I agree. Hexes over squares!
I feel a lot of significant questions weren't answered:
Physics:
1) If there is a rogue class, how does stealth work? Does it only apply to combat, or can it be used in first-person as well, to ambush a party of enemies?
2) Are light and shadows dynamic (as part of Question #1)? Will you be able to turn off fires and snuff lanterns, to sneak up on your enemies?
3) Can you move objects, to position your own cover, before combat--in the first person view?
4) Do elements interact, as in Original Sin? Can I set fire to oil, and expect it to burn. Can I cast electricity through water, and expect it to electrocute others' standing on the water? Can I cast a freeze spell, and then shatter the frozen person with heat, or a blunt weapon. Do spells interact? Such as water and lightning.
5) Environmental interaction: Are environments deformable in first person, as well as combat mode? Such as setting fire to patch of hay, breaking with my weapon, knocking down a door with my axe. Or simply breaking down a wall? Maybe moving objects to create your own cover, before combat begins, as specified earlier.
6) Are there large enemies that take of multiple hexes, with weak points, where you to strike certain hexes to hit targeted zones? Like large bosses. Forgive me, but the best comparison I can come up with is Zelda, or Shadow of the Colossus, where you have to strike enemies in their weak zone--a good example would be an goo-like monster, surrounded by hexes, with an eyeball in the center hex, which could only be destroyed by destroying the eyeball. First you would have to destroy the outer hexes, get to the vulnerable point, then strike the eye? If so, is it possible for such a creature to regenerate itself, reforming the hexes with goo surrounding it every couple of turns.
7) Are there terrain advantages, such as archers or magicians gaining a bonus from standing on high ground, and firing arrow and spells on the enemies below them? Similar to the Myth series, for example.
8) How interactive is the first-person perspective? Are you able to stealth, cast spells, interact with each object, as you would in top-down combat? Or are you limited to using abilities and repositioning cover while in isometric turn-based mode?
9) Have you played the SSI Goldbox games, or Dark Heart of Uukrul, which used a similar first person view, with top-down turn-based view for combat?
10) Lastly, you have mentioned the ability to gather herbs. How deep do alchemy and crafting go? Are you able to craft your own weapons? Enchant them? For instance, if I were to mine ore, then craft a steel sword, I could then ignite it with a fire enchantment that would allow my sword to blaze and deal fire damage?
11) Is it possible to cast aggro spells outside of combat, to initiate combat? For instance, lobbing a lightning bolt at a nearby target, who has not yet initiated combat, while in first person.
12) From your update, you suggested once a lock, trap, or concealed door was found, you would have to find a way to solve it. Are there multiple types of traps and doors and different ways to solve them? Is this done via multiple-minigames, or by skill checks alone?
13) MAPS: I assume you can notate them? Would it be possible to create your own maps, by buying paper or parchment in-game, and then notating on them, while the game writes the map as you go, so long as you do not run out of parchment?
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I think a permadeath mode would be fine, as long as you could recruit new NPCs. It might be interesting to have a "generational" aspect to characters, where they could reproduce, passing on stats and some spells and abilities to their descendants, or form a hybrid class with whatever party character or NPC they formed a romantic link with. This, like in the Witcher, with the Bioware bromance options, where you could bed women, passing on hereditary traits such as character skills or stats, both from them, and from yourself. Of course, the stats, such as strength or dexterity, would average out between the two characters, forming a hybrid class. What skills, spells, and perks they received as they levelled could be determined by random rolls between the two character. They could then be recruited from a guild nearby, like in Might & Magic, Wizardry.
You could possibly even romantic encounters between party members, forming hybrid classes of their own, abilities would distribute at random, say a cleric and a mage breeding might produce a descendent capable of casting fire as well as healing spells, with a randomized assortment of stats and abilities formed from both classes, based on randomized dice rolls. This would be easy, if all NPCs had classes and levels assigned to them, so a "Mage" NPC would only have mage spells up to level 17, and your hereditary offspring would also have mage spells up to only level 17, selected at random, as well as the skills you passed onto your offspring, determined by your level and randomized dice rolls.
