The Daily Click

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Project Started:	18th July, 2010	Last Update:	25th July, 2010
Project Owner:	Muz	Project Members:
Project Type:	RPG	Project Progress:

Project Overview

Name is subject to change, once I find one that describes the feel of the game.

This is a branch-off from Combatant. Combatant was, as the name suggests, heavily focused on combat. It was designed for as realistic combat as possible. But the cost was a much longer design time, and might be a bit too complicated for the more casual RPG gamer to enjoy.

This game would take the more RPG-ish bits out of Combatant and turn it into a game. Combat will be simplified. There will be more focus on interacting with the world, and your character's place in the world.

Combatant link here:
http://create-games.com/project.asp?view=main&id=1380

Theme
It's based on medieval Southeast Asia. The region will be mostly jungle, seas, but no oceans, with plenty of pirates.

A massive, technologically advanced Empire lies at the far reaches of the known world. Fat and happy, they are content to sit to themselves, but are at the brink of collapse. A group of nations lie near them, split apart by cultural differences and princes who fight for power, but unwilling to work together.

The islands are ruled by small city-states. These small states control the seas (and trade), but are too small to manage large armies. They'll rely on mercenaries and elite warriors. Between the lands are untamed jungle, with a variety of tribes and odd creatures.

Magic will be rare but very powerful. It takes an Eastern feel. Everyone knows that magic and spirits exist, but nobody can do much about it except certain people. It's shunned, but feared, so people don't talk much on it.

It's split into shamanistic magic and protective magic. Shamans are able to command spirits to do their bidding, control minds, but no flashy magic like fireballs and lightning strikes. There are no 'nukers', magic is a silent, scary thing.

Protective magic are mostly exorcist types. They'll probably function similar to D&D clerics.. good fighting capabilities with moderate magic ones. Their main strength is protecting them and friends from demons, undead, and spirits. No healing magic or divine wrath.

Features

New RPG system
It won't be based on any existing system. The game is partly based on the Combatant system, which targets realism. There are no different classes, it's mostly skill based. Attributes won't be a number between 3 and 18, it'll be a non-linear system, but the stats are not shown in number.. rather they're compared to similar things like "child-like intelligence" or "very strong".

Character generation are no longer about rolling a dice a few times or sacrificing one skill for another. You enter your character's background, their hobbies, and lifestyle and the character generator will try to run their life from youth. If you spend your character's life from childhood simply practicing combat, he'll come out as a bit of a nerd. It'd also be possible to build hybrid characters.

"Natural" stats are up for consideration. This means that a character might be naturally strong or naturally smart. All stats can be trained up - a wimpy charismatic guy might work out and be tough, but he'll have to work harder than someone who is naturally strong.

Improved combat
Although combat will be greatly dumbed down from the Combatant model, there's still a strong focus on it. It uses a body part hit point system, to be simple. A sword going through your arm isn't as fatal as a mace to the chest. You don't generally lose hit points. You only suffer when the damage exceeds your hit points.. an arm with 30 HP would get fractured at 20 damage and sliced off at 30 damage.

But don't expect to run around happily with arrows in all your limbs. It uses a stun/incapacitation/death system. The more damage you take, the less you can take later. A finger in the throat would stun you, make you more vulnerable to more fatal strikes.

Less focus on combat
With so detailed combat, there's less focus? Yeah, because combat is a lot more fatal. A level 6 character can no longer take down 20 orcs solo, much less an entire village. Too many RPGs focus almost purely on combat.

As you wander the jungles or the cities, a bit of diplomacy is needed to get what you want. Treasure isn't your main source of wealth.. you'll need some social skills to get good prices. In addition, many parts of the game are only obtainable with good relations. Good items can be bought by being nice. A powerful man with a sword alone does not become an emperor or bandit leader.. it takes a man with military skills and the charisma to lead a group of people.

But being a fighter isn't all pointless. Some groups, like bandits and monsters won't negotiate. Fighting skill comes in very helpful during those times.. and earns you a bit of a reputation too. People wouldn't respect a politician who can only talk, they'd have to prove that they can act as well.

Other possible features
Randomly generated world - It'd be nice to have the world generate itself. Even better, your actions at one point of the world might affect how the future turns out if this happens.

