Race Abilities

[LabRat]

Lyanna mentioned in one of her 45 minute monologues about enhancing abilities according to race, and I liked the sound of it, so with her permission I asked Grum (namedropping over!) whether I should code it into my client and up the diffs to the CVS server (for those are not aware, the CVS version is the game proper), and he asked me to post here, so I have

 

BTW ingame I am LabRat, so don't worry if you didn't recognise ArmageddonQ.

 

Lyanna's example was dwarves having better eyesight in caves, and that would be a very simple patch to the client (technically, get the face skin name, check for 'dwarf' and increase the background lighting, possibly add a glow effect to gold if legend is correct and they can sense it from a mile away).

 

My question to the EL populace is:

 

For the different races, what abilities should be enhanced? Client or server side coding shouldn't make any difference in this thread, just the ideas, and (hopefully) leave the rest to the designers.

 

Already the P2P players have an advantage against equally matched non-P2P players as there are no P2P fighting books, so racial advantage does exist ingame already.

[Grum]

technically, get the face skin name

Or just look at the actor.actor_type.

Edited April 21, 2005 by Grum

[Placid]

I can pre-empt one suggestion: Elves should move faster

 

The difficulty with this is that the game does not force class or race selection - alrounder characters.

 

But, i'll give an attempt:

Dwarfs, definately should have better lighting in caves etc (there used to underground situations ), torches could be used for other races.

 

Gnome, err, read books faster? Worse eyesight in large areas, and caves?

 

Elves: Better eyesight in wood areas (slightly transparent trees?)

 

Just some 3-minute thought bashing...:\

[obionek]

how about:

dwarfs: +2% additional manu/alchemy/def exp

elfes: +2% additional summoning/magic/att exp

humans +2% additional harvest +1% a/d exp ?

 

easy to implement on server side. thats only example of skills that "should" be raised. Imho they are good with fantasy worlds (dwarfs are alchemists and manufacturers(they are strong builded - 2% def).

Elves live in woods - summoning , they magic is better than humans. And Elvish warriors are very fast in combat - more attack. etc.

Edited April 21, 2005 by obionek

[ttlanhil]

if the differences are severe enough, maybe you should have a period when players can change race if they want to, since originally the decision was purely cosmetic

otherwise if your focus is opposite that of what your race becomes, you're disadvantaged

[scarr]

Draegoni = +3 magical damage (harm,poison,life drain etc)

Gnome = less fails in manufacture

Orc = +4 phy in PK or so :-P

 

Hmmm? ;D

[obionek]

Draegoni = +3 magical damage (harm,poison,life drain etc) 

Orc = +4 phy in PK or so :-P

Nice

 

Gnome = +10% more gold while selling items to npc

[Earl]

Maybe Elves could zoom the camera out further... but I've heard of a client that does this already.

 

Humans get a +6 from potions?

 

Orchans scare monsters into not attacking sooner? No. Most orchans would hate that. Maybe a command to stand in a battle stance to intimidate other players.

 

Draegoni could maybe cast magic below the required level... it would be no good in the long run though...

 

Gnomes should definitely be able to dance or something. There are few Gnomes about.. I think I know of 4... it would bring them real celebrity status. Isn't that a political advantage?

[LaNora]

i like this idea!

[ttlanhil]

you could even do a racial reaction modifier for prices...

dwarves get a discount in VOTD, gnomes in their homeland, that sort of thing

it may not balance out too well if there aren't even communities of all races, so this could be balanced by something else as well

 

and this is the sort of thing that p2p races should get a bigger advantage in, i beleive that p2p should get things that help them, while not stopping other players from doing (a skill only for p2p, for example, would be exclusive, and not showing all of the game means it could be a bit less likely people will pay)

[crusadingknight]

Maybe the ability to POSSIBLY take a racial perk, for, say, 3pp, which does that which is listed above? This way, your advantage isn't forced on you, and you could keep 3 pp instead of getting it. (Though, I have no clue why )

[LabRat]

sweet ideas guys, and not too difficult to code as far as I can see.. keep them coming, and hopefully we can present them as a package to the developers in a way they find amenable

[Entris]

Good ideas!

I think it would be a good idea 2 make it a PP choise.

[Guest skaar]

erm, for ever positive effect there schould be a negative, for example:

 

Orc = +4 phy cause orcs r strong, but they have not that high dextery so -2 on manu and ranged weapons <_< (if they get implemented). and each race should have pros and cons. there also should be the chance for the player to change one time their char (cause no race had abilities till yet) with an command like #change_avatar race - this command is also usefull if someone change from free race to a p2p race. (does not effect colors and style - should be not that hard to implement if all works over a db )

 

just my 2 cents

[Kami]

Just a Few for the new races

 

Gnomes:

Less chance of Equipped Items bring Breaking/Degrading

Improved Crafting/Jewelry Making

 

Draegoni:

Faster Regeneration of Health

Can eat Raw Meat

Bonus to Fire-based Magic

 

Orchans:

Fear (Monsters stop attacking at Lower Overall then other Races). Other words, Goblins stop attacking at 16 instead of 21

(When Karma in implemented) Karmatic Actions count higher. Which means doing Negative actions will count against your Karma more.

Evil Gods Look upon you more Favorly.

 

Just a couple I thought of.

 

As for the comment that player's not wanting their Racial Attributes, I suggest adding Race Descriptions to the Character Creation Screen. Then afterwards, if they change their mind and decide they don't need their bonus, they only have theirselves to blame as the description was given to them. I mean, we really need to improve the CCS Greatly and this is one of the reasons why. A Great part of the Role-playing aspect of the Game is Character Development and I think players should have a greater involvement in the Creation of it too!

Edited April 23, 2005 by Kami

[ssjgohan]

umm lets see what i remember from months ago from all discussions in OX when they were still active..

 

Dwarves are good in erm.. alchemy, mining (harvesting), manufacturing and crafting

 

Elves are good for uhh potion making, picking flowers (harvesting) and summoning

 

Humans are just good for fighting so attack and defense and i guess magic goes with fighting?

 

so if you let the different races have extra exp for several skills then this should be kinda what races get what exp bonuses

 

i don't know about the P2P races tho someone else wil have to figure those out

[jimmythesaint]

What about give positives and negatives to all the races except Human. They get no plusses nor negatives. They are just regular ole Humans afterall.

 

Some other things... Elves and maybe Gnomes should have higher charm and the other two P2P races should have a negative charm unless dealing with their own race. Course this will have to be implemented first, but its an idea.

[Arnieman]

My personal opinions for race bonus:

 

Human - Neutral race, no bonus.

Elven - slight mage-type bonus (alchemy, potions, magic), maybe slight manu-type penalty (manufacture, crafting)

Dwarf - opposite of elven, slight harvest bonus

 

P2P Races:

 

Orchan - Attack and Magic bonus, maybe slight defense loss attributed to carelessness/bloodlust of race?

Draegoni - Defense, Magic, and Potions bonus, maybe penalty on manufacture?

Gnome - "Enhanced" Dwarf (Increased manu-type and harvest bonuses, maybe slight loss on mage-type skills?)

 

And the thinking behind all this:

Normal vs. P2P races: I did want to leave it a little more advantageous to have a P2P race, but not then totally unplayable for the non-P2P players. Some may not like the penalties I wrote in, so I tried to make them as low as I can.

Race Attributes: I wrote these generally off my own feelings in each char type.

• Thus, Humans would be the neutral, all-round type, based off the remarkable nature of people to shape their own destinies.
  
• Elves, as the more magical "force of nature" in-tuned race, naturally would get a bonus in magic.
  
• The short-statured Dwarves, perfect for the narrow passageways in mines, get a harvest advantage, and which pairs to their ability in shaping that material (manufacture).
  
• The Orchan sound like a crossbreed spawn of Orcs, and would retain some of the brutish force of their forebears.
  
• Draegoni sound like a form of dragon, and would have more of an innate defense, as well as a much stronger connection to magic.
  
• Finally, Gnomes are an inventive race, and while magic-funbling like their Dwarven cousins, would more than make up for it with their ingenuity in inventions that would bend nature to their will as affectively as any mage.
  

Edited April 23, 2005 by Arnieman

[Hazor]

Most tales with Gnomes, that I know of, tend to portray them as rather magically inclined.. They're anything but Dwarves.

[crusadingknight]

Most tales with Gnomes, that I know of, tend to portray them as rather magically inclined.. They're anything but Dwarves.

155666[/snapback]

Time for more research hazor.

[Kami]

Gnomes are rather Like Leprechauns (maybe a Distant Relative perhaps) in which they do have a touch of Magic running through their Blood but choose Crafting and Invention over the Arcane Arts. Much Like Leprechauns, Gnomes have been known to be able to Magically Vanish from Sight when the need arises as well as (Seemingly) to be Magically inclined where Gardening is concerned but Gnomes are Very Industrious and have little use for serious Magic beyond Enchanted Items and Magic Tricks (Probably Survival Techniques Passed down through Generation to Generation, the only ruminants from a Time when Gnomes use to Practice the Arcane.)

[Dent]

I had a thought on this a while back, but it took a different direction from what has been posted so far.

 

Instead of making the racial attributes affect the skills, use it to modify the base stats.

 

That way, it can affect multiple skills.

 

An example: A person who is physically coordinated can usually do better at all things physical, be it fighting, dancing, sport or just plain strength/endurance. I picture Orchans with bonuses like this in Phys and Coord.

 

Elves, in this system, would benefit from the attributes affecting magic - vitality and will.

 

Dwarves, a higher Phys and Will.

 

Gnomes, higher Coord and reasoning.

 

Humans should get more reasoning and will, as they are shorter lived and must pack more exp in to their lives.

 

This way, you are not stuck trying to fit one skill into one category or another. It also does not limit the focus of the player beyond the initial selection. Once the first few PP are used up, the player can be on the same level as someone of a diferent race.

 

All this would do would be to give the players a boost accordign to racial tendancies as opposed to affecting their game for the entire time they play.

 

Is that worth $0.02 ?