22 Apr, 2010, Fevenis wrote in the 1st comment:
Votes: 0
I already posted on topmudsite, but I wanted feedback from here as well =).

So the idea of turn based combat really sounded like a great idea to me. However, I am having trouble solving a few issues I am having with it. When I say turn based combat, I am thinking pokemon or final fantasy style. Turn based, where during your turn you have a list of menus to pick from: Attack, Defend, Speical moves, items, etc.

This idea would work great agaisn't monsters and in an player vs player arena enviroment, but what about in the real world? A thief lifts a coin from me, I engage him in 1-1 turn based combat.. How would running away work? Or a chase? How do I sneak attack someone? Gang up on someone with my friends?

If you guys have any suggestions or soltuions to my problems, I'd be very thankful =). Mainly I'm just trying to get feed back and see if this is even a good idea or not.
22 Apr, 2010, Lyanic wrote in the 2nd comment:
Votes: 0
Fevenis said:
A thief lifts a coin from me, I engage him in 1-1 turn based combat.. How would running away work?

Perhaps have a Flee menu option that can be selected at any time. Give it a certain success rate, possibly based on class - where a Thief can get a higher success rate at fleeing.

Fevenis said:
Or a chase?

When fleeing, maybe the party who was fled from gets a delay that prevents immediate input of movement commands. The party who fled gets no such delay, and thus has a headstart to get away.

Fevenis said:
How do I sneak attack someone?

There are a few options here. Maybe you maintain a directional 'facing' of the character. If someone approaches from behind or the side, there could be initiative bonuses. To prevent cheap exploits of this, you could have characters normally auto-face (possibility of status ailments at play here: deafness? blindness?) anyone visible/detectable who enters the same room/grid location. This is where the visibility/detectability come in. Most MUDs have some form of a 'sneak' ability. There are also various powers of invisibility. Therefore, approaching someone while sneaking/invis (assuming the potential victim has no means of seeing past these mechanisms - more ability/status stuff here) would also grant the initiative bonus.

Fevenis said:
Gang up on someone with my friends?

Just exploit the normal grouping system in most MUDs (or if you don't have one, it's easy enough to add one). All characters in the same group will fight on the same side against all characters in the opposing group. You might want to limit group sizes to prevent vastly uneven match-ups, though. The characters on the same side could go through and take their turns in order, followed by all the characters on the opposing side. Or, if you're using some type of ATB gauge to determine turn order - it could be a bit more chaotic.

I hope some of this helps.
22 Apr, 2010, KaVir wrote in the 3rd comment:
Votes: 0
Are the turns played simultaneously, or do players go one after the other in sequence? If the latter, then I think it's going to get seriously slow if lots of people join a combat. I suppose you could group together sides (so each side acts simultaneously) but that could get complex. Personally I'd recommend simultaneous turns, where each player chooses their actions at the same time, and these are then executed in initiative order at the end of the turn.

For things like sneak attacks you might want to consider using the D&D concept of a "surprise round" for the first turn, where those who are surprised cannot attack or dodge.

Fleeing would depend on your movement system, but there's no reason why it couldn't be handled in the same way as any other combat options, as Lyanic suggested. If you want to catch the thief then you make your grab action, while he performs his flee action, and the outcome is determine much like any other attack.
23 Apr, 2010, Fevenis wrote in the 4th comment:
Votes: 0
I think simultaneously is the way to go. Both players choose the move they want to do, moves are executed at the same time. The first move would goto the person with the most speed. I like the idea of the D&D concept for sneak attacks.

My movement system is going to be the basic N, S, E, W direction movements on a grid type map.
26 Apr, 2010, Fevenis wrote in the 5th comment:
Votes: 0
I wanted to mirror a system similar to this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwgfutlku... . I'll admit, I someone aspire to have my MUD incorporate graphical battles. So on the client end, it'd look something like this:

[Cave enterance (Exits: N, S)]
> N

[Cave 1 (Exits: E, S, W)]
> E

[Cave 2 (Exits: N, W)]
> N

[Cave 5 (Exits: N, S)]
You notice a Cave troll and bats in the cave.
> Engage Cave troll

==========================
From here, you enter combat, putting you in a new room instance seperate from Cave 5. The cave troll only has about have your speed, so you are able to attack twice a often.
==========================

[Cave Battle field]
HP: 100
Mana: 50

Cave troll HP: 200

Options:
Attack
Defend
Special
> A

Attack options:
Jab
Slash
Heavy swing
> Jab

You hit the Cave troll for 50HP.

Options:
Attack
Defend
Special
> A

Attack options:
Jab
Slash
Heavy swing
> Heavy swing

Your miss the Cave troll.
The Cave troll hits you for 150 HP.

Options:
Attack
Defend
Special
> S

Special options:
Magic arrow
Inferno
Blizzard
> Inf

You hit the Cave troll for 300HP.
The Cave troll dies.

Awarded:
25 EXP
5000 gold

==========================
At this point, you exit combat, and are returned to Cave 5.
==========================

[Cave 5 (Exits: N, S)]
You notice bats in the cave.
>
17 Aug, 2010, Fevenis wrote in the 6th comment:
Votes: 0
You know, thinking about this more.. simultaneously may not work. Rather a stack type system, first in first out. Using a system similar to active time battle, http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Battl.... Speed decides how often you attack.

So I do my move in 0.7 seconds, and you do yours in 1 second. Mine is added to the stack, yours is added to the stack, I attack, then you attack (assuming you're not dead :lol:).

Hmmm. I think I have some more details to think about without having to worry about outside influences. Any other ideas are welcome, especially if you're also building a similar system!
17 Aug, 2010, KaVir wrote in the 7th comment:
Votes: 0
A stack is last in first out. I believe you're thinking of a queue.

Characters in the Active Time Battle system do actually fight simultaneously - they may not literally strike at the same time, but their gauges go up independently of what everyone else is doing. You don't need to wait for everyone else to take their turn before you get to act.

This is also pretty similar to the way my combat system works, where players earn action points every second (based on their speed) and can spend them on performing fighting techniques. It works pretty well IMO, but I wouldn't consider it a turn-based combat system, because there are no clear turns.
17 Aug, 2010, Fevenis wrote in the 8th comment:
Votes: 0
Thank you for the correction, I was thinking of a queue, not a stack =).

I suppose the title is a little misleading now since I've shifted thoughts more towards Active Time Battle vs true turn based.


So with your system, rather than a set gague filling up after x amount of seconds, and they being able to attack, they get points. Interesting =). So I could let my points build as long as I want to save up for multiple moves or to unleash a larger one? Of course while risking my own health being beaten upon while saving points.
17 Aug, 2010, KaVir wrote in the 9th comment:
Votes: 0
Well the idea of my system is that you don't allow the gauge to completely fill up, because once it's full you're wasting action points. It's primarily there to offset latency issues - it means people with a better connection won't get more attacks.

But yes, you can save up action points and then unleash multiple moves simultaneously, although each move may take several seconds to execute.
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