Zorro Means Fox

The exaggerated exaggerations of a daily life.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

MMORPG Musings

I find this to be far more important to me than the other things ANYWHERE in an MMO. Plus it is incredibly orignal.

Looking at the description of Guild Wars, it says that the thing that matters is "skill, not hours spent playing". I want something like this. I wondered for ages about how to do this without putting on a max level cap. I came up with this:

Combos
Any Soul Caliber fan knows a lot about combos. They win you the games in fighting games. What I love about SC is that the combos can lead onto more combos and there are things which you need to do (eg. Stances, soulcharge) to do certain combos.
What MMO's have been missing is COMBOS. Integrate fighting games with MMO's and you can have an original system which can hopefully spawn a whole range of Fighting/Arcade MMO's.
I don't mean to set it up like an arcade game. What I am suggesting is that you move like you normally do, such as in GW or WoW. You choose first person or third person.

Normally when you level up, you can put points into a skill. The more points the better. What about if, when you level, you get skill points, and can spend them with Skill Trainers, like in GW. However, you can have unlimited skills at one time, and there is no 'super skill' which you can only get at level 99 or something. Instead, there are a range of skill-trees which eventually reach a really good skill at the end.

To use skills, you must do a combo on the keyboard (eg. Q, W, E, R gets you ready to cast Fireball). This loads up a skill in a little box in the top right of the screen (from now on called the CURRENT SKILL box.) After a few seconds, (this time window is smaller for higher level skills) the skill disappears and you need to do the combo again to load it back up (from now on called the SKILL WINDOW.)

To 'cast' the skill, you click a button (eg. Shift) which is chosen in the Options menu. This 'casts' the spell in the CURRENT SKILL box.

I mentioned before that there were skill trees to get higher level skills. There is no level limit on skills by the way. To use these higher level skills, you must have the one above it on the skill tree on the CURRENT SKILL box to use it. For example, one string on the skill tree goes as such:

Fireball (Q, W, E, R)
V
Firebomb (T, Y, Up, F)
V
Vortex (G, H, D, J)
V
Inferno [really powerful] (K, T, V, M, Up, Left, T, M)

So you click Q, W, E, R to load up a fireball. Lets say the SKILL WINDOW is 30 seconds. You therefore have 30 seconds to either hit Shift to cast it, or type T, Y, Up, F to load up firebomb. This repeats for the other skills with a smaller SKILL WINDOW each time.

I really like this system because it means that:
Wizards - makes sense. They spend more time chanting to cast a better spell, or they can rapidfire the lower level skills.
Priests - same
Warriors - this stops them from spamming super skills. They can use the normal Attack key, or spam low level combos, or if they see an opening, they can use a combo and do some serious damage.
Rangers - more concentration = takes more time, pulling back further = more time
Thieves - more concentration, more complex abilities.
Mana - this removes the need for mana as it requires skill to use rather than large amounts of mana.

Overall, I think that this is a great system. Not only does it remove the need for mana, as well as making sense, it:
- stops the higher levels from spamming their high level skills
- gives newbies with skill some advantage over oldies who have been away from the game for a year
- adds more enjoyment to the game as it is not only spamming the Q button to cast spells but it also is challenging
- will look great
- will encourage people to use their high level skills only as a finishing attack or to start the combat
- means that every skill is useful and remains useful. eg. Fireball will still be useful to spam, even at level 99.
- means that skill rather than time spent will give you a better character. Although time spent in the game will increase your experience with it and thus this will not alienate gamers who love to powerlevel and be the highest level
- means that, due to the different skill levels of people (eg. a highly skilled typist could use Firebomb as often as someone else using Fireball) there would be no 'Super Build' which everyone uses. Instead, each build would be original to the skill level of the user.

Most people tend to use the WASD movement system rather than point-click (morrowind anyone?) and this is taking it to the next level. As far as I can see, it isn't that complicated, and if you supplied numerous skill trees, than the people who are used to hotkey-madness can just spam the lower level skills quickly. Who knows, it could be a tactic, like how in Jedi Academy you can have a fast style or a slow, powerful style and each are as good as each other.

You can have one spamming, dodging 'build' whilst someone else gets a slow 'tanking type' build. The idea behind it is that each character is tailor-made to its user and that anyone else using the character wouldn't be able to use it as well as the person who created it. I feel that this will encourage originality in skill set ups as well as making sure that no newbies just end up following someone else's build, which is no fun. Originality is the way of the future.

And you know how, after a certain time with an MMO, you know where your hot keyed spells are on the keyboard, the more time you spend playing, the better you remember the keys? This just pushes it to the next level.

If you don't feel like you can do it, you can simply use the weaker 'attack' button instead of combos. The point of combos is that you see an opening in the enemies attack where you have time to use a combo, you can use one. The combo stuns the enemy, long enough to let off another one. Etc.

Yes, it appeals to the hardcore gamers, but it means that instead of having a skill trainer who says...

"You learned: Fireball"

you may actually have to learn the spell, and maybe pass a test at the end to learn it properly. And there would be no time wait after pressing the keys, it would instantly load it into the CURRENT SKILL box. This means that for two spells that are: QWER and TYUI as combos, you can either spam QWER or spam QWERTYUI and take that extra time to cast a bigger spell.

The more times you pull off the spell, the more 'experience' the spell gets. Eventually it levels up, with a max level of 10 or so.
But a level 10 fireball will never be as powerful as a level 5 firebomb for instance. This way, not only is skill tested in terms of remembering the combo, but people who do spend ridiculous amounts of time leveling up are rewarded.

Situation:
You have just chosen to become a mage/wizard/whatever. To become one and start the game you must choose an elemental spell. Fireball, Shard, Lightning. Then, you can either, go through a course to learn movement/attack, or skip it. Then you go into another place where you must learn the combo on your chosen skill.

For example, you choose Shard, an ice spell. You are taught the combo: S, E, D. You must then go through a mock course where you use it. Eventually you pass the course and you are able to enter the world. If you fail, you can rechoose your element and try again. But you really shouldn't fail.

The same thing would happen with other skills. To use them in the real game you must go to a skill trainer and actually be taught how to use them.

Situation 2:
You begin as a warrior. You then must choose Vertical Slash, Horizontal Slash or Counter. Same thing as above, you choose Vertical Slash. They teach the combo 5, T, G, B. You must pass a course where you can use ATTACK or 5TGB. At the end, you can pass and go into Anathema.

Warriors are given the option to attack or use combos. Mages must use spell combos. Maybe give them a weak long distance Magic Spark or something to use.


This gives the players an option between a quick "Q W E R T Y A S D F H" and the much more complicated "Q W E R T Y H N J I K L 7 U J M".
Follow those combos on the keyboard with your fingers. They make sense. It kinda replicates the Nintendo DS in casting. You could summon a box by casting: "Q W E R T Y H N B V C X Z A Q".

And what about not telling the players that some spells exist, and let them figure them out by experimenting? Of course, some of those spells are like, Self Destruct or something.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Black Abyss #1

Started working on my own forum, a sci fi version of Galadoria. The working title is Black Abyss Online, but there are a few games already out called Black Abyss (and a band. Go figure.), so I might need to change the name. Note that anything I point out in this is a working title or name, and some of them are just there to help me remember stuff. Like the Faeros are fire guys, but that's not their final name. (Faeros are a species which live in stars in Saga of Seven Suns.)

So, I might as well track this in my journal. It's meant to give me something practical to apply learning php to. Follow this journal for more info or for when the Beta comes out. (A long time away yet.)

Humans
Humans - come from Earth or a planet like it. They are slightly curious but most adept at ingenuity. Jack of all trades and masters of none. Humans gain wormhole gate travel on Earth after a planetary war. The weapons detonated in space ruptured certain parts of the spatial web. To repair itself, the web linked with other ruptured sections across the universe. The humans found a way to make a jump through these wormholes, using vast amounts of energy. However, because of this, they only had enough energy to send ships one way through the wormholes, hoping the ships would emerge safely on the other side. The energy is expelled on the entrance to the wormhole, and is often collected and reused. So when humans establish a wormhole on a planet, they are able to move back and forth between wormholes. They also developed a system where they could 'dial' a wormhole, much like a stargate.

The humans we are interested in came on Pioneer Ship Olympia long before the story starts. They were on a one-way flight, since even if they found energy on the other side, there was little chance they would be able to find the right wormhole exit again. They appeared around the Hector System in the Olympia Galaxy. But they arrived in the midst of a battle. Luckily for them, their crippled ship was picked up by the Faeros, who soon became their allies. The Faeros and Arboreals (the Tillian Alliance) took humans and settled them on a safe planet, Pollux IV.

Now we are many years down the track and the humans are a staunch ally for the Tillian Alliance. They have their own system, a battle fleet, colonies scattered, and have perfected their wormhole technology to the point where they can now travel throughout the system perfectly.

Human classes:


Fighter - adept at boarding parties, the fighter is best with powerswords, but he can use guns if he needs to. He is strong in DEX and STR. (Stats and their equivalents are works in progress.)

Soldier - adept at using all forms of guns, but useless when caught in melee. Can use all types of guns. These are either foot soldiers or they board after the fighters. Strong in INT and DEX.

Pilot - can't use guns, but can use powerswords in a tight spot. They are best used in their fighter craft, and a crossclassed Pilot-soldier is an ideal dogfighter. Pilots also pilot and work the computer systems of Battleships and other ships in the fleet. Strong in DEX and AGI.

Mechanic - uses guns and blunt weapons. They can repair stuff, and MacGyver up something in a tight spot. Strong in STR and VIT.

Scientist - Like the mechanics are the scientists, and technicians who operate the Wormhole Gates. They carry experimental weapons, which are prone to exploding but fairly effective. Strong in INT and AGI.

Medic - Heals people, and rarely uses weapons. Medics keep people healthy as long as they don't get hit. They can use weak guns, but are generally frail. Strong in INT and SPR.

And a shot of the banner: