This thread is intended for players, refs, designers, contributors, etc. Basically, anyone who has read the rules. If you do not fit into one of these categories, please see me on irc or shoot me a PM before posting here.
ASM is presently stalled because I am too busy/don't care to ref it. For the second time, the game has become far too complex for me to manage and retain sanity. The initial system (pure real time) proved to be wholly unstable, and led to subpar updates. The present system, a mix of rounds and battles, has led that way once people began to engage in exploration and routes- two areas with a lot of wild battles. Wild battles end up being ridiculously easy, and just waste my time and the time of the players. Problems also arise with issues such as players pushing deadlines.
Beyond all of this, the game is simply taking far too long to complete, as I could see this realistically going on due to what I will admit are design flaws. The G0 specific stuff I will hotifx on my own to accelerate the game, but that aside I want to get a few opinions on how to streamline the process.
My current proposal is to eliminate night attacks, wild raids, route encounters, and most minor fights in dungeons. Routes will just take a full turn to cross, and there will be other minor consequences for leaving a pile of supplies in a base camp completely undefended.
This leave dungeons, to which there is no easy fix, as they inherently do not work on a turn-based system. My current idea is to make dungeons revolve more around solving a puzzle, with a few boss fights that resemble Raid Bosses far more than what I've put up so far. Instead of threat, every boss would have "priorities," such as reducing damage, using luck-based strategies to shut down moves, and various way to pick targets. These will all be clarified by a fairly detail boss analysis made before the fight. This makes it necessary to figure out the boss' patterns, and makes it possible to take down an otherwise insurmountable force due to the flaws in its strategy.
Some bosses will be a bit more complex, introducing new mechanics and various ways to defeat them. Almost all of these will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and will almost all be legendary Pokemon.
This leads to my list of questions, of which I seek the honest opinion of anyone with information on the game, or just a genuine interest... although I would ask responders to consult me first if they fit into the second group.
1) Should wild battles be cut entirely?
They slow down things, and barely test power. On the other hand, they provide a source for captures, and a new variable that keeps things interesting.
2) Should dungeons operate in a turn based system?
Everything else will under my proposed plan. Is it possible that players simply PM me their orders for how to get around a puzzle, and recieve a pass/fail? Boss combat might be hard to do under this method, but it could concievably work if bosses operated on much shorter deadlines, or mini-cycles.
3) Should the length of turns be reduced?
It's currently at a week, as I only have time to ref on weekends. However, I have been increasingly busy on weekends, and with fewer players alive, and possible help reffing, this may become less of an issue. Is a day to consult other players helpful, or should the deadlines be shortened?
4) Should non-boss combat be removed?
Yeah, I went there. It slows things down and throws it off a turn-based. While this would make NPC encounters odd, I can think of ways to avoid NPC battles, or turn them into an altered boss fight. This would basically force a reconsideration of how kills are done, and would mean that Pokemon are only useful for boss fights and RP shenanigans.
5) Should capture be removed?
If only bosses remain, and bosses take on entirely different forms, this could be a viable move. It would also speed up the game- lose all six Pokemon, and gg. It also reduces the power inherent in whoever captures a legendary, and makes the plot easier to deal with.
6) How should kills be performed?
Should they require a weapon/spell? Could any sufficiently powerful attack from a Pokemon do it? How could kills be blocked, as to prevent assassination from being too easy?
7) How should rewards work?
Admittedly, this is a fairly minor concern, but it is still undecided. If combat is moved away from, how would rewards work? If combat isn't moved away from, should Pokemon be rewarded in-game, out of game, or both? How should refs be paid? How should players be paid?
8) How should substitution work?
Out of the two subs I've had to make, I'm still not sure how to go about this... I don't like the idea of a team playing for a player, but I would possibly tolerate that player becoming an NPC if they go away for an extended period, and being controlled by a ref in an attempt to stay as close to the established character as possible. Or, we could just do old-fashioned subs. And what level of activity should warrant being subbed out?
If you haven't noticed, I really want to make ASM more turn-based in order to streamline things. I also want to make turns either go faster or contain more. I believe this is the only way to streamline ASM. As all of these questions are highly relevant, I am temporarily suspending the game until I can get these topics finalized. Admittedly, the game was probably approved to hastily, and I want to get things in shape now in order to test them before the final launch, and develop a real, fully functioning RP.
Discuss any and all of the questions you have an opinion about.
(I assume this thread is legal, as it is just another thread for an approved RP.)
