how long (restore hero code)?

...Would you enter a code that was 34 digits long? Im contemplating dispensing with my custom stat system, and simply restorying your savedh ero type, rather than his individual stats. This would knock 6 digits offt he code length, but require I ditch the custom stat system.

Currently, the code saves:

Hero Type (1 digit)
Hero XP (5 digits for 30 levels)
Item Types (3 digits x 6 slots)
Hero Gold (4 digits)
Hero Stats (2 digits x 3 stats)

Does it help your password any to use alphanumeric characters as well as numbers? Or are you already? It just seems that you wouldn't need that many digits with 36 possible characters. But I think you should keep the custom stat system, 6 more characters or no.

Eh, the difference between 34 and 28 is negligible at that point. Either they're going to copy it down and remember it or they're not.

As far as shortening it in general, you could perhaps consider altering the amount of experience that it takes to gain a level, and adjust the amount of experience that a hero gains downward, to try to get it to 3 or 4 characters.

Or you could just do away with XP and save their level. It's a minor "cost" to saving the game, but whatever; levels are easy enough to earn.

You should also add a protection code like the player name converted to different numbers and divide by the number of letters of something like that. That way the code will only work for that player name and the code that would work for him would not work for another player. So you can exchange codes and such so you can cheat and load the same hero that is the maxium level.

Even if i did reduce the amount of xprequired so that a level 30 hero took only 9999 xp, it would still shave just one digit off the length. I would liek very much to add alpha numeric digits to teh code, not so much to reduce the length (Im not sure how that would work, but I will look into it) as to increase the level of encryption. I would also like to add a players account name to the code. But that adds more characters as well. I think I can get away with simply adding the first 3 letters of the account name, which only gives us 3 more digits.

But, to do all this would require I rewrite a code form scratch. Currently, Im using a heavily modified version of Dakans source code system from the trigger repository. Now that I know how it works, I think I could make my own code from scratch using alpha numeric characters and the like, but to do sso would be alot of work.

So my new plan is to get an early alpha build of my map out, guage interest, and based on whether or not you guys like it decide if I should continue.