7. COMBAT
How do you fight in the game?
Press A and go to the store. By the time you get back, either you or the NPC will be dead. Not sure on this one actually. I like some control over the character swinging a weapon but don't want to micromanage it. After all, he is the master swordsman, not me. I think the best solution is to have the character auto-attack with some special buttons the players may choose to push during the combat to make them think they are helping it along. If this big game ended up becoming a first person shooter (which I would like but keeping the FPS up would be rough) then the player will be more intimately involved.
Can one fight in the cities?
Sure! And live? Don't know. A lot of that would depend on the rulers of the city. Do they have NPC or PC guards? How powerful are the guards? How much do they have to pay monthly to keep the guards?
What type of weapons / armor will be available?
I'd like to see the full meal deal on various types of armors available, whether sci-fi or fantasy. There are two things which we must be sure to do. Both of these would be avoiding EQ's pitfalls. First - if we have robes (though I've always been suspicious of men wearing dresses) we won't do an EQ and have a +1, +2, +8, +12. There is plenty of room for the +3, +4, etc. Second - all items, whether armor or weapons will have both an upside and a downside. Example: Robe, 8 AC, +4 vs. cold, -8 vs. fire, -2 vs. missiles. Both good and bad. A lot of creativity would need to go into giving everything both very good and very bad things. I don't want a 'end all' robe - I want a dozen that people can argue which is best. I would also like to allow stacking. Why can a person only wear ONE thing in their chest slot? Why not allow up to three things? They couldn't all be the same type of armor, many different types of items (and magic) would be incompatible, etc. That would lead to more tradeoffs - you couldn't wear the symbol of uberness with the X series of robe, etc.
How will you balance melee and ranged weapons?
We won't. It is stupid to think that a guy with a club can take out a pistol user on even ground with no obstacles at 30'. Even highly trained martial artists don't like those odds. If you get the drop on someone using clubs or martial arts (etc) you may stun him or even take him out. But bringing a 'knife to a gunfight' is never a clever idea.
Will you be able to 'dual wield' weapons?
Provided they are not two handed weapons, yes. When you start out (unless you get a 'newbie packet' from a PC run city) you get a 2h axe, a 2h shovel and two fists for weapons. If desired, you may use the axe or beat someone to death with the shovel as well. You may dual wield the fists if desired. I would like to make 2h weapons so that they are not totally useless compared to one handed weapons as they are in most games. In most games, everyone gets to laugh at the guy with a two handed sword because he could be enjoying the magic boosts (and extra damage) from wielding two swords or the magic boosts (and extra defense) of sword and shield. In general though, a two handed weapon of any sort should be assumed (unless mightily enchanted) to be inferior to two one handed weapons or a sword and shield combination. (This is assuming equally skilled combatants and yes, I've been in SCA.) If guns are available, you will be able to go with two pistols (or SMG's) at once. Accuracy goes down, but guns are all about throwing firepower down range.
Can you fight underwater?
Heck yes.
Will the weapons in the game auto-reload?
No, you will have to reload your weapons yourself. I think having a 'reload' button on the screen (as well as a set-able hotkey) would be good. In some games they don't have this as a quick and easy function. Nobody knows why. I'd make sure you can reload guns when they are only partially depleted of ammo as well, unlike some lame games.
Will you have weapon jams? If it does will we need some skill to fix them?
Medieval weapons didn't usually jam. One of the advantages of modern warfare is that guns do jam. If the gun jams, a 'unclear jam' box will appear on the characters screen somewhere off to the side with a 'begin' button on it. A timer will then appear. The length of the timer will depend on how bad the jam is (randomly bad) vs. the 'weaponsmith' skill of the character. It is possible that the bar will just not move for the character meaning the weapon is severely jammed and beyond the characters capability to clear it. The player can then take that weapon out of their characters hand and put in a new weapon via hotkey (this is not instant so take cover). Severely jammed guns should be taken to a weapon shop. Note: Jams are pretty rare with most weapons. The average pistol jams very seldom. SMG's, AR's, etc jam a LOT more. Revolvers don't jam.
Will different weapons have different recoil? Will the recoil effect the player?
Yes. Recovery time for recoil depends on characters skill, dexterity and (for some weapons) strength. If this is an FPS, the pistol will not line up in the exact same place it was last time - there is a random factor. This allows for more interesting combat and target shooting matches.
Will there be sniper rifles in the game?
Sure. Will there be one shot kills is a totally different question. If it is an FPS style, yes. If it is not, no. Keep in mind that making really long shots in wind etc is pretty tough. The crosshairs will always be swaying - more the less skill you have. [This also assumes the game is futuristic in nature.]
Will there be any weapons that will stun an enemy/player?
A club to the side of the head stuns a lot of people. In reality, almost any weapon (properly used) can stun. Different weapons have different innate chances of doing so.
Will there be bombs or mines in the game?
If the game is not medieval and if programming in a player set up mine field doesn't make the server puke, sure.
How will you do invisibility?
I do like the 'predator' idea on invisibility - the closer you are, the better you can see the person. The further away, the less you can see the person. There could be some sort of 'perception' skill as well that allows one to more easily see invisible people - good thing to have if you are playing a 'scout' type person. Every X number of ticks, the enemies invisibility/stealth skill gets checked against. Every tick, the characters perception gets checked against. If the invisibility/stealth fails, poof the character is visible. If the invisibility/stealth succeeds but the perception skill does as well, the area the character occupies will be seen as a 'distortion' (ala Predator). The player himself may not be facing the right way to view this (no third person POV) or may miss it...
Will I be able to control other players?
No, though if we have 'charm' type spells they may be placed under the computers control for a short time.
How are area effect spells handled? Are members in my group immune from my area effect spells?
No, they are not immune from offensive area spells cast by a caster in their group. Killing off people within your own group will cause you to lose faction within that group. Faction is used by the NPC's that are hired by the town.
From how far away will I be able to cast a spell on a target?
Depends on the spell, your skills in the area of getting range onto a spell, what sort of focus you are using, various magic items which may add range that you are using, etc. On a good day, I'd say about as far as an arrow but not nearly as far as a sniper rifle.
Does damage received affect your abilities/skills?
Yes. I think it should. I believe maintaining the concentration to cast eldrich magic should be harder after getting beat the snot out of. I'd like to see movement slow down, combat get rougher, steering get more ragged, etc as your character gets more and more injured. I think it should start at about 50% dead as opposed to EQ's 90% dead.
Will it be possible to station men on walls, buildings etc. where they can rain down arrows upon others?
In our game, we don't regard using things like that as 'cheating'. If we can't program in smart enough AI to have the animal run off (if it is smart enough for that) or find another way up, too bad for the animal!