00Kevin

Sadly, may RPG's only let you create character(s) once.  It's odd that a large amount of development effort goes into the character creation process and yet it's only ever used once at the start of the game.      

 

I guess you could handle character death like XCOM does.   

Apart from what you already, and the one that you can whatever with what ever action points you have, the alternative is this.....

 

Each turn, a Unit gets 3 different Action Points.

1 Action Point for Movement 

1 Action Point for Action (Offensive or Defensive)

1 Action Point for any of the two.

 

This way, each turn, a unit can ...

Attack Attack Move

Move Attack Move

Move Attack Attack

Attack Move Attack

and such.

 

This will somewhat encourage players to utilize terrains and covers and flanking and positioning their soldiers, and not just keep attacking until one is dead.

 

I like this design.    Especially the Attack, Move, Attack option.    Far too many systems just end movement once you attack.

 

I just think I need more options for Defensive actions.  So far I only have Dodge and Tumble.    Actions like parry, disarm,  or block are provided per weapon.    If you have a shield you can block or shield bash with it.   If you have two weapons you can make a parry with one and disarm with the other, or even make a parry with each weapon.   The reason for this design is that I have weapons and shields that provide different bonuses to parry and block attempts.   

 

I just need to find a system that fits elegantly with my design and doesn't over complicate things.   So far the added touch of realism is making this game a little more complex than I had anticipated.  

You don't have a buffs/debuffs/charge up for next turn category?  But I personally like systems where actions cost AP varying from 1 to 10, and a normal unit has somewhere between 5 and 8 per turn, and you can do however many you can afford, so different combinations of moves are optimal for different units.  In that kind of system MP are separate, except that your AP abilities can give you more MP or require you to sacrifice MP.

 

This is a good idea.   I actually was toying with this concept the other day, but I just don't know what each unit could possibly spend them on each turn.   

 

I'm currently making my first turn based tactical combat game and I'm interested in your feedback.

 

So far I've grouped all actions into 4 categories

 

1. Offensive

2. Defensive

3. Movement

4. Incidental   (for actions like falling prone, taking cover,  or opening a door)

 

Actions are managed by action points.  Every unit gets 2 action points per round which can be spent on offensive, defensive, or movement actions.   Incidental actions are free actions. 

 

What this means is that in one round you can

 

1.  move, attack

2.  move, defend

3.  move, move

4.  defend, attack

5.  attack twice

6.  defend, defend   (full defense)

 

At the moment, I just need to figure out how my 6 armed troll will attack.   At this point I might have to create several action points per category, but I'm not sure I like how complex it seems to make the system.     

 

 

Can any of the experts here suggest a better action economy?

And doesn't it sound fun to put bunnies in sacks!?

lol...   Can I use this in my game?      I think the demo will have a few sacks with bunnies in them.       Perhaps it will be an ingredient for fresh rabbit stew.  

hmm actually,  I could add a decay factor to the items.   Food could go bad and and live animals might die if you don't feed them.

Over the last week I managed to put together an fairly realistic rpg inventory class.

I'm mulling over a few concepts and I'd like to  know what some of the more experienced game designers here think.

Realism vs Inventory Tetris

At this point, my inventory component supports nested container objects (much like a tree), in fact any item can be a container. My thought was that inventory could be presented in a tree view, but after reviewing the inventory system of several games like fallout, skyrim, diablo, nwn, and even some anime like rpgs, I've been debating if gamers would really appreciate a nested tree concept.

Personally, I'd really like the idea of being able to place a bunch of items in a sack and trade the sack to another party member. Of course, my system would allow you to place several small sacks full of gear into a large sack and then place the large sack inside your backpack.   The system also has container size restrictions, which prevent you from placing a suit of armor inside a small pouch.  

Coinage
One other concept I'm debating right now is how to best represent gold.  I recall playing Ultima Underworld in which gold was an actual (gold pile) item in your inventory. Actually, that game is one of the only games I can find with a realistic inventory system.

Stackable Items
Stackable items is another concept I noticed in many of the games with inventory Tetris layouts.   24 Arrows per slot, 10 throwing daggers, 20 potions of healing, etc. Why not simply allow an endless number of similar items to be stacked together?  


IMO, provided the presentation layer doesn't cause any frustration, I appreciate realism in my games.

Thanks.

Ultima underworld 1 & 2