Analytics Matter

Some algorithms are more difficult than others.  The brute force (obvious) method might work, but it also might take more time than you’re willing to spend, both in development and in the actual running of it. I finally figured out the fast method and the data was indeed well worth the effort. As an alternate…

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When Analytics Gets Out of Control

The design and development of Steel & Steam is extremely data-centric.  All the stops and spaces have names and latitude and longitude coordinates.  All the payoff amounts are based on shortest-path algorithms that take into account the cumulation of track mileage between the lat/long coordinate positions. All the property values are based on their ability…

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Graphics Toolkit, Part Three (repost)

METraps is a Ruby module which contains MarkingEngine traps that I use constantly in my vehicle graphics factory.  If you recall, a MarkingEngine trap is a way to dynamically assemble a stream of MarkingEngine instructions dynamically. The first trap is called rdraw, or Radial Draw.  This trap is used to create a path that can be…

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Graphics Toolkit, Part Two (repost)

Initial work on my library of vehicle and ordnance graphics relied on a mix of SVG and embedded Ruby scripts to dynamically affect the static SVG data.  As Ruby supports this type of structure through its erb class, my collection of vehicle graphics consisted of .rsvg files.  Over time, I discovered that working with this…

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Graphics Toolkit, Part One (repost)

Anyone who follows me on Facebook knows about my wargame graphics work.  Knowing the amount of work I was going to commit to, I decided to forego hiring an artist or relying on someone else’s vehicle and ordnance graphics portfolio.  I decided to go ahead and do it myself. I’m glad I did.  I’m nowhere…

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In Japan

For those few of you who may be tracking this site, the initial flurry of blogging activity has not waned due to disinterest.  I’m simply in Japan at the moment, doing day-job things. As I’m not in a position to do any game development while I’m here, I am going to repost some technical posts…

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A New Addition

Paul Chicoine, my long-time friend and gaming and design partner, has accepted my offer to join Brick Mill Games. With Paul’s admission to the fold, Brick Mill Games will add his TOCS (Tactical and Operations Command System) wargame system to the game development pipeline. TOCS is the system that Paul and I have been working…

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Steel & Steam :: Victory Condition Idea

As I’ve written before, I’m sorta stuck on the game’s victory conditions.  Saturday’s play test session drove the point home, albeit indirectly. If the victory conditions are solely based on net worth, if cash on hand is equal in importance to property values, why buy properties?  This conundrum came up as four newbies started the…

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Updated Player Aid Card

The image below shows the updated player aid card.  Locomotive speeds have been increased and updated locomotives have a wider range of maintenance levels, giving increased reliability when highballin’.  Arrows also show the progression of maintenance levels from better to worse.

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