Thanks everyone for the feedback.
@ Cardtrick : Good points. At the moment an info panel pops up when you right click on the item, but rearranging things is simple enough. I do something similar with the skills screen, when you move your mouse over a skill it shows details in the text box. I could achieve the same effect pretty easily here. And I agree that it would be worth doing. Look for it in future screens
(I like the idea of swapping in general character info when your mouse isn't over an item too.)
The silhouette is permanent for now. I've toyed with the idea of having a 3D model there, but it will take a bit of work to get it displaying your character with appropriate gear and since this works fine I'm not sure the time is justified. So that idea is on the "maybe, if I get time, once more important things are done".
(For anyone who knows Torque, that is the silhouette of Adam. I'm in the process of mutating him into a character appropriate for an RPG. Female characters will get a more feminine Ava silhoutte.)
@ Section8 : Mmm, some aspects are similar to DnD, yes. Stats do give modifiers to skills (and certain other things like health and stamina). But it works more like DnD if everything was based on the skills table, without class limitations, and different skills cost different amounts of skill points.
Yes, you guessed correctly about the dodge/armor seperation. When you hit an enemy, your attack ratingl (+ a random number) is compared to his dodge rating. The difference determines how well you hit him. There are more levels to "how well you hit" than in a lot of RPGs. This is the basic calculation, but it is still being balanced so don't take it as gospel.
1-100 + Attack – Dodge.
Outcome determines hit category :
1-5 = Critical Fumble, 100% chance Impediment applied, 0 damage. (5%)
6-10 = Minor Hit, 1 damage, 50% chance Impediment applied (5%)
11-30 = Glancing Hit, half damage. (20%)
31-60 = Normal Hit, full damage (30%)
61-80 = Good Hit, 1.5 x damage, small chance of crit effect (20%)
81-90 = Telling blow, 2 x damage, small chance of crit effect (10%)
91-95 = grievous wound, 3x damage, 50% chance of crit effect (5%)
96-100 = near-fatal wound, 4x damage, 100% chance of crit effect (5%)
Body hit point chance :
50% torso
25% legs
20% arms
5% head
Once the damage value is calculated, your armor absorbs a portion of that value, based on the armor rating of the piece of armor on the body part where you were hit. The location where you were hit would also affect which crit effect would be applied if you scored one. For instance a critical hit to the legs might slow movement, to the arms might apply attack penalties, to the head might apply a short stun.
(BTW, when an enemy is unaware of you, his dodge rating counts as 0, which gives you a good chance of doing high damage and criting, without some sort of artificial "backstab" rule.)
Armor does take damage and will need to be repaired.
Shields are different, but I haven't finalised the exact details of them yet. The main reason is technical. I will need to look at calculating facing angles in battle and suchlike. At the moment the idea is as follows. If you are actively blocking, and the enemy hits from the front, The chance that it hits the shield is based on your block skill and the "coverage" of the shield. If you block, the shield absorbs most of the damage, and negates crit effects.
Inventory is limited by weight, but I haven't implemented it properly yet, thats why you don't see any value. Items do have weight, and I am keeping track of the total, I just haven't applied the penalty to the player yet.
Lol, I shall have to say "When its done at." At this point. Doubt I'll beat out AoD, but seeing how far they have gotten does motivate me to work harder
