Justinian
Arcane
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2022
- Messages
- 254
So, it's been months since I worked on anything video-game like. What was going to be my next project is something I have 0 passion for working on right now.
Conversely, this has been a good time for AI art. The blobber genre especially, since it only requires static images, means you can basically make a good looking game with virtually no artistic talent.
The only limitation is that the wall texture generator for a 2d game (https://grindalf.itch.io/dungeon-view-maker) has a fairly low resolution limit. Not a huge deal but does kind of cramp my style. I don't want to have to learn a new engine or how to do 3d in gamemaker, so it'll have to do.
My main inspirations are Elminage: Original and Infinite Adventures, which I consider the best overall modern blobbers. They both have their own flaws, but the two elements I am looking for the most are present and combining the two would produce, IMO, a blobber that stands above all others. Of course, I also have my own ideas that have not been used in any blobber that I know of that I think would make the game more fun.
Core Elements
1. Combat MUST be fast. I don't want to click on a bunch of shit just to activate an ability for every character in every one of the hundreds, if not thousands of encounters I will have in the game.
This means:
-character development should allow for completely passive builds in most, if not all classes.
-skills and spells should be easily accessible with a keystroke or two. maybe some niche spells can be longer to access but it should be the exception
2. Complex character building.
-Building a character must involve making many active choices. Some sort of skill tree is mandatory. Just getting more attack (or more spells for mages) is not good enough. This is a big problem with Elminage and other Wiz clones. Warrior with just a basic attack as an option during combat is fine. But there's often no other character building options, no way to modify the basic attack, etc. Just hit harder/more often and have more health as you level. This is a product of having to scroll through spell lists as a mage. JRPGs often "fix" this problem by reducing your party size so that your warrior can scroll through a bunch of skills as well.
1 and 2 can obv be at odds. One of the ways in which I plan to remedy this problem is by adding various types of skill slots (which will depend on your class). IE: the basic warrior will get a bunch of Combo skill slots, while a mage might get only one (if that). You can add various attacks to these slots (IE: cleave that hits entire row). When your warrior attacks in combat, they have a chance to trigger one or more combo skills and make automatic attacks based on what you placed in those slots. The actual combat will be very fast, since the warrior is still basically limited to attacking, but the results will vary wildly based on your build. Other classes will also have their own unique slots. I will go into more details below when i discuss classes.
3. Good inventory management. The most important element for me is that I want to be able to see at a glance what all 6 party members have equipped, and change it with a mouse click or two. Most blobbers are build for ease of use with a controller (or the keyboard), which works well for that tool but is vastly inferior for someone like me who wants to play a PC game using a mouse. Either way, instead of taking up space in the interface with a giant character silhouette, i'm gonna try to place all equippable slots for all party members on the same screen.
4. Simple, meaningful itemization. I don't want stat sticks or Grim Dawn style affix diarrhea. I think itemization in D&D or D&D inspired games is ok. Same with Wizardry. But I want to take this a step further and make sure each item slot is differentiated somehow. IE: back item slots will equip class specific gear. war banners, coffins holding some ancient undead (or the relics of a saint), shoulder mounted ballistas, etc.
Character Creation
Obv everything here is work in progress, but I have a rough outline:
Players will be able to pick a background and a class for their characters. I considered whether to include races or not, and decided against it because I don't want to generate portraits for each race/class combination. Background will play the role of "race" instead.
I might still include some classic dwarf/elf/orc portraits for people who absolutely must re-create their fellowship of the ring party, but it won't have any gameplay impact. I also plan to allow custom portraits.
There will be no sex/gender selection for the same reason, saves me the trouble of adding extra buttons, no politics (although I bet someone will get butthurt about it anyway).
What will have gameplay impact is the third option (for the main character only): bloodline. I enjoyed the Mythic Paths in Wrath of the Righteous and I want to make the player's MC special in some special way. So the MC will have an additional Bloodline progression tree of some sort.
Currently I have 6 in mind. If I get inspiration/have time I might include more: Angelic, Vampiric, Necrotic, Fiendish, Eldritch, Elemental.
