side-note mentioning specific aspects



note on Random Variation:

in many of the suggested character abilities listed below, their race attributes slightly alter the random variation of a plot which is d7-4 (roll a 7-sided die and then subtract 4 to give +3/-3 production per plot). for more information on Random Variation, read the "How-go-play?" page under section IV part 3.
The abilities listed below will use a similar "d7-4" system as if a die was being rolled to determine this variation. (I'm making a huge assumption here since I have no idea how the core coding works but the die rolling system itself works the exact same way Random Variation does, so I'll go with it.)



Bonzoid
descrip = from the Armpull galaxy, Bonzoids love climbing and are often found hanging around the mountains
ability = +20% movement speed across mountain plots and receives bonus production of any product on a mountain plot, +1 to Random Variation roll per mountain per plot (example: a plot with no mountains normally has d7-4; a plot with two mountains has d7-4+2, or d7-2, when playing as a Bonzoid)
note = the bonus was originally "+10%" rather than the current "+1 Random Variation"; the reason for this change is that a % bonus would only have really affected Smithore (and possibly Crystite) production, making the bonus useless for other products; granted other products aren't the best to produce on mountain plots, but at least the bonus the way it is now makes other products feasible at the very least which would allow Bonzoids to live purely off of the mountain plots.

Flapper
descrip = from the Boird-Drop galaxy, all flappers receive and extra $600 in their nest egg!
ability = +$600 at the beginning of the game
note = definitely open to debate/change--I was just going by the obvious part of the NES description

Gollumer
descrip = from the Neckite galaxy, Gollumers love land and they are willing to stick their neck out to get it
ability = priority in land grants
note = though this might seem difficult to execute in the game engine, I happen to be a bit of a JAVA programmer myself; though it might take a little work, it would in fact not be too difficult at all. my idea would be to create two different land-grant phases: one separate phase at the beginning of each turn for just the Gollumers, and then another phase immediately after for all other races. (This is yet another one of those things where I would have to see the core coding of the game to see how/if it would work )

Humanoid
descrip = from the Earth systems, start with $400 less because they are too smart
ability = -$400 at the beginning of the game; +1 to "Random Variation" rolls for all plots owned by the Humanoid
note = another one that is definitely open to debate/change

Leggite
descrip = from the Afcany plains, Leggites have their feet on the ground, heads in the clouds, and legs everywhere
ability = +25% movement speed during player's phases; bonus is still received through riverbed/mountain plots, but movement reduction IS applied to this bonus
note = this would be useful when attempting to catch the mountain wompus and when time is short, or running short, during your turn

Mechtron
descrip = Evolved from a robotic mutation, Mechtrons are quick deciphers and efficient doers
ability = no special abilities, but allow players to choose this race
note = this would be the true handicap race, having no bonuses at all and allowing for completely fair play

Packer
descrip = from the Silicon system, they love food and make excellent farmers, when they don't gobble their crop
ability = requires 1 extra food unit per turn excluding the first turn of the game; changes the d7-4 Random Variation on food-producing plots to d6-2
note = this ability actually changed the die used to calculate Random Variation; instead of using a 7-sided die, it uses a 6-sided die. I'm not entirely sure how, or even IF, this one would work; I would, once again, have to see the core coding to determine that (and somehow I don't think the creators are going to let me )

Spheroid
descrip = from the Rolldoe system, Spheroids are well-rounded pioneers that hate square corners and straight lines.
ability = plots that are not adjacent to other plots owned by the Spheroid gain +1Unit production excluding the first turn of the game
note = adjacent plots would be the 4 directly next to it and not the 4 corners, since there is only so much room on the planet. this one kinda had me at a loss and completely unsure of what its ability should be, but I finally came up with something that might work



I also have general suggestions for selecting races:
-allow players to change their race (with limits, of course; something like once every 30 days might be reasonable)
-host has option to allow race abilities to be active
-if race abilities are active, host has option to allow only certain races to participate



(special thanks to kipley and Rogue Cat for their input which has inspired many changes in my suggestion so far)

Again, feel free to discuss these abilities and make suggestions of your own; all are open to debate and can/will more than likely be changed anyway.