Doll-Meister

[Draktheron]

Doll-Meister is a class I am working out in my current project/testing Environment.

The concept was largely based off of Alice Margatroid  from Touhou Project.

What happens is that the player would have set Doll Slots based on a particular book they are carrying. There are three main types of Dolls: Skill Doll, Enhance Dolls, and Auxiliary Dolls.

Skill Dolls can have stats, but they are most used and considered for the fact that THE PLAYER HAS ZERO BASE SKILLS. Without Skill Dolls the Player cannot fight and is a sitting duck in battle. Skill Dolls add various elemental/Non-Elemental physical/magical abilities.

Auxiliary Dolls are much more powerful, and autonomous. They come with their own sets and abilities they are not equippable. They join your party until they get destroyed in battle. I have not decided whether they can gain experience and level up, it could be a nice XCOM style thing. If I can find a Script that allows me to continuous produce/clone preset actors through a event then Auxiliary Dolls will get stronger as you use them. For now, they are static fighters who will carry you. An idea I'm attributing to Cadh20000: The Aux Dolls to have slots for Enhance items to be equipped.

Enhance Dolls parse out into 4 types. Offense, Defense, Tactical, and Elemental. They increase your various stats by a percentage value. You start with crude dolls, but you eventually will be able to craft higher level enhance dolls. These are equally important as the Player's stats are very pathetic this means: Adventure without Enhance dolls = Certain Death.

I'm going to add in various easter egg Dolls that would have various positive effects, like Mizore Doll= Water Dmg/Resist Water Magic Skills

Being that this is stemming from Alice Margatroid, I'm adding her two famous Dolls in: Hourai and Shanghai, Powerful Non-Element Magical/Physical attackers receptively. Maybe add in Goliath as Auxiliiary Doll... MAYBE >.>

Feed back is always welcome. Trial and Error only lets me go so far head, outside insight can propel someone much farther~

 

[Kes]

Hi, I saw in your Intro thread that someone agreed with your thought that this subject be brought up in Game Mechanics.  

However, this sub forum isn't quite the right place.  I'll quote from the rules for it.

1) Discussion should be general, not project-specific.
While you're welcome to use your project as an example, please try to keep the conversation broad. Feedback that's only specific to your project should be posted in your project thread. If it's too early in planning to have a project thread, you can use the Features Feedback thread.

 It seems to me that your topic is very much project specific, and therefore doesn't really fit here.

I think the best place is Features Feedback, but before moving it, I just wanted to check with you that you that it is too early for you to be thinking of having a project thread.

 

[Draktheron]

Hi, I saw in your Intro thread that someone agreed with your thought that this subject be brought up in Game Mechanics.  

However, this sub forum isn't quite the right place.  I'll quote from the rules for it.

 It seems to me that your topic is very much project specific, and therefore doesn't really fit here.

I think the best place is Features Feedback, but before moving it, I just wanted to check with you that you that it is too early for you to be thinking of having a project thread.

This isn't specifically for my project, in my first line I mentioned it was also a testing Environment. If I can fully flesh this out I'm going to implement it, and what ever scripts needed into any other future project when/if I start another. I'll admit the project I'm currently building this in is a ongoing project, but I really will apply it towards other games. Even the Crafting System in place can be spin-doctored to apply to all other classes (If a Doll-Meister can use Iron Ore to make her Dolls, why can't a Warrior use Iron Ore to make his sword?).

I suppose this can be considered project specific since I'm building the class in a preexisting world scenario, but if anyone uses the same equipment engine, they could forego the crafting mechanic, if the skill list or Doll-Meister Equip list to too daunting/time-consuming to replicate, I probably will rebuild a stripped down version using only the bare-minimum scripts that is easy to replicate and allows the developer to implement it in their own game, and maybe some loose ends to allow the Dev to spin their own twist on it.

But Hey, if you really think I should move it I'm fine with that.

 

[Kes]

Well, we'll see how the discussion goes. If it stays general enough to be applicable in other games, fine, if not then I'll move it.

 

[Draktheron]

Well, we'll see how the discussion goes. If it stays general enough to be applicable in other games, fine, if not then I'll move it.

Alrighty then.

 

[Wavelength]

It's a little hard to give feedback on this because it feels like several different, unique mechanics (skill selection, minions, equipment...) all brought under the same aesthetic flavor of "dolls".  What exactly do you want our opinions about?

