Multi effect items?
John Palmer
anyone ever tried items which have multiple effects - for example
Teleport which leaves you confused for a few turns - perhaps raising some
skill would reduce the length of time for the confusion
To me it seemed like an interesting idea - what does everyone else think?
John Palmer
Radomir Dopieralski
Jotaf
Add level bindings and this could be uniformly used as a skill system
too! Just bear with me for a second: Effects can be applied at
different power levels. This is how developed is your skill, or how
powerful is your item (providing many variations by creating items
with randomized power levels, as you do with monsters). Each effect
has a starting level and a step, and you apply a formula somewhat like
this (much more easily represented with code than with words IMO)
struct effect {
int start_level, step;
int type; //?
...
};
struct skill {
vector<effect> effects;
int current_level;
...
};
void apply_effect(int start_level, int step, int current_level) {
int power = (current_level - start_level) * step;
if (power > 0) {
//... apply it, proportional to current power
}
}
What's the big deal? Hidden in this formula is the ability to enable a
side-effect only at later levels, or to start with a bad side-effect
that gradually disappears as you advance (or as you find better
items).
A regular effect: start=0, step=1
A bonus effect that kicks in at level 8: start=8, step=1
A bad side effect that disappears at level 7: start=7, step=-1
A bad side effect that drops 2 levels with every gained level and
finally disappears at level 5: start=10, step=-2
Jotaf
msa...@gmail.com
consumables, the more powerful of which often have negative and
positive effects. The one that I know the most will greatly increase
your regeneration rate but nauseates you (preventing you from eating
more), but there are others. Like you suggested, there are interesting
gameplay elements to these sorts of items--you either stack
resistances to mitigate the negative effects or carry around cures on
your person. The idea that they might train a skill also seems like it
has potential.
I can think of a number of cool effects that might be a lot of fun to
play with. Trading stats, where an item raises one (strength) and
lowers another (dexterity) is an obvious one. Also, cool ideas might
be an item that increases your combat prowess but confuses you, that
increases you magical prowess but poisons you, or that takes you to an
astral realm but causes you to hallucinate. It seems like there is a
lot of potential here and you should definitely go with it.
Gerry Quinn
@gmail.com says...
I use this in my game Lair of the Demon Ape. The main implications are
for healing potions, of which there are three kinds (examples below are
for the weakest versions of each):
Healing Potion:
- restores 10 HP and 5 mana
- cures 2 levels of dazing
Regeneration Potion:
- restores 20 HP over 30 seconds
- cures 1 level of poison
Bottle of Wine
- restores 15 HP and 15 Mana
- leaves you dazed for 15 seconds
The most problematic is obviously the last which has a negative effect.
Generally you would try to find a quiet corner to drink these, reserving
the other potions for combat (if you have enough potions, of course, you
have the option of wine or worse followed by healing). But you might
also want to save the first two for their curative effects.
The mechanic works pretty well, in my opinion. I wouldn't go overboard
with it, i.e. I think one function is plenty for most items. But some
multi-function items or items with double effects can be a good idea.
[In the game healing doesn't work as well as it might because dazing can
prevent you drinking potions immediately; I think I would allow potions
to be drunk immediately irrespective of dazing in the next version.]
- Gerry Quinn
--
Lair of the Demon Ape (a coffee-break roguelike)
<http://indigo.ie/~gerryq/lair/lair.htm>
Martin Read
>I waqs working on the code for items in my game and I was thinking, has
>anyone ever tried items which have multiple effects - for example
>
>Teleport which leaves you confused for a few turns
This was present in rogue...
>- perhaps raising some skill would reduce the length of time for the
>confusion
... though this bit wasn't.
--
\_\/_/ turbulence is certainty turbulence is friction between you and me
\ / every time we try to impose order we create chaos
\/ -- Killing Joke, "Mathematics of Chaos"
Perdurabo
Yes. Its desirable (though not to the point of overdosing it) and
quite easy to implement actually, but it depends on having a right
object model for the items to be begin with.
The item model for the rewrite of Kharne I was working on (and will
work on again, once I manage to put down Wrath of the Lich King)
allows an item to be created with either a specified or random number
of "enchantments" (effects or powers basically).
Such "enchantments" are things like "hit oozes for extra damage" or
"make me faster" or "give me more health" or even something as devious
as "1/20 cnance of being rooted to the ground for a turn" - anything
really.
I even have a weighting system partially implemented for allowing
certain powers to match with other powers for items depending on
external influences. For example, deities or environment, e.g. most of
the items you find in the Elemental Plane of Fire have a Firey Damage
or Fire Resistance enchant on me, or most of the items you find whilst
worshipping ASDFGHJKL the God of Oozes give penalties to hit oozes but
give resistance to same oozes) and so on. Another one I came up with
(but never implemented) was for cursing - some powerful monsters can
curse you and whilst suffering effects of said curse make the items
you find less desirable, and so on.
If you sit down and think about things then all sorts of things are
possible.
Best,
D.
Jotaf
> The item model for the rewrite of Kharne I was working on (and will
> work on again, once I manage to put down Wrath of the Lich King)
Ah I was wondering what happened to Kharne! I used to read the blog ya
know.
Jotaf
Perdurabo
I know, I know. I'm just actually writing a new post for the blog at
the moment, expanding what I mentioned earlier.
My Wrath subscription runs out at the end of the month, and I'm not
intending to renew it.
Best,
P.