{{{A foreseen imperfection.}}}
Lar told Myrthos on part two that <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/riftrunner.gif" alt="" /> would not improve the technicality of acquiring skills by relating practice to the system.
Finding a book or joining class with a teacher gives primary knowledge and a basic level to acquire a skill, and this is said to be implemented already in <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/riftrunner.gif" alt="" /> as it was in <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/div.gif" alt="" />
The problem is that teachers in real life and in fantasy may not increase your level within a skill if you fail to practice it, like improving your skill to solve mathematical problems by solving problems, which is simply practicing your skill.
If acquiring a skill was through finding books and teachers, and then improving skills through practice then what would gaining points by killing enemy get spent for, you may ask?
In my humble opinion one should not get points for the act of killing in itself as the fight gives experience automatically to the skill being used, but there was an obstacle removed by removing the enemy and the enemy was removed to reach a goal and not for the crave for gore but for a higher goal that contains the *Game Points*.
Game points should only reflect the percentage of completion of critical main-quests in a number and optional sub-quests in a different number. This should work as a good indicator of how far are you in the game or what other entertainment have one missed.
In that way we do not need to worry about gaining free points to spend irrationally or haphazardly but rather focus on the game and play it as it was designed to be played.
This means the choices you make are shifted from a task of distributing points intellectually to real-time playing choices that have greater meaning.
What choices do we make in real time, you may ask?
C1 - Saving the game.
C2 - Choosing coordinates to move your avatar.
C3 - Choosing the timing at which the avatar should move.
C4 - Making a decision to attack.
C5 - Making a decision to retreat.
C6 - Being cautious and investigating ahead and making plans, you gain precision and lose time.
C7 - Being in a rush and hasty, you gain time and lose precision.
C8 - Choosing the method of attack and the skill to use in handling a situation
Q - So how can I develop my character into a mage, you may ask?
A - By using magic and as a consequence you improve your skills in casting spells; hence you become what you do best.
Q - So how can I develop my character into a thief, you may ask?
A - By robbing every NPC you encounter and picking every lock you find.
Q – Does this mean that I do not get any points to spend on my stamina, strength, manna capacity and so on?
A – You don’t; why would anyone need such a crippled system if using magic increases your manna capacity and that specific skill; why would you need to spend points to improve your health if you eat, sleep and then fight like a devil, which should increase your health, stamina and your strength concurrently but based on the type of action you do. If you run a lot and for longer periods, your stamina must increase but you get hungry and at this point I would love to introduce the concept of Energy.
Not like classical RPG “red-bar” representing health, but a “new concept” (for RPG) of biological energy, where you can spend your available energy at high rate and for short time for tasks that require strength or at lower rates and for longer time for tasks that require stamina. During a fight there is a rate of fatigue that decreases your energy faster then if you were simply walking from one place to the other. You also consume energy to live and breathe, which begs for a system of acquiring food.
In a magical world like that of <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/riftrunner.gif" alt="" /> one does not expect to find food like in real life of course.
This means that there should be something alternative such as energy fountains or energy crystals that become charged at a steady rate until they are full to maximum from which the avatar extracts his needed energy.
The idea is not to restrict “food” to a literal meaning but to keep the concept.
So the character could start out with a small crystal and find bigger ones later in the game or even solve a hard quest to get a very special one.
Intelligence and Strength seem to be tradeoffs by choices made to react reflexively or tactically, that is, if you decide to spend more time on hammering your enemies you grow muscles but if you spend more time in setting traps and shooting enemy at a range and louring them into your traps, you improve your intellect.
The result of implementing such a system is that the avatar shall reflect your true character and the essence of your true skills rather than an artificial “No; that could never be me” thing.
On the other hand, when you try to change your character in the game, you gain true life mental experience as a reward and your tactics would become real life strategic decisions experience.
Since playing an RPG is a real life mental activity the game should increase your intelligence as you learn more tactics.
What can be more entertaining and rewarding than that, I wonder!
Kindest regards.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />
