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Old 10-19-2010, 07:54 PM   #8
dayrinni
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Join Date: Apr 2002
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Re: MUD Development Journal

Hello!

Thanks for your post. I shall try my best to answer your questions.

I defined those profession that way because I like to work from a "base" and then put in systems (in this case, the package system) to allow for specialization/customization. Right now, there really isn't any background for the magic/fighter/etc lore. I have put that portion on hold because I am waiting for a response from the potential co-owners on the game. However, this package system can be thought of a delivery system of sorts. We should be able to easily transport the lore within this system. That is because, for the most part, the abilities will shape that lore.

In the previous game, ATS, we had a "focus" system that allowed players to select a base class (Fighter, Rogue, Mage, and Cleric) and then choose one of two focii. Each one had a specific theme - for example Fighters were either Trained Fighters or Talented Fighters. For each focus, they were presented with 10 skills and could choose 7 of them. So by working off of a base like we are, we can do systems like this and allow players to build their own class.



I wanted to come up with a general number of abilities a class can expect to have at max level for balance purposes. Since players can choose different packages, we have to be careful to ensure that each player will end up with relatively the same amount of abilities. Of course, making sure all of the abilities are balanced in a reasonable fashion in a system like this is also a challenge. So if we know the amount of abilities before ahead of time, then we can know what sort of set we are working with. Then we can start to aim for a balance.

You can go in either way. I like to approach things from a mechanical and number based approach. I have found this approach with designing classes seems to work best for me in terms of balancing.


Thanks.
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