[crossfire] races

[Mark Wedel]

On 05/23/10 06:12 AM, Kevin Bulgrien wrote:
>>>>     True, but probably the two would be a bit too similar to have both (just
>>>> like northman + human, while there are some differences, are probably too
>>>> similar to really warrant them).
>>>
>>> As a rule, I would say that having similar races are ok. Not saying we should
>>> make 100 times the same, but 3 or 4, why not.
>>
>>    As noted in other message, I like fewer races/classes, at least for now,
>> because that is fewer things to balance.
>>
>>    But also it is a choice for players.  Imagine if you are a new player and you
>> get a list of 40 races to choose from - that is just too much - you are likely
>> to just choose whatever is first.
>>
>>    So I'd rather the number of choices be limited to some amount, and that the
>> choices be different so that players can see why they would choose one thing or
>> another.  If you have 2 races and the only difference is a stat point, one sort
>> of has to ask what is the point there.
>
> Random thought:  accounts might allow for some creativity along the lines of
> rewards.  Some games only allow you to play certain characters after you have
> met some goal.  Some of the newer Gauntlet's did this.  Other games unlocked
> features if you finished the game.  I have no idea of what would be involved
> to do something like this, but one could allow access to other races, etc.
> only to an account that had a character that had much some goal.
>
> On balancing, this might allow some types of imbalance to remain since the
> rational that people would quit if dissatisfied, or that character setup would
> be confusing to a newbie, might not really apply as much.

  Yes - I was thinking something similar could be done (either as advanced 
option or some goal like you describe).

  More player input would probably be desirable.  I'm not sure how 
much/appreciated it would be that after you complete some goal, a new race/class 
is open to you, but only because it is a sucky/hard to play race or class.  I 
could see some players going 'huh?  WTF?'  In many cases, such 'rewards' are 
supposed to be just that - something that makes the game better/more 
enjoyable/new ability.

  Now some players may find the option of playing a hard to play race something 
they want to do, but I have a feeling that would be the minority.

  And I will note that even in these cases, balancing work is still needed.  If 
the character is completely unplayable, then probably no one would find it 
interesting.

  I still also stand by my point that the more options/combinations, the harder 
it is for things to balance.  Imagine a game that only has 4 classes, 1 race, 
and only 30 monsters.  While not a very complicated game (and thus not a lot of 
gameplay), it is something fairly easy to balance.

  But when you have 15 different races, 20 different classes, you start to get 
into a huge number of combinations, and that is just in terms of playable 
combinations.  I'd rather just work on a smaller set, and once that gets 
balanced (under some determination of balance), then start adding in more 
races/classes and see how it works out.  Even as is now, the number of tests 
needed is probably large.