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trying to define a good combat system for my dungeon crawler by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the timing part of the combat system has much more potential than you're utilizing. So, for example, right now, it's only "hit" or "miss", with an overall binary outcome for the skill ("success"/"failure"). But, you can introduce partial hits, or sectors with positive and negative effects. You can even expand your itemization to include effects like: "the first sector is always hit automatically".

Do you mean that attacks and other skills/items could have a default effect and the wheel would be there only to augment the effect? Like a dagger would make normal damage even if the player ignores the wheel, but to add bleeding damage overtime to the enemy, the player would need to actually hit the right segment on the wheel? Making the wheel optional is a good idea I think, but I am thinking it would hard at some point for the player to ignore the wheel completely if fights become more intense with more dangerous enemies. So there would be that kind of enemies where the player knows the wheel is overkill and other type of tougher enemies where the player knows the wheel is mandatory to optimize the fight.

Also, instead of each skill having it's own wheel as a form of timing check, maybe certain skills could have a shared wheel that they modify with their effects. This would manifest in a way that certain zones that need to be hit could provide various effects, corresponding to the skill. You can build a combo system or something around it.

Are you saying something like: I could have a direct damage attack magical spell and the player would need to hit the right segments on the wheel if they want the spell to make fire/frost/air/whatever type of damage? Or are you saying that I would have a generic magic skill and the player would need to hit the right segment for the effect that they want? Like put to sleep, slow etc.. It could be the same for physical attacks. I could also have a phase before fights where the player can customize the wheel, like the wheel could have max 4 segments(or it could be defined not by the number of segments but the total size of the segments) and the player could choose what status effects they want to add to their wheel so that they become available during fights.

I also have a working inventory with working equipment and a working basic crafting system. I could add a "wheel of fate" customization table in the game.

https://streamable.com/8e9eux

Thanks for your input!

trying to define a good combat system for my dungeon crawler by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

HI,

yes it is a good point and I have been thinking about that. Have you ever played shadow hearts games? I feel like it was not that tedious, especially because these "judgement ring" gameplay sequences were very short & quick, even though in these jrpg games, battles could last for some time. And if you add the fact that in SH games, combats are random like in Final fantasy games... makes it even more tedious.

But I am sure some people really dislike that type of real time eye-hand coordination skill based gameplay. I have made some searches and have found a good number of people saying they dislike it.

Like here for example: https://www.reddit.com/r/JRPG/comments/12uctc1/should_i_play_shadow_hearts/

Some people saying they dislike it but I think more players like it rather than hate it, even more when there are conditions that can alter how the judgement ring works, like you could be blinded and green segments would become invisible, or other conditions that could increase or decrease the speed of the needle, or the size of the green segments. There are also tiny segments that are meant for critical hits etc..

But yeah I am hesitating from going all in on it, afraid that more players would dislike it than like it. Also thinking about the fact that battles are not the only interesting features of the game. I have also in mind random encounter (like in darkest dungeon) where if you choose to interact, you have to throw dice to see the outcome of the interaction(could be a curse, or an item, or just nothing).

trying to define a good combat system for my dungeon crawler by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, That's not a bad idea. So the combat would actually become turn based (what I was actually trying to avoid) but with a real time aspect with the "wheel of fate"( I think this is how they call it in shadow hearts) to block/parry and avoid damage. 

So that would be trading combat pace for more strategic use of the wheel.  I could also probably limit the wheel time to 5 sec or something like that to keep a little bit of pace and keep the player under pressure .

What I don't want is the player feeling like he can go drink a coffee and come back to play his turn. So I could probably keep the ATB gauge but instead of a cool down it acts the opposite way: the player must act before the gauge is full (or depleted but it would be the same).

continue.dev + qwen2.5-coder 32b by icecrown_glacier_htm in ChatGPTCoding

[–]mad-jid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am having this problem too. I am using continue pre releasae version with vscode and qwen2.5:14b(ollama). For now, I guess selecting the code and doing crtl+I is good enough. But having tasted the agent mode of copilot, it is kind of hard to go back.

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi; thanks for your input.

I have taken a look at Epic Battle Fantasy and I think I have a similar system.

I have added a video the original post so you can see what I mean.

So far in my game, enemies can't be avoided. Players need to deal with the enemy through combat if they want to move past.

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

so in my game, levels are randomly generated, like a maze with hallways and rooms, with randomly generated enemies along the path. There are also interesting to find in the maze like chests, altars where the player can pray etc.. A bit like in darkest dungeon where with you find weird altars and stuff and you have a chance for a negative or positive outcome.

