Back to Basics - BroCode and GPT4o

 What's hard about learning is the time to practice and use it and to use it regularly. My regular job doesn't let me remember my other skills - I'm a former artist, and life and work don't let me practice. The BroCode is one of the best tutorials - straight to the point and very fast. combined with AI its possible to learn this quickly... but still not enough with the free time I have during the week. 

One of the design decisions is that all the rolls will be visible, so it's easy to follow the book and easy to troubleshoot if outcomes are not correctly produced.  

Another design decision is using a static web app is that it will run on your phone, tablet, and desktop. The problem is storage - it cannot store the worlds you produced since browsers can only hold things temporarily. It's possible to export it as a CSV but not import that CSV - I'm still researching a workaround - where it can probably export the HTML. What's important is that world builders can copy and paste the tables easily into their documents or wiki. 

 

Adding more complexity, adding more and more columns. 

Imagine this massive spreadsheet is going to be made to fit a static web app. 

Learning to do HTML and CSS with GPT4o

 So, I'm slowly learning to build a static website. This way it can run on the desktop, phone, tablet, etc...

I am using GPT4o, which is the best, and I tried Gemini Pro, and it kinda sucks... and never can I verify they actually process 1M tokens or all these Multi-Modal claims. Note that GPT4 is 20usd/mo while Gemini is 35usd/mo and I could already use GPT4o - I tried the desktop app but I cant get it to work they only released it in Mac... 

I got it this far. I just learning HTML and CSS first. 

The JS comes later as I have to create checks like - 
Must be Inhabited? 
allow for Habitats or World focus? Note that Habitats are the default way star systems can be colonized with high populations - Habitable worlds (requiring less Habitat Infrastructure) are just the bonus.

I learned how tables are made... and more about CSS. 

There are "Dials" in the Star generation where the user may want a particular star. 

Then there are the ultra-rare displaced Worlds. 

Character Generator Studies: User Interface Libraries - Data Handling spells

 chatgpt cleaning up my ramblings. Which is an interesting dilemma - authenticity is being a rambling messy human with convoluted thought processes that is difficult to discern and filled with contradictions - but AI cleans it all up - makes it more understandable. It’s coherent, but the human isn’t.  If you can understand me - it’s either: it was a simple concept to begin with or the ai cleaned it up. 

As I venture deeper into the realms of coding through my latest project, a character generator for the Cepheus Engine, my understanding of JavaScript (JS), HTML, and CSS has expanded significantly. This project has not only served as a practical coding exercise but also as a fascinating exploration into how these technologies interweave to create dynamic and interactive web applications.

The Foundation: HTML, CSS, and JS

At its core, HTML acts as the skeleton, holding the data and the structure of the webpage. Then comes CSS, with its styling prowess, defining the aesthetics from the width and height of elements to the more nuanced details like border radii and shadows, infusing life into the HTML’s static structure.

JavaScript (JS), however, is where the magic truly happens. It introduces interactivity, holding the initial states of our characters and managing complex data structures. Through JS, characteristics such as species—be it Human or Starborn, adapted for life in habitats and ships—are meticulously detailed in objects and arrays, painting a vivid picture of the character’s attributes and potential journey.

The Challenge of JavaScript and Data Handling

JavaScript demands a nuanced understanding of how data is stored, manipulated, and transformed. It’s here that I’ve leaned heavily on ChatGPT, my invaluable guide through the labyrinth of functions and logic that underpin the character generation process. Understanding data handling in JS mirrors the complexities of logistics and quality control, where the sequence and order of information—or in a broader sense, “Material Handling”—significantly impacts outcomes and transformations. ChatGPT knows all the functions but it’s up to me to arrange the logic to make a working product. I had to start from scratch 3 other times. 

UI Libraries and Philosophical Musings

The next frontier in my coding journey is mastering User Interface (UI) libraries, particularly in navigating the intricacies of character creation stages. 

The multitude of decisions a player makes during this process raises intriguing philosophical questions about freedom versus determinism in storytelling. Is the path of a character shaped by autonomous choices, or is it predetermined by the cold logic of a random number generator?

React.js is a well known library. Searching with JS UI libraries gives a lot of libraries for more advanced users and I found React.js easier and since I have some open source coders in the philippines i can ask, I’m inclined to discuss these more with them. 

Expanding Horizons: Beyond Character Generation

The significance of UI extends beyond character creation. I’m exploring how to apply my newfound knowledge to other projects, such as static web apps for generating ships, vehicles, robots, and habitats, along with my silver-rated Mneme World Generator. These tools aim to make the game more accessible and streamline the setup process, enhancing the overall experience for players.

I think it’s possible to do it all myself, although the clean up work is going to a problem. It’s easier for me to understand the concepts and make working prototypes - and then hire one of the many students and teach them what I learned to the tedium of building every element. This will free me to have working tools and test them more - and then proceed to the next horizon: GODOT studies as a more visual set of tools is what I want to do. 

