🚀 go-pugleaf

On 2 Jul 1997 00:48:25 GMT, "Matthew Cameron Peckham"
<ine...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

>Quick notice:
>
>If you just start up a level and sit there (do nothing), watch the gold
>fields on the other parts of the map.  You'll notice the enemy keeper
>begins digging, but stops early on.  In other words, the enemy keeper seems
>to just leave gold resources sitting around--I am finding the first 7
>levels incredibly simple so far.
>
>I suspect something isn't quite right--I'm not THAT good yet.
>
>Shouldn't they mine all the gold they can, as quickly as they possibly can?
>
>-Matt
>

I've noticed the same thing, I'm on level 8, and the first thing I do
is make a beeline for all the gold.  Then I realized that the enemy
doesn't mine gold, so I can spend more time strategically building
my dungeon.  I just hope it's not a sick joke on Blizzard's part to
keep our hopes and egos high and then SPLAT.

mwh...@earthlink.net wrote:
> 
> On 2 Jul 1997 00:48:25 GMT, "Matthew Cameron Peckham"
> <ine...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> 
> >Quick notice:
> >
> >If you just start up a level and sit there (do nothing), watch the gold
> >fields on the other parts of the map.  You'll notice the enemy keeper
> >begins digging, but stops early on.  In other words, the enemy keeper seems
> >to just leave gold resources sitting around--I am finding the first 7
> >levels incredibly simple so far.
> >
> >I suspect something isn't quite right--I'm not THAT good yet.
> >
> >Shouldn't they mine all the gold they can, as quickly as they possibly can?
> >
> >-Matt
> >
> 
> I've noticed the same thing, I'm on level 8, and the first thing I do
> is make a beeline for all the gold.  Then I realized that the enemy
> doesn't mine gold, so I can spend more time strategically building
> my dungeon.  I just hope it's not a sick joke on Blizzard's part to
> keep our hopes and egos high and then SPLAT.

Bullfrog's part... not Blizzard.
-- 
"And Lo, I created life one... frame... at... a... time...
 And on the seventh frame... I REALIZED I HAD 8,633 more to go!"

La Musique Petite Challenge
The DORK page: Dearmad's official raytracing Krud
http://www.europa.com/~dearmad

That'd be "BULLFROG'S" Part not Blizzard.  Actually I have found the AI
good enough in this game that I welcome the opportunity for an advantage,
but don't forget you may be missing a GEM deposit somewhere in which case
there is no need to mine gold.

e d k

> my dungeon.  I just hope it's not a sick joke on Blizzard's part to
> keep our hopes and egos high and then SPLAT.
> 

In article <01bc8680$f564efa0$7178d9ce@#ineluki>,
Matthew Cameron Peckham <ine...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>Quick notice:
>
>If you just start up a level and sit there (do nothing), watch the gold
>fields on the other parts of the map.  You'll notice the enemy keeper
>begins digging, but stops early on.  In other words, the enemy keeper seems
>to just leave gold resources sitting around--I am finding the first 7
>levels incredibly simple so far.
>
>I suspect something isn't quite right--I'm not THAT good yet.
>
>Shouldn't they mine all the gold they can, as quickly as they possibly can?

I just beat level 5 last night (yes, I'm hopelessly hooked), and after
blowing away the keeper's heart I let my imps wander around until they'd
claimed the entire place.  It was very odd; there was a ton of gold right
next to the keeper's lair that he hadn't dug out at all, but there were
other patches some distance away that he'd obviously explicitly tunneled
to get.  I think this has more to do with Bullfrog making the early
levels deliberately easy than with anything else.  (The first four levels
are training levels, from what I hear....)

It's amazing what a Bullfrogish game this is.  Many of the sound and
graphic effects (the "claim a square" sound, the meteor spell, etc.)
are vintage Magic Carpet, while the structure building is very Populous-
esque... yet it's definitely a sui generis game, much originality
all over it.

I'm leaving on vacation for two weeks on Saturday, and I'm actually
pining at being away from my computer because I won't be able to play
DK... but perhaps they'll have a 3Dfx patch by the time I get back...
now _that_ would KICK ASS......

-- 
Rob Jellinghaus   ro...@unrealities.com   http://www.unrealities.com/robj

On 2 Jul 1997, Ed Kloskowski wrote:

> That'd be "BULLFROG'S" Part not Blizzard.  Actually I have found the AI
> good enough in this game that I welcome the opportunity for an advantage,
> but don't forget you may be missing a GEM deposit somewhere in which case
> there is no need to mine gold.

Do the Gems EVER run out?  I'm doing the single player game and the last
game I did had gems that never ran out the whole time.  I ended up with
over half of my area earmarked (sorry Tyson) for treasure rooms.  BTW,
does having larger libraries, workshops, etc... speed up R&D on spells,
bridges, and so forth?  In that same mission, I had built out to encompass
all of the buildable terraign and had to sit there doing nothing for about
20 minutes before I discovered the damned bridge :(  I was about ready to
give up.

---------
Paul Schaaf
sch...@u.washington.edu

In article <Pine.OSF.3.96.970703...@saul7.u.washington.edu>,
"P. says...
<snip>
>Do the Gems EVER run out?  I'm doing the single player game and the last
>game I did had gems that never ran out the whole time.  I ended up with
>over half of my area earmarked (sorry Tyson) for treasure rooms.  BTW,
>does having larger libraries, workshops, etc... speed up R&D on spells,
>bridges, and so forth?  In that same mission, I had built out to encompass
>all of the buildable terraign and had to sit there doing nothing for about
>20 minutes before I discovered the damned bridge :(  I was about ready to
>give up.
>
>---------
>Paul Schaaf
>sch...@u.washington.edu
>
No the gems don't run out - in a level with gems, the design decision is
to make gold not a problem - therefore, I would expect to run into other
problems right away that infinite gold won't fix :-)

I haven't tried to quantitatively verify this, but according to the manual
a more efficient room (bottom bar on the flag) will research/manufacture
faster and more creatures working in the room (esp. with higher skill) will
research/manufacture faster as well.  Just from casual observation, it
does seem to work this way.

I've started making most of my rooms much larger than the "minimum"
to-build/attract size.  In libraries, even when you finish researching
everything, the room has to be pretty big to hold all the spells and
specials.  The workshop has to be really big if you start stockpiling
doors and traps.

I usually just dig out huge rooms for nearly everything at first -- let
your imps claim the space and start reinforcing the walls.  Only fill part
of each space with room tiles at first if you're short on cash.

Steve (sya...@griffin.com)

Matthew Cameron Peckham (ine...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: Quick notice:

: If you just start up a level and sit there (do nothing), watch the gold
: fields on the other parts of the map.  You'll notice the enemy keeper
: begins digging, but stops early on.  In other words, the enemy keeper seems
: to just leave gold resources sitting around--I am finding the first 7
: levels incredibly simple so far.

: I suspect something isn't quite right--I'm not THAT good yet.

: Shouldn't they mine all the gold they can, as quickly as they possibly can?

: -Matt
 I have finished the game and observed the same thing in every level.
Computer simply wont dig gold for the first 30(?) minutes and you can
see his creature number going up then down to almost 0. A bug?

Chen

P. Schaaf <sch...@u.washington.edu> wrote in article
<Pine.OSF.3.96.970703...@saul7.u.washington.edu>...
> 
> 
> On 2 Jul 1997, Ed Kloskowski wrote:
> 
> > That'd be "BULLFROG'S" Part not Blizzard.  Actually I have found the AI
> > good enough in this game that I welcome the opportunity for an
advantage,
> > but don't forget you may be missing a GEM deposit somewhere in which
case
> > there is no need to mine gold.
> 
> Do the Gems EVER run out?  I'm doing the single player game and the last
> game I did had gems that never ran out the whole time.  I ended up with
> over half of my area earmarked (sorry Tyson) for treasure rooms.  BTW,

That *should* be "sorry Evander".  No, Gems do not run out.  The limiting
factor of gems is how much access you have to them.  If there is only one
side to get at, and the gems are in an out-of-the-way place, it is still
difficult because of the time involved.  I know the level you speak of,
it's in one of the first training levels, already in your treasury and
there are two gems next to each other.

