Dark Crusade

> some times game play is too hard to have cool downs and if u always lose do u think they will still wanna play that game? As Eckhard mentioned, the game shouldn't rely on spamming potions to be beatable. Potions should only give you a small edge in combat, and at least have some sort of strategy or condition.

Throw up a screenshot for interest

> Not to come off as an attack. Why is this Pinned though? Not an attack at all! Admin's pinned it due to it being a perfect example of a comprehensive and well-developed project post. That and I guess it is a pretty amazing looking project from a long-time member of the community. (; > Can this be stickied and used as an example of a **_good_** project page? It's probably one of the most coherent and comprehensive posts I've seen.

> Look at how Path of Exile uses potions. So far they've done everything right. It's what Diablo 3 should have been. Just looked it up, definately interesting and original. I considered potions with multiple uses too, but not quite in their fashion, although it definately looks like it will work well in their game.

Can you post it properly? It's barely visible, it's in JPG and is blurry and has artifacts. And you've left an alpha 'grid' in the background to make it even more difficult to see.

Hey guys, as you know I make polls from time to time to get opinions and feedback on game features and mechanics from potential players! I've recently posted a poll about potions in ORPGs, check it out- http://www.touchofdeathforums.com/community/index.php?/topic/130484-potions-in-rpgs-poll/ Also, a small update, I've finished chestgear for the initial release, although I'm strongly considering on revisiting them and working on a few more later!

Hey guys, another discussion topic about an aspect of game design. Potions, how do they affect your gameplay experience, and what is your preference in regards to their usage mechanics? I'd love to hear all opinions! I've also made a poll with a few questions. Below are my opinions- Potions should not be able to be spammed.If they have no cooldown timer, and they work instantly, What does this mean? This mean's that a rich player who purchases hundreds of potions can outlive pretty much anything. Combat doesn't require skill or tactics. You just need to not be vastly outlevelled, and you could probably take on most enemies out of your league as long as your packed with potions. Personally, I love the idea of only being able to drink potions out of combat. Drinking a potion in combat and sustaining damage will cause you not to drink the potion. The timer of 'drinking time' should take about 3 to 5 seconds, and following this brief time, the potion's effects kick in, such as restoring health, which may be over a specific amount of time (such as restoring 50 health over 5 seconds once the potion is quaffed). As for a cooldown time, I'm currently uncertain… perhaps your player can only drink a specific amount of potions over a time. Once the player has quaffed say... 3 potions in a 2 minute interval, they have 'potion sickness', and have to wait a short time before they can drink another. This means that players can neither spam the same potion, or drink too many different buff potions for the same battle. This will enforce strategic planning and more tactical combat for players. Thoughts?

Personally I'm an understanding player when it comes to micro transactions in F2P games. Turbines model, as Joyce mentioned is decent, but in my opinion a touch too much, even for 'bigger games'. For example, in Dungeons and Dragons Online, everytime a player needed something in a dungeon, they could purchase it from the store. No rogue or artificier on the team to open locked treasure chests? Buy something from the store to fix that! Don't have enough strength to pull that rusty lever? Buy something from the store to fix that! Died near the end and don't want to replay? Buy something to fix that! I assume LOTRO's Turbine store was probably simular, it felt definately too much, players who could spare a few bucks here and there were able to breeze through any situation. Heck, there was even some options in the store to start a new character at both a high level and with additional stats. They made it possible in game to 'achieve' it, but it was literally impossible. But of course, the player who could spare some money on the game could easily achieve such perks becoming the strongest players in the game able to breeze through any encounter thanks to the cash shop.

The logo needs some serious work. So could the story, a story-driven 'save the world from evil' is both cliche'd, and not very fitting in a MMO. The mechanics look well done, good work with that! I'll keep an eye out for progress, hope the game turns out great!

Thanks for the contribution guys, taking everyones preference and opinion on board.

> I really like your art. Did you develop all of it yourself? Yeah, all original and developed by myself. Lot's more to see too! **3 Attributes** Strength, Speed and Magic. The 3 primary attributes which are used to define your character. They are simple, and few, but I've been thinking it out, and recently also iteratively developed formulas until armor, health, weapon requirements, and so forth worked together and were balanced, no matter the playstyle or character build. So what do each of them do? **Strength** is required for using burly weapons (mostly heavy melee) and armor. It also gives small bonuses to melee weapon damage and health. **Speed** is required to use swift weapons (mostly ranged, and also lighter melee such as daggers) and some armor types. It also gives small bonuses to ranged weapon damage and stamina. **Magic** is required to use magic weapons (such as wands and some enchanted wweapons), and magic armor. It also gives small bonuses to magic damage and mana. Focusing in strength will constitute a powerful warrior capable of using heavy armors and weapons. They will have more a bonus to health, and both deal and deduct high weapon damage. Unfortately, they will have low stamina for skills, and have very little magic protection and be unable to use any magical gear or tactical weapons. Focusing in speed will develop a powerful rogue or ranger, capable of using fast melee or ranged weapons, and also have a large bank of stamina for using different skills to give them a tactical advantage on the battlefield. Focusing in magic will create a powerful wizard, capable of casting devastating spells and using magical gear. They will have a high amount of mana, however very little armor and less-then average health. They will be very vulnerable to weapon attacks. Combinations are necessary for different playerstyles and weapon and armor requirements. Examples include sharing attribute points between speed and strength to use gallant swords and have a combination of strength and speed (skills) in combat. Strength and Magic on the otherhand will allow a player to effectively cast spells and use weapons, equipping heavier armors, including rarer enchanted plate armors requiring both strength and magic. To compliment this, players will be able to use specific weapons and skills to a strong advantage. One build option, for example, is using weapons which can cause bleeding, with skills which hit hard dealing additional damage. Bleeding causes a percentage of the weapon hit to deal damage to the target over time. By using a skill to deal more damage and perhaps increase chances of bleeding, a player could adapt a playstyle frequently dealing heavy bleeding damage to foes to bring them down. The potion system I have in play will not allow potion spamming, neither for health, stamina or mana. The descriptions above are just general, to give an idea of the importance of each skill. I'll delve into more gameplay mechanics and features in the future to elaborate on playstyles, builds, and balancing. If there's any questions, ask away and I'll explain them more in depth, as I've only touched upon them!

> Why not both? A tolerable leveling speed in which you're rewarded for COMPLETING content (quests, finding items, luck in general, etc) that rewards you will relatively small upgrades, while obtaining a new level or milestone will reward you with larger (more valuable) upgrades? Absolutely, a 'plateau' of character development and item/upgrade attainment between levels would be mundane. Well said. > I think that it depends a lot on a game. If you don't plan to play the game hardcore way or for a long time, I would prefer spending attribute points the way I dont have to think it trough that much. I like this they way like it is in wow for example, when spending your points carefully, you can get really powerful against something, but when you dont care that much, you are not weak either. Also ability to reset those is something I use a lot in games if I play them lot. I also usually play games just for a while when I am bored or want to relax. In this case I prefer easier way, but when leveling is too easy, it isn't much fun for me either. > > I choose moderate way, when leveling is too slow, casual players can get bored easily, but when its too fast, you may not enjoy the actual game that much. > > I'm also aiming for more content with my game, but I don't want it to take too long either. > > Hope I explained myself clearly.  Definately. One thing I dislike in games also is when only every '2' or '5' levels matter. Some examples were Dungeons and Dragons online, every 2 levels (or 10 'ranks') a plethora of new items were available to the players, but between there was absolutely nothing new. Most 'ranks' as they were called, were almost completely unnessesary. You only gained 1 skill point, and most 'skills' cost a lot more then 1 skill point, especially in later levels. Forget which other game it was, but there was another where every 5 levels a new hoard of items came available. I personally enjoy the idea of there's a handful of new items available for every attribute point quantity. If you got say… '3' attribute points per level, each one you decide to put in strength for example, would open a handful of new armor and weapons you could now use/equip. That way, you work towards what sort of items you want to be able to use sooner, and could work toward creating your own playstyle and build, or a balance between.

I'm curious as to hear preferences about level-up frequency VS content for each level. Allow me to explain- Do you as a player, prefer an ORPG in which levelling up is easy and frequent, however there is less new items and content available, or vice versa? For this example we'll pretend that each 'level-up', the player gets 5 attribute points. In the scenario where 'levelling' is easy, the attribute points will buy you less increases to stats such as health, and will only open up a handful of new content including items you may be able to use due to your attribute increases. Previous NPCs you found difficult to conquer still will likely be a rough challenge, and you probably won't be able to learn new special skills every level. Or, would you prefer levelling to be slower, but more meaningful and a larger milestone? You'll have to think carefully which attributes to put up, since they come less frequently, however there will be a lot more items available to you, and your new gear might give you a better chance against a group of enemies or zones you found challenging. You'll earn a new skill every single level also. For [http://www.touchofdeathforums.com/community/index.php?/topic/130412-elandor-chronicles/](http://www.touchofdeathforums.com/community/index.php?/topic/130412-elandor-chronicles/), I've designed it so that levelling will be less frequent, however there will be a lot more content for each level. This also includes zones. Unlike a lot of games, you won't be restricted to one or two zones to match your level. Instead you'll be able to find challenging content spread out for you to explore. The world won't be 'linear scaled'. Nonetheless, let's hear those opinions! If you have any questions, I'd be more then happy to answer!

Is the road supposed to be almost white?

