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OnyxAbussos

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Nov 19, 2017
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  • Stellaris: Synthetic Dawn
  • Stellaris: Distant Stars Pre-Order
  • Stellaris: Distant Stars
  • Stellaris: Digital Anniversary Edition
  • Stellaris: Leviathans Story Pack
  • Crusader Kings II: Monks and Mystics
  • Stellaris - Path to Destruction bundle
  • Surviving Mars
  • Age of Wonders III
  • Crusader Kings II: Jade Dragon
  • Stellaris: Humanoids Species Pack
  • Stellaris: Apocalypse
  • Surviving Mars: Digital Deluxe Edition
  • Europa Universalis IV: Rights of Man
  • Surviving Mars: First Colony Edition
  • Stellaris: Megacorp
  • Crusader Kings II: Holy Fury
  • Imperator: Rome
  • Surviving Mars: First Colony Edition
  • Stellaris: Ancient Relics
  • Stellaris: Lithoids
  • Stellaris: Federations
  • Imperator: Rome - Magna Graecia
  • Stellaris: Necroids
  • Stellaris: Nemesis
  • Crusader Kings II: Reapers Due
  • Europa Universalis IV
  • Impire
  • Europa Universalis IV: El Dorado
  • Crusader Kings II: Way of Life
  • Europa Universalis IV: Common Sense
  • Crusader Kings II: Horse Lords
  • Crusader Kings II: Conclave
  • Stellaris
  • Stellaris: Galaxy Edition
  • Europa Universalis IV: Cossacks
  • Stellaris: Galaxy Edition
  • Crusader Kings II: Charlemagne
  • Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome
  • Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods
  • Crusader Kings II: Rajas of India
  • Crusader Kings II: The Republic
  • Crusader Kings II: Sons of Abraham
  • Crusader Kings II: Sunset Invasion
  • Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam
  • Crusader Kings II
  • Europa Universalis IV: Conquest of Paradise
  • Europa Universalis IV: Wealth of Nations
  • Europa Universalis IV: Call to arms event
  • Europa Universalis IV: Res Publica
So you know the trope of wondering if we live in a computer simulation made by hyper-advanced folks?

Surviving Mars is the first time that I've felt like we have really created such a simulation. Or like the first time that it has a necessary SPARK that other simulations haven't had.

WHY?
So, other simulators (like surviving the aftermath) have had these necessary ingredients:
* The people are distinct.
* The people have personality traits that affect their lives and their decisions and tasks and jobs and goals.
* The people have a backstory / statement of their particular personhood. (Even if it has no mechanical effect, the fact that the dude's profile says "Susan has a hard time trusting people, but once she does, she'll fight yo the death to protect those she trusts" means that it has the most bare-bones beginning of a simulated personhood.)
* The people have happiness ratings that are affected by stuff.
* the people have a lifespan and development from birth to death.
* The death of a person affects other persons.

That's all badass and gets it CLOSE, but not there yet.

Surviving Mars added the last piece that I didnt know was missing.
* The people have a sanity rating affected by things, and...
* They'll commit suicide if it gets too low and stays that way.

Each time that happens (still on my first run where I made it to mid-game)... it hits me a little more. Sure, they're not full-on intelligent beings, and sure, the sanity rating is just a number slider that moves mathematically, and sure, it's not like "actual" feelings... but it's a thing called sanity that responds to life events, and when it gets too low, the mini-program entry with their name and stats will self-terminate.

I'm not saying they're full persons. I'm saying that... the addition of sanity and suicide to this game has seriously added a spark to the little dudes that hasnt been there before. If their life-events don't go right, theyll end themselves.

There's... theres something THERE, right?
 
Oh I haven't.
Please discuss, particularly as it relates to this topic. You have my attention. :)
In essence Surviving Mars is just a simplified version of Dwarf Fortress. Rimworld is another game which is based largely on Dwarf Fortress and much more complicated than Surviving Mars. In both of those not only do individuals have sanity meters, but they also have likes and dislikes which are much more intricate than Surviving Mars in addition to an at times bewildering amount of materials and goods. Dwarf Fortress even had an actual economy at one point, though it was removed due to price instability impoverishing dwarves. The difference of course is that Surviving Mars is much prettier than the other two and has boiled down a lot of features in order to lessen the extreme learning curve of Rimworld and dwarf Fortress. I'd suggest giving those two a look.
 
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In essence Surviving Mars is just a simplified version of Dwarf Fortress. Rimworld is another game which is based largely on Dwarf Fortress and much more complicated than Surviving Mars. In both of those not only do individuals have sanity meters, but they also have likes and dislikes which are much more intricate than Surviving Mars in addition to an at times bewildering amount of materials and goods. Dwarf Fortress even had an actual economy at one point, though it was removed due to price instability impoverishing dwarves. The difference of course is that Surviving Mars is much prettier than the other two and has boiled down a lot of features in order to lessen the extreme learning curve of Rimworld and dwarf Fortress. I'd suggest giving those two a look.
Do the Dwarves and Rimmers (it had to be done) commit suicide?
 
I don't know about RimWorld, but in Dwarf Fortress I've seen suicides. One lose condition is losing almost everyone in your fortress to a suicide spiral as having loved ones die lower the mood of your dwarves and then they kill them selves and now their friends get sadder, and it just sweeps through the whole population. Building back from one of those is possible, but might set you back years in in game time.

They also might snap and go on a murder spree, either because they just can't take it anymore, or because they hear the whispers of a dark entity giving them an inspiration to build an artifact that just happens to need dwarf bone and leather to complete, they can steal stuff from the common stocks or from one another, they can turn out to be vampires and kill people because they are unable to control their need to feed, or they might be necromancers looking to set up shop in a prebuilt fortress, or were-beings cursed by the gods going on a rampage at full moon.

Or they might be an elf adopted by dwarves because their parents and whole village were murdered by a goblin raid, and decide to snap when one of the trade caravans happens to include a goblin trying to live a better life and redeem himself by living in a human society.

Man it's been ages since I've played Dwarf Fortress. If only the graphics and especially the controls were better. I've been waiting for the Graphical version you can find on Steam for years, but it seems to move at a glacial pace.
 
Rimworld has mental breaks for people with low mood. These range from minor things such as alcohol binges and insulting people to major things such as digging up corpses and berserk rages. It doesn't actually have suicide outside of mods.

It's clearly inspired by Dwarf Fortress but with basic graphics and the controls are better. You can even build underground bases (though no z-levels).