Create and name Skills possible?

[JJR]

Is it possible for a script to create new skills in the database and assign them a name? I mean during game play. Like say you start with only 5 skills in your database and along the way the player finds items that lets them modify those skills to their liking creating new skills. So instead of 5 in the database each time they change one it adds a new skill in. Can it be done? How would I start to approach something like this?

 

[Andar]

Theoretically this is possible, but I think you don't know what you plan to do...

It is impossible to balance a game where the player can create and design his own spells - and there is almost no game who really does this.

What most games with such mechanisms really do is to pretend to allow the player to design his own skills, while in reality he is only allowed to rename skills and spells that were preprogrammed by the developer. Because only by providing a lot of balanced skills and then telling the player each one of them would have been created by hin is it possible to keep such a mechanism balanced.

That said, there are scripts out there in the master script list that will allow you to dynamically change the database or rename everything in the game.

 

[JJR]

Thanks Andar.

My problem with doing the pretend to let them make skills from a predetermined list is that with even only a few options for modifications the number of combinations scale up quite quickly and would require creating quite a lot of skills.

Isn't it possible to create some sort of balancing in the skill creation to where you can specify limitations in how skills will end up? My general idea is to make it sort of a collection game where you can keep creating more skills to fight with, with some more rare chances added in for variety.

 

[Andar]

Thanks Andar.

My problem with doing the pretend to let them make skills from a predetermined list is that with even only a few options for modifications the number of combinations scale up quite quickly and would require creating quite a lot of skills.

Isn't it possible to create some sort of balancing in the skill creation to where you can specify limitations in how skills will end up? My general idea is to make it sort of a collection game where you can keep creating more skills to fight with, with some more rare chances added in for variety.

I agree, it does scale rapidly - which is why usually only big studios try something like this.

To your second point, yes, that is possible and done more often. Basically you got a list of "attributes" for the skills, each attribute has an effect and a point cost and the player can only create skills up to a point cost determined by level, chapter number or whatever.

However, doing such a thing is easier with items than with skills - if your main point is the collection, you might consider doing this with items (as there are several script available that will help with it) instead of skills.

Using dynamic skills is more difficult than using dynamic items, and if this is your first game you should consider going the item route until you've more experience with creating such a game.

You should also read what I put together at the link in my signature if this is your first real project.

 

[JJR]

Thanks Andar. You've helped my mind quite a bit.

 

[Lunarea]

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