Musings on RPGs

Okay, so you can reference a units Stats in WE pretty easily. This got me to thinking about certain things, like basing more effects of a 'hero' on their stats.

Example: A unit uses an ability that requires all nearby enemy units to have a chance to become stunned. We'll call the ability Hold Person. The % Odds that the unit will be stunned is equal to 10 Times the level of the skill (Level 5 Hold Person would be 50, for instance) + a Function of their Intelligence, minus the Level of the enemy unit in question (Or a function thereof).

Similarly: A fighter unit has a chance to Daze a unit with his fists whenever he strikes something. This chance is a function of a few things, including his Strength, and the opponents Max HP.

My first musings are thus.

More

You can reference, using some well watched after variables, the level of a skill that a unit has, allowing it to be used in more then one way. For instance: A Bard Hero with the 'charm' ability could also get a certain % of his gold back after making a perchase, dependant on his Charm Level. A Demon Hunter unit with Mana Burn may also have a Feedback ability that is based on their Burn level. A Summoner could have a single 'summon' skill that could dictate many types of information about his summons.

The Above is particularly useful when making a more 'open' style RPG, where you don't just have 10-20 levels, or whatnot, and want room to move around. More importantly, it allows for a greater amount of relation between the environment a unit is in, and its skills (For example, since you are doing a trigger based ability with %'s, you can have Items that modify those %'s while equipped, or areas of effect that modify the same).

Open arrays, Final Variables.

It occurs to me that you can easily track a multitude of info easily, and concisely, using arrays of that data type, and Numonic Variable Integer names corrosponding to the appropriate index. Example:
I have an array of Integers(Called Globalints) tracking various info. One field includes a certain Hero's "Weapon skill" level. I make a Integer called "WeaponSkill" and set that equal to the index at which "Weapon skill" Is stored. I can then call that value with "Globalints:WeaponSkill:" Now, since all the data is an array, it can be used more easily in For Loops (For instance, the Skills being held for a certain Hero are all in slots 0-5, so I can For through them, while at the same time making it easy to keep the single reference).

Dummy Skills are going to be the wave of the future, I think. Abilities that may have no effect in the Editor, but rely on environmental info to work. A few ideas in this a guy on WC3Campaigns came up with, and I think its going to be a huge step in the right direction.



Okay, a little direction.

All "Units" Will have 3 Basic Skills: Magic, Combat, and Survival. Magic skills will power how strong your spell type effects are, as well as your defense against spells. Combat will increase the effect of Weapon techniques, and will increase your defense to the same. Survival will help you last longer over the course of a map, as well as allow more stealthy movement, and the aquisition of goods.

Examples:
Magic) When casting the Holy Light spell you heal an additional number of Hit points equal to your Magic level, or a function thereof.

Combat) When you successfully 'bash' an opponent in melee, they will suffer additional damage equal to a function of your combat value.

Survival) After successfullly killing any unit, there is a slight chance that you discover a Rune or Potion on the corpse, aiding you in combat. Your units with 'stealth' add a function of their Survival skill to their Hide modifier.



I'm also going to be using a Cross between a Cool system another guy came up with, and my own spin, whilst borrowing from a few of the best RPG's made in the real world.

First of all, you items will reflect on your abilities, in a very similar fashion to the game Chrono Cross. Your mages will use Material components in their top 2 slots to effect their generic magic power. However, at the same time, each of the characters in the RPG will have their own specific abilities. For instance, one character sketch I have planned out will be an Adept Sorcerer who gets 'alacrity' along with his normal abilities. Alacrity will give him a chance to have his abilities reset after he casts a spell (Chance is rolled once every 5 seconds at the fastest). This ability is modified by both his Intelligence, and his Magic Skill. As you go up in level, you will get more Mana, (obviously) however, as you go up in Magic skill, your spells will also cost less to cast (this is done by setting the Mana costs for abilities to 0, and manually removing the mana 'after' casting).

I will be using a 'unique item type' system for items. That is, you can have only 1 weapon, 1 shield, 1 helm, etc. Wizards will tend to use items that give them Spell effects (Spell books will be 'weapons' for wizards). The power of these effects will also be modified by their level.
For instance, a level 6 Item that gives the 'fireball' spell effect will be stronger then one that is level 5. However, the level 5 ability may have an additional effect (Such as a bonus to damage).

This will be a SINGLE player RPG that is 'party based'. That is to say, you control a max of X number of Hero's at any one time (X is likely to be 3 maybe 4). You will have a waiting area where you can swap in the different characters you've had join you.

Other then the basic 3 skills, your hero's will gain 3 other advanced abilities that are specific to them (Perhaps more, if I can work it). This will make it a difficult choice to choose who you want in your party at any one time, but also will allow you some strategy in choosing your party.

I am considering using the 'battle area' format for combat. The way this works, is that all fights are 'staged' in a seperate battle area. That is to say, your Hero's adventuring on the map encounter enemies, and are moved to this seperate area for battle, and then moved back. This allows for greater depth of conflict, as well as a more user friendly playing environment (Since you won't have combat as normal on the main map, you are afforded more stat luxuries). This format may be broken for more important battles, or for specific battle reasons.

To facilitate the above work, units will be 'invincible' at all times before and after battles. This format also allows for a 'quick rewind' if you lose a battle, since it is much easier to trigger you back out of the battle (This is normally difficult because there are more global effects that occur during battle on a normal map (Units that die must be replaced, for instance)).

All this aside, it's going to be a BEAST of a project to work on. I'm planning on working on just the triggering and systems of how things work for quite a while before placing my first unit. This in mind:

I WOULD LOVE SOME HELP! :mtk:

A Good terrainer who could be working on that whilst the triggers are done, or even a STORY write would be VERY nice. I don't ask for a lot, since I know that most people are dubious on the whole 'helping some guy' out.

By the way: I'm currently working on a CharacterGeneration first map. You choose an Alias for the primary hero, as well as one of 7 primary starting classes (Focusing on 1, 2, or all 3 of your primary attribs).

As for Models and Skins.. I just assume no one will make me any... I'm used to that. I'll likely use whatever freebies I can find, and just fake everything else, because in the grand scheme of things, the art isn't what makes the game great.

Anyhow, Cheers.

Units will either:
A) Fully regenerate between battles
B) Partially regenerate at the end of battles (All remaining mana auto spent on heal).
C) Not regenerate at all between battles

In Chrono Cross, you had to 'work up' your magical powers through combat before you could do things like Heal, but any extra energy at the end of battle was used to heal you. I want to keep the 'between battles' regen somewhat limited to your 'survival' skill.

The Scope for 'Skill levels' is going to be fairly high, but the characters special skills will have only a few levels. Since these abilities are designed to be modified by the units OTHER stats, they won't NEED multiple levels (Except for enhanced effects... which you wouldn't be able to do anyway).

Characters Unique abilities will be of 2 varieties: Experience derived, or plot derived. The former you get at a certain level, the latter you get by moving through a certain part of the story. The characters in your active party will effect how some encounters go, and will somewhat shape how the story unfolds.

Okay, My resolution: Mana will NOT regenerate during combat, but WILL be fully restored at the beginning of each combat.

The Higher a skill is, the less mana abilities based on that skill cost. The higher INTEL, the more MP you have (As normal, but toned down).
(So a High Intel unit with a High magic skill can cast MANY spells during the course of a Combat).

The Plus side to this: Most encounters will be more meaninful, because you'll replenish mana afterwards (You don't have to hold back).