Re: [Adonthell-devel] Battle System

[Mike Avery]

On Friday 01 February 2002 12:02, you wrote:
> On Fri, 1 Feb 2002, Mike Avery wrote:
> > Whatever is decided, we need to be careful that we maintain balance.  If
> > magic becomes much more powerful than melee combat, nobody will use the
> > fighter.
>
> That shouldn't be too hard to do.  By nature, elves probably wouldn't be
> so good at physical combat, as would half-elves, only not so much so.
> Humans would have the advantage of strength plus alchemy, although we
> could make it relatively expensive (for instance, in order to make
> potions, "grenades" and the like, it would be necessary to buy equipment,
> which would have a lifespan).  Dwarves, of course, would be all combat.
> So the magic is weighted to characters who would have low melee value,
> save for the humans who would have a different restriction.

Right, and your point is taken.  If a mature elf mage character can destroy a 
mature dwarf fighter because magic and melee are not balanced, many people 
wouldn't bother to play the dwarf fighter.

I mention this not because I expect PvP combat, but becasue all fighting 
creatures (player and non-player) need to be weighted on the same set of 
attributes and skills.  So whether a player is fighting a squirrel, some 
hideous magic using thing, or a humanoid, the calculations are the same for 
all, regardless of their choice of damage methods.

Regardless of the choice of character type, the experience of the game should 
be equally challenging to all character types.  If it is out of whack one way 
or another, the game could be much easier with some characters, and difficult 
with others.

In the end, ensuring that we do this up front will greatly ease development.  
We will only have to focus on one set of mechanics and balance one system 
instead of two.  We'll end up with one very fleshed out and adaptable system.
Balancing two separate systems would be a nightmare. 


I've got some notes on this, I'll forward them today some time.

Mike