Getting into Godot by the time i’m in my 50s or late 40s because of real life - I wanted to be a game designer but of course real life and mediocre stats. I do a lot of projects that are for the greater good - like shifting businesses to open source so they can hire more staff instead of paying a lot of money to licenses - just moving a our business to Next Cloud (1M php or 20,000usd /year, inclusive of the full time regular staff that will help maintain it) from Google (2M php or 40,000usd/year) and showing to many MSMEs here in the philippines its doable and training a generation of OJTs to do the same thing we did for ourselves to others is an important part of my identity - these IT students entering the workforce where they will be doing just dumb-support for MS365 and GWS. instead they will help in pfsense wireguard, erpnext, next cloud, and of course arduino implementation. 

When you have mediocre stats you try more things and make more calculated bets, and you lose a lot. But when you do start winning, your low stats as compared to the Heroes means that you still make diversified bets. So i’ll be old barely scratching my dreams and in the limit scope of my circumstance. 

OpenAI and 130k Tokens from 32k tokens: GPT4 Turbo

I am fortunate I live in the age of AI, and despite being from a developing world country can afford the subscription of OpenAI. It’s really powerful, editing my books will be much easier - particularly as I quiz the AI about how clear I convey a mechanic or a system. Learning programming is much easier since I can ask the annoying amount of questions I tend to ask. 

I dont know how to make money with the Software I will make for Game in the Brain Mneme Cepheus Engine, except creating a zip file of the files and giving instructions how to run the index.html. I plan to make a Private Branch, since I’m not someone who can guarantee support. I right now have access to a few Students who are looking for a side gig who can probably make Mneme World Generator in Dynamic HTML tables in javascript. That’s something I can delegate - since system generation is not as interactive as Character Generation. 

While I am making the HTML, css, and JS character generator - and the array of 3D printable characters for Mneme Variant Combat - I wonder if I can make Mneme Ship Generator in Blender or Godot. My understanding of geometry nodes is improving - its just that as I’m approaching my goal I tend to learn a lot about it and if you’ve seen my Track record I make an MVP that will lead incrementally to a more ambitious outcome. 

I had to make Mneme Space Combat before I have a chance to make this sellable. A foundation of compatible tools so that people can transition to Hard-Sci-Fi easily

Mneme Space Combat will evolve to a Ship Generator Game, for download and running on various platforms (Since GODOT allows for phone, desktop etc..). An ENVIRONMENT system is a milestone to FUND - where people can drive their ships around a star system. The Environment system will import Mneme World Generator Information to generate a System. Mneme Variant Combat is the Character Engine - where PCs are managed, at first in a 3D sandbox. 

The strategic GOAL behind CC-BY-SA is that enough Assets will be created that this Augmented reality Game engine can be used to play (10 years from now). If you know my IT projects - and my Open Repair slant you will learn that if Possible we will make this Localy run: meaning buyers can choose whose servers run the game - Linode, Azure, Google etc… that way if they are like me, in the Philippines playing with someone in the USA - we can select a server with lower latency. No Lock-in. 

Roblox for Adults lolz. but radically Open Source. If I had a platform - I will take notes from STEAM and limit my scope to convenience of experience to allow winners - low barrier for entry BUT the winners are the most convenient and best user experience. 

At work - I have open source projects teaching students and clients how to be self sufficient and in my Gaming hobby with Creative Common products - allowing clients to be self sufficient and even come out with their own books and materials.   

 

VSCodium and Github - for the TRPGamers who will automate

So I made a tutorial - after probably 20 recording - how to set this up. I couldnt have done it with ChatGPT4 helping me research the errors (copy paste the errors) to figure out what went wrong.  

Its the Age of AI - where the AI is going to help us leave the comfort of our core disciplines and branch out. Gaming it the hobby of exploring the world with a curious and playful mindset - allowing us to take on challenges undaunted. 

note my age and those older than me who do still attempt to learn skills outside their discipline. Still we can't do this full time. Playing with Code is about 4-5 weeks in a year and I forget so much - if feels like a dream. AFter this long holiday I will probably be doing Network (Pfsense) Problems - note that I'm primarily a project manager - organizing work and trying to make small wins (as compared to an operations manager who tries to create a sustainable cycle if they were mindful of the literature of what operations managing does) 

I really hate how market forces try to squeeze the life out of people - i dont like having so many to juggle that I sometimes feel like I lose myself and forget chunks of me - but thats the demands unless we change the system (obviously a systems nerd - found in world builders )

Master PDF Editor for Bookmarking PDFs that appear in Adobe Acrobat Reader and Gnome Doc Viewer

So Fantastic Heroes and Witchery is the game our GM Bob is running. 

Its free to Download in their website here 
(here is the link to the pdf)

http://www.dcrouzet.net/heroes-witchery/ 

So it was quite a PAIN referencing the book. So I was testing out Master PDF editor in Flathub and it works. I first tried Gnome Document Viewer and the Book marks dont' carry over. 

I'm using the Free Version. 

Adobe Acrobat in IPAD

Just Left CLICK and choose "ADD BOOKMARK" and it will add. 

