A Deliberation Regarding Turn Order

[Frostorm]

So I'm sure this topic has probably been brought up before, but I wanted to also delve into this topic with certain battle systems (e.g. a Tactical RPG) in mind. There are a couple of ways Turn Order can be handled. Let's say we there are 3 units on each side (player & enemy), so we'll call them P1, P2, P3, E1, E2, & E3.

1. P1->E1->P2->E2->P3->E3 (alternating turn order)
2. P1 + P2 + P3->E1 + E2 + E3 (entire party, aka player/enemy phase)
3. P3->P2->E3->P1->E2->E1 (turn order based on unit Speed stat)

Those 3 are just the methods I could think of off the top of my head, so feel free to make any suggestions. I noticed almost all the Tactical RPG plugins for MV feature option #2 Turn Order style with the only exception being LeCode's TBS, which uses option #3 Turn Order style. #2 is akin to Fire Emblem, so I get why that became the default, but it's just not my cup of tea tbh.

I prefer a system like Olivia's Order Turn Battle plugin or Yanfly's Battle System STB (standard turn battle) but alas they're incompatible with LeCode's TBS (but that's an implementation issue, so I digress...apologies).

There's also the choice of tick vs turn, w/ the former being used for active turn battle. I'm not personally a fan, but don't mind discussing it, especially since MZ now comes with its own time-based turn system.

What kind of turn order system do you guys prefer (it doesn't have to be anything I described above, feel free to get creative). And how might different battle systems be affected, if at all.

 

[AfroKat]

For a tactical RPG it's hard because it's been done both ways. Disgaea and Fire Emblems it's player team then enemy team. For FF Tactics / Ogre Battle Let us Cling Together it's speed, but most of the time it's one player, one enemy.

I feel like it's upto the creator on what type of game he wants. the 3rd Option is more "realism" and thinking on the spot and it's slower battles. The 2rd Option is more "player phase" game. Where you move your entire team and your turns can wipe out alot of foes, or guard your backline and I believe games are generally easier this way and can be alot faster.

 

[Shikamon]

Well there's BLITZ (Battle of Live Tactical Zones) system from Valkyria Chronicles. Guess it's difficult to create that on rpg maker.

 

[Dororo]

Alternative systems coming from the world of tabletop wargaming,.

Decision based: each player (in that case, you and the CPU) alternate into picking and activate one unit at once. The round end when all units are picked.

Random based: a deck of cards, each one representing an unit, is made and shuffled. A card is picked each turn to determine the activated unit. The round end when no cards are left.

Command Point based: you own a number of CP, and each unit own a CP activation cost. You and the opponent alternate into picking an unit, spend the CP and use it. In this version, you can activate an unit more than once. The round end when no one can spend CP or both agree to concede (CP are reset and the new round begin).

 

[Frostorm]

I feel like it's upto the creator on what type of game he wants. the 3rd Option is more "realism" and thinking on the spot and it's slower battles. The 2rd Option is more "player phase" game. Where you move your entire team and your turns can wipe out alot of foes, or guard your backline and I believe games are generally easier this way and can be alot faster.

Hmm, I was under the impression that option 3 (speed-based turn order) would provide a faster pace of battle. I purposely avoided the Fire Emblem style (option 2) turn order system due to the potential slogfests. For reference, my game feature's a party size of 3 for the player's side. Depending on the encounter, the enemy party size could range from 1 to 10.

Which turn order style would have a better "flow" of battle and why? I'd love to hear everyone's reasonings. I just want to avoid the sluggish pace of battle that is the bane of many tactical RPGs.

 

[Pootscooter]

For large armies, especially when the enemy team is very large, the pace of battle slows considerably in most TRPGs. Having more than a handful (5+) of enemy units attacking you in succession can quickly turn the tide of battle or at the very least annoy you by forcing you to endure all their attack/move animations as well as any potential scene transitions (i.e. SV battle).