The Cataclysm Diaries: ability to write a journal in-game

HunterAlpha1 · 2014-02-10T21:02:13.000Z

so i was just brainstorming and had an idea:

why now allow us to write on paper in-game? players can keep a journal in-cata, using a pen and paper, and maybe if your pen runs out of ink you could prick your finger and write in blood.

and maybe to ensure this doesn’t become one of those features that never gets used have every character start with a pen and journal regardless of profession.

also, when your char dies, the contents of your journal is in your memorial.

Uneron · 2014-02-10T22:55:06.000Z

Would be cool if in addition to the memorial the journal would also be printed automatically in a separate json file. From there it would be easy to commit to github, resulting in finding actual in-game journals from other players. Of course only journals of a certain quality should be used.

FunsizeNinja123 · 2014-02-10T22:57:23.000Z

+1 to this.

And pencils. How we emulate pencil wear down, I have no idea.

ChristopherWalken · 2014-02-10T22:58:19.000Z

Uneron:

Would be cool if in addition to the memorial the journal would also be printed automatically in a separate json file. From there it would be easy to commit to github, resulting in finding actual in-game journals from other players. Of course only journals of a certain quality should be used.

That would be very neat if it takes off.

Kerbal Space Program has something similar with the science logs and it’s working well for them.
Admittedly their playerbase is several orders of magnitude greater than DDA’s.

Ferodaktyl · 2014-02-10T23:02:22.000Z

it would be better if we had to make our own journals, from paper, card-boxes, whatevers and find pencils/pens with a set number of charges, or improvise them from coal, or feathers.

Nighthawk · 2014-02-11T00:03:55.000Z

Give give give give give.

I would love to write journals that other players might actually find.

FunsizeNinja123 · 2014-02-11T00:32:11.000Z

I’ll submit my journals to you, Nighthawk so you can make it hella detailed.

Zireael · 2014-02-11T08:24:47.000Z

This is a great idea, especially the uploading to github part.

+∞

Cherry · 2014-02-11T18:52:31.000Z

This would be a godsend to all those people in the fanfic subforums.

Plus it would stimulate character roleplay and definitely improve the game experience.
Yes x 1 million

I wouldn’t agree with the free journal / pencil on start though.
You should be able to craft a journal as the same quality as those “101 wrestling moves” or “melee fighter’s note” books.

Pencil = 1 skewer + charcoal or whatever. Aren’t there a million pens and pencils in New England?
But then again, we only need like 1 or 2…
It should come with say 100 charges and just use 1 for every time we write. Shouldn’t take more than 5 mins to use it.

Zireael · 2014-02-11T19:30:35.000Z

I like the craft a pencil and journal idea.

Sirbab · 2014-02-11T21:22:05.000Z

My only concern about the log book, is redundancy.

Day 46, i read a SICP, i read Advanced Chemistry, i cooked an egg, i visited: house(13) grocerystore (2)

you know? unless we add substantial writing examples as a base to use, i don’t see it working well.
That being said, if it were implemented well, i would absolutely love it.

FunsizeNinja123 · 2014-02-11T21:23:11.000Z

Pretty sure it’s one of those journals you can write (Or type in our case) in.

Sirbab · 2014-02-11T21:24:42.000Z

Oh, oops, i guess i misinterpreted the part about auto uploading as also auto-writing.
Alright, i retract my previous concern.

Slax · 2014-02-11T22:27:49.000Z

Wish the game would generate lived-in locations. Survivors that have moved on or died, that is. Something for mid-to-end game explorers. Months or years in.
Rooms o’ refuse, leftovers. And stories! These scribbles could hint at what’s around whatever location you’re at. Goodies, dangers. That sort of thing.
Or, you know, you might even find a signed handmade map. You’ll learn to love insert NPC name here like a brother or sister. Mmmm. And then you find their rotten corpse next to a stash of equally rotten food. Shit.

Guess I went off the rails a bit there. OH WELL, I want exploration to be more fun.

keldoclock · 2014-02-11T23:08:29.000Z

Slax:

Survivors that have moved on or died

And of course, survivors that are still living.

How many months have we been talking about fixing NPCs? Like four months?

Slax · 2014-02-12T00:42:42.000Z

Methinks having them “move on” is a way of sidestepping NPCs for now.

TheGrifter · 2014-02-12T03:45:24.000Z

keldoclock:

[quote=“Slax, post:14, topic:5033”]Survivors that have moved on or died

And of course, survivors that are still living.

How many months have we been talking about fixing NPCs? Like four months?[/quote]

I’ve pretty much given up on NPCs. It’s one of those things that won’t ever happen. Like me catching Bigfoot on a fishing line, or Jesus coming back from the dead and getting a DUI. I mean, sure, Jesus has a defense, because he turns all water into wine instantly in a sort of “King Midas” touch blessing and curse that has condemned him to alcoholism, but I I digress. What was I talking about?

HunterAlpha1 · 2014-02-12T15:42:21.000Z

[quote=“Sirbab, post:11, topic:5033”]My only concern about the log book, is redundancy.

Day 46, i read a SICP, i read Advanced Chemistry, i cooked an egg, i visited: house(13) grocerystore (2)

you know? unless we add substantial writing examples as a base to use, i don’t see it working well.
That being said, if it were implemented well, i would absolutely love it.[/quote]

[quote=“FunsizeNinja123, post:12, topic:5033”]Pretty sure it’s one of those journals you can write (Or type in our case) in.[/quote]yeah that’s what i meant; something to make your game more special because you can keep your own custom journal.

Binky · 2014-02-12T18:37:55.000Z

Fantastic idea, I feel it could be one of the things that makes DDA really unique !

DF procedurally generates stories/histories and they’re one of the main draws (especially for immersion) so I think journal sharing could work well here - some of the fanfic is really well written (although I’m not much of a fanfic person myself I will admit)

However, I think a guiding format would be good as the diaries would take a HECK of a lot of reading through, and even more so if they were completely free form. It doesn’t need to be too rigid, just perhaps a cap on writing amount (say 150 words per day or something). Conciseness is always good in writing, and we don’t want journals that are just endless background rambling as fanfic journals can be.

I do worry about the quality, but hopefully someone would take up the reigns of journal reader to monitor it.

i2amroy · 2014-02-12T18:45:53.000Z

I could definitely see adding this and promoting sharing, but I’m a little hesitant about GitHub adding. It might be better to just open up a new board in the lore/lab section to promote journal sharing, since having to read those could take up a huge amount of development time, and what is great writing in one player’s eyes is not necessarily great in all of theirs. Maybe have a poll system of some sort, and allow the community to rate and choose the best few to go into the game.