Thanks for taking the time to post a new comment or a reply to one! First scan these quick notes, if you please:
General
* Currently, previewing a post is optional; you're welcome to preview or post immediately.
* You should see plain text input by default; click "enable rich text" for fancy formatting tools. (Some people love that and some don't. Be aware that formatting tool performance may vary by browser.)
* With apologies to all, I have to use a simple "captcha" question for unregistered posters. Otherwise, the spam flow will dwarf the Nile.
Registration and login
* Registration is available! Sign up here. Chief benefits at present include the ability to edit your own comments and manage subscriptions (newsletter, threads, etc.).
* If you'd prefer to post as an unregistered visitor, that's welcome too. Just leave "Your name" as the default "Esteemed Visitor", or type in some other name. (But if you happen to type in a name used by a registered user – say, "tbone" – you'll get an error telling you so when you hit "post comment". And while your post text should still be there, waiting for a revised user name, there's a chance it could disappear.)
* If you're a registered user but haven't logged in and want to post a quick comment as Esteemed Visitor, that's fine; see above.
* If you're a registered user but haven't logged in, and enter your user name under "Your name" when posting, you'll get an error saying that's the name of a registered user. That's a good thing; it means strangers can't make posts under your user name! But as above, there's a chance of losing your post text. It's best to log in first here, and then start your posting.
Final
All the above is standard stuff for community web sites, but reminders are good; I hate post-related glitches, and hate to see people run into them on this site. On this or any site, it's a good practice to do a quick "Select All" and "Copy" on your post text before hitting "Preview comment" or "Post comment" – just in case.
For more on the whole topic of interaction with the site, please see User Interaction (opens in new window).
Re: Game design musing: It's About Time (Part II)
Wed, 2007-02-07 11:31 — Polydamas (not verified)Roundless combat does seem like one of those things which would work very nicely on a computer. It's an interesting idea, and you have several intriguing suggestions here, but I'm not sure if anyone has invented rules to make tabletop combat playable with a quanta under 1s or so without adding significant complexity. There are issues with movement and reaction time, for example, which you don't really have time to discuss here. (Even if we convert Move 5 yards/s to Move 1 yd/0.2 s, tracking acceleration becomes an issue). Still, there ought to be good alternatives to the traditional round, and you have laid out several possibilities.
You might want to have a look at Kenzerco's new Western gunfight rules, Aces and Eights. I've never used them, but apparently they use 'roundless' combat with a quanta of 0.1 s or so. There are some other interesting novelties in how they handle combat, although I'd have to try it to be convinced it is all playable.