[project1dev] Re: Skill Design Input
- From: Nick Klotz <roracsenshi@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: project1dev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:00:55 -0400
And I don't believe 'specialization' should be a forced choice in the
beginning of the game, hindsight will limit the players ability to choose
what they'd really want. Lightning may sound cool but you may find Earth
being far cooler/more useful at later stages of the game. It should
be determined naturally by the player through use of skills, generally
somebody who wants to specialize will use that elemental skill more often,
and end up dumping their 'insight' points for further progress.
On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 7:59 AM, Nick Klotz <roracsenshi@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> The way the trees are being designed now is, it's impossible to max out.
> You can max a skill, but not an entire tree [unless we later decide there's
> a reason for full mastery for regular game play] (Dragon for example, if you
> put every available point into it, you become 2 points short of full
> mastery).
> Maybe second or third playthroughs could allow for complete mastery and in
> return, very difficult enemies?
>
> I believe trees add a ton of depth and reply value to a game where
> otherwise static skill sets can become redundant and give the player less
> goals to achieve.
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 2:39 AM, Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Heres another wrench to throw in the gears (better earlier than later
>> right??)
>>
>> Another possibility (not saying i think this is best, just throwing it out
>> there) would be that when you start the game you are forced to choose your
>> elemental specialization, and from there you are limited to the single
>> elemental skill tree of your choice, along with the general "town" and
>> "dragon" tree.
>> On Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 11:33 PM, Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>
>>> You bring up an interesting point Hanaan (:
>>>
>>> I like talent trees in some games like...
>>>
>>> * Diablo / WoW - use talent trees to customize your character to be
>>> unlike other characters and be a unique type of fighter. A good way to make
>>> your character more unique. Kinda adds some replayability cause you can
>>> replay the game with a different type of character, customized your own way,
>>> and it's a different experience.
>>>
>>> * Gemcraft (flash game) - the talent tree in that game is just how you
>>> get more powerful. You choose what you get stronger at, but you can replay
>>> any level as many times as you want to level up moer and spend more points
>>> in the talent trees til all the skills are maxed out.
>>>
>>> I dont like talent trees in some random flash games because they are
>>> pointless (you dont really have a choice) or in some other games, you are
>>> just going to max everything out in the end anyways so why bother (gemcraft
>>> to a degree but kind of not... also fable 2).
>>>
>>> I kinda pulled adding talent trees outa the air to add more depth to our
>>> game but are they appropriate? Maybe we should talk about their purpose
>>> some in our game (:
>>>
>>> #1 - Do we want talent tress to be there to customize your character to
>>> have a unique game play experience / promote replay? I think this could be
>>> an appropriate use of things. We'd have to design the trees / game with
>>> this in mind up front though so this is a good time to think about it.
>>>
>>> #2 - Do we want to use talent trees as the way of the player choosing how
>>> they get more powerful each level, but in the end they basically max
>>> everything out and become godlike? We could go this way maybe but shrug...
>>>
>>> What do you guys think would be fun / a good way to go for our game?
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 5:44 PM, Hanaan <designs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>
>>>> very nice ideas guys.
>>>>
>>>> I think the core question is how important are the skills to gameplay.
>>>> if we are aiming to keep it simple, then all the skills should serve a
>>>> direct purpose to gameplay in my opinion, instead of just having a variety
>>>> of skills for skills sake. talent trees are a meta game. whenever theres
>>>> a
>>>> talent tree in a video game it serves as alternate advancement. unless
>>>> this
>>>> is our aim in the game, im not seeing the point in talent trees.
>>>>
>>>> a good example of functional, fun skills in a game is actually god of
>>>> war. comes to mind because ive been playing it lately, hehe :) Kratos has
>>>> many different weapons, all with different styles, looks, feels and
>>>> purposes. but every single one has a purpose very important to gameplay.
>>>> you gain new power moves by using weapons basically (killing things) so
>>>> everyone likes that idea already.