Each character can pick a class and one of 3 specializations later on.. There are 5 main archetypes and a number of hybrid classes, but the intention here is to make each class truly unique and not just have hybrids that are a lazy mixture of two other classes. IE: a templar won't just be a warrior with fewer warrior skills and some spirit magic, they will have unique abilities and gain further unique abilities depending on how they specialize.
Current Class roster:
Main archetypes:
Warrior - heavy weapons, heavy armor, good at tanking and melee damage, can also be tailored as a sniper with crossbows and other advanced mechanical weapons
Adventurer - like the classic rogue/thief, but with a broader profile. Can use a variety of tools (like grappling hooks) both in and out of combat.
Priest - Spirit magic, specializes in large scale buffs and debuffs, has enchantment slots that autocast spells at the start of every encounter (casting buffs mid-combat is generally ill advised, casting universally good buffs is boring so automating it removes some tedium).
Also has a contingency ability called Cellar of the Gods that lets him pull Wish-like effects out of his ass (obv limited in some way).
Sage - Elemental magic, can attune to one of the four elements for combat bonuses as well as environmental interaction, has many contingency skill slots that trigger elemental abilities under special conditions
Mage - Arcane magic, specializes in direct damage, single target buffs/debuffs and utility magic. Can also be built to interfere with incoming spells or abilities if you want a less active option (while still benefitting from their utility).
Hybrids:
Templar - Priest/warrior hybrid, has an aura that benefits entire party, can manipulate various energies (depending on specialization) for additional effects. Limited access to spirit magic.
Scholar - Sage/Adventurer hybrid. Limited access to elemental magic. Specializes in studying the natural world and has his own tools (mostly different from the ones adventurers use). Possible specializations: Alchemist (potions/grenades), Puppeteer
Arcane Knight - Mage/Warrior hybrid. Has enchantment slots like a priest but are obv used with arcane magic, allowing him to enhance his combat abilities. limited access to arcane magic.
Hybrid limited access means they will be able to carry fewer spells of that type into battle than a full blown spellcaster, but won't necessarily be worse at actually casting them.
Elemental magic requires attunement to work, you can only cast spells from the school you are attuned to (although you can change attunement during combat). Your attuned element also determines the effect of sage/scholar skills. IE: if you are attuned to fire the scholar's thrown bombs will deal fire damage and possibly set enemies on fire.
I'm also considering giving each tile you are in an elemental value (with fire/water and air/earth being opposites). If you are in an earth attuned dungeon your earth magic will be stronger, air magic weaker, and some abilities will only trigger if the surrounding environment is attuned to their element. This sounds cool, but in practice it might end up just restricting the elemental classes too much. Although even that can be deal with via passives that might allow you to override penalties, or trigger abilities regardless of environment.
I want one more hybrid class but I haven't decided what yet. I put down "bounty hunter" on my list (with Inquisitor, Vampire Hunter and Manslayer as specializations) but it doesn't really have a distinct identity or anything that wouldn't work just as well as a regular adventurer. I also don't want a warrior/adventurer hybrid, there will be an adventurer specialization for all the crit machine/dodge tank enthusiasts, and probably a warrior specialization specializing in sitting behind a pavise and sniping shit with crossbows, I don't think it needs a whole new class.
I'm currently leaning towards a summoner class that has access to summons from all three schools + can summon monsters you've killed.
Which brings us to the next topic (and main thing I want feedback on):
Formations and slots. I will have a front line and back line, and enemies will also have at least two lines. But I am kind of stuck on how to best handle summons. I figure I can just extend each line to 4 or 5 slots (like Lords of Xulima does). Elminage just summons your creature in the first low, but it also allows only 1 summon as far as I remember.
I also considered making summons occupy the same slot as a character and act as a shield (IE: if that character is targeted, the summon is hit first unless the summon has an ability that says otherwise). The summon would thus act as a "shield bar" and this feature
can also be used for shield spells. They can also be made to just attack/cast automatically when the character they are attached to does. This is easier but less flexible than just letting them get summoned in their own slots. If there is a game with blobber-llike TB
combat that handles summoning well and you want to mention please describe it below.
