a "realistic" lightning bolt would appear to hit it's target instantly as the visual effect of lightning actually appears after it has struck the ground in real life (the actual beam of light actually comes UP from the ground... it is merely percieved as coming down from the sky...) any zigging and zagging (in real life or a game featuring realistic lightning) would occur as a target is being struck... i always thought the lightning in diablo 1 equated more with a static electricity attack (not a diss)... realistic lightning is something grand that i really don't see applied intelligently as an idea too often so i thought i'd just share my idea here :P
the spell i envision would be learned in a spellbook like all other spells... when i say casting time i mean the time from when you press the right mouse button to the time the bolt actually appears and strikes... it would come from the heavens like elemental hail (although limited to outdoors) but strike once/just a few times... since it strikes without error one would simply need to back up enough for the spell to strike before continuing to either run away or back into the fray... one would not be able to cast this spell immediately afterwards (except for the second spell possibility) but one could cast other spells including other lightning spells... i envision also a kind of area visual effect where everything dims except for the recipient of the bolt who would glow brightly while being struck (and possibly for a short time afterwards) and affect his surroundings like a lamp/gem in dim light... aural effect would of course be a mild crash for a low level lightning bolt and a rumbling crash-boom for the highest level strike...
something else which could make this outdoors spell more intresting would be the ability to cast it on trees (instant explosion which sacrifices power for "splash damage") or certain rocks (kaboom! less power sacrifice and different visual/aural effect for these rarer rocks... one could travel with some and use them in conjunction with the lightning spell somewhat like bombs - in which case the moving of items ingame would have to change as one could not realistically toss a 500 pound boulder hundreds of yards away at a whim (but could after learning some special skill?)...)... just an idea i have that i'd like to see implemented, especially in a game like divdiv/riftrunner...
EDIT: "Sounds good but is this like lets say final fantasy where you have to watch the summon creature (or lightning)like a clip?"
nah... i think that'd be taking the idea a step too far :P the game itself won't stop while the spell is being cast so for those few seconds/half second that your character stands still the other creatures will still be advancing or attacking - thus the area stun effect of the first lightning strike idea does not make it unbalanced :P ...
EDIT: a minor detail i'd like to mention is that lightning i envision is one single mighty bolt striking from the heavens which would look much more powerful than forked or branched lightning...
KABOOM! lightning rocks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />
