Subject: MN: Re: Reworking the Ruleset

From: "Wayper, Paul" <WayperP@p...>
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1999 13:13:03 +1000

On Saturday, 20 March 1999 2:07, Dunx (Duncan Ellis)
[SMTP:DELLIS@u...] wrote:
> move the Nomic mechanics to the end - I know that these are the bedrock
> of the whole process, but they are also largely static and not really
> the focus of the game. I suggest renumbering section 0 to section A or
> something (effectively treating it as an appendix) and putting it at the 
> end of the ruleset document so that the first thing a new reader sees
> after the contents page is the Vanilla ruleset. 

Why not even have the Nomic rules as a separate document entirely. I admit
that this may not sound like much (and might also seem like a bit of extra
work) but it'd be very useful to separate the two sets out. They have
different rules for changing, and the Nomic rules get changes very rarely.

> reorganise the Vanilla ruleset around explaining the GSD - this is 
> already partly in place but could do with being more clearly described. 
> However, I'm thinking that section 1.2 should be promoted to the 
> beginning of the ruleset, with the objectives and Turn mechanics 
> following. 

Good idea - or, at least, codifying the GSD header and the move structure.

> What I suggest is reorganising the Action descriptions by what kind 
> of tokens they cost - since the roles of Reds, Blues, etc are quite 
> well-defined this would have the effect of clustering Actions by the 
> desired effect ("I want to really ruin player X's day...") and also by
> what tokens were to hand ("Hmm... I've only got Black Tokens left.").

It's interesting. I'd prefer stated categories, since although token costs
are a good rule of thumb they're not absolute. "Offensive", "Defensive",
"Possessions and Tokens", "Movement","States", and "Extra" would cover most
of them. But even then you could probably use my argument above against
these categories as well. *shrug*

> 4. make tables the primary reference - there are several useful tables at
> different points in the ruleset. These should be grouped in one place
> near the beginning to make finding them easier, and to provide a
> cleaner way in.

Very good idea.

> 5. extend the Glossary - this is already a useful feature of the ruleset,
> but I think it could be useful to extend it to include conceptual 
> descriptions that don't fit in elsewhere (yes, I know it's a bit kitchen 
> sink - but I think in a game of this type there always has to be a 
> section called 'miscellaneous'). 

True, very true. Another good idea.

On the whole, an excellent plan. I think another thing that we need to
tackle is some of these terms (such as 'normal movement' or 'pass through')
that we seem to be having a problem with in the current discussions. If two
people are arguing about a misunderstanding (such as Kev and I with the DH
loop) then there must be something inaccurate or ill-worded.

JM2cW.

Paul Wayper -- DPI ITS Computer Systems Officer
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