Dungeons? - Dungeons are a fun feature in RPGs because they keep it simple. You have enemies coming from one direction and a variety of skills to handle them. You have treasure and narrow corridors leading to them. But they're mainly good for hack and slash systems. I'm hoping to design a system that makes villages and cities fun, if possible.

Thieves - Only thief skills in most games are simple pickpocketing, picking locks, and disarming traps (that don't really kill anyway). Putting in some thievery skills should unlock some more interesting parts of gameplay, from small time pickpocketing to large heists for expert theives.

Project Forums	Topics	Posts	Last Post
Public Forum Public forum for open project discussion	1	2	Dinosaur Discussion By: Muz On: 2nd Nov 10, 02:31:17
Private Forum Private forum for project members only	0	0	No Access

Short world overview

Posted 25th Jul 10, by Muz

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North of the equator is a fertile, rich land with streams full of fish and a land fileld with natural resources. It's a heavenly land, and it's all ruled by the Empire. The Empire has achieved all that it wants to achieve. There is nothing more for them to gain. They have, in their minds, effectively conquered the world.

The Empire is split into 163 provinces, each ruled by a Baron, and some split into further subprovinces. The barons all pay their taxes to the Emperor and the Emperor's advisors distribute the wealth and resources throughout the land.

A large ocean splits the Empire into two continents, which they call "front" and "back" in the Imperial language. Both access each other only through the Arctic sea. Back Empire is known for its rich mines, while Front Empire is more fertile and commonly exports luxury cloth.

The oceans are huge and hostile.. the only access south is via the islands near the equator.

South of the equator is a harsher land. The lands are either arid and hot steppes, rocky and cold mountains, or wet and humid jungle. Many tribes fight each other for power. The Empire tends to banish misbehaving people to the south, who are happy to get more recruits for their wars.

There are many, many small nations, but only a few notable larger ones.

Dayum is the largest and most peaceful, they own the southwestern steppes. They are mostly a religious nation who rely heavily on horses in daily life. They tend to get frequently raided, so they have a heavy focus on city militia.

Tansela lies between the equatorial islands and the mountains. They have the most fertile lands of the southern hemisphere, but have the (un)strategic location on the center island of the South. As such, they would be the richest lands of the South if they weren't plundered so often.

Ennis is situated on the volcanic jungle on the eastern side of the South. They are among the poorest people, but the hardiest. The Enni have a strong raiding culture. They are the best known mercenaries of the South.

Heriz are a nation on the mountains that border Dayum and Tansela. They have a strong warrior culture, and their mountain cities are said to be impossible to siege. However, their non-mountain cities often change hands with both Dayum and Tansela.

Yao is an island nation somewhere to the southwest. Their island is most notable for the "Great Wall" that surrounds it. They build the sturdiest ships in the world, mostly used for direct trade with the North. Yao often attacks Tansela to get a bigger market share.

The equator is by far, the most interesting part of the world. The Empire has lost many men in trying to scout the jungle, so they have abandoned any plan of controlling the equator and anything southern.

The equator is mostly jungle and islands, and is the main link between North and South. It is the world's biggest trade center and refugee camp, but also a hotbed of piracy. While there are many small tribes, three large factions fight for equatorial control.

The Kingdom of Tunayzi is made of seafarers and traders. They are known for being elite martial artists, loyal to their king. They often choose to travel light and make the fastest galleys in the world. Their cities are on the two largest islands, although their galleys patrol the rest of the islands.

Sattakoh lies mainly in the jungles that connect to the mainland. They have one road that connects directly into the Empire's lands, but the Empire avoids sending caravans through the jungles, preferring to send their armored trade ships to Sattakoh's shores. They have a rivalry with Tunayzi, but never direct war.

Pagos are a nation of people who have thrived mainly on piracy. They stay mainly on the various small islands, raiding Tunayzi and Sattakoh, and even a few Southern or Empire trade ships.

Most of the game takes place in the equator, for good reason. Strange creatures, new discoveries, and many tribes inhabit the jungle. It pulls in adventurers who wish to make their wealth in the world. The game won't actually allow you to explore the North or South, but you'll get to interact with and even influence either side.

Attributes, part 1

Posted 18th Jul 10, by Muz