Your descendant would begin at level one, and increase as you go, gaining abilities from both spheres, and beginning with a randomized stat roll that evened between the two characters that determines their initial strength, dexterity, wisdom, etc, based on the averages of the two characters breeding. They could never gain abilities beyond the respective class levels of the each parent, say a level 37 cleric and a level 28 rogue breed--they would get a random assortment of rogue skill up until level 28, and a random assortment of cleric skills up until level 37, but never beyond the respective levels of their parent NPC/PC's.
The ability to bed another character could have to do with skill checks, persuasion, charisma, and questing. How much they like you...
Even personalities between party members.
How they contrast or conflict!
Thus, you would be starting over, but with a progeny or offspring, who could be hired at the guild, then named.
Additionally, you might simply recruit an NPC, possible using your charisma or skill checks in persuasion, like before, or undergoing questing to earn their favor.
This would make permadeath part of the game, where your ancestors would carry on quests through their children.
Additionally, I think an Ironman mode is required.
I am not hung up about this, but in Lands of Lore II, along with Amnesia and the Penumbra series, you could toggle off mouse-look with a right click, then use the left mouse button to effectively manipulate physics in the environment, such as clicking on objects, or moving physics, such as crates--even stacking them to scale walls. Some of this would have to be based on strength checks, as heavier objects would naturally be harder to lift, while doors are easy to open. Then, using the right mouse button, you could toggle back into mouse-look, where left clicking could initiate combat, or serve several other options, depending on how the mouse was configured (casting spells, attacking, clicking locked doors).
Something similar could be used here, where spells could either be hot-keyed, or cast using a single button, using the mouse scroll-wheel to switch between spells and abilities, in order.
Additionally, spells could be modified, using alchemy, so a fire spell might become a lightning spell, or additionally modified using runes. Lastly, you could charge it up a number of turns to make it more powerful, giving it a larger blast radius, et cetera.
Of course, alchemy was temporary, whereas runes were permanent, or could be exchanged. Once a plant, or potion, is consumed, it was gone...
The rune system is more akin to Underworld, or Arx Fatalis; but temporarily modifying spells, or abilities, using alchemy, came directly from Lands of Lore II--as did the idea of charging spells before casting, which could either require several turns, or more skill points, depending on spell.
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The latest Kickstarter update makes this game out to be GODLIKE:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1153206899/dungeons-of-aledorn-old-school-hardcore-rpg/posts
"Analysis of mechanics one by one in...first person GUI
As you play our game, you’ll notice that within each GUI, there’s the possibility to do various activities and these are utilised by the player to interact with the game.
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Clicking on objects
The player, by browsing an environment, will be able to click on most things. Depending on how the object will react, the play is given feedback. An "Active character”, a player can arbitrarily change the active figure during the game.
If the player clicks on an object, like a container for example, options appears; open, explore, search for trap and this option will be further developed, according to the player's progress with an obstacle. In library, a player can find books, depending on the active character. Of course searching the library by one of the active figures will not empty the inventory of the room. If the library is explored by one character, it can then be explored also by the others.The library may well be an illusion or a magical trap or even can be cursed. Also, a secret entrance can be hidden within it. So it’s wise to not miss the opportunity to "explore it with whole entourage," of course, there is a risk of activating a trap and as such, exploring in advance with characters that have higher skills of perception will be necessary.
If you click on an NPC player, this will then invoke the appropriate response based on each character that appeals to them (active characters). An NPC may also be a manifested party composition. See "distribution center" below. Some characters can react only to certain professions or race and some simply do not have any reaction, if there’s a specific race or profession nearby.
IIt is also possible that we will assign more control mouse buttons. e.g. the left mouse button will perform the action as described above, while the right will always be search. It basically means that there will be one less click for the player to remember. These proposals will be addressed in the first alpha testing phase, which should be done, according to the schedule, during Q2 2016.
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Buttons in GUI
Clicking on a character
This will select the active figure. Active figure will actually follow the cursor, meaning that when the player clicks on something that the action is carried out by the currently active character.
Double clicking on a character
Displays character sheet and inventory. Here, the player will have a personal inventory of selected characters and of the character attributes. The reason for this is that the player can see an immediate change in the secondary (in some cases even primary) attributes and could better select the best equipment for your character.
Double click at character by right mouse button
Displays the character sheet and shows a detailed description of attributes, skills, knowledge and perks chosen characters; however, inventory will not be present.
