Hi all, and a quick shout out to @Thothie for setting up this board. I wanted a public discussion forum partly to share MS:R-related progress without polluting the MS:C board, but mostly to poll the community for ideas on core gameplay elements as I'm working on them. I think this is a good way to keep the community engaged, and increases the likelihood of having a finished product everyone wants to play.
The first poll will be focused on items and inventory. Keep in mind this is a MS:C successor, so I'm not looking for suggestions on Look-and-Feel (per se) or making a modern, flashy UI (e.g., Destiny, Borderlands, etc). I'm more interested in functionality (in Destiny's case, see: Context-driven UI). Also, please don't get lost in a Drop-Rate Discussions rabbit hole.
Also note the title: Upcoming Poll. I want to give people enough time to offer up ideas/suggestions before the poll opens, which will be a new post in 24-48 hours, and the poll will be open indefinitely (or closed for a new, updated poll to be posted and take its place, if needed).
Now, on to Item Variety that will drive the Inventory design. I've offered a few examples of what approach to take:
- Classic RPG (MS:C): Low item variety. Common drops/gold from monsters, leading up to Boss Fights (or hidden secret chests) with a chance at a handful of decent loot that unlocks progression to harder maps/content.
- Elder Scrolls-style: High variety (includes junk), Scaled loot. Items of various quality can be found anywhere - including random barrels - even in low-level areas (scaled by player/party level)
- Action RPG (Diablo, Borderlands): Very high item/mod variety. Fast-paced combat, fight dozens of monsters at a time that drop gold and items of various quality (huge loot tables) that lead to Elites/Bosses with increased drop rates and unique items.
- Some combination of the above
THIS CHOICE FACTORS DIRECTLY INTO GAMEPLAY AND INVENTORY IMPLEMENTATION! If it's MS:C-style, with a relatively low amount of overall items, a simpler Inventory would suffice. But if there's dozens of different items found all over the place, either the inventory gets cluttered, or I would have to get creative with an inventory filter/context system now (or break down items into crafting components?)
I personally prefer a combination of the above, with a focus on low base item variety, but with scaled loot and several item mod/enchant/customization options. What do you think?
The first poll will be focused on items and inventory. Keep in mind this is a MS:C successor, so I'm not looking for suggestions on Look-and-Feel (per se) or making a modern, flashy UI (e.g., Destiny, Borderlands, etc). I'm more interested in functionality (in Destiny's case, see: Context-driven UI). Also, please don't get lost in a Drop-Rate Discussions rabbit hole.
Also note the title: Upcoming Poll. I want to give people enough time to offer up ideas/suggestions before the poll opens, which will be a new post in 24-48 hours, and the poll will be open indefinitely (or closed for a new, updated poll to be posted and take its place, if needed).
Now, on to Item Variety that will drive the Inventory design. I've offered a few examples of what approach to take:
- Classic RPG (MS:C): Low item variety. Common drops/gold from monsters, leading up to Boss Fights (or hidden secret chests) with a chance at a handful of decent loot that unlocks progression to harder maps/content.
- Elder Scrolls-style: High variety (includes junk), Scaled loot. Items of various quality can be found anywhere - including random barrels - even in low-level areas (scaled by player/party level)
- Action RPG (Diablo, Borderlands): Very high item/mod variety. Fast-paced combat, fight dozens of monsters at a time that drop gold and items of various quality (huge loot tables) that lead to Elites/Bosses with increased drop rates and unique items.
- Some combination of the above
THIS CHOICE FACTORS DIRECTLY INTO GAMEPLAY AND INVENTORY IMPLEMENTATION! If it's MS:C-style, with a relatively low amount of overall items, a simpler Inventory would suffice. But if there's dozens of different items found all over the place, either the inventory gets cluttered, or I would have to get creative with an inventory filter/context system now (or break down items into crafting components?)
I personally prefer a combination of the above, with a focus on low base item variety, but with scaled loot and several item mod/enchant/customization options. What do you think?
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