Post by Majalis in Combat Design

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It may not surprise you to learn that ToA came from re-using a previously designed (on paper) SFW turn-based RPG, and you've basically listed here a lot of the design goals. We may actually still make that SFW game at some point, as well. It had a greater focus on the multiple outcomes of combat (which would include things like combatants stopping the fight at first blood, or surrendering if certain conditions were met like being disarmed), the stance based combat, and actions interacting on an instantaneous basis (stuff like ducking under the harpy's aerial attacks - with basic cuts and crosses being parried, as in real fencing/dueling, or attacks that would dodge an opponent's attack conditionally), and use of items to cover gaps in ability, and in general on the quicker, rogue-lite experience, with a similar split between "story" mode and "adventure" mode, except that the latter wouldn't have nearly the amount of text that ToA does in its adventure mode.

We've also thought about creating a SFW version of ToA, since we could probably hire people who would be able to do that and not take away time from our other projects easily enough. It would involve simplifying a lot of encounters (or at least their scenes), obviously removing the sexual content in the process, and creating skins for the various characters that are work safe (which we may end up largely doing anyway).

lyuk2 years ago(+1)

For what is worth I am against a SFW version of ToA, but I dig the combat system and would definitely be interested in a new SFW IP that uses it! But if I may be so presumptuous as giving you a suggestion, keep working on this project until its completion before starting a new one - it's already awesome and with more efforts it will become the stuff of legends like CotC did!

synasethic-feline2 years ago

Wow, that's exciting!! I'd like to be able to show my friends & acquaintances the game system but with a SFW version of it. My main question though-- how would you incorporate Charisma into the combat system without the use of NSFW elements. Would you be able to parley and stop combat that way?

Majalis2 years ago

Yep! That ties into the multiple combat outcomes - convincing someone to surrender, or to a ceasefire, or to run away. For the original game design, the setting was in the middle of a (losing) war, with the protagonist one of the survivors of a lost, decisive major battle trying to return home, and along the way she'd encounter other deserters, enemy soldiers, etc. so there's a lot of fighting people off not-to-the-death, talking people down even while fending them off. So persuading someone to surrender or to a ceasefire/truce would be one aspect, and then things like intimidation (a fear like status effect that would affect the opponent in various ways like existing status effects), taunting to make someone angry and more aggressive (so you can tire them out or set them up to be predictable for counter attacks), and theatric feints would also be ways Charisma helps with combat objectives.

Most of that would still work just fine in a SFW version of ToA. Charisma probably will tie into ToA as-is in some of those ways as well, similar to how Agility gives certain skills additional properties.

synasethic-feline2 years ago

Cool!!! :O

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