Diary
GUI diary. There will be the players logged quests in it. Divided by classes to the main line, side line and peripheral tasks. There will be also lists of achievements, knowledge about the world of DoA, bestiary, and many other pertinent information. There will also be the chance to write your own notes.
Menu
GUI menu. Of course there’s access to control audio, video, game. Options LOAD and SAVE. An important element of the GUI settings, where a player can freely change the settings of GUI in all modes, so that it is best suited. Zhan the settings are saved and the player sees the game as set.
Skills
Displays the list of active skills of active characters. Double click on the skill applied skill and passive skills are not shown here for purely for clarity. This is actually about the actions that a player can use outside of combat and these actions will naturally move onto the hot key bar.
Magic
When a player goes to GUI spell book, they can then double click on spell and cast that spell with a given probability. Probability can be customized when using concentrating on magic but this will cause the spell to have a longer casting time, but chances of success is increased..
Map
The left button goes to the local area map and it will have automatically placed notes. Likewise, the player will be able to create their own notes. The right mouse button displays the global map of the island, where is the player located.
Use
This goes into the inventory and the player then double-clicks on the object to use it.
Hot keys
Displays the GUI to set hot keys. Hot-keys mean that the player will be able to place spells, items and skills on specific keys and these will be different for each character. The added hot keys can be also lockable, so the player can not accidentally erase it. The game automatically has two hot keys assigned for the player from the start, one being the hot key battle and the second is to explore hotkey mode.
Beginning of the fight
This switches the player in combat environments and this button is only available in "action parts of the game" – so, in towns and and dealing with NPCs, the button will be gray.
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Collecting herbs
For this action, it is necessary to have the appropriate skills in at least one member of the group. At the beginning of the game, the character will have just a basic knowledge of herbs. These herbs can seen normally in the game and will be possible to collect them. Herbs that are unknown to the character will be invisible and not possible to collect. To see these herbs, it will be necessarily to know them and this even includes the alchemical herbals or NPC herbals.
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Finding the trap at the object, removing it, open the lock, robbing
The active figure uses passive relevant skills -> fatal success, success, failure, fatal failure. Different consequences depending on the obstacle, so when the player clicks on an object that has a trap, then the active character will "roll mindfulness" If successful, than the trap will be visible and then, it’s possible to solve the situation. A failed roll means that the trap’s activated and the character damaged.
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Searching, founding of the hidden objects
The skills of characters determine whether or not the objects are visible, or not. Skill will also affect the time of the search and at the same time, even if a character with low skill looks in the right place, they will not find anything, because they're not sufficiently experienced or skilled!
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Visit urba interiors
Inn
Here is what the player will be able to do via different activities. Activities can be described best as a graph drawn for one Innn.
- Sit down by the free table – services of the pub
- Sit down with chums – gossip
- Sit down with friends – minigame "finding of treasures“
- Speak to courtesan – "services“
- Speak to barman – gossip
- To rob someone
Markets
Several options. Like in the pub, you can do all sorts of activities depending on what market you are. Here we summarizes most of them.
- Buying/selling
- repair
- Identification
- Learning magic
- Bewitched
- Robbing
- Learning
- Healing
- Use area (spas, stew, and so on)
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Dialog with active NPC
Depending on the active character, various dialog options will be open and during the dialogue it will also be possible to use public speaking skills. Depending on the selected options, and successes or failures, there will be different outcomes of dialogue. Dialogues in the game are almost exclusively branching and very often it will be possible to achieve a variety of endings that can affect further actions in the game.
Some NPC may also react differently, depending on the composition of the group that speaks to them. Although the active character is suitable for dialogue, the presence of unsuitable characters may disrupt the course of the dialogue.
Group division
Sometimes you will need to divide the group. The player will be able to divide the group into many smaller groups (logically a maximum of as many characters that’s in the party). Actively, will be able to control only one part of it, whilst the rest of the group will wait. In the fight, it will be possible to control all the characters, with certain limitations, eg. with the distance of the groups. But more on that next time.
TEAM 21"
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This game tops my list, along with Torment, Underworld, and Seven Dragons Saga! I will be sure to contribute to your Kickstarter as you near the end.
This is exactly the type of game I have wanted to play for a very long time, a game in first person view, with top-down hex-based combat! I am extremely excited. Good look with your project!
Dawnrazor
P.S. Lastly, I do want to mention the game name is rather bland! Any chance of changing it down the line.
