Dominions 4

http://www.illwinter.com/dom4/

This looks like a very interesting game.  It got a lot of positive reviews.  I want to play this.

Starbase Orion

http://www.pockettactics.com/news/how-starbase-orion-came-out-on-top/

Highly regarded 4X game that I have never tried.

Have to correct that deficiency.

Global and local variables in Python

http://www.python-course.eu/global_vs_local_variables.php

I need to think long and hard about this.

I am not using global variables to their full advantage.

Discussion of Game Design Ideas

http://explorminate.net/2016/02/08/monday-modness-pandora/comment-page-1/

The comments section in the above link features an excellent discussion of game design ideas.

The comments by Cadfan in particular are very good.

Well worth reading, more than once.

Terra Mystica

http://www.amazon.com/Z-Man-Games-71240ZMG-Terra-Mystica/dp/B00APPE4HK

A plethora of positive reviews for this game.

I would like to try it.

Remnants of the Precursors

http://www.pretendstudios.com/

Formerly JavaMOO.

I am very much looking forward to playing this game.

River, Brooke, and Picabo

The hero name generator in YA4XSG (Yet Another 4X Space Game) contains 422 first names.

The random number generator in Python selects the same first name twice in a row with a frequency that I find infuriating.

Clash Royale

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/MichailKatkoff/20160224/266403/Clash_Royale__Deconstructing_Supercells_Next_Billion_Dollar_Game.php

Fascinating analysis of one of the next big money makers.

Destined to replace the Kate Upton / Arnold Schwarzenegger games?

X3 Terran Conflict

http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/29/x3-terran-conflict-review?page=1

I should have played it when it was released in 2008.

Evochron Mercenary

http://www.pcgamer.com/evochron-mercenary-review/

This looks like an interesting game.

"Slow-burning but compelling" appeals to me.

Game Design Documentation

http://gamedesigntools.blogspot.com/2010/10/game-design-documentation.html

"A concept borrowed from film production."

DarkBASIC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DarkBASIC

I regret that I did not get into DarkBASIC in 2000.  It would have been a lot of fun.

Polyversal

http://www.polyversal-game.com/

Polyversal 6mm sci-fi miniatures game, now on Kickstarter.

Looks like a cool system.

He Went Indie

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/MaximeBeaudoin/20160125/264180/Why_I_Quit_my_Dream_Job_at_Ubisoft.php

Fascinating essay.

Designing and Implementing e-Market Games

http://cscourse.essex.ac.uk/cig/2005/papers/p1040.pdf

Discusses an example game, the Computer Market Game, where agents assemble PCs for clients.

Algorithmic Game Theory

http://freecomputerbooks.com/Algorithmic-Game-Theory.html

Hundreds of pages of excellent background reading.

An Agent-based Simulation of Double-Auction Markets

ftp://ftp.cs.utoronto.ca/na/reports/Guo-05.msc.pdf

Figure 4.2 features pseudo code for an artificial agent.

Maybe someday I can implement it in Python.

Skyward Collapse

http://www.cultofmac.com/228785/grab-five-bucks-and-play-skyward-collapse-a-4x-strategy-god-game-that-fights-back/

This looks like an interesting game.

Maybe if I take a break from YA4XSG (Yet Another 4X Space Game), I can play it.

Agent-based Models in Python

https://www.binpress.com/tutorial/introduction-to-agentbased-models-an-implementation-of-schelling-model-in-python/144

Python is used for a social science case study.

Agent-based Models

http://www.turingfinance.com/agent-based-computational-economic-models/

Interesting background reading on computational models.

Mesa

https://pypi.python.org/pypi/Mesa/

Agent-based modeling in Python.

Basic crawler in Python

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14405997/python-monte-carlo-simulation-loop

For when you have to get from A to B.

Monte Carlo Simulation in Python

https://pythonprogramming.net/monte-carlo-simulator-python/

Reinforces my ideas about why I do not gamble.

Commodity Trading Simulation

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b56a/c8938933d6a23ca33247504c4090d133d447.pdf

Uses AB3D, the subject of a 2007 technical report at the University of Michigan.

Interesting background reading, but not of much practical use for my own purposes.

Autonomous Agents

http://www-lia.deis.unibo.it/corsi/2007-2008/SMA-LS/papers/4/agentorprogram.pdf

Scholarly paper on autonomous agents.  Well worth reading.

Interesting to note that computers viruses are a subtype of autonomous agent.

Ro, Bo, and Buffy

Ro, Bo, and Buffy

Ro = Ensign Ro Laren, ST:TNG, one of my favorite fictional characters
Bo = Bo Derek or Little Bo Beep
Buffy = The Vampire Slayer, I never saw an episode

In YA4XSG (Yet Another 4X Space Game), there are characters called heroes, who benefit the galaxy as a whole, as opposed to champions, who benefit individual empires.

The names of these characters are selected randomly from a list.

In the most recent version (1n), this is a representative roster of heroes:

Sophia
Deirdre
Shannon
Bernadette
Melanie
Consuela
Ashley
Ellen
Mabel
Marcia

Pure luck that on this run there were no duplicates.

Surnames are generated via a combination of words that take the form of Ravenfeather, Brightdawn, etc.

Careful observers will note that all the hero names are female.

Contrariwise, all champions are male.

Energy Resources of the Earth

Truth in advertising = this blog post is not about energy resources of the earth.

Why the title?  It was the name of a college course I took in a previous life, fun class, I really enjoyed it.

What is this really about?  Energy resources in YA4XSG (Yet Another 4X Space Game).

So far, I have:

fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, tar sands)
solar
nuclear (the dirty kind)
fusion
anti-matter

Each system has a rating for fossil fuels, some don't have any, some have a lot.  Petroleum has to be refined before use, so you have to build refineries.

