Adding a Leveling System
Added 2018-08-12 04:31:55 +0000 UTCA character advancement system is arguably one of the most important parts of an RPG. Skyrim, for example, has hundreds of different character styles you can try before you become a stealth archer. I've held off on adding any sort of leveling system to LR2 because so many of the game mechanics weren't finalised, but I think the game is at a state where it is ready to have something added.
First, a quick discussion about what I wanted to avoid in a leveling system. A system based purely on spending cash would make leveling up an almost entirely mathematical process - figuring out what stat would return the most money for money spent. A system that only used up time (actions spent at the gym, for example), would only reward grinding through a bunch of clicking. I considered a system based on time spent doing a certain action (researching increasing R&D skill, for example), but I feel like there would be no real gameplay decisions that could be made with that.
So now that you know what I wanted to avoid, here's the system I have decided on: Character skills are already divided into three main categories - Stats, work skills, and sex skills. Your character will be assigned a goal in each of these categories, when the goal is accomplished your character will earn a single point they can spend in that category. Goals will be related to the category they are for: work skills will require work in different tasks around the lab, sex skills might require you to try certain positions, seduce a certain number of girls, seduce new girls, and so on. Once a goal is achieved it will be replaced with a new one that is slightly more difficult to achieve.
To get this working I will have to implement a listener system hooked up to whatever key events I want to have events for. Goals will listen for their relevant events being triggered and report back when they are complete. For now this system is only going to be for the player, but I am looking to experiment with it and see if a similar system would be suitable for leveling up NPC's. If everything goes well this new leveling system will be included in v0.8.
Comments
I don't, but all of the code is open to the community to modify and distribute however they wish, as long as it is provided for free. If someone put together a Russian translation they're welcome to share it around!
Vren
2018-08-14 09:13:10 +0000 UTCI've been working on it throughout this update. In addition to Stephanie's unique dialogue there has been some expansion of the default character lines. I'm hoping to write more during the testing week, since new dialogue is unlikely to break anything.
Vren
2018-08-14 08:31:29 +0000 UTC(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ Wow, this is a very good idea! Will there be a Russian version?
BS Team
2018-08-13 11:38:30 +0000 UTCTrying to implement the same system for the NPC's sounds like a nice idea!! :D
waffel
2018-08-13 00:16:12 +0000 UTCI like the idea of mini-goals. Sounds like a good approach.
Dubsington
2018-08-13 00:08:27 +0000 UTCI agree - I’ve seen this before and it works well most of the time. Allowing occasional re-rolls is necessary for cases where a goal is harder than the game expects it to be - or if your strategy requires you to focus elsewhere in the short term. The re-rolls should be limited (either by frequency or by an opportunity cost) so it doesn’t get abused, of course.
Hollow49
2018-08-12 19:59:18 +0000 UTCGreat job. Tell me, do you plan to translate the game into Russian? Thank you.
ExxxPlay Games 18+
2018-08-12 19:32:04 +0000 UTCThe old HERO game system, back in paper and pencil days, featured a low XP award per mission, but allowed for the direct investment of points into your character. You might get only 1 XP for the mission, but doing it in character, using your skills and interacting with NPCs to back that then could get an extra 1 or 2 XP. The power curve was that of every 5 points in a stat or power basically doubling the ability, but since you had so much to choose from the difficulty in deciding where to invest points meant that there were two typical paths: spending as you go, or saving up XP and then doing a major change to your character. It is a non-level based gaming system, much like the early Chaosium games (ex. Call of Cthulhu) that featured only skill changes by and large, which means the aim is to play your character well and getting benefits from doing so. In the modern age most RPGs have devolved to level based gaming which is easy to code and allows for leveling of opponents. A game without levels (as such) but general tiers of point investment can help to level things, yet also feature opponents with great strengths and weaknesses, and that means players must start to understand their opponents before taking actions. How a problem is solved is left up to the player, and the game designer must keep all that is available to the player in mind when designing scenarios. That is difficult as players can be very, very inventive.
ajacksonian
2018-08-12 16:56:34 +0000 UTC"A character advancement system is arguably one of the most important parts of an RPG. Skyrim, for example, has hundreds of different character styles you can try before you become a stealth archer. " Truer words were never spoken.
Justa Badge
2018-08-12 12:07:19 +0000 UTCThis sounds a bit like the Sims Whim system, so as long as there's a way to re-roll the task it sounds good!
onen
2018-08-12 06:02:51 +0000 UTC
