Hey all! As Fenrir said, he's beginning to work on a prototype for Wanderer's battle mechanics, so I thought I'd take some time to talk about the battle system's V1.0 design. This is just the general foundation we're starting from; as we test and experiment there will of course be all kinds of adding, subtracting, and tweaking going on until we get something that's balanced, fun, and unique! The goal is a system that's quite fast-paced and fluid for a not straight-up action RPG, while still maintaining a solid core element of strategy and tactics.
Some of the influences of the system's design include:Paper Mario series - Small damage/stat numbers, horizontal character layout, and action/timing commands that effect attack/defense effectiveness. I really enjoyed the battle system in these games, and I found there to be a lot of charm in it's relative simplicity. Wanderer's system is my attempt to expand upon it's basic structure by adding a few additional layers of complexity and cranking up the difficulty level a bit.
Chrono Cross/Xenogears - Stamina meter + multiple strengths of attack. Though it seems most agree these games had battle mechanics that ultimately left something to be desired, the multiple attacks per turn mechanic was one I always liked!
Rogue Galaxy - Real-time pacing, stamina meter and active guarding, and two weapons per character (melee and ranged) each with slightly different characteristics. Another really enjoyable system, and though it was more of a full on action-RPG it still had some hybrid elements reminiscent of a classic turn based system. Wanderer is has a very similar balance of dynamics, but on the other end of the spectrum (mostly turn-based but with tinges of real time).
X-COM series - Limited amount of resources that make every choice count, and a lot of emphasis placed on making risk vs. reward choices. This one's more of a loose conceptual influence than a direct mechanics one, but I really like how in X-COM every decision holds a lot of weight and every battle is one that could potentially be lost if you become too reckless.
So basically combat is all about managing the 4 resources each character has, each which has various offensive/defensive strategic uses and differing levels of risk vs reward. At a glance, the combat structure will be fairly familiar to any JRPG fans. Reminiscent of Final Fantasy's ATB system, each character has a turn counter which slowly fills over time. When it fills, that character becomes available for action; you can command a character to attack, defend, use a skill, or use an item. Each character has a different turn counter speed, so some will be able to act more often than others.
Unlike a classic turn based system however, character's don't have static 'turns'. While issuing commands to one character, other character's (and enemy's) turn counters continue to fill and if multiple characters are ready to act, you can freely switch between them and use their turns in any order. A character's turn is 'spent' when they choose an action, and their turn counter begins to refill when the action has ended.
You can move the selector between characters freely with the analog stick, and make use of the active defensive maneuvers (which are different than the static 'defend' command) with the currently selected character at any time as long as you have the necessary resources. I'm still playing with the way enemy attacks will exactly work, specifically how to clearly communicate which character is being targeted by a ranged enemy attack. Though there might be a visual cue (like the menu fading slightly, or a subtle camera shift), the game won't necessarily stop to announce an enemy is taking it's turn. It will simply attack when it's turn becomes available.
Character positioning plays a big role in battle. Allies and enemies are lined up on a 2D plane; you can have up to three characters in battle, but only the character (and enemy) in the front row can use basic melee attacks. Other characters have to use ranged attacks or skills to attack, but characters can freely move forward or backwards in line without ending their turn, swapping positions with the adjacent character at the cost of some Stamina. The character in the front is generally going to be taking the most punishment, but is also in the best position to deal it out.
Enemies will be able to shift positions as well, and some skills will allow the player to knock an enemy backwards or pull an enemy forward (for instance, to knock a high defense 'tank' type character to the back row and force a weak 'healer' type character to the front so you can kill them quickly with your melee character).
There are also occasions (via certain in-battle skills or being hit by an enemy on the 'field' to initiate the battle) when enemies may flank your party, meaning both character's in the front and rear will be in melee range. Likewise, some party member's will have skills that allow them to jump behind enemy lines, opening up the chance to attack from both sides to finish the fight more quickly, at the cost of leaving that character nowhere to retreat to if things start to go south.
After confirming an attack via the menu, the next stage works a little differently than the standard JRPG. After entering the melee attack phase, the normal flow of battle is put on hold until it's over (player and enemy turn counters temporarily freeze in place). The camera focuses on the attacking character and their target, and a new menu opens up showing the three strengths of attack you can use; each one has a different stamina cost, and you can attack as many times as you like as long as you have the necessary stamina points. You can choose to spend it all, or save some to increase your available pool for the next turn.
During the attack phase, the enemy will also be able to attack you; you can think of it a bit like Punch-Out!. Enemies have identifiable patterns, and their attacks will be telegraphed, so you'll have to watch closely and time one of your three defensive options correctly to avoid/reduce damage, or time your own attacks to interrupt the enemy's. The attack phase ends when either your character or the enemy dies, you run out of stamina or manually end your turn.
Ranged attacks work similarly, putting the battle on hold while the attack phase plays out. However, ranged attacks don't use the same stamina system as melee attacks do; instead, after the sequence begins the player can freely switch between enemy targets and will have to press a button in a timing minigame to take a shot at the current target. Depending on their timing, they can either miss, hit, or 'critical' for bonus damage and when they run out of 'shots' their turn is over. The total amount of available shots will be upgradeable via a skill on each character's skill tree, so if you use a certain character for ranged attacks often, you can choose to increase their long range effectiveness.
This sequence will also have a timer, so the player has to use all their shots within a certain time frame or their turn ends anyway. In terms of balance, ranged attacks do less damage than melee, but being able to switch targets means you can potentially kill multiple enemies who have been weakened in a single turn while conserving resources.
The last major element of the system are Skills, which each character will unlock for use in battle as you level them up. Various actions in battle will build each character's Focus meter, and every skill will cost a certain amount of bars of Focus to use. Skills are what really set each character apart in battle, giving them each unique capabilities to open up your strategic options and give your party the edge. Each will have it's own specific function, and executing it will involve a short-mini game that determines it's success in the vein of Paper Mario or South Park: The Stick of Truth.
So, that just about covers it for a general overview of the system. There's some stuff I glossed over, but I'll be back next time in Part II with additional details!
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