Hero Soul: I want to be a Hero! (Demo)
Development Log 3/5/19: Construction in Progress
Hello everyone and welcome to another development update! So this week I want to talk about a few things. Obviously I want to touch on the demo and what to expect from the new version, but first I would like to touch base on the spell system one more time.
I left off last week with an edited spell system, which allowed you to change cards on the fly. Here's what it looks like and is implemented in game.
This system is an sort of add on to the spellbook tab in the top right corner. On the left you see the original spellbook which allows you to browse and see your collected cards. In the center is the main thing that has changed. It shows what spells you have equipped shown. You may notice that there are some card slots that are locked, and this serves to kind of show what progression in Arcana system will be. By default your major will have 3 slots already unlocked, however your minor arcanas will only have 1. To unlock more, you will have to open the slots at a magic shop and that will cost some sort of currency. Pretty much this thinking here is to make the end game of spell slinging allow you to have 3 bursts or a total of 12 castable spells.
Anyways, clicking on any of the cards in the middle window will allow you to swap them with a card you have in the spellbook. You may have duplicates of cards in your Arcana and discovering cards pretty much gives you infinite copies, so don't worry about having to find more of the same card! currently I am still thinking about restricting this number, maybe only allowing duplicates as long as they are in different Arcanas like seen above.
This kind of leads me to a problem I have been contemplating. In the current iteration the Arcana system seems to lock you out of using later cards in your chain. For instance, in the major arcana seen above, if I wanted to just use the 3rd spell I would have to cast the first 2 before it. This not only makes it harder to cast due to mana, but also it will increase the cooldown of casting the spell, as cooldown is currently calculated based on how much you cast. This problem can be further seen in the fact that there are different spell types in the game, such as buffing spells in which the current system makes difficult to use other than it being in the first slot.
Essentially the problem boils down to is this feature good because it promotes planning and thinking ahead or does it just add needless complication and inconvenience. Currently I am leaning towards the latter, and am thinking of possible fixes such as being able to skip the current card, etc. Stay tuned on this in the following weeks.
I would like to close this update with news on the new demo. I'm glad to say that it is almost done. So what will be included is everything I've mentioned these past weeks such as larger levels, the new Arcana System, as well as the improved combat. But what will also be included is some of the story of the game. Over the past weeks I have been planning the story out am want to share it with you guys, at least the beginning part. As for a rough date, I'd say I need about another week to a week and a half. Still on the list that needs to be done is
1) a few cinematic scenes
2) finish implementing some the burst spell combos
3) general bug testing
Other than that it's good to go. I'll end this update with a scene that I am working on...
Have a great week, I'll see you all next week.
Comments
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Aion Online. Spell (and skill) combo system that works. Basically you start with a 'basic' attack that triggers a secondary or tertiary attack depending on the class and you have a few seconds to choose which one to do. This way, you have your '3 hit combo' with a big skill at the end. You could experiment with an RNG chance of the 3rd skill triggering (and thus making them more powerful) but I'd prefer you avoid that RNG route. It is easy/cheap/lazy and it invites frustration rather than reward. The player won due to luck rather than skill, basically.
Personally as a player, I feel that having a combo system would be nice to have. Set up custom combos that roll into each other (TERA did a custom combo system really well) smoothly. Basically classify everything as Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Which 'starter' Level 1 card would determine which 'path' you follow for Level 2; in turn which Level 2 skill you choose determines which Level 3 card you end up using/casting.
Example? L1 Fireball into L2 Ice Lance into L3 Toxic Bomb. Different elements but really flexible for the situation.
Sorry for the late reply. You pose an interesting idea, I'll definitely have to look into this, though I do want to let the new changes in the new Demo sit for a while. I think using the "Burst" spell gets around the RNG element of the combo idea, since the spell cast will be the same as long as the combination of spells remains the same. Also, in the newer spell casting system is that you can swap which card you want to lead your Arcana chain using the num keys. This is important because the combination "Burst" spell is based on the element of the card you have leading your chain.
Going with your combo idea, in the new demo's spell system I have reduced the time between casting spells as well as having each card in your Arcana Chain have their own cool downs, which overall increases the frequency and speed you can cast. As for the spell levels, ideally as you play through the game, you will find cards that are of higher level, that do more damage and may have a similar effect to the lower level cards you are using. I kind of want to avoid locking people into paths, but there is the affinities mechanic I am currently working with in which the player picks 3 elements essentially, and by doing it increases the rate of seeing cards of those elements when exploring. Anyways thanks for the comment, I appreciate it! :3