Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

So anyone feel like laying out the list of EA/MA/LA events, particularly those supposedly happening during the move from 1 age to the next(ermors fall into darkness ect)?

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

I'm supposed to find and read all the posts you've made related to any given topic before I'm allowed to reply? That seems pretty unreasonable.

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

You're allowed to do whatever you want, including posting to a thread without having read or understanding what you're posting to. I'm a big fan of freedom of speech.

But, you're telling me you read the "accepted community mod" thread and are making judgements based on that.

Is it my fault that that thread doesn't have anything to do with this one? It's just as unreasonable to expect everything I've ever written to somehow be related-I'm not Michael Moorcock.

I think it's reasonable to expect, when you're trying to make a point, in the process of attacking something, that there's actually a point to be made.

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

Interesting that you interpret my post as an attack.

Does this paranoia manifest itself in any other ways? Excessive PD building perhaps?

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

Why just writers? I'm hoping to be able to do some Dominions-inspired animation in the future. Some Abysia - Wolf Tribe clash, with a sudden appearance of a Lumber Construct, which is burned by the Demonbred appearing from high in the clouds, which is killed by a horde of harpies while Centaurs assault the side of the Abysian force, and then all of this is suddenly destroyed when a Daughter of Dawn is thrown down on them from the heavens, followed by a blue dragon entombing its enemy - and the grove - in a sudden snowstorm.

Of course, ATM I couldn't even do a proper Wolf Tribe warrior, not to speak of the Abysian with the heat shimmering/grass catching flames effect, or trees or environment or anything. However, I intend to do projects of various sizes, once I'm out of the army, to learn more quickly.


Actually, as far as I understand it whatever Tolkien wrote BECAME stereotype. His elves weren't the cattle-stealing Tuatha of the Irish, or the Victorian elfs who have more in common with Santa Claus' little helpers than Tolkien's semi-divine elves.
Any way, I disagree with your claim that fanfiction could give Dom-world anywhere near as much depth as Middle-Earth has. Tolkien used a better part of his life on creating his stories, languages, maps, calendars and histories. Fans can create a lot of content to fill the gaps, or widen a world, but I don't think we should be trusted to create new things for it, to create depth.

Despite not agreeing with the reasons you gave for this thread, this is a great idea. There are no scenarios in Dominions. It lacks all the tools for creating stories within the game (except for those little stories of limp, obese assassins who kill gods and conquer the world in the name of the Everburning Fire, the Devourer of Children). If there were good enough stories, maybe we could get Johan to give us some basic scenario tools. Even custom start messages, Game Over messages and You Win messages would go a long way.

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

I think you'd be surprised at how much depth a few committed (read: crazy) fans could come up with, were they unleashed. After all, a large part of the time Tolkien spent was in establishing all those "steriotypical" concepts, and he mostly just had the support of the other Inklings, whereas we have several hundred people on this forum, with atleast 100 regulars.

I don't have any steriotype against writers, not at all, but I wasn't daring to hope that anyone would be making Dominions: The Movie http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif More thematic music would also, ofcourse, be appreciated, as would poetry, especially if both had pseudohistorical significance.

I'm not sure we need languages, as most of the cultures here are based atleast in part on real world cultures, with languages of their own. I'd be happy to create a few languages, though-atleast alphabets and small vocabularies, as well as calendars. I have some amount of experience there.

Johan seems to like good stories-he expressed so towards DrPraetorius's hoburg story-so maybe we can entice him in that way.

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

I've seen some of that in various contexts. It could happen, but only if it was organized - and what you suggested wasn't organized. You hoped everyone would act together to create a better world, and that never works out.

I don't think a movie could happen, any more than a novel. But while you're thinking of a short story, I'm thinking of an animation of few minutes. Something like a really crappy game trailer or cutscene.

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

I hope that is not me you are reffering to, but JK. Truth be told I am somewhat sceptical of fan created material, beyond mods and similar. There is something about writing stories about other peoples stories that I find inherently unattractive. It is also a prejudice of mine that fancreated fiction often tends towards the prurient, I was trying to snarkily convey that with my previous post.

Personally I think it is a strength that not everything is explicit in dominions, that the history is vague and perhaps not even completely consistent provides room for imagination and fancy. The hinted is more evocative than the obvious. the unsaid is more intriuging than the explained and the half glimpsed more alluring than the starkly visible.

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

I was hoping, but yes, I agree with you. It does need organization, which is why I started with a set of rules, just to lay out an outline of what I felt would be appropriate.

I'm not quite to the point of short stories, I had in mind just a basic timeline, and then adding to that until it reached a saturation point of information, at which time
it could lead to/inspire the writing of short stories, as a reference.

I think your idea of a cutscene sounds great. You might also consider, if it appeals to you, creating a slideshow/screensaver animation for Dominions. I've always thought that was a good solution to the dullness of having to wait for turns to complete, and a good enough example might inspire the devs to include it in some form or another-it's something I'd like to do myself, but I don't have a scanner, and I can't do good enough artwork with paint programs and a mouse.

Re: History of the Multiverse, Part 1
 

I was referring to the other Johan, Johan.

But...I do agree with you, in part. I like things to be ambiguous, vague, surreal even. BUT...NOT pitch black.

There's a whole lot of material that can be added, and background information suppliments the imagination.

To use Tolkien for example-tons of background on every aspect of Middle Earth, and yet, it still inspired hundreds of thousands of people to imagine, and a respectable percentage of those to create their own universes in that same model.

You can't convince me that happened because their imaginations were being stunted by Tolkien's encyclopedic background.

And with Dominions, you can offer atleast 50 or 60 different perspectives, one for each nation, on the objective history. Probably a lot more than that, and each one relatively valid.