Managing combat rounds: Ticks

[SlipEternal]

Currently, combat is managed with action points. Instead, how about managing combat with ticks. My idea of ticks comes from Whitewolf Publishing's Exalted roleplaying game. Since that is a paper and pencil game, limiting ticks to a small number (12 or 15) makes sense. For Andor's Trail, having hundreds or thousands of ticks per round could work. Each action costs a number of ticks. With this system, combat can work like modular arithmetic. When a player takes an action, the player's next action is scheduled for a number of ticks later (possibly into the next round, should a task require more ticks than are left in the current round). Same for an NPC/monster. The game simply counts the ticks. When it gets to a tick for a player's action, it waits for player input, and then reschedules. Additionally, this allows actions that take many ticks to be "interrupted". A monster may begin a powerful attack, and the player may initiate a swift attack that kills the monster prior to the action completing.

[Mino]

Sorry, but that sounds like taking what is currently a simple and straight forward concept and making it needlessly more complicated.
How would a skill like combat speed or cleave work with this?

[Sarumar]

Sorry, but that sounds like taking what is currently a simple and straight forward concept and making it needlessly more complicated.
How would a skill like combat speed or cleave work with this?

Combat speed = reduce the number of needed tick (in some acktion)

Cleave = allows free attack or reduces the needed number of next attack option


I like this idea becauce with this combat round is somethink like:
-player attack ... miss
-monster 1 attack... hit -xx hp
-monster 2 attack ... miss
-monster 3 attack.... miss
-player attack second time... crit hit ... monster slayed... cleave (free hit) ... miss

etc

[Xero]

I like it too. It allows room for integration of actual combat moves. This would make the transgression easier. These combat moves require time to set up. A stun move for example may require longer to set up than a quick attack that has a lower ac or ad.
This idea has the potential to add some depth to the game.
+1

[Sarumar]

I like this kind of combat system becauce.. it "feels" wrong if you or monster can land all hits before opposite side can not done anything... But I understand that this kind of change in combat system is not easy to make.... and after this kind of change... whole game needs to be re balansing..

[Mino]

Thanks for the explanations, this does sound interesting, but if it's too much trouble to add, I'm fine with the current AP system.

[Wyrmspawn]

Thanks for the explanations, this does sound interesting, but if it's too much trouble to add, I'm fine with the current AP system.

+1

[Sarumar]

+1

[buddyCasino]

Funny, I also thought about making adjustments to attack sequences in a fight. But it was a simpler approach:

1. When entering a fight, both opponents make an attack value test. The attacker gets a big bonus though. He attacks first, so he should be the first one to strike in most cases. But sometimes the opponent gets to react so fast that he blows the first strike.

2. When fleeing, the fleeing character takes a block chance test against the attackers attack chance. Fleeing is a defensive move, so it should be related to your defensive skills. Evasion has a big impact on this test of course. A character can decide to let the enemy flee. This requires a AI decision based on the AI's values like health and/or aggression if there is a value for that. I recommend it as it is also useful for intelligent movement and attacking behavior in general.

3. APs don't get reset to the maximum value, they regenerate. So after you flee, you gain AP's like this: maxAP/duration of round per second: 10 AP / 6 seconds: you gain 1.67 AP per second. Or you get an AP every 0.6 seconds.

The idea is to undermine the attack/flee/attack move that enables players to kill monsters like spiders/irdeghs etc. without hardly ever being inflicted actor conditions.

[Antison]

2. When fleeing, the fleeing character takes a block chance test against the attackers attack chance. Fleeing is a defensive move, so it should be related to your defensive skills.

I really like that idea a lot! +1
This would encourage all you offensive minded players to think again about investing some level-ups on your defensive abilities.

Maybe the fleeing chance/ability should be an attribute that can be increased via a regular level-up.