Main thing is that I wonder if there's a way to manage a larger number of summons without having the battlefield become overcrowded.
Conversely, this has been a good time for AI art. The blobber genre especially, since it only requires static images, means you can basically make a good looking game with virtually no artistic talent.
The only limitation is that the wall texture generator for a 2d game (https://grindalf.itch.io/dungeon-view-maker) has a fairly low resolution limit. Not a huge deal but does kind of cramp my style. I don't want to have to learn a new engine or how to do 3d in gamemaker, so it'll have to do.
My main inspirations are Elminage: Original and Infinite Adventures, which I consider the best overall modern blobbers. They both have their own flaws, but the two elements I am looking for the most are present and combining the two would produce, IMO, a blobber that stands above all others. Of course, I also have my own ideas that have not been used in any blobber that I know of that I think would make the game more fun.
Core Elements
1. Combat MUST be fast. I don't want to click on a bunch of shit just to activate an ability for every character in every one of the hundreds, if not thousands of encounters I will have in the game.
This means:
-character development should allow for completely passive builds in most, if not all classes.
-skills and spells should be easily accessible with a keystroke or two. maybe some niche spells can be longer to access but it should be the exception
2. Complex character building.
-Building a character must involve making many active choices. Some sort of skill tree is mandatory. Just getting more attack (or more spells for mages) is not good enough. This is a big problem with Elminage and other Wiz clones. Warrior with just a basic attack as an option during combat is fine. But there's often no other character building options, no way to modify the basic attack, etc. Just hit harder/more often and have more health as you level. This is a product of having to scroll through spell lists as a mage. JRPGs often "fix" this problem by reducing your party size so that your warrior can scroll through a bunch of skills as well.
1 and 2 can obv be at odds. One of the ways in which I plan to remedy this problem is by adding various types of skill slots (which will depend on your class). IE: the basic warrior will get a bunch of Combo skill slots, while a mage might get only one (if that). You can add various attacks to these slots (IE: cleave that hits entire row). When your warrior attacks in combat, they have a chance to trigger one or more combo skills and make automatic attacks based on what you placed in those slots. The actual combat will be very fast, since the warrior is still basically limited to attacking, but the results will vary wildly based on your build. Other classes will also have their own unique slots. I will go into more details below when i discuss classes.
3. Good inventory management. The most important element for me is that I want to be able to see at a glance what all 6 party members have equipped, and change it with a mouse click or two. Most blobbers are build for ease of use with a controller (or the keyboard), which works well for that tool but is vastly inferior for someone like me who wants to play a PC game using a mouse. Either way, instead of taking up space in the interface with a giant character silhouette, i'm gonna try to place all equippable slots for all party members on the same screen.
4. Simple, meaningful itemization. I don't want stat sticks or Grim Dawn style affix diarrhea. I think itemization in D&D or D&D inspired games is ok. Same with Wizardry. But I want to take this a step further and make sure each item slot is differentiated somehow. IE: back item slots will equip class specific gear. war banners, coffins holding some ancient undead (or the relics of a saint), shoulder mounted ballistas, etc.
Character Creation
Obv everything here is work in progress, but I have a rough outline:
Players will be able to pick a background and a class for their characters. I considered whether to include races or not, and decided against it because I don't want to generate portraits for each race/class combination. Background will play the role of "race" instead.
I might still include some classic dwarf/elf/orc portraits for people who absolutely must re-create their fellowship of the ring party, but it won't have any gameplay impact. I also plan to allow custom portraits.
There will be no sex/gender selection for the same reason, saves me the trouble of adding extra buttons, no politics (although I bet someone will get butthurt about it anyway).
What will have gameplay impact is the third option (for the main character only): bloodline. I enjoyed the Mythic Paths in Wrath of the Righteous and I want to make the player's MC special in some special way. So the MC will have an additional Bloodline progression tree of some sort.
Currently I have 6 in mind. If I get inspiration/have time I might include more: Angelic, Vampiric, Necrotic, Fiendish, Eldritch, Elemental.
