Ready Weapon(s) in CRPG's

[+adamantyr]

Hi all,

 

So, while I'm refactoring my CRPG, it occured to me that my current system has no cost or need for readying different weapon types.

 

Specifically, unlike Tunnels of Doom, where you had to switch from a melee attack to a ranged attack explicitly, often at the cost of an action.

 

The reason I didn't have this was my original design had you pre-programming all actions ahead of time. So changing weapons seemed a useless extra action that would just bog things down. I'm not sure my opinion has changed there, but I do wonder if I'm missing some important balance factor.

 

So, I throw it to you guys. What do you think? Should changing what active weapon you have in combat cost you some action points? For that matter, should more complicated/useful weapons like ranged weapons and spells cost more than switching to melee? And finally, should you be able to alter your equipment load-out during combat, or only out of combat?

 

Feel free to post your detailed opinions on the thread.

 

Adamantyr

[nukeshed]

Voted, mind you your last question suggests that armor and weapons would be the same difficulty to change during combat. While someone can drop a dagger and pick up a gun, its harder to take off your banded armor and don your wizards hat and cloak.

[unhuman]

Yeah having something so simple take up a turn could be very costly in battle. Of course, then there's always opportunity costs...

[matthew180]

Safe answer: It depends. :-)

 

It depends on your mechanic, i.e. turn-based vs. real-time, and what role combat plays in the game. You talk about "points" during your turn (vs. a number of "steps" you can perform during a turn), so a little more explanation of how that works in your game would help.

 

Other things that come to mind would be things like fatigue and range of engagement. If I'm right up in a monsters face with a sword, then no, there is no way I could change a weapon or armor. However, if I can drop back far enough then it would be reasonable I would have time to get into a backpack to change a weapon or even swap some gear (depending on what it is).

 

Also, if a monster gets tired and rests during a turn, I could use that time to change something out.

 

Ranged weapons should not work up close, and attacks like spells might be something a monster can interrupt.

 

It really depends on how far you want to take it and if you are thinking about what someone could "really" do in a combat situation vs. things you can "just do" because it is a game. More information about your game's design goals would help answer some of that.

 

Also, some games used (and still use) grinding or tedious mechanics to extend the game play. Both of those mechanics will make me put a game down in a hurry. IMO the game should be fun and the tasks you have to do should relate directly to helping the player accomplish the game's goals.

 

But even in a turn-based situation, combat should be fast and furious, otherwise it won't be fun. Having to prepare a list of commands prior to each combat sounds a little tedious and boring. Also, not knowing something about the monster you are getting into combat with makes the situation feel unfair, i.e. you can always at least see the size of your foe, look at their weapon and make some assumptions, etc.

 

Look at Diablo and Diablo2. They are probably the most successful fantasy combat simulators even made. See what you can borrow and scale down from those. I suppose WoW is in there somewhere too, but that is getting way overboard for a classic computer system IMO. Some of the most fun I have had in monster combat was in D2. Having a huge mob come on you, almost dieing a few times, and barely making it out alive was the most rewarding experience.

 

 

[+adamantyr]

To answer my own poll questions:

 

The main reason I didn't have ready weapon switching in the first place was code saving. It's a LOT more code to introduce restrictions than it is to leave it open. Just having it so it puts the "Fire" or "Cast" command on screen if you have a ranged weapon or spellbook equipped is much easier than having to track ready weapon states AND have an interface to switch them. So for the moment, I think I'll leave it as is.

 

And if I DID have a ready weapon action with an associated cost, I'm thinking it will be a fixed cost. Unlike Tunnels of Doom, with three options available (melee, ranged, magic), you can't have a simple interface to switch by just rotating.

 

Finally, equipment changing isn't all equal, so I'd probably keep that to "out of combat only". Plus, there's an added complicated that the item icons are in a separate graphic tile set, which means I'd have to blank the combat screen and go to a status screen to allow the player to make changes. Awkward and messy, to say the least.

 

Adamantyr

[JamesD]

Do you want to make your game more like Ultima, Wizardry, Diablo or Final Fantasy? They are all a little different.

[+adamantyr]

Do you want to make your game more like Ultima, Wizardry, Diablo or Final Fantasy? They are all a little different.

 

Well, I want my game to be its own game, not like any other. That being said, Ultima is probably the closest, as it is the only one of those titles that has 2D tactical turn-based combat.

 

Adamantyr