- Joined
- Jan 17, 2014
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I've been splitting my off time between my D&D project and some browser RPGs. The kind that beg you to open your wallet and give them all your money. But I did come across an idea that I thought could be implemented into VX Ace rather easily. It's a different style of RPG combat, more of a hands-off strategist approach.
The core idea is that you cannot control the battle once it starts.
Wait, what? In an RPG? How's that work? What strategy is there to a game that plays itself? Glad you asked...
The player is given control over a number of determining tactical factors. The party composition, the equipment you wear, the abilities you prepare, perhaps even the sequence of initiative or position on a team. The player also has control over strategic factors such as where the party heads, what battles they fight, what challenges they tackle, how they interact with the world, and the standard shop/NPC/quest affairs. But upon entering battle, the party executes their actions in turn with the enemy, the player watching to see the outcome of the struggle. Failure is almost inevitable as enemies begin to employ more and more dangerous tools, requiring a reshuffle of the party order, composition, gear, or skill selection to proceed.
Essentially the mechanics of the game are based around the idea that you must plan your battle ahead of time, factoring in how much dps, healing, defense, control, buffs, or elements you will require to successfully clear the encounter. Should you fail, the challenge is figuring out what element of your strategy needs to be reworked. You cannot simply spam Attack - Heal - Attack - Heal like in standard RPGs and come out victorious. Perhaps the enemy deals massive damage to your back row healers at the start of the battle. Shifting your layout to protect them becomes a priority. Or perhaps the enemy lowers your tank's hitpoints to 1, followed by a cleanup attack shortly after. In that scenario, you must ensure your healer acts after the boss's first attack to ensure the tank survives.
I see it as organizing a raid in typical MMORPGs. Each battle with a raid boss lasts three to five minutes and the challenge isn't hitting the buttons in the correct order midcombat, but planning in advance what roles you'll need and how they will interact with each other. Defeating the Demon Lord may require including a Priest to bless your party against his shadow attacks or perhaps you go with the Demon-slaying Warrior strategy, using the rest of the party to buff him and keep him alive. Maybe even you go with the Stun strategy, attempting to minimize the damage dealt by skipping a few of the demon lord's turns.
The possibilities are quite extensive. I can assign the Rogue in my party to stun enemies if they use an ability. Perhaps I switch the Wizard from nuking to counterspell mode. Maybe the Warrior tanks in one fight and uses his two-hander in others.
Does such a system sound intriguing? Would you fancy a go at a game where decisions are not made from moment to moment with hours of planning time in between the turns, nor requiring the ATB menu reflexes of an adolescent youth? Are you prepared to challenge a game where even if your characters are the Lords of Time and Space, you may still fail a battle because you made a planning error that resulted in your white mage dying too soon?
Concerning saves, dungeons, and reattempts, I would make them more lenient and easier to transition through to account for the lack of precognition. Though I can also see implementing an Inspection command that lets you know the composition you're about to go up against.
The core idea is that you cannot control the battle once it starts.
Wait, what? In an RPG? How's that work? What strategy is there to a game that plays itself? Glad you asked...
The player is given control over a number of determining tactical factors. The party composition, the equipment you wear, the abilities you prepare, perhaps even the sequence of initiative or position on a team. The player also has control over strategic factors such as where the party heads, what battles they fight, what challenges they tackle, how they interact with the world, and the standard shop/NPC/quest affairs. But upon entering battle, the party executes their actions in turn with the enemy, the player watching to see the outcome of the struggle. Failure is almost inevitable as enemies begin to employ more and more dangerous tools, requiring a reshuffle of the party order, composition, gear, or skill selection to proceed.
Essentially the mechanics of the game are based around the idea that you must plan your battle ahead of time, factoring in how much dps, healing, defense, control, buffs, or elements you will require to successfully clear the encounter. Should you fail, the challenge is figuring out what element of your strategy needs to be reworked. You cannot simply spam Attack - Heal - Attack - Heal like in standard RPGs and come out victorious. Perhaps the enemy deals massive damage to your back row healers at the start of the battle. Shifting your layout to protect them becomes a priority. Or perhaps the enemy lowers your tank's hitpoints to 1, followed by a cleanup attack shortly after. In that scenario, you must ensure your healer acts after the boss's first attack to ensure the tank survives.
I see it as organizing a raid in typical MMORPGs. Each battle with a raid boss lasts three to five minutes and the challenge isn't hitting the buttons in the correct order midcombat, but planning in advance what roles you'll need and how they will interact with each other. Defeating the Demon Lord may require including a Priest to bless your party against his shadow attacks or perhaps you go with the Demon-slaying Warrior strategy, using the rest of the party to buff him and keep him alive. Maybe even you go with the Stun strategy, attempting to minimize the damage dealt by skipping a few of the demon lord's turns.
The possibilities are quite extensive. I can assign the Rogue in my party to stun enemies if they use an ability. Perhaps I switch the Wizard from nuking to counterspell mode. Maybe the Warrior tanks in one fight and uses his two-hander in others.
Does such a system sound intriguing? Would you fancy a go at a game where decisions are not made from moment to moment with hours of planning time in between the turns, nor requiring the ATB menu reflexes of an adolescent youth? Are you prepared to challenge a game where even if your characters are the Lords of Time and Space, you may still fail a battle because you made a planning error that resulted in your white mage dying too soon?
Concerning saves, dungeons, and reattempts, I would make them more lenient and easier to transition through to account for the lack of precognition. Though I can also see implementing an Inspection command that lets you know the composition you're about to go up against.