Got Confused: Create Title Page is a Different Step from Upload Digital Download Files for a Title

I thought that uploading the book on the "Set up a new Title" is the book itself (I haven't done this in more than a year). I have to Use the Upload Digital download files > Upload the files > Set to Public  

 

How to use the Planet Generator Blender file that comes with the World Generator Book.

 Am I predictable? Anyway I like making tools and explaining why we did things a certain way. I want to know a better way. So here is our way of making some procedural worlds. 

I'm so happy people like John Greene are public about how stuttering and they are about how they really talk because the audience that can forgive his flaws are more likely the audience that can forgive my flaws in this presentation. 

Its me and Nicco making this stuff part time. Hope a World Builder likes it, and it helps them details their world a little bit better. 

All our works are Creative Common Attribute and Share like. The book finances us to make more tools.  

Hex maps with Inkscape and Hex Map Extension by Pelle Nilsson

Hex maps with Inkscape and Hexmap extension Copyright 2008-2020 Pelle Nilsson and contributors

Outline: 

1) Download Inkscape (if you don't already have it)
2) Download the Hex Map Extension in Git Hub

3) Go to Preferences - either go to Edit > Preferences (very bottom) or Shift+Ctr+P

4) In Preferences look for where Extensions can be Found.

 

5) Unzip Hex Map Extensions and copy hexmap.py hexmap.inx to /home/user-name/.config/inkscape/extensions (drag and drop works)  

6) Shut down and relaunch Inkscape

7) In Extension > Board Game > Create Hexmaps

8) in Dialogue Box of Create Hexmaps check the Live PREVIEW

• Mine was buggy, Stroke 0.01 had to be re-encoded to preview. otherwise it disappears. 0.1 inch is just too thick. So after I played around with the settings, I had to retype 0.01 and the grid appears and press apply. 
• Add Columns and Rows as Needed. 
• Drag and Select Everything and Manually Center. 

A3 Hex Grid

A2 Hex Grid
2ft x 3ft (24in x 36in) Hex Grid 1-inch hex I got quoted 4usd plus 2usd delivery for this. Hope to get it Printed on Monday. I can always have it cut so I can fit in a small table. 

I currently use Cepheus Engine basic combat for just pure combat games. 

 

Google Tasks for Writing Projects - what 4 videos failed to explain; Progress Update

 I watched about 4 Google Tasks Videos and they never explained they can open and VIEW DOCS or SHEETS INSIDE of Gmail along all the TASKS.

So Nicco and I were having problems organizing the to do list. So I decided to hit two birds in one stone and to test my limits to LEARN A NEW software add on. I asked my self "Am I still curious or too set in my ways?" even if I encounter problems it would still be ok. Also my IT staff needed better instructions so I needed to level up our organization. 

1) So you can Open Docs and Sheet in Gmail and you can view and edit the doc/sheet while in gmail. 

Go to Gmail and go to your SPACES an choose a file you set up or shared in this space. It will open. 

2) We discovered SPACES has a weird bug no one talks about:

 I can add Nicco or Nicco can add myself BUT 50:50 chance we will not be automatically added to a space. 

If we are added thats BAD, I can just add someone without their PERMISSION. which is weird and dangerous. So basically I can add other people and a 50:50 chance they will be added without their permission. We noticed that when you CREATE a space it will send a JOIN option in the email but if you add people after creation they will be 50:50 automatic join. You can remove and add them back to create more email alerts if they missed it. 

BUT if we cant... we didnt know we can go to our Email Updates and look for the Invite to Join. 

We had that evening just troubleshooting and deciding on the workflow. He was using his personal gmail and I was using my Game in the Brain google workspace - i bought it in 2015 hoping one day I will start a gaming company lolz. 

3) BUGS and CONS: 

a) some tasks disappeared. I had about 3 other tasks that just disappeared as soon as I closed the window. What is worse is I cannot copy the tasks to the GDOC to easily copy it back. What would be good is that I can keep it on both and there is Traceability. I hate this kind of issue: it feels like "gaslighting" or "false memories".  Tasks are not governed by the same version controls as Gdocs and Gsheet and the other apps. 

b) I cannot SUBTASK or CHILD tasks unlike regular Google Tasks, for PERSONAL.  This would organize things better. Its harder to see Critical Path and Chain without dependency trees. 

c) Trade-offs. Not much of a CON reall, its just the reality of the design. I cannot access comments but I have access to Tasks.

4) Why use Tasks: Pros and Features. 

a) Tasks are beside the OBJECT OF DISCUSSION. if the object of discussion is a document. We havent tried Google Draw or Slides but that would be next. 

b) Tasks appear on calendars with schedules/deadlines.  so it appears in my notifications. Nicco and I agreed just to check it off when done and we will review done tasks. In our mon and thurs meetings. 

c) We didnt need to share screen anymore. Because the tasks appeared on the tasks lists and the Gdoc Updated we didnt need to share screen as much. Which means we can share screen images and other things if needed and just focused on the body language and non-verbal communication of the webcams. 

5) Update on Progress.

The world building spreadsheet (which requires javascript for dice and to populate ranges of data) which is also Critical to the Experience will not make the March 31 deadline based on what I started seeing now that I started calendaring the deliverables. It would be April 30 with the spreadsheet. I'll have to add that to the budget. 