>>>>
>>>> im not a huge fan of talent trees unless the point of the game is
>>>> character building. but simple spell improvements/enhancements and such can
>>>> be pretty complex even though simple as someone already put it.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 6/23/2010 2:10 PM, Kent Petersen wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Sounds good man. I like where you are going with this. I don't care
>>>> about penetration in particular as much as I was trying to make a point in
>>>> variety being good. I like what I hear.
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 10:25 AM, Nick Klotz <roracsenshi@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Each skill will have their own unique properties as well as shared
>>>>> properties, penetration is not 'too much' of a consideration
>>>>> unless there is going to be horde type attacks in the 1st person view,
>>>>> overhead kind of eliminates this variable.
>>>>>
>>>>> Will there be differences between elemental combat skills? Oh hell yea
>>>>> there will be. I will be working on creating a rough skill list over the
>>>>> next week and releasing new information daily.
>>>>>
>>>>> If anyone has any problem viewing the file I uploaded please let me
>>>>> know and I can change the file type to something compatible with what
>>>>> programs you have. (:
>>>>>
>>>>> And as always, if anybody has any other ideas, suggestions, concerns,
>>>>> please voice them! Feedback is the absolute most critical thing during the
>>>>> design and concept phases!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 1:03 PM, Kent Petersen <kentkmp@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I like the where you are going with this system. I like how the skills
>>>>>> you use will get better with time. I have always enjoyed that concept in
>>>>>> games. It makes me want to use my skills more to see how powerful they
>>>>>> will
>>>>>> become.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Are there going to be specific differences between the elemental
>>>>>> combat skills? For example fireball may have a blast radius while
>>>>>> lightning
>>>>>> penetrates through targets. Or is that going to be more of an insight
>>>>>> thing?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 5:47 PM, Nick Klotz <roracsenshi@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yea, the basic idea of it would be that the basic skills you start
>>>>>>> out with are still very useful and important at the later stages of the
>>>>>>> game
>>>>>>> so its not like, "oh I start with this but why level it when I won't
>>>>>>> use it
>>>>>>> later"
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Without getting into the art side of it too much, yes I had thoughts
>>>>>>> of different graphics such as larger fireballs, etc, as the skill
>>>>>>> improved,
>>>>>>> at least as far as the basic "bolt spells" go.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Glad you like the idea, any other input or ideas, and feedback is
>>>>>>> surely welcome.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 8:41 PM, Alan Wolfe <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> you know... the "using a skill to make it better" idea is really
>>>>>>>> awesome...
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> i really like the direction you are going with all this (:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> what would be really neat too would be if we did something such as
>>>>>>>> at every 10 levels of a skill (could be different for different
>>>>>>>> skills), the
>>>>>>>> graphics of a skill could change too.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It's kind of the idea of fire 1, fire 2, fire 3 from final fantasy
>>>>>>>> but itd be the same spell you just get better at it and the visual
>>>>>>>> effects
>>>>>>>> look more awesome.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> we could do fun stuff too like make a really wimpy spell that if you
>>>>>>>> level it up does a ton of damage to the hardest enemies in the game
>>>>>>>> and that
>>>>>>>> kinda thing.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> ::high five::
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> really nice Nick, this is great stuff
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 5:36 PM, Alan Wolfe
>>>>>>>> <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hey Nick, nice job!