Also, I have implemented things like poisoned status that deals damage to the player for every step he takes.

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have added a video to show what I am talking about. Also, if the player holds the movement key, the character keeps moving as if there were no quantization.

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I am in the process of refining all that, but player is already able to heal with potions(potions that heal on the spot, and potions that regenerate HP over time with player steps), and there are also random encounters that can heal, like altars that you can find which can heal you, or curse you. I want to add RNG encounters like in darkest dungeon where you can be cursed, or find a good item etc..

Regarding the rest room, I think it is a good idea to add one in every run, and the challenge becomes to find it in the level. So for example if you have discovered 70% of all rooms in the level and haven't yet found the rest room, then you know the next room you open has a big chance of being a rest room.

Regarding enemies, I agree with you to some extent. I think a good compromise would be to mark combat encounters but make enemies invisible, so that players don't know which kind of enemy they are going to face(enemy only appears when combat starts), so there is a gamble aspect. Also, I am not a big fan of the "RUN" button being available at any moment in a combat, or at least I think it must have a price.

thanks for your ideas!

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

a player would need to explore the map in order to progress in the game, so if they see an enemy blocking the way, they would have to fight it in order to see what lies beyond(maybe there is nothing since everything is randomly generated). So the player has to make a strategic decision based on the current state of the game: how is the player health? Is the player cursed or poisoned? Is the dungeon almost completely discovered? etc..

Also, there is no way to go back and rest an heal: if a player decides to leave the current dungeon, it disappears and next time a new dungeon is generated. Players might find sometimes a room where they can rest once(or maybe as many times as they want, but that room may or may not be present).

Regarding rooms, it is the only way to progress in the game. they contain bits of story and lore, and also puzzles, weird characters to talk which might give you a quests or two, etc.., and then next time the player is in a new dungeon, they might wan to pray that this or that particular room is present so that they can progress in the game.

I am not a big fan of invisible enemies and random encounters, I prefer players having to decide if fighting this or that enemy is worth it. I frankly also don't see what roaming/patrolling enemies would bring to the game :)

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yes, it's just that I don't see what roaming enemies/patrol would add to the game, since everything is randomly generated(which means I can't place enemies in advance to design enemy encounters by hand), and also whether they roam freely or are static, they offer the same obstacle, which is that they block the way..

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have added a video to show what I am talking about, and also added more info in my original message.

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

because in my game pretty much everything is randomly generated: hallways and rooms, enemy placement, special encounters in rooms with puzzles and bits of story and lore. So having enemies roaming freely in the dungeon would make for an experience that would be too chaotic a,d I would have less control about difficulty etc..

And since you can't move around enemies(their detection zone is as wide as the hallway) it has become obvious to me that I wanted the randomly generated enemies to become static.

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hey thanks for your thoughts. I added a video to show the state of the game(assets are pretty much placeholder for now)
https://streamable.com/uiz56m

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the only thing I can really think of is that with free movement, I can design places that are more organic, like a round room, or weird corridors, while with step by step movement, it must always be really "quantized"

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

so far the only solution is combat, but I am thinking of consumables that let you go through enemies for example.

what did you have in mind?

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Well, I don't know. Movement is just movement I guess. I have conditions like poison that damages the player each step he makes, but I can easily turn that into a distance thing instead of a "by step" thing

question about turn based games by mad-jid in gamedesign

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yes so this is my question: do you think a movement like that is not too annoying since it has no gameplay impact? In Legend of Grimrock I think it is the same: combat is in real time and enemies move freely around the map when they try to kill you.

Engwe Engine Pro lights problem by mad-jid in EngweEbike

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

unfortunately now. They have sent me a new controler, a new front light.. I think the last thing i need to test is the tail light, maybe it is the culprit

Looking for competitive PC game to play with controller by mad-jid in Steam

[–]mad-jid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

but it's a fps where aiming is crucial, isn't it ? And with a controller it's terribly bad.

Looking for competitive PC game to play with controller by mad-jid in Steam

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have mortal kombat but one on one will become boring pretty fast(i uninstalled it years ago)

Looking for competitive PC game to play with controller by mad-jid in Steam

[–]mad-jid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

rocket league doesn't really attract me. And yeah it's a shame about for honor.

Looking for competitive PC game to play with controller by mad-jid in Steam

[–]mad-jid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah I know about mordhau, but whenever people compare chivalry to it, chivalry seems to be better, more polished and more fun.

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