6) Outline 

a) World Building Differences with CE. Goals and Limitations (differentiate real science and what trade offs exists) 

b)   Definitions. When we say planet we actually refer to something that is not a star that can be 80 jupiter masses to an Asteroid which can be arbitrary in size - there is no technical limitation what is an asteroid or a meteor... definition in Mneme world gen defines it so that you can say how many Asteroids, Planetoids, Minor Planets etc... is detected or being talked about. These Technical Terms Gives the Players and Referees more tools to describe the solar system and what is encountered. So it would be weird when Players Jump into a NEW solar system only to discover late in the game a Brown Dwarf 60 Jupiter masses  10AU existed all along. something they could not detect would be something like Planet 9 which is 200-300 AU. 

c) How solar Systems are develop. this will help understand why the mechanics work the way they do and what is Unusual or a process of the immense scale of time of a solar system (Billions of Years). 

d) MAIN WORLD building mechanics. human centric - this is what the main world would be given a human-like inhabitant. 

e) Stellar Creation. what sun are we talking about if thats not already a given. this determines the ZONES of the solar system. Zones are a mix of the gravitational pull of the sun against its solar radiation pushing outwards and the centrifugal forces of orbit.  

f) INHABITANTS building mechanics. a Fractal system that allows for creation of Inhabitants.  this system applies solar system wide and can be applied to smaller and smaller chunks of the inhabitants for detailing. 

g) PLANETARY SYSTEMS. Creation of other WORLDS and Disks (like Kuiper belt and asteroid belt) to populate the solar system. with the disclaimer this is what can be detected at different star system and at upon arriving. 

h) Special Features. the Economic and Strategic value or non-value of the solar system and what elements should be and the vacuum that will need to be filled if its not in equilibrium.      

i) Hex Map of Orbits. for campaigns or adventures that need moving Orbits. We will provide one of SOL and to follow based on our sale goals. 

j) Blender Tools to generate Worlds and 2d Terrain Maps. these tools will let the player quickly generate maps with blender so that the world is not stuck merely on a procedure but after buying this and setting it up start churning out worlds. 

k) World  Building Spreadsheet. The idea is buy this book and access the google spreadsheet so they can start producing the worlds and systems THEN judge the mechanics after as well as its usefulness. its easier to start clicking generate than reading the book and learning the system and seeing if the product is worth while. 

Other Goals. 

Sales Goals for other Products. What we produced is the minimum viable product we hope people will like given our limitations and strengths. there are things we wish we can do for it, but we have to be reasonable on the amount we will sell. the Mneme Combat system only sold 30 copies which I am very grateful for. Given the cost of the product we hope X number of sales to commission more materials and details.   

I dont mind the loss and even hope for a break even. I just feel privileged and lucky I can participate in a life long dream (to make games). 

 

Javascript Appscript for my Stellar System generator

 Sword and Cepheus Character Sheet that Links to DISCORD REDDIT.

PorterPirate sheet is the biggest progress I've had with Javascript Studies. 

Basically right now I'm trying to make Stellar System Generator because I need to populate the Sytems where ROCKETS are going to take cargo and passengers to ORBIT. 

One of my Problems is my Exploding Dice requirement which is 1D6!/2 

I need to be able to RUN it. I need to Automate the Stellar System Creation even if it could be a TAD more realistic like GURPS Space. 

My policy would be: Don't make a system as Complicated as GURPS Spaces system generator if your not going to Automate it. Automate it and ideally Comment the shit out of it to help people Modify it. Comment it like I'm trying to explain it to me when I was 11. 

Below is using the Browser's Console to execute the Dice roller I learned from Programming with Mosh. 

This is the Grasshopper.app I use to test it out. My problem with the Android version is that I cannot type stuff in. It prevents me from tying up Math in Android.  I tried studying this with my Son but he got board and I need Exercises that really made me apply it to GAMES immediately. 

my google Doc of Notes on Javascript Studies

My Milestone here is to make my Stellar System Generator - a modified version of CE's World generation. Enough that I can higher a freelancer to make a more elaborate version and people can learn to code with it. 

Now that I've learned how these Editors Work I can hopefully have an easier time learning Python as well in the future. 

1. Stellar System Generator Sheet (First it has to be Sound enough that it can be implemented as a Software, this is my experience as the IT head and Quality management System head of the company - It sounds reasonable until implemented and this is how I check if it is reasonable)
1. Worse case scenario i can hire a freelancer to help me with the Sheet but I think I can do it all. 
2. Write it out in GDOC
3. Make a Ship Generator Sheet.
4. Write it out in GDOC 
5. Then Generate the Common Ships. 
1. Included are basic ship assets. 
6. Then Blender Model the 3D Assets.
7. Nicco can polish the art and the text. 
1. While I finally scratch that ITCH of a CE (MNEME variant) character generator I always wanted to make.  