Fuel is also required for nukes, it can be mined (e.g., uranium ore)

The real reason to research anti-matter is to develop warheads for missiles so that when Gene Luck Pickerd and his buddies show up on your doorstep, you can put some serious hurt on them.  Anti-matter energy is just a side bonus.

R vs. Python

http://www.kdnuggets.com/2015/05/r-vs-python-data-science.html

Maybe (if I ever learn Python), I can learn R next.

Games for People Who Don't Play Games

http://www.thespace.org/news/view/games-for-people-who-dont-play-games

I am particularly interested in the 10 second game by legendary game maker Ana Anthropy.

Some very strange games

http://forestambassador.com/

Features some very strange games.

Like well off the edge of the bell curve.

Religion in YA4XSG

Religion in YA4XSG (Yet Another 4X Space Game)

So far, religion is undifferentiated, there is just one generic religion.

Eventually, I want to include a plethora of religions, including but not limited to:

Life
Death and/or Decay
Elemental, such as Earth, Wind, Fire, Water
Cthulhu-esque old gods
Chaos Gods or Ruinous Powers
derived from pantheons such as Egyptian, Greek, Norse, etc.

I am particularly interested in diametrically opposed deities such as Life vs. Death.

Twilight Imperium, 3rd edition

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/twilight-imperium-3rd-edition/

Seems pricey but you get a lot (200 miniatures).

Would love to get it.

Stardrive 2

http://www.stardrivegame.com/

Another successor to Master of Orion.

I really should try it.

Star System Governors

In YA4XSG (Yet Another 4X Space Game), each star system can have a governor.

I am experimenting with a deck of governor cards.  Shuffle the deck.  Draw 3 cards.  Choose one as the system governor, shuffle the other two back into the deck.

Some of the possible choices:

explorer (increases chance for find by system scouts)
trader (increases trade revenue for system)
industrialist (increases factory production in system)
research scientist (increases tech research by labs in system)
field marshall (trains extra ground troops each turn)
diplomat (increases gains from system diplomacy)
miner (increases output of mines in system)
agriculturist (increases food production in system)
archbishop (increases production and research at temples)
archmage (increases production and research at wizard towers)
admiral (produces extra system fleet unit each turn)
terraformer (bonus to terraforming in system)
medical doctor (bonus to population growth rate)
economist (can squeeze more credits out of the system economy)
archeologist (extra digs on previously explored ruins)
inquisitor (protects system from cultists)
efficiency expert (reduces waste)

Note: The game is a 4x set in space, but the theme is a hybrid of fantasy and science fiction, with the emphasis on FICTION.

10 websites

http://www.developersfeed.com/top-10-websites-for-game-development/

Features some very good websites.

50 websites

http://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/50-essential-websites-every-aspiring-gaming-professional-should-know

A couple of points:

1) I am interested in 50 websites for hobbyist game designers, but until I find those, this is a pretty good starting list.

2) Several of the websites on this list are no longer active.  This is part of a larger phenomenon that many other people have commented on.  Several factors at work: not enough hours in the day, unwillingness to share, disillusionment, etc.

YA4XSG

YA4XSG

Yet Another 4X Space Game

4X?  Yes, you know, eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate.

Set in space, like Master of Orion.

I am trying to write a console game in python, that means no graphics.

I should have started blogging about it long ago, but better late than never.

Currently working on heroes vs. champions.  Champions are empire-wide, granting bonuses to whatever their specialty is, for example, research.  Heroes are galaxy-wide, granting bonuses to whatever their specialty is, for example, research.

Currently, there are nine computer controlled empires vying for control of the galaxy, plus trying to fend off attacks by xenos coming in from outside the galaxy.

I was up to 8,000 star systems and 400 turns, but currently I am running 2,000 systems for 100 turns, the former was just too slow.

The game also features "agents" sort of loosely modeled after the rogue traders in Warhammer 40k.  And I mean very loosely, since I cannot find my copy of the Rogue Trader  rule book, and almost no usable information is available online.  Right now running a maximum of 2,000 agents.  And they spend too much time killing each other, and too much time getting killed by xenos.  Something must be done, Serge.  Heroes and champions have names but the agents are just anonymous numbers.

Building Decision Trees in Python

http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/python/2006/02/09/ai_decision_trees.html

The next time I am trying to market the most marvelous widget ever known, I will try to  implement this.

Decision Tree vs. Behavior Tree

http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/51693/decision-tree-vs-behavior-tree

Very interesting distinction.

Whiskey Barrel Studios

http://whiskeybarrelstudios.com/

Features an active gamedev blog, which seems to be a rarity these days.

Some thoughts

http://www.lukewrites.com/coding/thoughts-codecademy-learn-python-hard-way

Thoughts are good.  I like thoughts.

How to Think Like a Computer Scientist

http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkCSpy.pdf

I try to think but nothing happens.

Game Design Concepts

https://learn.canvas.net/courses/3

I am amazed bordering on stupification (yes, I know) that material like this is available for free on the intertubes (yes, again).

Behavior Trees for AI

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ChrisSimpson/20140717/221339/Behavior_trees_for_AI_How_they_work.php

I need to implement something like this in my Python 5x game (insert clever title here), because the current model of mostly RNG is not satisfactory.

BazaarBot

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1fldav/bazaarbot_an_opensource_economics_engine/

Very interesting implementation.  Lots of potential in this approach.

Emergent Economies for Role Playing Games

https://larc.unt.edu/techreports/LARC-2010-03.pdf

Fascinating look at a model for a virtual economy.

I definitely want to implement something like this in Python.

A Curious Course on Coroutines and Concurrency

http://www.dabeaz.com/coroutines/

I was able to replicate a trivially simple generator function.

Duck Typing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_typing

Somewhat alarming that I just learned of this.