Crypto Kingdom - 1991 Retro Virtual World(City)

[generalizethis]

Crichton would like to buy Lot E-l2 in Borough 2 at 240mil.

That should be possible to do in Ultima!  

"BUY 2-E-I2 1 240mil"

The lot is listed for sale by the owner, Town. While buying, document that it is listing correctly, and buying happens as it should.

This is a pleasant surprise.

Didn't work with dashes, but bid was placed when they were removed, though the sale hasn't happened....

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[rpietila]

Maintenance Break in live Ultima Platform

During year change procedures, we formed a clear insight that certain restructurings in the DB are beneficial to happen sooner than later.

The main improvement is that instead of having item balances as a static value, which can be changed by commands/methods, and change recorded in history, we will have a transfer_instructions table ("changelog") which the commands will write to, and a separate internal script calculates the balances every time they are needed.

When it is not possible to write to the "amount" field directly (and such a field does not even exist!) the supermajority of error modes from buggy commands and even uninformed/malicious behaviour by the users of the commands, can be easily monitored and erroneous transactions reversed.

The change allows the continuous development of the commands/methods with advanced testing happening live, without risk of data corruption. (Commands/methods are no longer core, but a higher level language, with permission to only add new rows to 1 table, the changelog.)

Currently the game state data is somewhat corrupted (not all intended trades have been recorded, year change is half-done). To prevent further corruption and repair the existing problems, maintenance break starts effective immediately. During the break, it is possible to login but not allowed (and soon technically disallowed) to make any commands. Senior admins who will be tasked to repair the existing issues with data, still have access to commands and will use them after receiving a briefing from me. The Ultima DB stays the master all the time, and nothing will be reversed, we take the repair route instead.

It is expected that the changes will be completed by the end of this week. Devthread is the place to discuss more about it.

[rpietila]

Call for new admins

Since we are soon having an Admin-Tutorial Camp online training, it is possible to add to the ranks.

The currently active Senior Admins are:
King, AOK-GM
Roopatra, AOK-C
SirJacket, AOK-S
Saddam, AOK-S
Noms, AOK-K
Mooo

(AOK is the Ancient Order of the King, the "guild of admins")

Admin permission levels are Senior Admin and Junior Admin (none exists). Both will in the new DB structure have the permission to cause and reverse changes to the changelog, and metadata will reveal who did it, and notes tell why. (And all will be publicly visible for the next some months at least).

Also those not interested in DB handling but the design and storytelling, belong to this branch. To design stuff that fits into the game mechanics, it is crucial to know them first.

[Syksy]

I would like to volunteer for a Junior Admin,

with a focus on storytelling and individualized game event creation. Game design also interests me, but I still lack in understanding some mechanics of CK well enough - for example, building is still an enigma for me since it has not yet been available in Ultima and I am a post-spreadsheet player.

[opennux]

I might be interested. What is a loose estimate of a weekly workload commitment?

[generalizethis]

Call for new admins

Sign me up.

[Quicken]

TMA Master Quentin Moon has returned from time travelling to lands far and wide. Greetings all!

I see in the Google DB new columns of mystery.

Account claimed 'wake up': 0
Sent to owner: blank
Activated: blank
hit (plague): brutal;weak

My character did have a lot of stone, but that has gone from the table. I owed the Bishop some stone (kindly loaned many years ago), and do not know how to pay if the resource has been removed.

I have also heard whispers of a new Ultima version of the game, but I am unsure how to login as my character.

Any advice from the learned much appreciated,
Q

[rpietila]

hit (plague): brutal;weak

You have suffered from inadequate drinking. Good news: you saved money. Bad news: you will need to be more careful in the future or you are among the first to die. (Everyone will though).

My character did have a lot of stone, but that has gone from the table. I owed the Bishop some stone (kindly loaned many years ago), and do not know how to pay if the resource has been removed.

Your stone was sold as you did not have a suitable storage space. Good news: price has crashed afterwards. Good news: Bishop's wm, Noms, will certainly accept money.

I have also heard whispers of a new Ultima version of the game, but I am unsure how to login as my character.

Jacket will help you as per PM.

[kazuki49]

I'm trying to buy BEER, I type in ultima:

Code:

buy beer 10 9000

but I receive the msg:

Code:

You don't have permission to execute command for the moment

same with other items.

congrats on launching, its looking good.

[rpietila]

I'm trying to buy BEER, I type in ultima:

Code:

buy beer 10 9000

but I receive the msg:

Code:

You don't have permission to execute command for the moment

same with other items.

congrats on launching, its looking good.

Well for once it is saying exactly what it should! The system is on maintenance pause (as announced in this thread a few posts ago) and all commands are disabled for all except senior admins.

[kazuki49]

got it, I have to catch up with all the CK threads, its been great readings btw, watching this game unfold, the trading system is exactly what I was expecting and combined with gameplay in the future it could become a hit among cryptocurrency and market enthusiasts.

[rpietila]

This is funny to say in such an early stage where our software has just started operating, and the semi-independent Earlship in the Counties having economic freedom to do as they see fit is not even established, and will not be in the next 6 months due to other developments taking precedence, but:

In the long term, when our systems are reasonably feature-rich and bug-free, and the initial development costs are reclaimed (which they are in a continuous basis currently), the intention is to officially make the software public domain, allowing anyone to create complete Kingdoms and host them on their own servers, with none whatsoever liability to us. What is more, if those Kingdoms are configured to realistic and compatible economic parameters with ours, we can establish Embassies with them, and allow foreign trade in items. Since the monetary system in the game is limited to being the denominator of prices, and medium of exchange, and is 100% reserve-based with depositories with a viewkey, they may even have different currencies, as we also could change our monetary system to be Bitcoin or CKG-based with a very easy effort if we wished (and we don't).

It is about the people. Who gets the most people to follow him, has great power. In everything with Crypto Kingdom, I have attempted to create something that will last. In the decision to start from the top and slowly work the way towards a larger audience. In the decision to demand the database logic to be rewritten to be more secure. In the untold hours of administration the details most would regard as minute. I am satisfied with the progress. I am eagerly waiting for the Countryside expansion, giving semi-independence to Earls and higher to enable their best skills to be put into practice. But in the spirit of a free and limitless market for the products of imagination, I don't want to enforce IPR any more to my own efforts than I believe the others have right to deny still others to enjoy their imagination freely. This game is standing on the shoulders of giants, including Civilization, Second Life, Monopoly, Habbo Hotel, World of Warcraft, Clash of Clans and EVE Online. May this game in public domain be an unending inspiration to future generations as well.

[rpietila]

The future of Building has finally been locked in. Exact implementation takes 1-2 weeks still.

TL;DR: A new category of buildings called Wood Buildings starts. These are "lot improvements / character improvements", because only one of each type of building per character gives the benefit and in the residence lot only. They are aimed to get the commoners to the building from the early on.

Existing Stone Buildings' benefits are converted to a uniform datatype with Wood Buildings. New stone buildigns may be built as before.

[kazuki49]

In the long term, when our systems are reasonably feature-rich and bug-free, and the initial development costs are reclaimed (which they are in a continuous basis currently), the intention is to officially make the software public domain, allowing anyone to create complete Kingdoms and host them on their own servers, with none whatsoever liability to us. What is more, if those Kingdoms are configured to realistic and compatible economic parameters with ours, we can establish Embassies with them, and allow foreign trade in items. Since the monetary system in the game is limited to being the denominator of prices, and medium of exchange, and is 100% reserve-based with depositories with a viewkey, they may even have different currencies, as we also could change our monetary system to be Bitcoin or CKG-based with a very easy effort if we wished (and we don't).

genius idea, the concept of opensource and community ownership is one of the largest pillars of independency in cryptocurrency projects together with decentralization somewhat achieved with compatible Kingdoms working together. Interesting times ahead...

[rpietila]

Came across this guide on organizational sabotage.

While many outside world organizations have their sabotage quotient at high levels, and I remember to have unwittingly destroyed my first own company with similar techniques, I have evaluated that in CK leadership, design and development, sabotage is at quite low levels currently.

Code:

LEADERSHIP BUREAUCRACY
How to make sure nothing gets done at work

by  Anne Fisher  @anbfisher  SEPTEMBER 30, 2015, 11:35 AM EDT
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A World War II manual on undermining organizations from within might describe your office all too well.

So you’ve just come from yet another meeting that, after sucking up an hour or two you’ll never get back, produced nothing useful — partly because somebody talked on and on about a topic that strayed far off the meeting’s agenda. Then someone else brought up doubts about a decision from the last meeting, and there was talk of referring it to a task force for further research. Still another team member questioned whether the decision was even this group’s to make, or if maybe it conflicted with something higher-ups had said they wanted.

If that sounds familiar, think about this: You’ve just witnessed four of the eight techniques outlined in a document called the “Simple Sabotage Field Manual.” Published in 1944 by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (predecessor to the CIA), it was a guide for European spies on how to undermine the Axis powers from within.

The handbook was classified until the 1970s, but Bob Frisch, managing partner of consulting firm Strategic Offsites Group, came across it just a few years ago — and found it eerily similar to what often goes on in workplaces now.