I imagine a Simple Browser Tab open for the GM to Randomly Roll of the Many Procedural Tables in CE. 
"Oh crap I need an NPC" 

"Oh crap I need a Patron"

"Oh crap I need a Complication in Orbit" 

"Oh crap they just killed the BBG, I need another one" 

"Oh crap the side job was too easy." 
"Oh crap I have nothing prepared."

One of the things I realized is that make it EASY but have a Procedural Generator for a Complication to generate. 

Pdf Outliner for your PDF products or materials

This is so that you can put Outlines in your PDF - I used it for updating my Drivethrupg Mneme Variant combat Rules.

##http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man1/pdfoutline.1.html 

##Go to https://github.com/eugmes/fntsample and go to Download and click on the release Pages for the latest version https://github.com/eugmes/fntsample/releases download source code 

##Unzip or Extract the source code and open the terminal in the folder

#In Terminal:

$ mkdir build

$ cd build

## Take note of Building and because you will really have to Install the libraries from the following cairo, fontconfig, FreeType2, GLib, Pango, gettext, CMake,  and Unicode blocks.

$ sudo apt install cmake

$ sudo apt-get install fontconfig

$ git clone https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/pango.git

$ sudo apt install pangocairo

$ sudo apt-get install libcairo2-dev

$ sudo apt-get install libpango1.0-dev 

## Check the error code and simply google the errors- select the text and then google the error for the correct library installation command.

## Open this link: https://unicode.org/Public/UNIDATA/Blocks.txt Right Click n the page > Save As > Save in same Folder of Build

## make sure blocks.txt is in same folder

$ cmake .. -DUNICODE_BLOCKS=/Blocks.txt

$ make

$ make install

## On terminal type pdfoutline you will be given the format for outline creation found in http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man1/pdfoutline.1.html  

210805 Variant Combat Rules Outline

##recommend the following use a spreadsheet to separate the Outline columns - Levels and Pages and Outline text. Replace spaces with underscore. 

 

My open GDOC notes on Blender -Notes of my work with Nicco for our TRPG writing

200504 GITB Blender Basics 

These are the notes and tutorials we use as our team is making Game Material. This also includes concepts and ideas and our strategies as we write more material for Mneme Variant Rules. 

I realize a lot of other Gamers are using 3d more and more for their Games and here I can have a discussion on workflows and techniques. 

I like teaching and discussing the theories and concepts as well as sharing good tutorials as well as my Problems. Problem statements are important as well understanding I cannot form a Problem Statement. I don't mind sharing especially if I can get feedback in return. 

Imphenzia youtube channel is critical in starting - instead of Digesting all the theory in Blender Channel, you can start with Imphenzia's low Poly studies. Whats important of low poly studies is that the EXPECTATIONS are lowered and more forgiving. Nothing is as crippling and self-defeating as mismatched Expectations - it cripples me before I begin. Its hard to see the incremental improvement when we cannot appreciate the work and small wins. 

Universe Sandbox Gifs and Playing around.

 Game Running Logistics: So Universe Sandbox Records Gifs with its built-in video recorder. I have simple rockets and still trying to figure it out, after work I'm so exhausted with meetings and problems the numbers all look alien and incomprehensible. 

So I can probably record gifs of the scenario and location perspectives. 

Still desktop recording with Kazaam (Linux) seems to be better so I can give notes but won't be immediately playable in in Social media group for the game. 

TIL

1) I can select objects and it will relative distances. Ctrl+Click to select multiple objects. Then bring up the menu of either and it will give these options. 

Ctrl+select to select multiple and pull up their menus

GIF of jupiter's hundred moons. Good for a game set in 2300

2) that as I add more mass to the orbits of something (Like adding more Giga or Terra TON space stations) the ORBITS starts to change. So early TL9.2 or TL9.3 CIS Lunar Space economy "rounding" or "herding" a bunch of the trailing asteroids to earth orbit for a low delta V source of material will need to look for places to "Park it" 1-5E+13 kg (gigatons) . 

Am I capable of writing an adventure set in 2070 of using an early "repositioning" project to place a 1-5E+13 kg asteroid in cis-lunar orbit and Can I make it interesting enough to play ("Lowest Bidder" problems, Politics and Intrigue, Hidden Incompetence and Competence - Drawing from Work Experience with Gov't bid projects in a Developing Country, - common sense engineering may not exist in a Committee )? Small 500-5000m sized ones. The earliest MINING vessels are earliest Nuclear Salt Water thrusters - using water rich asteroids to fuel its own motion. (no need to carry fuel if the fuel is there). When INERTIA tethers arise able to launch megaton mining vessels with fuel mostly intact (ideally very little spent in adjustment). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_trojan

Inspired by Daniel Suarez Delta-V novel. As a Developing Worlder - and being able to see other developing world industries when I join ERPNext free training (South Asians, South East Asians, Africans etc...) people who are also too poor to afford $1000/mo/user Ops Software (SAP) for their Businesses Our Current ERPNext deployment has been costing about 300usd so far BUT 1000 "Cheap 3rd world Manhours" myself included.   I feel like a BELTA - high tech but crippled by missing basic necessities. The muddiness of a "POOR" world - when you say Poor to an Educated 3rd Worlder you can see the System of Oppression and Abuse and the cultural inertia in our Gov't Bidding systems, centralization of power, and the Zero-Sum elements in the culture. I see the intrigue, biases to overcome, the technical hurdles of an uncertain market: TONS of rolls needed but the Finite ACTIONS the PCs can perform. 