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Im a fan of making it simple too usually and that simple rules can
>>>>>>>>> make for more complex gameplay (ironically!) but i think if done
>>>>>>>>> right,
>>>>>>>>> these different options could make a lot of replay in the game with
>>>>>>>>> people
>>>>>>>>> wanting to try diff methods and play styles.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> "Player would gain 3 points per level to use on the tree, this
>>>>>>>>> model assumes 17 playable areas (9 overworld, 8 first person) and a
>>>>>>>>> potential of 4 total level ups per area, so an assumed max level of
>>>>>>>>> 68"
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Cool deal. If we end up making more levels or less, we should be
>>>>>>>>> able to scale the points per level or # of level ups per level to
>>>>>>>>> stretch or
>>>>>>>>> squish this i think. This is a good starting metric for us to work
>>>>>>>>> towards
>>>>>>>>> but yeah, just pointing out we can adjust if necesary w/o too much
>>>>>>>>> impact on
>>>>>>>>> things (hopefully!)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I like your idea of making it so the more you use a skill the
>>>>>>>>> better you get at it (and similar skills). Do you think we'd show
>>>>>>>>> someone's
>>>>>>>>> profficiency in a specific skill to them or would it happen behind the
>>>>>>>>> scenes?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 4:45 PM, Nick Klotz <roracsenshi@xxxxxxxxx
>>>>>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> So I've been mulling over ideas for skillsets, how they will work,
>>>>>>>>>> various variables, etc, and I've talked to Eric a little about
>>>>>>>>>> balance and
>>>>>>>>>> simplicity vs complicating things just to be complicated, but I feel
>>>>>>>>>> complication adds depth. In light of that, I wanted some input,
>>>>>>>>>> because I
>>>>>>>>>> believe that complication adds tremendous depth and replay value if
>>>>>>>>>> its
>>>>>>>>>> simple to the user.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I have in mind a couple dozen skills, along with 8 trainable skill
>>>>>>>>>> trees, with two separate types of level ups for all Elemental trees.
>>>>>>>>>> Player
>>>>>>>>>> would gain 3 points per level to use on the tree, this model assumes
>>>>>>>>>> 17
>>>>>>>>>> playable areas (9 overworld, 8 first person) and a potential of 4
>>>>>>>>>> total
>>>>>>>>>> level ups per area, so an assumed max level of 68 (game could be
>>>>>>>>>> playable at
>>>>>>>>>> final stages at much earlier levels for players who decide not to go
>>>>>>>>>> over an
>>>>>>>>>> area several times to gain exp)
>>>>>>>>>> Skill Trees: [Elemental] Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning
>>>>>>>>>> [Other] Population, Town, Dragon
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Insight leveling and combat leveling are combined to figure the
>>>>>>>>>> total overall power, however mastering one skill may not be the most
>>>>>>>>>> beneficial to the player, allowing for these two types provide the
>>>>>>>>>> ability
>>>>>>>>>> to specialize as well as keep the player balanced in other areas.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> [Insight Leveling]
>>>>>>>>>> Skill points sent into the trees via leveling will increase
>>>>>>>>>> overall abilities, and unlock more sub-skill sets, including the
>>>>>>>>>> ability to
>>>>>>>>>> combine skills for devastatingly powerful attacks. There will be
>>>>>>>>>> enough of
>>>>>>>>>> these to insure that spreading out points will not necessarily yield
>>>>>>>>>> any
>>>>>>>>>> advantage or disadvantage over dumping all points into a specific
>>>>>>>>>> skill.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> [Combat Leveling]
>>>>>>>>>> Combat leveling is gained via using Elemental skills. Combat
>>>>>>>>>> leveling increases all attributes of all skills under its relative
>>>>>>>>>> element,
>>>>>>>>>> example:
>>>>>>>>>> Max level for any element or skill is hard capped at 50
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Fireball - Skill Name
>>>>>>>>>> Fire - Skill Element
>>>>>>>>>> ManaCost -
>>>>>>>>>> CoolDown - Time in seconds between being able to use the skill
>>>>>>>>>> Speed - Speed the physical attack moves from player to target
>>>>>>>>>> BaseDamage - Damage
>>>>>>>>>> DamageRadius -
>>>>>>>>>> SplashDamage - Damage outside the normal damage radius
>>>>>>>>>> SetOnFire - %Chance to set target on fire causing damage over time
>>>>>>>>>> OnFire_Damage - Damage per second target takes
>>>>>>>>>> OnFire_Duration - Time in seconds target will remain on fire
>>>>>>>>>> FireResistance - %Resistance player gains from fire based damage
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> [image: Capture.PNG]
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> If more information is necessary on examples and how this type of
>>>>>>>>>> leveling system will work, please feel free to ask, I have more
>>>>>>>>>> notes, and
>>>>>>>>>> am currently working on more material, but I don't want to get too
>>>>>>>>>> involved
>>>>>>>>>> with this method unless approved.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>
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