Also, when you say "doll slots" (based on "the book they're carrying"), should I think something like the Materia slots from FF7's equips, or something different?

 

[Draktheron]

From a Quick Look at it yes it is like FF7.

I think I would like to ask... As the Doll_Meister Levels up should the get a token at ever so many levels that allows them to choose another static slot for a doll independent of the book? Or the ability to carry multiple books?

Should the Skill Dolls have more categorization based on the Skillset they carry? Or should the catch all term be fine? I was thinking of the average Skill Doll carrying 3 skills, should they have more or less?

For Enhance Dolls should they subtract stats from their inverses or would that make it too difficult?

Finally should Aux. Dolls Have their own Classes and skill sets or should they be purely reliant on the equipment the player gives them?

 

[Wavelength]

I think I would like to ask... As the Doll_Meister Levels up should the get a token at ever so many levels that allows them to choose another static slot for a doll independent of the book? Or the ability to carry multiple books?

I would avoid opening up "extra books" with levels because of the huge amount of power that you'd gain at once.  However, "expanding" your current books with extra slots when you level up (or similar) would be a fine idea.

Should the Skill Dolls have more categorization based on the Skillset they carry? Or should the catch all term be fine? I was thinking of the average Skill Doll carrying 3 skills, should they have more or less?

I think the catch-all term is fine.

I might even recommend ONE skill per doll... if you're going to have multiple skills on the same doll, make sure they're all related to each other to keep strategy tight and themes consistent.

For Enhance Dolls should they subtract stats from their inverses or would that make it too difficult?

They can do this.... or some can do this and others won't... just make sure to keep it balanced.  The overall stat gain (gain - loss) should be about equivalent to the added flexibility you gain by equipping a doll that gives you extra skill(s).

Finally should Aux. Dolls Have their own Classes and skill sets or should they be purely reliant on the equipment the player gives them?

While cool, having each doll have its own class and skill sets risks high levels of complication.  My instinct is make it purely reliant on equipment, but start designing both and see which one you think would make for a more fun, interesting, player-friendly experience.

As an overall tip about this kind of thing - you are playing with incomparables.  It's okay if the balance isn't perfect between getting an ally (with an Aux doll) or getting a new pair of skills (with a Skill doll), but it needs to be close enough that the player will actually take pause and say "hmmm, which one will be better for the situation I'm in...?".

 

[Draktheron]

Hey thanks for the advice and feed back.

That last little note you aded at the end is very true. If another Developer puts it into their game they might change how the balance works anyway. Just getting a nice base system to work and give the developer a glimpse at their potential is really what I need here. I think.

On the one skill per doll, I would personally avoid that being that the Aux. Dolls would simply be only one other character, the player shouldn't be reduced to spamming a Pea-Shooter skill while the Aux. Dolls get destroyed by a Boss. While I suppose yes it is the point of the Dolls to do all the work, I just think that the actor should have a role on the field and not get pretty much trashed in the back of the formation because they have no real point in light of Aux. Dolls, but hey! Purely up to each Developer that takes uses this they will have control over these things.

 

[Jaggedjaw]

Well, I can honestly say that this sounds like an interesting mechanic, although it could be simplified by having the dolls fit into preexisting slots (weapon, shield, accessories), and other then that, having the main dolls be other party members who cannot gain any exp from battle could be interesting way to do that. However, this would be the easy way I would go about it, and there are probably easier ways to go about it then that, or at least better ways. Also, how exactly does the combat system in your game work, since you mentioned rows, so I'm curious how many people you are able to have out in battle on your side, or if there are other people who are allies. If anything, it could cause problems with the whole party based system if you don't have some way to allow them to swap in and out.

 

[SinのAria]

While not necessarily with dolls, this is a mechanic that has been used before, so I think this could easily be considered general rather than project specific if you think of Dolls as just an example.

So my thoughts:

Different books could have different slots.

Different dolls could have different effects.

Some dolls could even be put into multiple slots or take up multiple slots. Dolls that have a choice of slots might have a different effect for each slot.

===

What I would do is use the character changing functions so that your party is changed when a 'new doll joins'. (ie a doll is swapped out).

An combatant type doll would have multiple skills, but other dolls might have more or less skills depending on the power of each skill and the purpose of the doll.