3)  TIR imagining ENGINES and Spidery and Web Scaffolding being re-arranged by Drones, in Days the engines will be deployed by the crew to STABALIZE the asteroid first (which was calculated already prior to arriving with fine adjustments now that they can make more accurate density and mass calculations on its surface), then orienting it. A nessessary but quickly obsolete prospect when Lunar iron mining become developed. Mining on the Moon, on Mars, Psyche and Jupiter all have efficiencies and trade offs and unexpected market fluctuations that allocate infra in ways that over hundreds of year will naturalize to self sufficiency for these local producers.  

Collaborative Gamer's Solo Campaign is a GMing Practice Session

I would recommend following +Collaborative Gamer's Solo Campaign as your GMing practice Session.

Why and Ideas in relation to GMing Practice.

• With a Timer and Audio or Video recording device his Solo Campaign would allow a GM to work on his craft without having to take the time of another player. 
• I can watch my habits and see how I work under the pressure.
• I can get to practice my improvisation. Using his procedural world building tables and rules I can basically generate game elements and string them along into a story. this works best with some time Pressure or, at least, timing how long it takes me to string them up.
• It is a great way to look at one's process and organization. What kind of notes do I make or what kind of notes will i need. 
• This lets me see what tools I will need. Just watching my time and motion in the game will highlight my weaknesses. But I will really need some time to processes the videos and have more sessions to really see what would be the key things to work on. 
• I can generate an Adventure with his system! I can recycle and improve on the adventure I would be playing through his solo system (when its finally available with all the tables and tools; plus flow charts).
• I can do some minor experimentation in various GMing techniques and Policies. 
• I can examine my prep Workflow through the system. When I finally get a hang of the system, I can more easily create adventures on the fly. 
• I'm curious about the time and motion of his tools. I go through references books at about 3-5 minutes digging up through notes - Dead Air. If I printed all the tables and the flow charts and incorporated them in my accessible and portable notes this would be awesome. 
• Curious if I can make them into Index Cards to be portable and less dependent on Tech. My phone is a clumsy last resort, and if I dont need to use a Laptop this would be better. If these tables were all easy to find in Index Cards, then I would take less than 5-10 seconds to find it (even marking them or laying them out quickly beforehand). 
• Finally - "railroady" urges can be expended in these sessions and possibly be sick of one's own input all the time. It may want to long for the input of others. If spotlight is my problem or taking up too much of the share of the center stage I'll find it in these solo sessions. 
• Edit. this would be great for new Players like kids who are strating to play TRPGs. If they learn this system early its a great scaffolding on many story telling techniques. Add this with Anki Cards of key GMing techniques. 

Conclusion. 
I will one day make the time to use his system because it will allow me to practice while I'm on hiatus (back injury, firefighting at work, spawn on the way, writing projects, etc...). Having such a handy "GMing Personal Gym" to work out and train is so important and helpful.

I always wondered how I could go about practicing when real life gets in the way and Collaborative Gamer's Solo Campaign tools is the key to this. When life gets in the way I can get some practice and not rust so bad.


Some GMing References
How to be a GURPS GM

GURPS for Dummies

Never Unprepared

Odyssey - the Complete Guide to Campaign Management
Getting things Done

Running GURPS more Narratively

If you want to have less rolls, or probably no rolls as a GM in GURPS here are my notes.

One roll per Player Scene.
This is the design principle behind Dungeon World (and the Apocalypse Engine). If you want this in your GURPS game despite how heretical it may be then you're not alone and there is a way to do it.

Player Scene is a Sub-scene. A scene can be made up of a Player Scenes, an Encounter can be considered as Scene. A Combat Scene or Social Scene can be made up of all the players having their own scenes as the GM resolves it with everyone's participation.

This rule works in tandem of One Spotlight per Player rule. This rule prevents players having more spotlight than other players because of how the circumstance works out - they split up, a PC has more actions, a player has more Characters or can act through henchmen or allies.

exception: Damage rolls, Saves that limits the effect (but not eliminates it), and similar rolls are not part of this rule.

Player Buy-in of this System Adjustments
Of course before you set about this method, you may need to show this post or tell your players that you adhere to the One Roll per Player Scene. Point out that in such a rule you won't see the GM fumbling with a bunch of NPC rolls or bean counting modifiers.

Non-Binary Consequences (NBC)
You will need Non-Binary Consequences if you are going to just have One roll per Player Scene. For GURPS my mechanic for NBC, succeed at the cost of Margin of Failure. Using the Margin of Failure as the penalty on the PC or Margin/Severity of an effect.

So if the PC failed in his Player Scene he can choose to Succeed at a cost. Because the GM doesnt roll this cost cannot be something that requires the GM to roll to take affect and it needs to Last for the scene unless the PC intentionally does something to undo the effect!

