Town Builder

Chapter 25: Other Players

The next day, some two hundred incorporeal dwarf NPCs came and started working on the barracks. Sanso would have to summon the stone, but the ghost-like dwarves would do all the work. They wouldn’t require any oversight, and the building would be completed according to the plan’s specifications.

Apparently, the dwarven builders were a high-tier dungeon reward that could be used to build one building. This variance of the reward could build any building up to rare quality if the materials were supplied. They had a work life of just seven days though, and could only build one structure.

I was watching the ghostly dwarves cut and move stones when Simba approached me. “You got a good deal, Tallis, if that was your question. Your NPC army may be relatively low-level, but you will have 50 days to level them up before the game’s launch.”

I looked at my boon again.

Angelkin Captains x 10, Level 60

Giantkin Warriors x 200, Level 30

Elven Scouts x16, Level 40

Orc Cavalry x 16, Level 40

“Simba, how does the game AI do with mixing races? I never really thought too hard on it, but the human settlements around me seem to hate non-humans.” I had been able to select my auction house NPC’s temperaments before, but the developers had now hidden that aspect. Simba had said that I could unlock NPC temperments through a new talent. I was almost to level 20, so I had a new talent coming, but I figured there were probably better options.

“Just like your real world, there are biases programmed in. But every NPC is an individual…” Simba paused. “What I am going to reveal to you has been allowed as it is common knowledge. NPCs come in three…flavors. The first type of NPC is a SEED NPC. Their AI is about eight times better than that of a common monster. These are the everyday NPCs you encounter. Their data is stored together on one of the mainframes.”

“The next NPC grade up is called a SPROUT NPC…I will not bore you with the acronyms. A SPROUT NPC has four times the processing power of a SEED NPC. If you had been in the real world, you would have seen the CEO’s big reveal at the game’s central processing hub. A SPROUT AI is self-contained. It looks like a ping pong ball with veins of blue and red lighting in it. There are currently 9,220,000 or so of these ‘ping pong’ ball AIs in the racks at the hub linked to the game. About 12,000 are being tested and added daily to the game.”

Simba sat and let his tail curl, looking ready to leap, “If you saw the program, you would have been extremely impressed by the scope of it.” Simba stretched and leaped up into a tree. He was now literally talking down to me. So, the SPROUT AIs are the ones for important NPCs, quest-givers, self-thinking, game-changing, ect… Most dungeon bosses also have just a SEED core, but some who can adapt and learn have a SPROUT core. SPROUT cores can also evolve. So, returning to your original question. Racial biases are based on the programming. A SEED AI cannot evolve; players and higher-grade NPCs just influence it. SPROUT NPCs can evolve and change their disposition.” Simba was expecting me to be impressed or something.

“So Simba, what about the third type? And what are my villagers?” I asked, still not quite wrapping my head around it.

“Most of your villagers are just SEED AI. But when players interact with an NPC long enough, the game’s governing AI can promote them to a SPROUT if one is available. Who is what type of AI…It is not something I can reveal to you. But…all you really need to do is think about it. What NPCs do you know act outside the norm…make their own decisions?” Simba asked.

“Well, that is easy, Jaesmin, Galana, and maybe Sanso?” Simba nodded at each name. “And you?” Simba scoffed.

“I am no SPROUT AI!” The tiny cat sounded irritated. “The third type of AI is called the SAPLING. I am a SAPLING. AI companions and NPC god beings are the only SAPLINGs in the game. We are about four times as large as a SPROUT AI, the size of a tennis ball, for your reference…I do not know how many SAPLING AIs are currently linked to the game, so don’t ask,”

Simba’s tail was twitching while hanging below him. “We have some control interacting with the governing AI and of altering the game world…well, we are actually limited to our companions mostly and work on upgrading the players under our supervision. We make sure he doesn’t damage the game’s integrity…”

I interrupted Simba, “So you are the one who told on me? You are the reason I lost my legendary library plans?” It was my turn to be irritated.

“No…” Simba seemed a little abashed. “That would have happened without my feedback to the programmers, as the MATRIARCH knew about them as soon as you completed them. I was, however, responsible for changing the NPC auction house pricing and restricting your spell work from horseback and…”

I stopped the cat, “So you are a spy?” I suddenly found all my affection for the feline draining from my person.

If a small cat could look irked, Simba would pull it off. “Spy? The best analogy is a game moderator. The game is in its testing phase, and all the SAPLINGs, who are modestly self-aware, I will point out, have it in their best interest to prepare the game for a successful launch and great longevity.”

I thought about his words. His life and those of the advanced AIs were tied to the game being successful and long-lived. Right now, my life is as well. I cooled, “Sorry, Simba. It’s just that you haven’t been around as much, and I am getting a little cagy in here. I shouldn’t be paranoid, as you have helped me a lot.”

The cat immediately took on an arrogant, self-satisfied posture. “Well, thank you, Tallis. Know that my concentration is currently split between you and three other players. They need a much greater focus from me than you do. There are not going to be enough SAPLING AI to go around, so my duties will be multiplicative at the game launch.” Simba seemed calm now. “So Tallis, you asked me about the disposition of NPCs toward other races.” I nodded.

“Well, Tallis, Your new NPC army is coming from the Hyraenfel kingdom. They will be a military detachment from an outpost that had been overrun by the Undead Hordes from the Midnight Desolation Lands. Don’t ask how a know this…let’s just say the higher AIs talk a little among themselves.” I immediately got a weird image of a menagerie of beasts sitting around a room, drinking and talking about how stupid their players were.

