tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post7873391202496896051..comments2015-02-26T20:41:36.069-08:00Comments on Jake Care's Gamebooks: Combat MechanicsJake Carehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13582796858319515921noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-5237905992332184472012-12-09T13:44:48.945-08:002012-12-09T13:44:48.945-08:00my friend! once i'll finish creating it and pu...my friend! once i'll finish creating it and publish it in my native language, my first priority will be working on an English translation. <br />at the moment it's at the very begining, basic stage of a whim and the first seeds of an idea combined together. I'm starting at the very roots: creating the world, magic system, combat system, character design etc, and writing notes as for the main story. it will take a lot of time - but I'm very excited working on it, and since I'm about to publish(print stage) my first book here(short horror stories collection) it feels great and truly to start writing again within the genre that was my first love :). my second future book will be a game-book. <br /><br />will keep you guys posted for sure <3. shaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-56927038023475875222012-12-06T14:00:49.832-08:002012-12-06T14:00:49.832-08:00Thank you for your kind words shay. I look forward...Thank you for your kind words shay. I look forward to seeing your book and how you will design your combat system. Sadly I do not speak Hebrew :( any chance there might be an English, French or Spanish translation?Jake Carehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13582796858319515921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-75570651725640126522012-12-02T15:23:04.697-08:002012-12-02T15:23:04.697-08:00hello everyone,
for someone who is familiar with ...hello everyone,<br /><br />for someone who is familiar with gamebooks & RPG's for more then 20 years now, and working at the moment on my own project of an original game-book in Hebrew, i must say that this article is terrific. you hit all the right spots, and gave me a lot of material to think about and consider.<br /><br />also, as a D&D player - i think the main reason huge RPG games such as D&D managed to survive and even prosper up until today, with all the computer craziness around us, is it's depth and vastness of choices to make, both while building and developing your character and while actually playing the game. <br /><br />my goal now, in terms of combat system, is to create a system which might not be as complicated and deep as in major rpg's, but will still be a huge change from what FF/lone wolf fans knew, and will be generally directed for rpg veterans. <br /><br />i hope i'll post here some good news in the future regarding my conceiving book =). shaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-30349944769678960152012-08-09T17:00:52.786-07:002012-08-09T17:00:52.786-07:00Thanks for your kind words Ashton :)
I agree that ...Thanks for your kind words Ashton :)<br />I agree that it's important not to overwhelm the player; I'd say that might go under the criteria of Simplicity and Quickness. It can be hard to balance all of these criteria, which I believe is why we don't have a "perfect" combat system out there yet. Not that there aren't many great combat systems already that work well.<br /><br />I would love to see your own blog post about it as well. I look forward to it :)Jake Carehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13582796858319515921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-38509738754871261682012-08-06T17:52:30.363-07:002012-08-06T17:52:30.363-07:00Oh noes--my attempt to add you to my google reader...Oh noes--my attempt to add you to my google reader apparently failed! Now you have all these great posts up which I've missed until now ;)<br /><br />I really like this breakdown of what makes a good combat system. Lots of food for thought here.<br /><br />What I find particularly helpful is your call for combat systems to allow the player to make choices during fights. I've almost never seen any gamebook systems that allow you to make any meaningful choice during a combat, but that would make it much, much better.<br /><br />The question for me is how to do that without overwhelming the player. This is definitely going to be something I'll give some though to in the future. Maybe do a blog post of my own about it soon...<br /><br />I'll leave more detailed comments on both Emancipation and the Battle of Bamajeda over there. Thanks again for this post :)Ashtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16518903647831371357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-85124550724535293862012-08-06T17:49:02.268-07:002012-08-06T17:49:02.268-07:00I'll go check that out as well, Kurth. Thanks ...I'll go check that out as well, Kurth. Thanks for posting the link!<br /><br />Where should we leave comments for you if we have feedback? Do you have a site or blog of your own?Ashtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16518903647831371357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-18310249931731918732012-07-30T17:20:04.025-07:002012-07-30T17:20:04.025-07:00Yeah, I'd say that right now DestinyQuest has ...Yeah, I'd say that right now DestinyQuest has one of the best combat systems. The powers make it much more fun than most systems, and adds more choice. It's also fairly simple, though sometimes keeping track of your passive effects and modifiers can go wild. The only real short coming in the system is that characters with really high Speed score, such as Rogues, can win almost every combat round without taking any damage whatsoever. So it's quite unbalanced for Rogues, but that's easily forgivable because it does everything else so right.Jake Carehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13582796858319515921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-46545638936547155622012-07-30T11:10:54.887-07:002012-07-30T11:10:54.887-07:00I think a simple system which then allows the play...I think a simple system which then allows the player some choices as to how to affect the die roll is best. I think the Destiny Quest system is all round the best as it scores highly for everything except sometimes quickness. Resolve who hits with two dice followed by damage being 1d6 + your offensive value - your opponent's defensive value. Then you have a nice range of choices to modify any die roll, deal more damage, reduce your opponent's damage etc.Stuart Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-66967238217016110842012-07-30T11:07:30.941-07:002012-07-30T11:07:30.941-07:00I'll be taking a look at that too. Many thank...I'll be taking a look at that too. Many thanks for the link :)Stuart Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15100216520313336932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-31220862482735756692012-07-29T18:33:32.758-07:002012-07-29T18:33:32.758-07:00"The combat system for Wings of Lightning is ..."The combat system for Wings of Lightning is imaginative and very different from either and does provide for decision making by the player. I look forward to working through the book...." I may use this quote when advertising the game once it's done!<br /><br />Interesting discussion on Project Aon. I really need to keep up with that site more.Kurthl33thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07827585809859389175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-66043754508568209832012-07-29T12:48:26.459-07:002012-07-29T12:48:26.459-07:00I thought readers might be interested in a series ...I thought readers might be interested in a series of postings on the Project Aon forum. The topic is Favorite Gamebook Combat Systems. The link is http://projectaon.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=open&action=display&thread=988&page=1<br /><br />BTW: I'm new to the Gamebooks hobby. I've only done two FFs and two LWs. I'm *no expert* so take all of my comments as such!<br /><br />The combat system for Wings of Lightning is imaginative and very different from either and does provide for decision making by the player. I look forward to working through the book after I complete FF5.Keith Bernsteinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-91987468482166015552012-07-28T21:03:10.627-07:002012-07-28T21:03:10.627-07:00Holy smokes, you must have read my mind with the c...Holy smokes, you must have read my mind with the card deck thing! My soon-to-come-out micro gamebook uses cards as well. I read the rules for Wings of Lightning, they look superb! Very different from how my gamebook is going to use the cards; I'll be using a die as well. I've been working on play-testing and editing my mico gamebook. Hopefully it'll be out by my next post! :)<br />P.S. I look forwards to seeing Winds of Lightning complete :) Keep up the good work!Jake Carehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13582796858319515921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-4597568794672320062012-07-28T15:37:46.614-07:002012-07-28T15:37:46.614-07:00I've thought about these same problems and hav...I've thought about these same problems and have come to largely the same conclusions as you. I don't know how you chose to solve the problem, but I'm certainly looking forward to finding out!<br /><br />In my own amateur work, I've decided to do away with dice in favor of a system based on poker cards. Because cards have "memory"--the cards you have already drawn alter what kind of cards you can draw later--the system has randomization, yet allows players to make decisions each turn. It's pretty quick, and players can (theoretically) improve their personal ability as the game progresses, even if their character's abilities stay the same. The downside is that there is a fair amount of shuffling. Plus, the system has been tacked on to a story which is exceptionally linear, which I recognize that many players dislike. So the game's still very much a work-in-progress, but I've received some nice compliments on it so far.<br /><br />If you are at all curious, you can check out the rules and the first three chapters here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_TSzVP-wMZDVUVDaVZrVmptcTQ/edit.Kurthl33thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07827585809859389175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-20823220939349369492012-07-27T17:36:12.372-07:002012-07-27T17:36:12.372-07:00Quite Right. In the case where you have low stamin...Quite Right. In the case where you have low stamina and high luck, I agree it is worth it to spend that luck point. In that situation luck works as an interesting tactical choice. However players won't often be in that situation. By the time a player reaches a combat that will be ready to actually kill them, they'll most likely have passed a few luck tests already. I heard of a rules mod where if you are lucky, then subtract 1 luck as per usual, if you are unlucky then add 1 luck. That way it keeps things balanced and will make the player more inclined to use luck in battle (I know it would for me!)Jake Carehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13582796858319515921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-5996259701209388752012-07-27T11:31:13.314-07:002012-07-27T11:31:13.314-07:00According to my copy of Warlock of Firetop Mountai...According to my copy of Warlock of Firetop Mountain, after wounding a creature, a successful roll of Testing Your Luck inflicts a loss of an extra 2 stamina points. Thus, when fighting a powerful monster, a successful battle roll plus a successful luck roll can subtract 4 stamina points. This can really help if your own stamina score is low and luck score is high. I think this is worth the loss of a luck point.Keith Bernsteinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-53940308422020416032012-07-27T11:13:27.216-07:002012-07-27T11:13:27.216-07:00Thanks! :)
Yes I do agree that there is some tact...Thanks! :)<br /><br />Yes I do agree that there is some tactical choice in Fighting Fantasy, though I myself found that it was always better to save my luck; in battle it meant the difference of a single stamina point, whereas if I was asked to test my luck outside of battle, it was usually the difference between life and instant death. I completely agree that if I were in a dire situation in combat then I would use luck to help lower damage done to me.<br /><br />You're also right about the Lonewolf tables being player favored. Hence why I didn't put Lonewolf for under the Fairness and Predictability. I believe the reason the Combat Results Table favored Lonewolf is because you could often find yourself fighting several enemies in a row without an opportunity to heal; and most often you enemy would do at least a little damage to you. After a few combats in a row it would start to add up. Though of course even taking that into account I still found myself sailing through Lonewolf souped-up on gear from previous books. So yes I agree; doesn't make in past the Fairness and Predictability criteria.<br /><br />As for your ideas of what make an ideal combat system, I couldn't have said it better myself :)<br /><br />Lastly I'm terribly sorry about the current emptiness of my "My Works" page. I'm going to post my micro gamebook with my ideal combat system there soon, and I'll also be posting my Windhammer entry there too. I just need to finish up my editing!Jake Carehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13582796858319515921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8959292737199932260.post-32762167533657543832012-07-27T06:30:22.087-07:002012-07-27T06:30:22.087-07:00Good blog post...
I disagree with your comment ab...Good blog post...<br /><br />I disagree with your comment about FF (Balancing Choice and Randomness): with a character having low stamina and high luck in the middle of a battle, it makes sense to expend luck points to cause the monster to lose additional stamina points in order to survive. This adds some tactical choice to battles.<br /><br />Although I enjoy the Lone Wolf series, the Combat Results Table is heavily unbalanced towards Lone Wolf. This enables the character to survive in a fight with a much stronger opponent but reduces the realism of battles. In addition, there are no tactical choices available to the player.<br /><br />Ideally, a combat system ought to be fairly simple, yet offer the player tactical choices to make combat more than dice-rolling.<br /><br />I look forward to reading your gamebook in the future. Although you have a link to your works on your web page, none seem to be available.Keith Bernsteinnoreply@blogger.com