Each character can pick a class and one of 3 specializations later on.. There are 5 main archetypes and a number of hybrid classes, but the intention here is to make each class truly unique and not just have hybrids that are a lazy mixture of two other classes. IE: a templar won't just be a warrior with fewer warrior skills and some spirit magic, they will have unique abilities and gain further unique abilities depending on how they specialize.
Current Class roster:
Main archetypes:
Warrior - heavy weapons, heavy armor, good at tanking and melee damage, can also be tailored as a sniper with crossbows and other advanced mechanical weapons
Adventurer - like the classic rogue/thief, but with a broader profile. Can use a variety of tools (like grappling hooks) both in and out of combat.
Priest - Spirit magic, specializes in large scale buffs and debuffs, has enchantment slots that autocast spells at the start of every encounter (casting buffs mid-combat is generally ill advised, casting universally good buffs is boring so automating it removes some tedium).
Also has a contingency ability called Cellar of the Gods that lets him pull Wish-like effects out of his ass (obv limited in some way).
Sage - Elemental magic, can attune to one of the four elements for combat bonuses as well as environmental interaction, has many contingency skill slots that trigger elemental abilities under special conditions
Mage - Arcane magic, specializes in direct damage, single target buffs/debuffs and utility magic. Can also be built to interfere with incoming spells or abilities if you want a less active option (while still benefitting from their utility).
Hybrids:
Templar - Priest/warrior hybrid, has an aura that benefits entire party, can manipulate various energies (depending on specialization) for additional effects. Limited access to spirit magic.
Scholar - Sage/Adventurer hybrid. Limited access to elemental magic. Specializes in studying the natural world and has his own tools (mostly different from the ones adventurers use). Possible specializations: Alchemist (potions/grenades), Puppeteer
Arcane Knight - Mage/Warrior hybrid. Has enchantment slots like a priest but are obv used with arcane magic, allowing him to enhance his combat abilities. limited access to arcane magic.
Hybrid limited access means they will be able to carry fewer spells of that type into battle than a full blown spellcaster, but won't necessarily be worse at actually casting them.
Elemental magic requires attunement to work, you can only cast spells from the school you are attuned to (although you can change attunement during combat). Your attuned element also determines the effect of sage/scholar skills. IE: if you are attuned to fire the scholar's thrown bombs will deal fire damage and possibly set enemies on fire.
I'm also considering giving each tile you are in an elemental value (with fire/water and air/earth being opposites). If you are in an earth attuned dungeon your earth magic will be stronger, air magic weaker, and some abilities will only trigger if the surrounding environment is attuned to their element. This sounds cool, but in practice it might end up just restricting the elemental classes too much. Although even that can be deal with via passives that might allow you to override penalties, or trigger abilities regardless of environment.
I want one more hybrid class but I haven't decided what yet. I put down "bounty hunter" on my list (with Inquisitor, Vampire Hunter and Manslayer as specializations) but it doesn't really have a distinct identity or anything that wouldn't work just as well as a regular adventurer. I also don't want a warrior/adventurer hybrid, there will be an adventurer specialization for all the crit machine/dodge tank enthusiasts, and probably a warrior specialization specializing in sitting behind a pavise and sniping shit with crossbows, I don't think it needs a whole new class.
I'm currently leaning towards a summoner class that has access to summons from all three schools + can summon monsters you've killed.
Which brings us to the next topic (and main thing I want feedback on):
Formations and slots. I will have a front line and back line, and enemies will also have at least two lines. But I am kind of stuck on how to best handle summons. I figure I can just extend each line to 4 or 5 slots (like Lords of Xulima does). Elminage just summons your creature in the first low, but it also allows only 1 summon as far as I remember.
I also considered making summons occupy the same slot as a character and act as a shield (IE: if that character is targeted, the summon is hit first unless the summon has an ability that says otherwise). The summon would thus act as a "shield bar" and this feature
can also be used for shield spells. They can also be made to just attack/cast automatically when the character they are attached to does. This is easier but less flexible than just letting them get summoned in their own slots. If there is a game with blobber-llike TB
combat that handles summoning well and you want to mention please describe it below.
Main thing is that I wonder if there's a way to manage a larger number of summons without having the battlefield become overcrowded.
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