Example. 
A PC failed to attack by a margin of 4, he can choose: 

• take +4 plus the damage from an enemies attack. 
• be -4 to all his active rolls (saves and checks wont be  for the duration the entire scene or encounter (until he does something to .  

my notes on non-Binary Consequences. This may aid in more examples or use the Margin of Failure to push the "Cost" or penalty the PC suffers to the worse consequence rolled here. If you choose to use NBC table this is definitely an exception to the "one roll per player scene".

Because of NBC there are more difficult rolls. The GM would calibrate the adventure by looking at the circumstances and how the adventure tends to flow and see how uncertain it can be. Seeing how often the PCs Fail, Succeed at a Cost, or Succeed.

Task Difficulty Modifiers (TDM).
see Colin's Simplifying with Task Difficulty modifiers

Basically, just use TDMs and avoid #deathbymodifiers. I've migrated to this school of thought not just out of design reasons but because of recent understanding of statistical fallacies from Daniel Khaneman's Thinking Fast and Slow - on the role of circumstance and success, Fallacy of the Single Cause, and from my wife's one financial studies that point out small business success (an analogy for complex and risky undertakings) are heavily influenced by the Economic cycles and circumstance than by the key decision maker. And if that's not enough my re-reading of Thomas Clearly's more Taoist take on The Art of War.

So you will use TDM a lot when you GM this way. The only exception to this is if you use BAD (see below).

Basic Abstract Difficulty (BAD).

see Douglas Cole's GURPS Action: Exploits
Its weird that I would recommend BAD but what if you don't have GURPS Action: Exploits (GAE)? Its ok BAD is just TDM with more guidelines (honestly I believe that GAE is a must - at a level that I think a lot of basic should have been eschewed for GAE and it would have made a better product). Considering that I'm trying to bring down the complexity barrier of GURPS I can say that the only take away for BAD is an "official" authoritative option to use the score of an opposing agent (by agent I mean character with agency) as a modifier to the roll instead of making a contested roll.

Roll vs Situation
So if you have TDM and believe that the strongest agent has a small effect on the circumstance modify that TDM by 1 (up or down) only if the agent is an expert or unskilled.

Example. (Roll vs Situation)
The PC is fighting a two warriors by himself, lead by an poor tactician. In such conditions the PC may have a TDM of -4 but being lead by poor leader (maybe his impetuous, doesn't coordinate, etc...) the TDM the PC rolls in is -3. 

Roll vs Agent
But if the situation is an agent (like direct contest) then the TDM is the difference of the opposing agent's skill minus 10.

Example 2. (Roll vs Agent)
PC against another Agent, then the Agent's skill level less 10 becomes the TDM. If the Agent is an expert at 14 then the PC has a TDM of -4, if the Agent is a novice then the TDM is +2 to the player. 

Don't mix the "Roll vs Agent" and vs "Roll vs Situation".

Superiority 
This is an anchoring guideline for TDM. Superiority is when there is more resources, agents, time, etc... superiority relative to the other party. If the PC is fighting a Group of opponents, take a note from GURPS Mass Combat in odds. If you don't  have Gurps Mass Combat use this simple heuristics for Superiority:

• 1.5 to 1: TDM by 2 (a bonus if the PCs is the superior side, a penalty if the PC is the disadvantaged side).
• 2 to 1: TDM by 4
• every 1.5x increase of the multiple of superiority increase the TDM by 2. (ex. 3 to 1, 5 to 1, 7 to 1). So 10 to 1 is TDM 12.

Example. 
The PC's team is having a political battle of reputation attrition. He's at a disadvantage in resources the GM calls to be a 1.5 vs 1 odds the PC works with a -2 penalty. 
The PC is arguing against 3 people in a forum, the GM says the "lead" agent being heavily conflicted to put up a good argument the GM can call it to be -4 TDM but less 1 because of the lead agent's hampering their efforts. 

notes on superiority.

• Workstreams  is another example of resources that may apply in superiority. This heuristic is a helpful simplification in the real world and games. 
• Man-Month Myth - some complex activities like knowledge work  that cannot get any benefit from man-power. It can probably be nudged a bit in exceptional circumstances (a Team of Experts - like the Party; On the winter equinox or special event; somehow finding more time, knowledge, and better communication medium - like telepathy). 

Specificity
This means using language to be more broad, then move towards specific only as needed and being more open to Yes& (i would like to link to this but there is so many good ideas surrounding this and I can't remember distinctly the sources anymore).

The GM may make use "Tags" or Aspects, as part of his description and details he will be using. Using this will make his job easier but will entail learning another technique like Zones. Fortunately this is Creative Commons and an Open Technique.

Conclusion: How this comes together
This alters the GMing buy taking a systematic broad to specific approach to describing details in a scene. He then works one Player scene at a time. The goal is to spend more time Elaborating the Scene and working out the details instead of stopping to roll every detail to be interpreted. To let the players have more influence in the story there are intentional vagueries so that he can add his own details and touches of the scenes.

It boils down to the GM making every Player scene an opportunity to make Significant Actions (which will be covered in Part 2).

To be Continued.

