ryz
Novice
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2019
- Messages
- 15
Hello codexians,
I'm currently developing a old-school blobber with the following qualities:
Now, I'm currently designing the combat system and would be happy to discuss the merits and downsides of turn-based combat. There's been a few good threads here already, but I'd like to necro the discussion in 2020: What are you looking for in combat of a turn-based blobber?
I feel like many old blobbers (or RPGs in general) have great systems, but suffer from atrocious UX, UI or pacing issues - I usually endure them but honestly often it's not fun at all. Very often I think "man, this game would be 10/10 if it wouldn't be so retarded to control". This is actually one of my main issues.
A few aspects which I've identified are:
What do you think is important for turn-based combat? What is a no-go? Do you think the system should innovate or just execute combat of classics in a smooth way? There's a lot to think about and I'd like to hear people's opinions!
I'm currently developing a old-school blobber with the following qualities:
- Party-based: Up to six characters in a party.
- Class-based: Characters have clear roles (which are malleable to an extend).
- Grid-based Exploration: Inside the dungeon the player moves in cardinal directions on a grid (tiles).
- Random Encounters: There's a random chance of encountering enemies each turn/move. Some are fixed (happen on specific tiles), like (mini-)bosses and gatekeeper fights.
- Turn-based Combat: Combat is menu- and turn-based.
Now, I'm currently designing the combat system and would be happy to discuss the merits and downsides of turn-based combat. There's been a few good threads here already, but I'd like to necro the discussion in 2020: What are you looking for in combat of a turn-based blobber?
I feel like many old blobbers (or RPGs in general) have great systems, but suffer from atrocious UX, UI or pacing issues - I usually endure them but honestly often it's not fun at all. Very often I think "man, this game would be 10/10 if it wouldn't be so retarded to control". This is actually one of my main issues.
A few aspects which I've identified are:
- Enough Options/Headspace: Ideally each encounter (on an even power level) is interesting and allows for many play-styles and options each turn. Here's an exmaple: I want items to be multifunctional, e.g. character can use a "fire potion" on himself or a party member to increase fire resistance or throw it at an enemy to deal fire damage - each option would take a turn.
- War of Attrition: Someone here coined it as "bungee-jumping" - the party makes their way into the dungeon, resources slowly dwindling - the player must know when there's a point of no return and plan his exit/backtrack accordingly.
- Fast paced: Combat should be fast (if the player wants it to), meaning animations, transitions, turns, etc. There's nothing more mind-numbing for me than watching animations to finish for the 2423th time in 30 second long trivial battles while holding the A button. I want combat to be BLAZING FAST if there's no interesting decisions to be made (e.g. when the party is vastly over-leveled, etc.), possibly even auto-resolving. Players can pause/stop at any time to think as long as they desire, of course.
What do you think is important for turn-based combat? What is a no-go? Do you think the system should innovate or just execute combat of classics in a smooth way? There's a lot to think about and I'd like to hear people's opinions!