The following article lists possible solutions and suggestions on how to enhance an On–Line Game. My background is in Role Playing games and most of my suggestions and ideas center around this. Many of the problems I see with On–Line Role Playing games are listed with possible solutions. Since I have done a lot of work on Legend Weaver: The Making of Heroes role playing game, many of my suggestions and solutions relate back to it and how it could be used to make a better On–Line game. Even with the suggestion that you take everything here with a grain of salt, I feel there is a lot of good material that if used (or taken into consideration) would enhance any On–Line Role Playing game.
Using Stats to Describe a Character
A troll with an 18 charisma is treated the same by human merchants as a human or elf with an 18 charisma. A troll’s charisma should only apply to another troll. By the same token, a troll might view a human who is beautiful to other humans as hideous to the troll.Example 2:The Trock has a Strength rating of fifteen on a scale of 1 to 20. He is 8 feet tall and weighs in at around 500 pounds. In walks the gnome who also has a strength rating of fifteen (which we will say is max for this example). The gnome is 3 feet tall and weighs about 80 pounds. Are they equal? Sadly enough, in most game systems they are. A real world example is EQ. In EQ, a gnome with an 80 strength is identical to the Troll or Ogre that has an 80 strength, and in actual fact there is no difference in the damage a gnome will do at level 5 with an 80 strength and a Troll or Oger will do at (say) level 8 with a 120 strength (this assumes they are using the same weapon).Example 3:You decide that what you want is a magic user so you max out the character's intelligence. Looking over the skill list you realize that intelligence affects 80% of all the skills in the game. So by maxing out the one stat, you give yourself a bonus in nearly every skill you will ever want to use! A real world example is AC. In AC Focus and Self are your primary magic using stats. But as you look down the skill list you realize that Focus and Self directly affect 22 of the 35 skills in the game. Most of the skills they do not affect are weapon skills and if you take out weapon skills (i.e., sword, bow, axe, etc.) then these two primes influence 22 of 26 skills in the game. This, to me, is a problem...
If you Must Use stats to describe a character!
Strength
Stamina
Wisdom
Devotion
Magic (Manipulation)
Mana (Capacity)
Intelligence
Dexterity
A house, a house, my kingdom for a house
And there would still be a character’s reputation...
Business
Evaluate Goods
Merchant
Fence
If you have any one of these skills and make you roll, then you get 40% of retail
If you have any two of these skills and make your roll, then you get 60% of retail
If you have any three of these skills and make your roll, then you get 80% of retail
If you have all four of these skills and make your roll, you get 90% of retail
To sum up, you would have to deal with the following things when selling loot
Swords, small (short sword, long sword)
Rings
Cloaks
Helmets
This means that you can find rings with up to a 4–point bonus to the Sixth Sense skill, Cloaks with up to a 14–point bonus and Helmets with up to a 7–point bonus. When you have the best of each, you have your maximum bonus. Just make sure you can live with it!
Ring 4 Cloak 14 Helmet 7
Skill is 5+0
Last thoughts on Magic and Skills
Dungeons, Quests, Gate Stones and Teleport pads
Temporary dungeons are tied in with gate stones and teleport pads. I will start with gate stones.
Teleport Pods Activated by objects
Race Specific Reputation
A reputation for Good
A reputation for Bad
A little help from a friend (Twinking and Power Leveling)
First (and only point)
If you truly want to limit twinking and power leveling, restrict each player to One Character per server. If you are making a game that people are there to conquer, then give them a variety of characters ON EACH SERVER. If the intent is to create a virtual world, limit them to one character per account per server. Not everyone wants to go out and kill things. Not everyone wants to go out and conquer the world. A portion of the playing population will become blacksmiths, tailors, and jewelers. You want to reward the people who do, not punish them. A person that does such a thing will do so because he or she wants such a character, not because they have a ton of cash left over from another character and feel it is time to set up a merchant twink. You have to realize that limiting a player to one character per server will not stop all the twinking and power leveling. You will have one person playing the game, liking it and talking his friends into taking part. Expect this to happen. When it does, the highest–level character is going to want to help out his low level friends. The natural tendency will be a desire to form a group and get everyone to the same level. This is power leveling and twinking as it should be. |
Multiple Characters per server seems to be the current mantra in the On–Line RPG world. Ultima Online started it and everyone seems to think that the playing public would totally reject any game that did not offer the same. I often wonder why there is this attitude. I think that most of the problems associated with twinking and power leveling come from having multiple characters per server. If you are going to create a game in which a character cannot be good at all things at one time, then people are going to use existing characters to help jump start the character whose skill they currently need. By giving people this option, they will use it and you are in fact creating a system that encourages anti social behavior within the game.
Legend Weaver allows a character to develop any skill he or she wants, but race, focus, strengths, weaknesses and the guild structure are all designed to reward the character that specializes, and you will only ever be a true master at a skill (or set of related skills) if you do specialize. This means that there is as much reward for the player that creates a master blacksmith as there is for the player that creats the master swordsman. |
Before Membership After Membership
Thief (the hardest class to play and could only be Role–Played!)
Before membership
Before membership
Before Membership After Membership
Before Membership
Before MembershipAfter Membership
- Two Melee Weapon Skills
- Minimum worship level to a Deity
- A number of spells associated with the deity worshiped (i.e., if the spell
Witch Doctor (in barbarian cultures)
Before Membership After Membership
Mages would come in a lot of disciplines but basically it comes down to Direct Damage, Damage Over Time, Healing, Control, Summoning, Movement / Travel, AugmentationFor each 10 spells, 9 must come from one of the major disciplines as listed above.
After Membership
- Potions and scrolls (potions can be taken by anybody, scrolls can be read by magic users that are not in melee) in your discipline.
- Creation of magic items that are based on your discipline.
- Specialization within a discipline. For example, damage over time includes Fire based damage, cold based damage, electrical Damage… etc. When specialized, one of these subtypes would do more damage, and have greater range (say by up to 50%).
I would rather see fewer spells, if you did not have a dozen varieties of each spell that you have.
Every time you gain a level you get two skill points and five affinity points.
Cost of the ore (100 claws = 1 talon)
Cost of 10 raw ore to buy from vendors | |
Mining City | 120 Claws |
City 100–Miles away | 180 |
City 200–Miles Away | 240 |
City on Coast (400miles) | 480 |
The price to buy metal sheets is as follows
Cost of 1 metal sheet to buy from vendor | |
Mining City | 180 claws |
City 100–Miles away | 270 |
City 200–Miles Away | 360 |
City on Coast (400miles) | 720 |
But what will it take? It will take the following skills and abilities:
Repeat that and find someone who understands it and give him or her the job of PR for your company.
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