“We’re not suggesting that enemies are lurking in your midst,” write Frisch and his two co-authors, Robert M. Galford and Cary Greene, in a fascinating new book, Simple Sabotage: A Modern Field Manual for Detecting and Rooting Out Everyday Behaviors That Undermine Your Workplace. “But the odds are great that some individuals have unwittingly taken a page from [the OSS manual]. Left unchecked, their behaviors will undermine your group or organization, slowing down its — and your — best efforts.” (Italics theirs.)

Here are the eight tactics the OSS recommended for tripping up an Axis agency from the inside:

“Insist on doing everything through channels. Never permit short-cuts to be taken to expedite decisions.”

“Make speeches. Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your ‘points’ by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences.”

“When possible, refer all matters to committees, for ‘further study and consideration.’ Attempt to make the committees as large as possible — never less than five.”

“Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.”

“Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, and resolutions.”

“Refer back to a matter decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision.”

“Advocate ‘caution.’ Be ‘reasonable’ and urge your fellow conferees to be ‘reasonable’ and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on.”

“Be worried about the propriety of any decision. Raise the question of whether [it] lies within the jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some higher echelon.”

These tactics proved “incredibly subtle, and devastatingly destructive.” Alas, they still are. But “rooting out these corrosive behaviors isn’t so simple,” the authors note, because “they are often mutant excesses” of habits that are actually helpful, like involving coworkers in decisions that affect them.

Complicated for sure, but not impossible. Most of Simple Sabotage is about four ways managers can keep (usually inadvertent) saboteurs from getting in the way of everyone else’s efforts. In some companies, the first step may be the hardest: “Spot sabotage as it occurs.” And then speak up.

- Weekly Town Council meetings are important for raising the experience of the future decision makers and keep others as functional backups should I drop offline for an extended time.
- In design/development, the communication frequency with PJ is 1-5 instances per day. This is enough to normally ensure time does not get wasted on wrong or inefficient features. Most important is to cut his communication to well-wishing peers (not clear managers, advisors or subordinates), which has been done.
- Meetings (except TC) are advisory only. The authority, power and responsibility for decision and implementation of any task, is vested to one man (like in companies, Board chooses one man (CEO) to coordinate all activities and nominate all other people).
- Also we are here voluntarily so if we want to spend our own time "inefficiently" we have the right to it (it is a game!), I personally don't have time for that.
- The techniques described are considered inappropriate in our culture and using them brings shame and loss of future promotions instead of praise.

[Syksy]

Code:

LEADERSHIP BUREAUCRACY
How to make sure nothing gets done at work
- -

That's quite an amusing (and spot on) list for few organizations and groups I've met. Probably many were inefficient (~sabotaging) not on purpose, but because of bad leadership or lack of any, which could be the root of many of these list pointers.

Usually I'm quite good in sniffing out meetings with these traits and dodging them, but today I had an especially bad one. A meeting about organizing other meetings, which might lead to projects or collaborations or meetings or arrangements or discussions, ad infinitum... and every time somebody was about to say something interesting and concrete, the head professor goes "let's not go too much into details, as we're from such diverse backgrounds". Sadly I think most in the room actually wanted good things to happen, but it was 2h down the drain.

[Syksy]

Dear all,

I would like to remind that

Syksy's Antiquities and Fascinating Coins Auction

is about to close within 24 hours. Now is the last chance to grab one of these beauties:

Bundle 1: "Audentes Fortuna Iuvat - Fortune Favors the Bold";

Code:

	+ Key characteristics: His Majesty, Important people, Important events, Total CKG content 181
	+ Minimum bid: 200mil
	+ Contained items:
		ID	. Count	. tCKG	. Year	. Exist	. Bid/1	. Description
	#1 - 5x HM1600J	. 5	. 50	. 1600	. 475	. 11m	. Obverse: King standing in royal robes in a rising sun, text RPIETILA I D.G. REX CRYPTO A.D. 1400 * 1600 surrounding the edge clockwise from left; Reverse: Facade of the Royal Palace, text: AB ANTIQUO above AD MELIORA below (surrounding the edge); Edge: reeded
	#2 - 3x RO1600J	. 3	. 30	. 1600	. 144	. 9.5m	. Obverse: Head portrait of Dame Roopatra; Reverse: Monero logo, text: Crypto Kingdom; Edge:
	#3 - 1x SA1600J	. 1	. 10	. 1600	. 92	. 13m	. Obverse: Saddam sitting in a chair, text SADDAM 1420 * 1600; Reverse: Monero logo surrounded by stars, text AD ASTRA, PER MONERO; Edge:
	#4 - 1x LU1600J	. 1	. 10	. 1600	. 76	. 9.1m	. Obverse: Classic Luigi - text barba non facit philosophum; Reverse: Classic Mario - 1600; Edge:
	#5 - 1x GH1600J . 1	. 10	. 1600	. 15	. 23m	. Obverse: Facade of the Grand Hotel, Text: seculo seculorum 1464-1600; Reverse: Image of two armored solders; Edge:
	#6 - 1x LL1600Y	. 1	. 25	. 1600	. 30	. 27m	. Obverse: text top TMA Lucky Lion bottom Est. 1498 Image of the lion statue the Duke of NL donated; Reverse: Woven LL as guilded on the LL buildings, date 1600; Edge:
	#7 - 1x CH1600Y	. 1	. 25	. 1600	. 369	. 24m	. Obverse: PAULUS PRINCEPS SEOUL surrounding bust, below: 1361 * 1600; Reverse: DONATOR UNIVERSITATIS surrounding university, below: 1565; Edge: SCRIPTA SUNT UT CREDATIS QUIA IESUS EST CHRISTUS FILIUS DEI
	#8 - 1x MO1600C	. 1	. 3	. 1600	. 25	. 6m	. Obverse: two dice and 4 aces (playing cards); Reverse: a grassy field, a cow, and a fox; Edge:
	#9 - 5x AG1600C . 5	. 15	. 1600	. 49	. 6m	. Obverse: pliska rosett, inscr: De antikvaj tempoj al la eterneco; Reverse: Palazzo Farnese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palazzo_Farnese_Vasi.jpg; Edge:
	#0 - 1x GA1600C	. 1	. 3	. 1600	. 100	. 6m	. Obverse: Gabriel standing in military armor; Reverse: The Obelisk, text PROTEGO CRYPTOKINGDOM; Edge:
	* CLXII - Louis XII Old Cognac

Bundle 2: "Pauca Sed Bona - Few, but Good";

Code:

	+ Key characteristics: Total CKG content 50, mean stamp year 1467, very rare coins (produced with a low quantity)
	+ Minimum bid: 100mil
	+ Contained items:
		ID	. Count	. tCKG	. Year	. Exist	. Bid/1	. Description
	#1 - 1x CR1418E	. 1	. 5	. 1418	. 198	. 6.1m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#2 - 1x CR1428E	. 1	. 5	. 1428	. 20	. 19.1m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#3 - 1x CR1438E	. 1	. 5	. 1438	. 20	. 14.1m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#4 - 1x CR1470E	. 1	. 5	. 1470	. 40	. 7.8m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#5 - 1x CR1474E	. 1	. 5	. 1474	. 20	. 15m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#6 - 1x CR1478E	. 1	. 5	. 1478	. 40	. 7.8m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#7 - 1x CR1486E	. 1	. 5	. 1486	. 20	. 15m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#8 - 1x CR1490E	. 1	. 5	. 1490	. 40	. 7.1m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#9 - 1x CR1492E	. 1	. 5	. 1492	. 20	. 10.1m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#0 - 1x CR1498E	. 1	. 5	. 1498	. 20	. 12m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	* LAG - Best Whisky of "Isla"

Bundle 3: "Pauca Sed Matura - Few, but Ripe";

Code:

	+ Key characteristics: Total CKG content 50, mean stamp year 1547, extremely rare coins (produced with a low quantity)
	+ Minimum bid: 80mil
	+ Contained items:
		ID	. Count	. tCKG	. Year	. Exist	. Bid/1	. Description
	#1 - 1x CR1502E	. 1	. 5	. 1502	. 20	. 11m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#2 - 1x CR1504E	. 1	. 5	. 1504	. 40	. 10m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#3 - 1x CR1528E	. 1	. 5	. 1528	. 20	. 9.1m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#4 - 1x CR1537E	. 1	. 5	. 1537	. 20	. 9.1m	. 5 gram pure gold coin 
	#5 - 1x CR1541E	. 1	. 5	. 1541	. 20	. 9m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#6 - 1x CR1555E	. 1	. 5	. 1555	. 20	. N/A	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#7 - 1x CR1560E	. 1	. 5	. 1560	. 20	. 8.1m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#8 - 1x CR1568E	. 1	. 5	. 1568	. 20	. 9m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#9 - 1x CR1577E	. 1	. 5	. 1577	. 20	. 8m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	#0 - 1x CR1593E	. 1	. 5	. 1593	. 28	. 7m	. 5 gram pure gold coin
	* RME - Rum "Methuselah"

[Syksy]

Syksy's Antiquities and Fascinating Coins Auction

The auction has closed, sadly no bids were made - if somebody's still interested, you can contact me and discuss via /query

[rpietila]

Syksy's Antiquities and Fascinating Coins Auction

The auction has closed, sadly no bids were made - if somebody's still interested, you can contact me and discuss via /query

Prices were good, but my analysis is that anyone who was able to appreciate the auction content, likely had most of the coins already, as a result of the steep wealth differences.

Good luck on the next one!

[newb4now]

Could this game eventually have an Android app for easy mobile play?