> does having larger libraries, workshops, etc... speed up R&D on spells,
> bridges, and so forth?  In that same mission, I had built out to
encompass
> all of the buildable terraign and had to sit there doing nothing for
about
> 20 minutes before I discovered the damned bridge :(  I was about ready to
> give up.

I think so.  It is definately dependant on how many people you have
researching.  If I have nothing more to do, I usually cast a haste spell on
my researching creatures...


Brandon

Brando wrote:
> 
> P. Schaaf <sch...@u.washington.edu> wrote in article
> <Pine.OSF.3.96.970703...@saul7.u.washington.edu>...
> > Do the Gems EVER run out?  I'm doing the single player game and the last
> > game I did had gems that never ran out the whole time.  I ended up with
> > over half of my area earmarked (sorry Tyson) for treasure rooms.  BTW,

No, they don't. However, I've been in situations where I was mining gems
and *still* running out of cash, because I couldn't mine them fast
enough. (The gems in question were accessible from only one side, which
was facing a longish river of lava. My imps spent more time running back
and forth from the nearest possible treasure room than they did mining.)

> > does having larger libraries, workshops, etc... speed up R&D on spells,
> > bridges, and so forth?  In that same mission, I had built out to
> encompass
> > all of the buildable terraign and had to sit there doing nothing for
> about
> > 20 minutes before I discovered the damned bridge :(  I was about ready to
> > give up.
> 
> I think so.  It is definately dependant on how many people you have
> researching.  If I have nothing more to do, I usually cast a haste spell on
> my researching creatures...

According to the docs, everyone performing a task such as research or
training takes up one square of dungeon space, and the efficiency of the
square depends primarily on what's around it. A library square that's
completely surrounded by library squares is more effective than one on
the edge of the room. For that reason alone, you should build rooms
somewhat bigger than necessary.

-- 
Carl Muckenhoupt		ca...@earthweb.com
EarthWeb			http://www.earthweb.com/

> According to the docs, everyone performing a task such as research or
> training takes up one square of dungeon space, and the efficiency of the
> square depends primarily on what's around it. A library square that's
> completely surrounded by library squares is more effective than one on
> the edge of the room. For that reason alone, you should build rooms
> somewhat bigger than necessary.

Actually, an interesting tidbit from the strategy guide is that reinforced
walls at the edges of a room tile also make it more efficient.  So a
perfectly square room in the middle of  a vast cavern is less efficient
than one which is in a proper "room".


-- Rob "Xemu" Fermier
Irrational Games, Inc.
xe...@earthlink.net

On Tuesday, 1 July 1997 08:00:00 UTC+1, mwh...@earthlink.net  wrote:
> On 2 Jul 1997 00:48:25 GMT, "Matthew Cameron Peckham"
> <ine...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> 
> >Quick notice:
> >
> >If you just start up a level and sit there (do nothing), watch the gold
> >fields on the other parts of the map.  You'll notice the enemy keeper
> >begins digging, but stops early on.  In other words, the enemy keeper seems
> >to just leave gold resources sitting around--I am finding the first 7
> >levels incredibly simple so far.
> >
> >I suspect something isn't quite right--I'm not THAT good yet.
> >
> >Shouldn't they mine all the gold they can, as quickly as they possibly can?
> >
> >-Matt
> >
> 
> I've noticed the same thing, I'm on level 8, and the first thing I do
> is make a beeline for all the gold.  Then I realized that the enemy
> doesn't mine gold, so I can spend more time strategically building
> my dungeon.  I just hope it's not a sick joke on Blizzard's part to
> keep our hopes and egos high and then SPLAT.

I've noticed the same thing on Skirmish levels. Problem is once they stop mining gold, they don't start again and won't dig larger dungeons. Once pay day comes around, all the creatures they've trained up get pissy and leave! Then I have no  decently levelled creatures to be able to convert. I think its a glitch :/