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Author Topic: Town Wards  (Read 61488 times)

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Offline DocClox

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Town Wards
« on: July 09, 2010, 03:56:36 AM »
Here's a list of the wards I was considering for Crossgate.

Sleaze Street:

Crossgate's slum district is centered on Sleaze Street. This is the player's starting ward. Goods and slaves are traded at the Fleamarket.

Crossgate Quays:

The Docks. Lots of work for whores from sailors on shore leave. There are rumours of a Black Market that trades in contraband and goods stolen from the docks.

Pinchpenny Lane

Crossgate's commercial centre. Named for both for the merchants apparent determination to test every single coin they get, and also for the pickpockets that work the district. The city's main goods and slave markets are found here.

Spark End

A tiny enclave at the far end of Pinchpenny Lane, Spark End is home to Crossgate's community of arificers and technologists. No formal markets, but if you don't mind going door to door you can occasionally find some interesting items.

Pentagle Square

Pentangle Square is named for one open plaza (it's actually round!) permanently inscribed with a summoner's pentagram, a leftover from some particularly ambitious ceremony planned by a long gone wizard. The city's arcane practitioners gravitate to this region.

Nobb Hill

Up above the stench of the main city you'll find the homes of the Crossgate elite. Lots of money to be had here, but any commerce is very descrete and usually by arrangement only.The city watch tend to intervene in gang warfare in this area.

Crossgate Keep

The fortress the city grew up around. Home to the watch barracks and the city governor.

Shambletown

A chaotic shanty town that's grown up outside the city walls.
« Last Edit: July 09, 2010, 10:18:11 AM by DocClox »

Offline Amoeba

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2010, 05:06:50 AM »
That sounds really awesome. Could probably think of a half-dozen other possible things to add, but that would be very... congested. I think that's a really nice balance of interesting but not overwhelming.

On another note, Spark End for the inventors? You're a Girl Genius fan, aren't you?  ;)

Offline DocClox

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2010, 05:10:19 AM »
I'm a Phil Foglio, but I never really read Girl Genius for some reason. Did that have a Spark End? I must have picked up sibconsciously.

I'm tempted to change it now. Pity, it's a great name...

Offline Amoeba

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2010, 05:13:45 AM »
No, but they refer to their mad genius inventors as having a "Spark" or being a "Spark". I think it's a great name too, even better in that light.

Offline d31r3x

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2010, 08:18:59 AM »
What about adding some 'ethnic' flavour? Something in southern USA border fashion (Desperados Quarter, Buena Vista Square), or Hong Kong cultural gang mix (Triads Alley, Midori Market)... Could be exotic, or may be not.

Offline DocClox

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2010, 08:23:33 AM »
Hmmm.... could do. On the other hand, it would place some constraints on the gangs you'd expect to find there, and I want to leave room on the map screen for outlying towns later on. So I think I'll work with what I have for now. Maybe we could have a triad town down the coast.

Eventually, I'd like to have a zoomable map, or a scrollable one, and then there'd be room for some more wards.

Offline fixet

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #6 on: July 09, 2010, 08:30:14 AM »
how would these work, exactly?

are they just areas to control, do they have some specific features?

Offline DocClox

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #7 on: July 09, 2010, 08:41:52 AM »
Each area is locked and has a specific event needed before it can be unlocked. After that there's a special activitiy involving the player's girls or gangs (depending on the activity) and then he can operate inside the new area.

Most wards are home to one of the player's rivals. Before he can strike at their power base, he needs to gain access to the ward.

Most wards will have a goods or slave market with some degree of specialisation. If you want a robot slave, you might have more luck in spark end; pentangle has more magic items; Drugs are cheapest at the black market, and so on.

You'll need to assign gangs to a particular ward. The gang limit is going to need to be raised - maybe add +2 for each new ward.

And of course we can make general events depend on having access to a particular ward.

Offline d31r3x

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2010, 08:50:59 AM »
May help with graphics / images / pics.
But first, it could be good to think a bit more about the city general look.
It's close to sea? has a river? mountains / hills?
Middle Ages city model? European-Gothic town? Arabic kasbah?
Think of cities featured in films, or imaginary cities in games. TES III Morrowind towns and cities were interesting.
Then draw a sketch, develop some history remarks (history affects town growing and shape, adds flavour just like ward names) and make someone draw properly a plan at 1200x1200.

I did a sample 5min sketch:


Offline Lorde

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2010, 10:08:27 AM »
See, if I would have drawn that, it would look like something a "precious childs" parents would put on their refrigerator. 

This looks like it's gonna be cool. I'll wait and see what you come up with doc.  ;D
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Offline DocClox

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #10 on: July 09, 2010, 10:36:48 AM »
May help with graphics / images / pics.
But first, it could be good to think a bit more about the city general look.
It's close to sea? has a river? mountains / hills?

I was thinking to keep it as close to the current one as I could. So at the water's edge,with a central hill. behind that, in the part of the city not show on the current map I was going to put the keep, and then the docs on the secton of coastline currently visible, with shambletown sprawling between the south gate and the docks.

