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RPGWO V4 / V5 / Re: V5 NPC
« on: September 12, 2013, 03:22:42 am »
Not sure exactly how well this would work, but it might be worth considering.
I'm sure it would be very difficult to implement so it might need to be further simplified.
The idea is based on real life (very original, right?).
NPCs would re-spawn (most of the time) just like players do, but they would also age.
Their chances of not re-spawning increase as they age and eventually just die once they get old (60-70).
To make up for death they would also reproduce.
Most likely the would only reproduce during a certain age range (maybe 20-40).
Usually one (or two) of their offspring would inherit their profession/land/business/empire when they die.
The rest (not sure how many more you would have) would go on to different professions that were in demand in their particular community.
This way the population of a city would grow naturally. (ex FTW!)
Overcrowding could be controlled by diseases that would lower average life span (for example: from 50 to 40) so the old folks would die off quicker and leave more room for their kids. (ex gets owned)

(a) = bad, (b) = good.
Overcrowding could also lead to higher rates of adventurous young fellows taking groups to go off and start new cities (either cooperative or competitive).
Birth rates could also be set based on population, and prosperity (kids are a long term investment).
Higher birth rates in newer, smaller villages to help them grow faster and lower rates in larger towns or cities.
I could see them being classified into just a few types of communities.
For example:
Camp: 0-9 people
Village: 10-29
Town: 30-69
City: 70+
And then maybe some special types like nomads that are always moving so they never get very big (always <30).
I could see this also being mixed with a little bit of the drafting idea.
When populations are growing fast there won't be enough land to inherit so those kids will join the armies.
Once they are in the army they have a higher chance to not re-spawn when they die.
Well that's my two cents for the day.
What do you think?
tl;dr - It's just a simplified version of real life population systems.
I'm sure it would be very difficult to implement so it might need to be further simplified.
The idea is based on real life (very original, right?).
NPCs would re-spawn (most of the time) just like players do, but they would also age.
Their chances of not re-spawning increase as they age and eventually just die once they get old (60-70).
To make up for death they would also reproduce.
Most likely the would only reproduce during a certain age range (maybe 20-40).
Usually one (or two) of their offspring would inherit their profession/land/business/empire when they die.
The rest (not sure how many more you would have) would go on to different professions that were in demand in their particular community.
This way the population of a city would grow naturally. (ex FTW!)
Overcrowding could be controlled by diseases that would lower average life span (for example: from 50 to 40) so the old folks would die off quicker and leave more room for their kids. (ex gets owned)

(a) = bad, (b) = good.
Overcrowding could also lead to higher rates of adventurous young fellows taking groups to go off and start new cities (either cooperative or competitive).
Birth rates could also be set based on population, and prosperity (kids are a long term investment).
Higher birth rates in newer, smaller villages to help them grow faster and lower rates in larger towns or cities.
I could see them being classified into just a few types of communities.
For example:
Camp: 0-9 people
Village: 10-29
Town: 30-69
City: 70+
And then maybe some special types like nomads that are always moving so they never get very big (always <30).
I could see this also being mixed with a little bit of the drafting idea.
When populations are growing fast there won't be enough land to inherit so those kids will join the armies.
Once they are in the army they have a higher chance to not re-spawn when they die.
Well that's my two cents for the day.
What do you think?
tl;dr - It's just a simplified version of real life population systems.