MP Limit.

[SVGK]

what do you think of a game where you have a overpowered max MP, that does not increase as you level nor get replenished at the inn or magic pond or whatever, and potions to restore it are very rare, don't restore much and are typically gained by fighting powerful bosses?..

whaddyathink?.

 

[Eschaton]

I'm thinking that here are better ways of limiting how effective wizards are in combat and the quadratic-ness of their development. 

Unless the game is designed to force the player to use magic to advance, and makes it a point to tell the player that their mana is so limited it doesn't even regenerate, then the player would definitely hoard their spells.  Once they start getting these mana-recovery items, the player will simply hoard them, too.  Unless the player knows for certain that he will need to regularly use his spells, he'll simply hoard them, especially if there are alternate means of dealing comparable damage.

Remember how often you used Megalixirs in any given Final Fantasy game (before FFX, anyway)?

 

[SVGK]

in the final fantasy games i never played?, sure thing.

i was going to let them know it is limited.

the battles would be beyond underleveled star stealing prince levels of diffuculty without magic, yet bosses would be far worse.

the reason magic was limited was because all characters use magic in a very different way to most games, they use a supply of special dust that the main character got from his mother.

 

[Eschaton]

You mean the Star Stealing Prince I never played?

Anyway, I'm interpreting that the game is very magic-intensive, which would indeed keep the player from hoarding magic.

 

[Milennin]

So, basically you just want the player to use auto-attack more often?


I'm going with absolutely no to this idea. Way, way too many RPG Maker games allow players to auto-attack through trash mobs. I want to see more games that require the use of skills, not limit their uses.


If magic is too powerful then make it weaker until it balances out with the monsters in your game. And make auto-attack even weaker so magic is actually worth using.

 

[SVGK]

So, basically you just want the player to use auto-attack more often?

I'm going with absolutely no to this idea. Way, way too many RPG Maker games allow players to auto-attack through trash mobs. I want to see more games that require the use of skills, not limit their uses.

If magic is too powerful then make it weaker until it balances out with the monsters in your game. And make auto-attack even weaker so magic is actually worth using.

there is actually no auto attack, it is replaced with a combat system where you must time pressing of buttons with enemy attacks, kinda like a long quick time event with multiple choices for both you and your opponent, each choice having an advantage of it's own, like breaking the enemies blocking, or parrying an attack.

it's taking a while to do it, and magic IS very good, almost TOO good, except against bosses, who are diffucult regardless.

 

[Milennin]

Would've helped to mention that in the first post.

 

[Eschaton]

Would've helped to mention that in the first post.

Right?

 

[Espon]

What about tying the magic to the combat system and have it increase based on successful actions and then spells become usable when it's maxed?  They could be kinda like limit breaks.

 

[HumanNinjaToo]

I don't see the point in limiting the use of regular skills. If magic were some kind of overlimit-type ability then I could understand where you're coming from with wanting to limit them. But if they are an integral part of combat, why try to keep the player from using them? It just doesn't make sense to me. If you're trying to convey a need to limit magic use then I'd suggest doing it some other way than just making a real possibility of running out. For instance: magic use may consume health or lifeforce of the character using it, magic use may be causing noticeable corruption to the user in terms of physical/mental stress, magic may be hurting others around the user, magic may be leeching strength/power from the planet, magic may be hurting the enemies the player faces at the moment but strengthening end-game bosses, etc.

I personally would find it frustrating to have a finite mana pool in a game.

 

[Probotector 200X]

I got an idea like this, for one character! It was for a crossover game...I wanted to have Spawn join the party. He would start with 9999 MP, but have no way to restore them. Now, I really only know a little about Spawn, but I know that he has Magic that consumes his 9:9:9:9 supply permanently. He can fight with many other ways, like his sentient cape, and I think he's skilled with guns. He probably got some crazy stuff that lets him ignore that rule, I don't know!

So from that, I got an idea for my own character to work like that. The main character would have obscenely powerful magic that consumes MP permanently, and running out would end the game. But they'd have a special gun too, that uses ammo. But maybe ammo is limited too. One other character has skills that permanently lower their max HP. It was to be a survival type of game...so it works. The idea for the main character was like Spawn's 9:9:9:9 magic + Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter, or something, while that other character was inspired by MMBN4's Dark chips.

I happen to love different takes on MP, and other things, so I say, give it a try/chance.

 

[SVGK]

I don't see the point in limiting the use of regular skills. If magic were some kind of overlimit-type ability then I could understand where you're coming from with wanting to limit them. But if they are an integral part of combat, why try to keep the player from using them? It just doesn't make sense to me. If you're trying to convey a need to limit magic use then I'd suggest doing it some other way than just making a real possibility of running out. For instance: magic use may consume health or lifeforce of the character using it, magic use may be causing noticeable corruption to the user in terms of physical/mental stress, magic may be hurting others around the user, magic may be leeching strength/power from the planet, magic may be hurting the enemies the player faces at the moment but strengthening end-game bosses, etc.

I personally would find it frustrating to have a finite mana pool in a game.

think of the magic in my game almost, almost as a win button against regular enemies, and a godsend against bosses that makes them reasonable rather than nightmarish things that require high knowlege and abuse of game mechanics (kinda like in xenoblade, at lower levelsl, without special equipment, you literally cannot touch enemies, stunlocking them and using "chain attacks" is THE only way to fight those overleveled enemies) to fight at the expected level, and grinding is this game is very diffucult, and is recomended that you do not try it, literally, in the game you are told that magic is very useful and that grinding is not a good idea.

now, imagine that win button wearing out after enough uses.

there you have it.

 

[HumanNinjaToo]

Ok that makes a little more sense when you put it like that actually. I'd like to try a demo and see how it works.