Middle Ages city model? European-Gothic town? Arabic kasbah?
Think of cities featured in films, or imaginary cities in games. TES III Morrowind towns and cities were interesting.
 
I was thinking Middle Ages for the plebs, and moving more toward classical/renaissance styles for the posh end of town. A little bit of Early Industrial Squalid might work, too.


  Then draw a sketch, develop some history remarks (history affects town growing and shape, adds flavour just like ward names) and make someone draw properly a plan at 1200x1200.

I did a bit about Crossgate's history as I see it in the Nature of Crossgate thread. Short version: the city is there almost entirely becuase the area is prone to spatial anomalies, portals, and the like, and a lot of what gets deposited by these things is worth money. Most of Crossgate's trade began shipping alien artifacts and slaves, and it's still a major slave trading city.

Other than that, the place is too far out from the capital to get much attention, and by and large it's a nasty, dangerous place to live. The post of city governor has become something of a punishement posting at Court, and the city's had a sucession of governors who hated and neglected the place, which is why the gang problem has grown so badly out of hand.


Offline Bluebeholder

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #11 on: July 09, 2010, 10:55:17 AM »
It sounds a like Crossgate is similar to the old Thieves World series.

By the way if you're going for that Medieval European feel; its kinda important to decide how do you intend to deal with religion.
I see two major paths the Planescape way where all religions are valid and active and they're all fighting it out.  Alternately a more historical and hostile unified church which may be good for adding difficulty.

Offline Lorde

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #12 on: July 09, 2010, 11:46:33 AM »
The problem with a Unified religion idea in WM is that crossgate is a melting pot of other worlds, not just other nations. With so many people coming from all over, It's hard to have one, unified, all oppressive religion running the show. It wouldn't be a question of barbarians at the gates. It would literally be sudden dissension in the streets in the afternoon. 

Planescape had an interesting take on this. The citizens of Sigil had some basic beliefs that amounted mostly to ego stroking. (Sigil is great because it is the center of the ring. The people that live here are great because we live here. The lady is great because she protects us... just don't mess with her.)  They further expounded on this through the factions. And if anything, the factions didn't represent a unified front. Just the opposite.

Now, I know I always fall back to Planescape in matters like this. But it really is good fiction. And it makes sense that with so many cultures in crossgate, Religion would be a fractured mess at best. Roving Gangs in robes at worst.

Just my thoughts on this.
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Offline DocClox

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #13 on: July 09, 2010, 12:09:43 PM »
It sounds a like Crossgate is similar to the old Thieves World series.
 
mmmm... with a healthy dollop of Lankhmar and a dash of TunFaire from Glen Cook's Garret PI books, perhaps :)

    By the way if you're going for that Medieval European feel; its kinda important to decide how do you intend to deal with religion.
I see two major paths the Planescape way where all religions are valid and active and they're all fighting it out.  Alternately a more historical and hostile unified church which may be good for adding difficulty.

I was thinking more the Lankmar/Ankh-Mopork approach with a cheerfully polytheistic approach and oddball cults springing up from time to time. In RL, Roman empire was a lot like that.


Planescape had an interesting take on this. The citizens of Sigil had some basic beliefs that amounted mostly to ego stroking. (Sigil is great because it is the center of the ring. The people that live here are great because we live here. The lady is great because she protects us... just don't mess with her.)  They further expounded on this through the factions. And if anything, the factions didn't represent a unified front. Just the opposite.

I think the inhabitants of Crossgate have that sort of Hubris. I expect they're more likely to regard themselves as getting shat upon because they're at the ass-end of the universe. (But gods help an outsider who tries saying that...)

Offline Lorde

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Re: Town Wards
« Reply #14 on: July 09, 2010, 01:09:33 PM »
 
I think the inhabitants of Crossgate have that sort of Hubris. I expect they're more likely to regard themselves as getting shat upon because they're at the ass-end of the universe. (But gods help an outsider who tries saying that...)

Great point. There is a certain amount of pride that develops amongst people that surpass insurmountable odds to just eke out a living. They'd see outsiders as whiners that just need to get it or get lost. In this regard, there may not be much in the way of charity and social safety nets in crossgate. This could explain why there are so many strong willed girls in the whorehouse. (Iron will is a favored trait after all for girl creators) Survive by any means necessary.

On that note, why not add a part of crossgate that acts as a dimensional check in|out station. The fees would be exorbitant. (Something for the rich and powerful to play with) Simply because it isn't very easy (for the sake of this scenario) to create a stable portal to a specific place. So your "Free" girls are working towards that. Maybe even have a scenario where a girl leaves this way if she makes enough money and doesn't like you very much.
Current Girl Work Schedule            
* Revy  (Black Lagoon)
* Stab at The series He is my Master
* Run Elsie Jewelria and Yuuki Rito (To Love Ru)
* Yukari Takeba (Persona 3)
* Work on the Code Geass girls