EDIT: #G0 exists, and is the channel to go to in order to talk about this.
ASM is presently stalled because I am too busy/don't care to ref it. For the second time, the game has become far too complex for me to manage and retain sanity. The initial system (pure real time) proved to be wholly unstable, and led to subpar updates. The present system, a mix of rounds and battles, has led that way once people began to engage in exploration and routes- two areas with a lot of wild battles. Wild battles end up being ridiculously easy, and just waste my time and the time of the players. Problems also arise with issues such as players pushing deadlines.
Beyond all of this, the game is simply taking far too long to complete, as I could see this realistically going on due to what I will admit are design flaws. The G0 specific stuff I will hotifx on my own to accelerate the game, but that aside I want to get a few opinions on how to streamline the process.
My current proposal is to eliminate night attacks, wild raids, route encounters, and most minor fights in dungeons. Routes will just take a full turn to cross, and there will be other minor consequences for leaving a pile of supplies in a base camp completely undefended.
This leave dungeons, to which there is no easy fix, as they inherently do not work on a turn-based system. My current idea is to make dungeons revolve more around solving a puzzle, with a few boss fights that resemble Raid Bosses far more than what I've put up so far. Instead of threat, every boss would have "priorities," such as reducing damage, using luck-based strategies to shut down moves, and various way to pick targets. These will all be clarified by a fairly detail boss analysis made before the fight. This makes it necessary to figure out the boss' patterns, and makes it possible to take down an otherwise insurmountable force due to the flaws in its strategy.
Some bosses will be a bit more complex, introducing new mechanics and various ways to defeat them. Almost all of these will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and will almost all be legendary Pokemon.
This leads to my list of questions, of which I seek the honest opinion of anyone with information on the game, or just a genuine interest... although I would ask responders to consult me first if they fit into the second group.
1) Should wild battles be cut entirely?
They slow down things, and barely test power. On the other hand, they provide a source for captures, and a new variable that keeps things interesting.
2) Should dungeons operate in a turn based system?
Everything else will under my proposed plan. Is it possible that players simply PM me their orders for how to get around a puzzle, and recieve a pass/fail? Boss combat might be hard to do under this method, but it could concievably work if bosses operated on much shorter deadlines, or mini-cycles.
3) Should the length of turns be reduced?
It's currently at a week, as I only have time to ref on weekends. However, I have been increasingly busy on weekends, and with fewer players alive, and possible help reffing, this may become less of an issue. Is a day to consult other players helpful, or should the deadlines be shortened?
4) Should non-boss combat be removed?
Yeah, I went there. It slows things down and throws it off a turn-based. While this would make NPC encounters odd, I can think of ways to avoid NPC battles, or turn them into an altered boss fight. This would basically force a reconsideration of how kills are done, and would mean that Pokemon are only useful for boss fights and RP shenanigans.
5) Should capture be removed?
If only bosses remain, and bosses take on entirely different forms, this could be a viable move. It would also speed up the game- lose all six Pokemon, and gg. It also reduces the power inherent in whoever captures a legendary, and makes the plot easier to deal with.
6) How should kills be performed?
Should they require a weapon/spell? Could any sufficiently powerful attack from a Pokemon do it? How could kills be blocked, as to prevent assassination from being too easy?
7) How should rewards work?
Admittedly, this is a fairly minor concern, but it is still undecided. If combat is moved away from, how would rewards work? If combat isn't moved away from, should Pokemon be rewarded in-game, out of game, or both? How should refs be paid? How should players be paid?
8) How should substitution work?
Out of the two subs I've had to make, I'm still not sure how to go about this... I don't like the idea of a team playing for a player, but I would possibly tolerate that player becoming an NPC if they go away for an extended period, and being controlled by a ref in an attempt to stay as close to the established character as possible. Or, we could just do old-fashioned subs. And what level of activity should warrant being subbed out?
If you haven't noticed, I really want to make ASM more turn-based in order to streamline things. I also want to make turns either go faster or contain more. I believe this is the only way to streamline ASM. As all of these questions are highly relevant, I am temporarily suspending the game until I can get these topics finalized. Admittedly, the game was probably approved to hastily, and I want to get things in shape now in order to test them before the final launch, and develop a real, fully functioning RP.
Discuss any and all of the questions you have an opinion about.
(I assume this thread is legal, as it is just another thread for an approved RP.)
EDIT: #G0 exists, and is the channel to go to in order to talk about this.