If I could code...

[Demolishor]

what would you do if had insane computer coding powers, like the DS devs do? What kind of games/programs would you like to make? I know I'm taking shortcuts here, as making a proper game requires a lot more staff than just the man/woman with an idea. Anyway, here's my melee fighting system for a dream mmorpg or something.

battle system
The basic idea is to insert some skill to the age-old "click a monster and press skill hotkeys in no particular order"-setup. So, instead of auto-attack, you'd have several different actions, executed by pressing different keys.

press z to attack: a basic attack that deals standard damage with an attack speed determined by the type of weapon you're using and your dexterity. (more in Attributes and Weapon data) these attacks can be blocked partially.

press x to do a fast attack: this attack is as twice as fast as a normal attack, but deals half damage. You can use these to interrupt slower attacks and spells. fast attacks can be blocked completely.

press c to do a heavy attack: this attack takes 2x more time to complete compared to a normal attack, but it deals double dmg and getting hit by a heavy attack will daze the opponent for a short period of time, leaving him/it/her unable to fight back. Heavy attacks can be blocked partially and the daze effect is halved if the heavy attack is blocked.

Hold spacebar to block: if you have equipped a shield, you can hold your shield up by holding spacebar. Since you still take damage from normal and heavy attacks, blocking does not make you immortal, but you can use the z key to raise your 1h weapon while blocking and releasing the z key will make you attack. Naturally, you can't block while attacking, but a smart fighter who can read the "rhytm" of the combat and knows when to block and when to attack will take less dmg than a fighter who is constantly attacking.

parrying: to avoid an attack completely, press either a or d precisely when the opponents weapon is about to hit you. Parrying is always a bit of a gamble, if you move too late or too early, you'll get hit with full dmg and you'll lose your chance to attack. However, a succesful parry works much like a sb's CB, you will take no damage from the attack you just avoided, and you'll automatically move behind your enemy, meaning your next attack should be a critical hit.

that pretty much covers the basics. With a system like this, battles are fast-paced and interesting, even without skills executed by pressing hotkeys. Here's a few examples to make my point clear.

your opponent is using "auto-attack" and you need a way to counter it. You can either: a)block the attacks and attack while your opponent is preparing for the next attack. (b you can use a fast attack to interrupt the attack, and pound even more dmg by following up with a normal attack. (c you can hit you opponent with a heavy attack, and pound more dmg when your opponent is dazed. (d you can parry an attack and backstab your opponent.

Basically there's a counter to everything, so you need to think while you fight, bashing the keyboard randomly will get you nowhere.

here's something to spice things up.

combos: by pressing the attack keys in a certain order you can execute special attack chains with different effects. "speccing" for certain attributes will unlock different combos. For an example, strength attribute unlocks combos which are linked to dealing dmg while the dexterity attribute unlocks combos related to disabling your opponents. an example: strength 12, while wielding a blunt weapon --> Guard breaker: x-c. Interrupt an attack and follow up with a heavy attack. end effect: your opponent will suffer from "cracked armor" condition for a certain period of time. Sounds like AoC in a bad way? Well, who says you have to stand there and take the beating? you can disrupt combos by blocking fast attacks and by interrupting normal and heavy attacks with fast attacks.

Before I forget: weapon data and attribute shit.

weapon types:
dual wield daggers:dmg varies between 1 - 15, depending on how "epic" of a weapon it is. attack speed: 1 normal attack/1sec
example of dps: 2x15dmg in 10 sec:300dmg, 30dps

1h weapons, such as maces, long swords and battle axes (a shield on the other hand): dmg 2 - 30. (2x the power of a dagger just as epic) attack speed: 1 normal attack/1.5sec
example of dps: 1x30 dmg in 10 sec:200dmg, 20dps

2h weapons, such as greatswords, halberds, etc: dmg 4 - 60. attack speed: 1 normal attack/2sec
example of dps: 1x60dmg in 10sec:300dmg, 30dps.

attributes
when you start the game, you get 10 attribute points that you can spend on any attributes you like. instead of having character classes, your attributes will determine what combos, spells, weapons, and armors you can use. the max lvl is 50 so, the maximum number of attribute points is 60. spend them wisely. 35 is a milestone of sorts to all of these attributes. you can still spend more points if you like but it won't open any new weapons, combos or such, since you have already spend more than half of all your attribute points on single attribute.

str: how much dmg you deal in melee combat and what sort of weapons you can use. Physical offense=str+weapon dmg. So, a character wielding the most epic greatsword would deal 35+60=95dmg in a single attack. (armor and blocking negates dmg though)

dex:how fast you can attack. attack speed=weapon type modified by dex. 1 lvl in dex will shorten your attack time by a whopping
0,014285714 seconds. So, doing a normal attack with a dagger will only take 0,5 secs for a character with 35 dex. (I think I also need some sort of critical hit modifier, to make dex worth speccing, since 35 dex characters won't be able to wield the most epic weapons)

constitution: how much of a beating you can take and what sort of armors you can use. every character starts with 100hp. each character lvl will give you 10 more hp and each point in constitution will raise your hp with additional 15hp. so, a lvl 50 "glass cannon mage" with no constitution would have 600hp while a lvl 50 "tank" with 35 constitution (just enough for plate armors) would have as much as 1125hp.

inteligence: how much dmg you deal with spells and what kind of spells you can use. spell dmg=spell power+magical equipment bonuses+inteligence

prolly more to come...

comments: man, i have too much free time. Haven't done too much math either, 1 weapon or attribute might be more imba than the others. still need to come up with an armor system and make spellcasting as interesting as melee combat.