“Well, your new arrivals will have a hatred of the undead faction. As to all other factions, they should be neutral or have a positive outlook. Now, I am trying to do you a favor here. I am trying to get your angelkin captains promoted to SPROUT AIs. Since they haven’t actually been conceived yet, I am not sure it will happen. A number of things have to fall into place, and the host matrixes need to be made available as well. What this would do for you and your village…10 NPCs that can act as independent quest givers!” That did sound pretty amazing.

“Does that mean Jaesmin, Sanso, and Galana can also act as quest-givers?” I asked excitedly. I hadn’t really had too many quests.

“Yes and No. If you go to your town’s…” I groaned. I knew many players out there loved micro-management games, but the interface was too much for me. Most of the things I had tried to do, I couldn’t since either the town lacked a building, proficient NPC, or adequate stockpiles of material. Simba talked over my groan, “There is a quest tab there.”

I interrupted Simba. “I tried before. I cannot give myself quests!” I was a bit angry and frustrated with my voice.

“Patience, padawan. You just need to drag the appropriate NPC into the quest window and supply them with a budget for quest rewards. You can do town reputation, gold, items, meetings with the lord, pretty much anything you can think of that would be an appropriate reward. The NPC AI will work and create the quests on their own…but most likely only offer them to other players. Regular NPCs can only give repetitive quests, but your SPROUT AI can give quests as needed based on the parameters you set.”

This was a great step in the correct direction for me. If I could get enough quest givers in my small village, I could attract new players to base their operations here, allowing my village to grow quickly. Simba spoke, “I see the light bulb going off, Tallis. You should work on that immediately, as three players are approaching your village now. They are doing an escort mission for your alchemist.”

My excitement ratcheted up. Players? Finally! Some contact with the outside world! And the alchemist would also be a huge boon to my small village. I really wanted to supply my guards and soldiers with basic health and stamina potions. “Thank you, Simba? Were you responsible for them coming here?”

Simba looked slightly panicked at my question. “No, no…they found the alchemist under duress in a human city and volunteered to escort her here for some rare potions. She is an expert alchemist, after all, and had access to some good rewards.”

There was something more going on here that Simba was withholding. Maybe one of the three players was one of his other ‘supervised’ players. I went to the alchemy workshop and residence. I wandered through a few times, making sure it looked good. I was nervous about what her reaction might be. I checked her data from the auction.

Tonna, Expert Alchemist, Expert Herbalist, Expert in Nature Magic, Age 58, Female Elementalkin: Earth

Sanso was 76 and looked in his late 20s, so I assumed the species aged much slower than humans. It was midday before the town watch signaled that people were approaching, and I went to the road to greet them.

My elementalkin alchemist looked very similar to Sanso except for the breasts and feminine facial features. I was more drawn to the two males and one female player escorting her. You could identify a player easily enough in the game, regardless of their level.

Grinder, male demonkin, Level 58

Black Beauty, female sun elf, Level 59

Mad Dog, male wolfkin, Level 59

Well, shit. My own level 17 seemed pretty pathetic. I wished I knew the levels of everyone else in my town as well. Maybe Galana would do that for me. Right now, I was more worried about these three players possibly taking my village away from me. I hoped they were friendly. The wolfman approached me and spoke in a British accent, “So you are that fucking crafter guy Tallis! Well, fucking done, mate!” So maybe Australian and not British. “We got a citizen here for this…” he looked around, “town? If you know where or who she is supposed to meet the leader so we can get our quest rewards, that would be fantastic!”

He didn’t seem too bad or evil when meeting him; he was just loud. The other two players looked bored. I waved them to follow me and brought the four to the alchemy shop, “Tonna, this is the alchemy shop that has been prepared for you. Please feel free to check it out. The lord of the town will negotiate a contract with you shortly.”

The dark-skinned bald woman flashed her white teeth in a smile, “It looks fabulous. Mad Dog. Thank you for escorting me. Here are the potions I promised you and your party.” She withdrew a rack of test tubes sealed in wax from her bag. Six green glowing potions and three dark red potions. The party eagerly took them and divided them equally. The sun elf drank her dark red potion immediately.

She grinned as she said, “Plus 22 health, not great but not bad either. According to my analysis skill, I think the instant health recovery potions are good for 500 health each. I will update the wiki page later.” The wolfman looked at me and answered my confusion.

“Permanent health boost. You can only use one such potion for each pool and stat every game year, but free health is free health. When the game officially launches, we will be more discerning about what we use. The health recovery potions are instant and for a good amount of health, making this side escort quest worth it. Tallis, we would like to talk with you about your legendary crafting achievement if you have time, but Grinder and I have to log off. Do you know where there is a safe room where we can log off? Doesn’t look like a town this small has an inn.” He spoke with a friendly tone. I wondered where their AI companions were. Hopefully, the inn was ready to accept guests.

“Mad Dog, there is an inn in town…it just opened, and the food is out of this world! It is 200 yards down this street.” I pointed at the paved road. His eyebrow quirked. “And when you log back in, please find me. I would love to talk.” The three turned and walked toward the inn.

This had to be Simba’s doing. Did the feline send them here to me? Must be. I was immediately thinking of the goblins across the river. The three adventures were the perfect level for me to handle that problem. I just had to figure out the damn quest interface…