Well, Im following suit, dang it, I think its the best tactical battle system out there! Of course, I will have to add many of my own touches. Last night I finally busted out the complete design doc for it. Minus any changes I have to make or things I forgot to add.
But I can already start to pick out some cons as I go over it. It already seems TOO micro-managed and slow-paced. Well, Ill at least wait for the next couple of days for me to finish a weapons and armor list to try it out. And, Ill submit it here, so that you can all graciously help me out by picking it apart. :P
Heres what Ive copied from my Notepad file:
Gold Fire Combat
Each action during a fight takes a certain amount of time. How much time per action is dependant upon weapon speed and weapon skill. Knowing how an enemy will attack and defend is based upon combat lore, which increases the more players fight. As combat lore rises, the more often a player will find out how the enemy is attacking and can counter effectively. When a player first engages in battle, a screen will come up with enemy race, enemy equipped armor and weapon, and enemy action on one side, and all player stats on the other. If the enemy attacks, enemy status will switch to 'Attacking', the player can then decide what action is necessary. The problem is that the player doesnt necessarily know what amount of time it will take for the enemy to land its attack. The player can choose to defend or be aggressive and attack.
Attacks will be Chop, Slash, and Pierce.
Types of attacks will be Combo, Target, and Aimed.
Chop: Weapon is brought up then directed down at the enemy.
Slash: Weapon is pointed to the side then directed sideways at the enemy.
Pierce: Weapon is drawn back then directed toward the enemy.
Combo: A learned combination of attacks that lessen the sum of time the attacks take individually.
Target: The attack is directed at a specific body part but attack time is increased.
Aimed: The attack is directed at a body part and will not execute until attack will connect but may take a long time.
For large amounts of ememies, the player will have the option of activating pre-set reactions for his fighter, then allowing the computer to fight for him. Or for the extremely impatient, the player can set his fighter to auto fight.
Defenses will be Dodge, Parry, and Block. Each Defense will be equal in time no matter what the skill level of the fighter. Each Defense has an attack it is most useful against.
Defense to Attack Matrix:
Type of Defense | Eff vs. Chop | Eff vs. Slash | Eff vs. Pierce
---------------------------------------------------------------
Dodge | avg | poor | good
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Parry | poor | good | avg
---------------------------------------------------------------
Block | good | avg | poor
A successful Parry will lower the weapon HP, a successful Block will lower the shield HP, but a successful Dodge doesnt impact either. However, increases in Weapon Skill will increase the Eff of a Parry, increases in Shield Skill will increase the Eff of a Block, but there is no modifier for a Dodge.
Successfully performing the best defense for a given attack gives the defender a free counter attack.
Taking Damage:
If a Defense is unsuccessful, the attacker will land a blow. The amount of damage the defender takes depends upon the weapon used and the armor wielded by the body part struck. If armor is wielded, the armor will take the damage intended for the defender. If the weapon used is stronger than the armor wielded, the armor will absorb its max HP, the rest will count as damage to the defender. If a piece of armor takes too many blows that max its HP, which depends on the quality of the armor, it will become unusable. The amount of blows that will take depends on the type of armor.
Typical scenario:
A player begins a fight with a goblin. The goblin is armed with a short sword and a wood buckler. The short sword stats show that it can be used for slicing or piercing. The round begins and the goblin status switches to 'Attacking...' The player decides that since its only a short sword, his padded leather armor will absorb most of the blow and so he also attacks with his bastard sword. The goblin hits the player in the chest with his short sword in a Slash attack. The player is right. The padded leather takes most of the blow, but now the armor is damaged. The player only has 2 time units before his sword will hit the goblin, but thats just enough time for the goblin to block the blow. The goblins buckler takes a large amount of damage. The goblin status again switches to 'Attacking...' This time however, the players combat lore check passes this round, and the goblins attack is displayed. This time the goblin is going to do a Pierce attack. The player knows that the best defense against a Pierce attack is a Dodge. The player dodges, the goblin misses his blow, and is now open for counter attack. The player performs a Chop attack with the bastard sword. This connects and takes away most of the goblins HP. The player attacks again, this time with a Slash attack. The goblin, being severly injured, performs a Block. Not only does the Slash attack splinter the buckler into a dozen pieces, since it was already severely damaged, the Slash follows through and hits the goblin, removing its remaining HP, killing it. The player is victorious!