> This is amazing. Good luck. Thanks! > Oh wow. This definitely shot up to second on my "omigoshplzcomeoutnow" list. High hopes for this (not too high, don't want to be disappointed, hahah)! Thanks Duke. I've set realistic goals, documented and designed everything, and analysed problems and systems both as a whole and decomposed. I'm confident that I both understand what needs to be done, and will reach those goals set. I've learnt a lot since I first started messing with game design back when I was about 16 (I'm 22 now). Unlike a lot of indie-developers, I'm not going to aim for unrealistic project scopes, or poorly designed spontaneous projects. As mentioned previously, when I've completed the game-asset phase for this project, I'll look for funding (either via kickstarter, or through my own working funds), or a programmer who's interests match mine in developing this project. Wish me luck! I'm confident and devoted!

> I'm really excited for this project and will definitely be keeping my eye on it. I love the graphics and the nostalgic feel. > > Keep up the great work!  Thanks! And an update on progress, all sword and axe designs, icons and statistics are completed! Currently working on maces, and finishing up on chestgear.  Preview of some swords and axes in the initial release for Elandor Chronicles Can you create simular looking retro-inspired weapons? If so, there might be a spot on the team for you! I'm looking to assemble a team soon to finish the game-asset phase of development prior to internal development (in-game). If your interested, send me a personal message and show me what you can do!

> With strong moderation you can. And also encouragement and incentives. Rewards for co-operation, partying together, socialisation, and maybe even being helpful can help. Combine that with fair moderation and regular events and you can help sculpt a better player base.

**Preview Update!**  I've been working on all inventory icons recently, hoping to get them all completed soon! Here's a sample of some of the recent shields and chestgear I've developed!  In the first release of Elandor Chonicles, there are 6 armor slots including boots, chestgear, gloves, headgear, leggings and shields. There are also 5 weapon types, which will be expanded upon in a following release. The first 5 weapon types are axes, bows, maces, swords and wands. More to come soon, so keep checking back!

> Done. But how can i change the level cap ? Uh, so the direct x 8 error is all solved now?

> I LOVE your colour palette! Thanks dude! Currently tweaking it at the moment too! > That's probably one of the most generic, cliche fantasy names I've ever heard. That said, I think it could work with Elandor because it's trying to be a bit nostalgiac. Just be careful, and try not to make anything more cliche than that. Helmsglade is cliche? Cliche means overused. Helmsglade is an original name which to my researched knowledge, has never been used before. And I disagree with you about it being 'generic' as well. 'Castletown', is generic. Helmsglade is a clever retro sounding 'compound' name depicted from helm, which implies imperial and military, and glade, which is an open area in woodland.

What operating system is he using? Also, if there are any library files make sure he has installed them. Try reinstalling direct x 8 again, and try a reboot as well. Maybe they aren't registering or something too, so try typing into RUN- **regsvr32 "\**_**dx8vb.dll"**_

> Story > > Graphics > > GamePlay > > Features > > Multiplayer I could delve into each category in depth, everything is important, however also depends on the project scope, the genre, and how everything functions together as a whole. Story in my opinion is overrated in most mmos. Personally I'm fed up with persistant multiplayer worlds where every player is individually up to different parts of a dynamic storyline that should be affecting the world and other players. Some particular important aspects to me include player socialisation, if it's a multiplayer online world, interaction, competition and co-operation should be encouraged. A lot of games ignore this however, and most 'guilds' and other multiplayer features become mostly for show, and most players just end up grinding through sub quests and a main plot line which otherwise damage the 'online and social' presence in the game.

> Finally! I'll be able to play. Really like the way you handle retro graphics. Looking forward to it Kreator, good luck! Thanks, once again means a lot from a fellow pixel artist! > A brilliant project presentation. Easy to ready and a pleasure to the eyes. I'm looking forward to see any updates you post. Good luck with your project. > > Sticky. Thanks dude! I'll reveal more soon!

> When you reach that stage, feel free to PM me if you'd like. I wouldn't mind lending a hand for free  Thanks dude, will definately do!! > Can this be stickied and used as an example of a **_good_** project page? It's probably one of the most coherent and comprehensive posts I've seen. > > Also, are the graphics custom or are they taken from somewhere else? They look really familiar, but I'm not sure if that's just because they're well-done retro graphics. ;D That means a lot to hear! And all custom by myself, I've been working on the graphics over the course of 2 or so years now. I started designing Elandor Chronicles quite a while ago. > If at some point you'd like another pair of hands, I'd be happy to help. Thanks for the offer! I'm looking to form a team shortly to get things ready for internal development, so in the near future I'll definately send a message your way!

> Looks great so far, what are you guys creating this with? Once I've finalised all designs, and produced the rest of the graphics and such, I'll look into finding a team and producing the funds to begin internal development. I'm being as realistic as I can about all this. As I'm sure you'll interpret, I don't plan on using any free engine, or a language such as visual basic. I'm hoping to take an object orientated approach and use a language such as c++.