Oneiromancer
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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The most basic use of this would just be a palette change for different tilesets...after all, tar should still be recognizeable regardless of the color due to its unusual shape.

However, different colors of tar are not compatible with each other. A tar mother will only cause the color of tar it is in to grow. This will induce tactical decisions on which color to take care of first. If my "tar in a bottle" suggestion is implemented, it only produces one color (which is decided by the room author, and it should be obvious what the color is when you are trying to place the blob).

Now, this could be taken further, by making different colors destroy each other. If only one color has a mother, and the two color tars touch, then the color with a mother will start to cover the other color tar (which is basically the same as if it was "destroyed", creating the appropriate tar babies). If both colors have mothers there is a standoff where the two colors meet. Tar babies of different colors also destroy each other. In this most basic format, if two tar babies want to be on the same square, they are both destroyed regardless of the presence of mothers.

Now, we could get even more complicated (although I don't really want to) and introduce tar hierarchy. That is, blue tar destroys green tar, green tar destroys red tar, but red tar destroys blue tar. This could make some really elaborate puzzles, but I don't like it because it is too complicated and is too much to remember.

I would like some interaction between the colors, so any suggestions are welcome.

Game on,

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eytanz
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This is a really great idea - though I think the least interaction is actually the best idea - different tar colors just see each other as obstacles where they can't grow. This could lead to all sorts of interesting puzzles, and it's the easiest thing for players (and room designers) to figure out. A tar hierarchy would still be necessary, by the way, to resolve what happens when two different tar colors can grow into the same spot.


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zex20913
Level: Smitemaster

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Alright...I'm certain this is on the SF page, but not with the heirarchy part. SF says that there would be multi-colored tar babies as well. Haha! The babies would be starring in "Tar Wars"! But...

I do disagree with the destruction of tar by tar. Too confusing for the player, and requiring looking at the entire room every 30 turns, in depth. I also disagree with the overrun. I suggest not going further with this.

A question that arises is what to do with tar gates. (These are/will be implemented, I'm 99.99999% certain.) Would all tar need be destroyed? Or just a certain color? (I'd go with "all").

And for the growth heirarchy, I suggest blue be first, because it was.

[Edited by zex20913 on 07-26-2003 at 02:27 AM GMT: Missed a whole paragraph...]

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Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

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I had an idea along these lines where another kind of tar (say, white, or yellow) would exist. The tar babies would avoid your sword, but wouldn't kill you either. They'd just hang around your back. They kill blue tar babies, but blue tar absorbs them. Blue tar babies are absorbed by white tar, but if they meet, the blue tar will absorb the white tar out of the way.

For the record, 'absorbing' destroys the tar baby unless it's a valid place for tar to be, in which case it makes it into tar. If tar grows over a diferent coloured tar baby, it gets killed.

Matt

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Mister
Level: Master Delver
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I too like the idea of different behavior for different tar colors. For example:

- tar that kills Beethro if it grows on him.
- tar that Beethro can't move next to (poisonous, he dies), unless he destroys or makes tar babies with that move.
- tar that shrinks every 30 or so turns (except near the mother). This is better than serpents for long timings, but not very precise.