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Mierza · 01-06-2004, 08:45 AM

Um... okay, straying away from civilities and onto my thoughts of skill levels.

Atrophy: Sounds like a good idea, somewhat realistic. My point of view on this, however, is that most games don't progress to pass ten years very often. In fact, most games I know hardly really actually have an IC time anymore, even if they originally started out with a system of one.

Now, there are many games also that don't have changing worlds. A player can make their own SL, or participate in staff ran quests, but you examine the universe after a few months and it's exactly the same as it was before -how many MUD's actually re-write room descriptions as the scenery changes -from something like seasons to man-made destruction such as battle scenes.

My point here is that if your world is going to change substancially in the time it takes for a player's skills to degrade, then fair enough -that is realistic. However, what's the point of trying to be realistic in a game system where the player -looses- a part of them, attempts to regain it.. but that's a simple never ending cycle. Now, if a player was to loose part of their skill, and the world around them changes, then they gain it again, and their world changes again? Fair enough. That is called a story.

I also have a question -how often do characters gain skills, and then not use them for say, 10 years IC time, anyway?

-btw I'm not dissing atrophy, just trying to present issue's where I still haven't seen other people's point of view yet.

As for skill systems, anyone played um.. Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction? Games like that aren't normally my piece of cake.. but I played mostly for game experience, and I'm glad for it. Anyway, those that have played it before would have an idea of the skill system there. For those that don't, here's a basic outline:

To start with, you get to choose a character. Each different character has a different class, for example, amazon, barbarian, sorceress, etc.

Say we choose the sorceress class, then she has three areas she can specialize in: Cold spells, Lightening Spells, and Fire spells.

Each time a player 'levels up' they get a new skill point, which they can spend in either of the three areas.

Inside each spell type (cold, lightening and fire) there is a tree branch of skills starting from easier skills, to more powerful ones.

I like this kind of system because it allows for classes, whilst still allowing for diversity. Three players playing a sorceress character, could each be different. Each might specialize in one chosen area, or they may choose to be more diverse and select skills from all areas.

As for balancing a system like this, to be fair between classes, I'm pretty sure with a bit of thinking it can be done -I mean diablo did it, and I'm sure there are some MUD's out there that must do likewise?

Anyway, it's sleep time, and I appologize if any of this thread is hard to read, but I did want to get my thoughts down, even if just for my own thought process. If there are any questions about the meaning behind my words, feel free to ask.

~Mierza.

01-06-2004, 08:45 AM	#48
Mierza Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Hope Valley, Perth, Australia. Posts: 33	Um... okay, straying away from civilities and onto my thoughts of skill levels. Atrophy: Sounds like a good idea, somewhat realistic. My point of view on this, however, is that most games don't progress to pass ten years very often. In fact, most games I know hardly really actually have an IC time anymore, even if they originally started out with a system of one. Now, there are many games also that don't have changing worlds. A player can make their own SL, or participate in staff ran quests, but you examine the universe after a few months and it's exactly the same as it was before -how many MUD's actually re-write room descriptions as the scenery changes -from something like seasons to man-made destruction such as battle scenes. My point here is that if your world is going to change substancially in the time it takes for a player's skills to degrade, then fair enough -that is realistic. However, what's the point of trying to be realistic in a game system where the player -looses- a part of them, attempts to regain it.. but that's a simple never ending cycle. Now, if a player was to loose part of their skill, and the world around them changes, then they gain it again, and their world changes again? Fair enough. That is called a story. I also have a question -how often do characters gain skills, and then not use them for say, 10 years IC time, anyway? -btw I'm not dissing atrophy, just trying to present issue's where I still haven't seen other people's point of view yet. As for skill systems, anyone played um.. Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction? Games like that aren't normally my piece of cake.. but I played mostly for game experience, and I'm glad for it. Anyway, those that have played it before would have an idea of the skill system there. For those that don't, here's a basic outline: To start with, you get to choose a character. Each different character has a different class, for example, amazon, barbarian, sorceress, etc. Say we choose the sorceress class, then she has three areas she can specialize in: Cold spells, Lightening Spells, and Fire spells. Each time a player 'levels up' they get a new skill point, which they can spend in either of the three areas. Inside each spell type (cold, lightening and fire) there is a tree branch of skills starting from easier skills, to more powerful ones. I like this kind of system because it allows for classes, whilst still allowing for diversity. Three players playing a sorceress character, could each be different. Each might specialize in one chosen area, or they may choose to be more diverse and select skills from all areas. As for balancing a system like this, to be fair between classes, I'm pretty sure with a bit of thinking it can be done -I mean diablo did it, and I'm sure there are some MUD's out there that must do likewise? Anyway, it's sleep time, and I appologize if any of this thread is hard to read, but I did want to get my thoughts down, even if just for my own thought process. If there are any questions about the meaning behind my words, feel free to ask. ~Mierza.