Realm Wars Magic System Proposals
Introduction
This document represents the current thinking on magic systems in Realm Wars. This document replaces the original Magic Proposals Document. The emphasis of this document are systems we can get up and running quickly. Like always, feedback on this document can be sent to James Margaris or posted on the forums or where this resource is found.
Magic Point System
This is the most familiar magic system. Spells cost magic points, which can be regenerated over time or replenished via items. Spells can only be cast when their cost in magic points is available.
- Spells can only be cast when enough magic points are available.
- Spell casting is instant, if enough MP is available spells can immediately be used.
- Magic points can regenerate over time or through items. Special classes could regen MP in other ways - a spellsword could generate magic points by doing damage, for example.
- Spells can have multiple power levels, which cost more MP.
The main advantage of this system is that it is easy to understand and implement. The main disadvantages are that it doesn't take a lot of skill to use and if you don't have enough MP there isn't a lot you can do other that wait around. We can alleviate this somewhat though by creating alternate ways to gain MP other than the passage of time.
Timing-Based System
Under this system, the limiting factor on spells in time taken to cast, rather than a point cost.
- Spells must be charged before being cast.
- The longer a spell is charged the more powerful it becomes.
- Mobility is decreased while charging.
- Once a spell is charged it continually loses charge (and therefore power) until cast.
- Optional: Some amount of charge is lost when damage is taken.
- Optional: Overcharging a spell leads to a feedback explosion.
The thing I find very appealing about this system it isn't based on an economic resource model of collect resource -> cast spells -> collect resources again. It leaves a lot of room for player skill to make the difference in effectiveness and encourages team play in that charging mages will greatly benefit from protection. This reduced mobility constraint exists because otherwise mages would always be charging. (The would be no reason not to charge.) The losing charge over time constraint exists so that a mage can't charge in the safety of a base, then run across the map and let loose a giant spell. Under this system if a mage wants to charge a powerful spell they will have to be somewhat close to the action. The optional components of the system may be needed for balancing purposed.
What Happened to Other Suggestions?
If you made a suggestion on the forums or in email that is not reflected here, there are a couple of possibilities.
- I plain missed it, in which case email me.
- The system was overcomplicated in terms of programming.
- The system was overcomplicated from a player understanding standpoint.
- The system relied on too many assumptions that can't be enforced properly at this time.
- The system was too class-specific and not general enough to be worth implementing now.
- For other reasons it is not possible/wise to include the system in the near future.
Two specific systems and why they were not included here:
Summon Elemental: Under this system you would summon an elemental that would do the casting for you and weaken as it took damage. This is simply too complicated to include in the near future. It would require another character model, some NPC AI, etc. It would probably be used by only one or two classes, and as such is not worth the effort at this point in time.
Four Element Based Magic Points: Under this system spells would cost different amounts of four different elements. To me this seems too difficult to keep track of from a player standpoint, and the collecting of element points is not straightforward and very tied to level design. Changing the elements from the standard Earth, Wind, etc to more abstract things like death and life lose the original point of the system. The system does not work well with fairly random maps, which is what we will have in the near future. I think a system somehow tied to the elements would be interesting, but I don't have any great ideas for that at right now.