• Initiative 
• First Move or Last Word
• Significant Actions
• Terrain and Conditions

Ideas for Anki Cards

• One Roll per Player Scene
• Non-Binary Consequences (NBC)
• Success at a Cost
• Task Difficulty Modifier (TDM)
• Agent
• Basic Abstract Difficulty (BAD)
• vs Agent
• vs Situation
• Superiority 
• Specificity
• Zones
• Aspects 

Running GURPS more Narratively Part 2
Running GURPS more Narratively Part 3

Index Card Heuristic (to simplify and organize concepts)
Cards as an Organizating Mnemonic
Mike Shae's Using Fate Style Zones

GMing Abstract Combat:
Part 1: Thinking in Opportunities
Part 2: Economies of Attention
Part 3: Initiative and for the Non-Combat GM

GURPS Action Exploits
Dungeon World SRD
see GMing Page for my ongoing list of GMing Skills and Policies

Reflections on more Historical Gaming

As I get older and learn more about history I learn more about the delicate elements and details that are harder and harder to communicate without being given the benefit of the doubt. Running games where the setting has these mature themes and converting the data to a sense of authenticity of the a setting becomes trickier in light of agnotology.

Inquiry, Scrutiny, and Learning are key themes in my gaming style. So be advised that as I'm writing it running such games have become more controversial and best suited among consenting adults who have a lot of trust and understanding between them.

Questions that come up because of learning about History and Showing how complicated and fascinating it can be:

How much death does an Adventure experience in his life? How many people they know die of violence and natural causes?

Arguments if there exists a Childhood for Medieval people given these mortality rates. MW by dorsey armstrong and some historians have a postion that such childhood exists but there is still some debate about it.

Divorce rates as a base rate to look at how many relationships just dont work out. Arranged marriages and how people can be happy or unhappy with or without love in marriage. Then there is the matters of Infidelity being more acceptable and even matters of Polygamy. Then there is violence in the household and things not being so cut and dry (like the overwhelming pressure to stay in a violent relationship as PCs many such cases)

Modern violence against women statistics as compared to what would it be in medieval settings, if you believe its worse than how does one handle it? So many very difficult and muddy aspects about this. An NPC or PC can be a rapist and get away with it and have an overwhelming support for his actions. Then there is the stockholm aspect of these abuses, its how its always been done.

Dehumanization and Institutional abuses, if you do entertain and have it as part of a setting how do you have it in the settings.

Player Characters who are not "clean" modern ideals - do they belong in the players or NPCs only? This is where character development overclocks the empathy engine?


Key points

• 0.15% growth in population annually. Wiki
• It can be negative in periods of war and famine, it can be on the low of 0.1% to 0.3%. 
• 7 children born per household based on the 30% infant Mortality, 4-5 children grow to adult hood. The fine details of the median averages can mean a bump of up to 0.3% population growth per year. MW
• Note that in modern eras infant mortality is in the per thousands, except in poor communities who have medical access no better than medieval tech.
• 10% Maternal Mortality rate (guessing)Note in the modern era that this is at the per thousands. same note as above. 
• Average life span is 40-60 for people who survive past 5 years old. MW
• Average family person age is 20s MW and Wiki
• Urban Areas have a negative growth rate and draws it population (MW)
• Death rate is higher among the working and poor, as compared to the Artisans and Merchant classes. (guessing) 
• Note from the citizenship rights for Towns and Cities. 
• Recruitment Demographics in an Armies and Fighting Men
• Only a small % of all male population tend to be in fighting age: 16-40. 
• Given the birth rates and death rate, I'd guess at about 30-40%. 
• Given that 5 tenant households can support a professional fighting man I'm guessing about 6-8% of men are professional warriors. 
• Working with 10% attrition per year of fighting men in conflict areas. In periods of war it would be much higher. 
• does this translate to 0.5% attrition per period war in conflict areas? Thats not the whole picture because there are non-combatant casualites
• Note Horses have a 10% attrition per sub unit of period of a Campaign in SWM. Sub unit of a Campaign in Gaming is Adventuring but in war its Tasks or Projects. (Guessing)
• A Tenant, typically an indentured servant and his family, tends to work a portion a Hide of land or a Virgate. 
• A Virgate is anywhere from 30-80 acres. Inclusive of fallow land and pasture lands. 
• An Acre is an amount of Ox&Man day to work in an median average of 4,000sqm 40,000sqft. It gets smaller the lower the tech level, and thus the lower the amount of food it can produce. 
• The productivity of a Tenant  Household is better measured per year. 
• Treat a small farm of a tenant like any small business - with a very low 3 year survival rate (30% or a -2 on a 3d6 vs 10, and subject to the economic cycles of growth, surplus, scarcity, and instability). I recommend that experts (GURPS skill 14, and equivalent in other systems) only grant a +1 to this roll or shift odds at most by 10%. Daniel Kahneman and other statistician have belief that leaders only have a small factor in the success of the organization. The greatest factor is circumstance (the economic cycles). 
• more on Household Economics of Farmers.
• 
  

Medieval Demographics based on the Wiki
Notes from Dorsey Armstrong's Medieval World