Okay, look. I like the weapons and all.....but 3 types tends to be dull. So, i thought of 3 new weapon types and will be explaining them with as much detail that i crammed into my head throughout my adventures through the spiral.
First off you have a few questions to my weapon choices.....now i explain:
Q:Staff? why? were knights for gods sake.
A:well ya see, knights of the middle ages (yeah im being realistic, sue me) had no bombs or handguns(though if they did, it would have been much more awesome....and painful). So, why cant we have staves?
Q: whats wrong with the weapons now? you hate them or something?
A: no. I arm myself with a sword(for kickin butt) and handgun(for pesky switches[ya know we hate those]). Bombs are good for group control. These are just designed for players who wanna play differently.
Now, all these weapons are two-handed, meaning no shield (dont be saying WTF yet). X (which is used to defend with shields), instead activated some ability based on the weapon.
Okay....let begin
STAFF:
staves are based on magic and act like a weapon-item. They are the hardest to use (due to the very weird way of controlling them) and take time to master. They have 3 slots, each acting as an item(healing packs, restore packs[the blue thingies that remove status effects], status vials) and with 5 ranks (basic, advanced, elite, mega, ultimate), and two sizes (shot and aoe[bout 3-5 players long, which is them standing shoulder to shoulder]). here is a chart:
Healing status effect
Basic | half bar | 2 sec long
Advanced| 1 bar | 4 sec long
Elite | 1 and half bars | 6 sec long
Mega |2 bars | 8 sec long
Ultimate |2 and half bars | 10 sec long
The only item they dont copy would be the mecha kit. Why? cuz it my idea and i havent decided yet, thats why!
Now they have something. this "something" is called a COOLDOWN (magical word). Dont think its something like a 5 sec cooldown for an ultimate item (cuz thats crazy). The cooldowns are 30-180 seconds long (or half a minute-3 minutes long), and the healing ones tend to be around a minute or 2.
The X button is used to swap the "spells" that the spells have equipped. they cycle to the next one(1 goes to 2, 2 goes to 3, 3 goes to 1)in the order and it would probably be shown between the health canister and "equipped weapon" circles, right above the health bar(i think thats a pad pun cuz the health bar is made of bars...).
Q:why is it that ultimate for status effect is so long?
A: if its ultimate, then its cooldwon is about 2 and a half to 3 minutes long.
Q: 3 minutes max cooldown? isnt that a bit much?
A: not really. the staff acts as a permenant "item" that doesnt go away. it wouldnt be fair if it had 2 minute max cooldown. Just be happy it isnt 5 minutes cuz i thought that.
By the way, there is no charge, it just fires the shot(though if all 3 are on cooldwon, youll swing it, doing very crappy[dont know yet] dmg)
SPEAR:
Think of it as a sword with better damge. you're asking me, "cant spears have the ability to be able to be held in one hand?" well yeah, but these are special (dont ask me that either).
Now the X button fires the spear after a few seconds, dealing handgun damage from a handgun distance. HOWEVER, you have 20 spears per level, so dont think you can just throw lke a madman. If you run out of extra spears, you have to wait till the next level to get a replenish. The charge tends to be spin attacks(like calibur) but you dont move (better than calibur, as some people tend to post that the move thing screws the swing) and its two roundabouts. The combo is 5-7 (its made for damage) and they tend to have a good speed, making them great if you like to hurt up close.
Q: If i dont use all my extra spears, do i get to add those to my total on the next floor?
A: no. thats just...why ask that? I even said you have 20 a level. no freebies
Q:Do you lose a spear if you use them to hit switches? If no, how do you lose them?
A:um...yeah. Spears a spear. Sorry
RIFLE:
When "whoever-made-us" (I aint saying god cuz i dont wanna be a piece of crap.) made man, he never though they would make this game.....or the rifle. Rifles have the following changes then guns:
PROS:
-longer range
-higher damage
-charge acts different (see below)
-cooler military-ish look(though some people wouldnt care)
CONS:
-less combo (tends to be 1-2 then 2-3[or whatever the max was])
-"stand-still" reload and firing(this is always......and it sucks)
(before i go on, i should say this is different cuz i was to lazy to change the other two to this kinda format. least im honest)
The X acts a "scope" making the shot deal more damage, but you have to do something called "aim" (suspenseful music [i did this cuz aiming in this game tends to be bad with the moving targets and whatnot]). is it worth it.....yes.
Charging acts after the combo (and you still holding the button). They are: "rapid shot"(which fires a bonus shot), "explosive shot" (what do you thnk?), "Spread shot" (fires 3-4 shots in an arc), or "piercing shot" (fires a shot that goes through foes....and blocks). you can change the shot (huh?) by tapping the X button (not holding) and each one has 2 types of special shot.
Q:Do rifles truly have a cooler military-ish look?
A:well, they should. Thats my opinion.
Q:If we equip a rifle, do handguns become obsolete?
A:No. Handguns will still become a choice since they use speed instead of strength. Its the players choice for what to pick. Also, no defending with a rifle.
Okay...i believe thats it (thank god too. this was way to long). Tell me your honest opinions and say what you wish.
Solo v. Party and Guild
I hope I'm not repeating these concepts. If I am, accept my apologies.
On Solo Play:
I prefer this way, personally; I scamper in and out quite a bit, and this way know I wouldn't affect someone else's gameplay. Way back (hah) when MU*s were the online M of the MOment, I'd play those solo- exploring the new areas and zones, collecting equipment and gold and other sorts of things to improve my character with little concern of the more social/teamplay aspect of the game (i.e. 'grouping', with your standard tank/caster/healer arrangement). What made me more interested in being involved with a 'team' or 'clan' or whatever term you choose was when there was an offer of reward or prize goal available.
I'll purposely overlook the idea of online roleplaying; that's difficult (and tedious) to hard code.
Having potential rewards, prizes, reduction of costs, or special swag available to those who collect items in a group-- specifically, if you and your best guild mates take a run down (as an example) from Haven to the 'Manor, there would be a greater collection of materials, minerals, a potential for guild decor or awards (if you were to look up information about said guild, you would see what missions they'd completed from a predetermined list of achievements-- "X levels attained" "Y number of guild members have reached the core", etc.), might be a start toward an incentive to want to adventure with a group
... And equally bring some depth to the idea of guilds. This idea- that your group could win renown- was what appealed to me about YPP. I'd not been in a gaming environment that offered high-level teamwork goals. Though I don't have the time to achieve those anymore, I think it works as a concept. If one were to introduce a more in-depth concept of PVP into SK, there's far more that could be done group-wise; I know not if that's an end-goal or idea for the game-- I'm thinking not, however.
Guilds would offer meaningful grouping in this fashion by lending to the payout system due to the circumstance that all players involved were tightly associated, working for a common cause, for King and Country, what have you.
Other random thoughts (looking back on ten years of MUD administration):
Limit guild sizes to a reasonable number. See the above post, wherein "playing with friends" is detailed
Joining or leaving a guild ought to mean something, along the lines of gains or losses
Create guild challenges (tournaments?) wherein the group would participate, and its result would be rated or held against others for the top prizes
Allow for the creation of items that would be specifically guild-based
How about group abilities? Being able to create coordinated attacks- or alchemical creations- because you have three group/guild members who all three know one part necessary, which they may have either gained on a run, or gained insight into on a previous mission.
Anyhow, that's something to chew on.
Regards,
T