Dev blog #2 (April 2017 - Realms only!)

[American Trail Mix]

(04-09-2017, 11:33 AM)Brassx Wrote:  While that rule is true for a lot of things(especially 'skill based' PvP content), RNG can actually be okay to use in some PvE scenarios(I've enjoyed it quite a bit in some games). So in this type of scenario, Some random damage ranges should be perfectly fine with the way I plan to do it. I don't expect everyone to like it though - But, Look at Runescape, a MMORPG that's still alive to this day (came out in 2002). Has tens of thousands of active players. Its damage system is SUPER RNG, based on your characters stats vs your targets stats. Of course it can be pretty frustrating for PvP, but it still feels pretty good and works pretty great. Especially for progression and the amount of different character builds that became possible from it. The damage ranges here will not be NEAR as RNG based or varied as that.

Tons of games use randomized damage in one form or another(ever heard of critical hits? Stats are often there to increase your crit chances too).

Games need some form of progression that gives a sense of achievement. Most games do this by having players start with nothing, and start weak, then progress through, enhance their characters, and get better gear. We do not have the 'start with no gear' and work your way up option here(nor do we have the super fast paced dodge-block enemy fight option) for the most part as most players WILL already start with really good weapons. How would you add progression for those players? Replay value? Give something more interesting to work for other than grinding out loot? They can skip most of the stuff and go straight to 'end game'. R.I.P any sense of achievement other than 'loot'. This is not supposed to be a purely 'skill based' gamemode. It's not some super competitive FPS where any RNG damage could be life or death. Really, if you have any better ideas for that, I'm all ears.

...Then why not a level and exp system? Why not have minimum damage caps on enemies, or a damage stat that makes you deal more damage, and have stronger, healthier enemies in different areas? As for loot, take a look at Dark Souls. There is no weapon in Dark Souls that is objectively better than another weapon; most weapons in Dark Souls are only strong because you MAKE them strong, by leveling up your character and upgrading them. You can do the same thing for Realms, too. Say there are like, "realm gems" or something that you can put on your weapons. These enhance a weapon's stats, but only while playing on Realms. This would be significantly more interesting than a random chance to deal 0 damage. If people don't like random critical hits, why would they like random critical fails? Once again, it's an unnecessary factor, and only makes progression more painful instead of more interesting. Also, continuing on the Dark Souls note, I find Skill over Strength to be an important concept to have. Make fights hard, but rewarding. Do NOT make it a grind-fest! I can guarantee that the majority of people who play TTT don't enjoy grinding for hours to increase their stats. Don't make a game that people would want to set up a bot to automate (Like what happens with Runescape.) If you really need help on game design and stuff, I can give my two cents on the matter whenever. [Also, I find Runescape to be an awful game, and it's age shows for a reason. This is just a personal opinion, but I would still like to point it out.]