Post by Tim on Jan 11, 2010 11:51:59 GMT -6
Today's post is a big one. I've revamped the Skill system again for V5, expanding on the system that was already there. One of the things I've done this version as a whole is try to expand on some of the changes I've made in the past few versions to be more inline with what my original vision was.
First off, there will now be two types of skills: Passive and Active Skills.
First off, we have Passive Skills:
Basically, they act just like all the current skills do, giving you their bonus without any extra requirements.
New to this version are active skills:
For those of you who have been around long enough, this may sound kinda familiar, as it's similar to how skills used to be way back in one of Craig's older versions. You may use your skill points to raise the level of an Active skill, but will only receive the bonuses for that skill if that skill is Activated.
Now that that I've explained the types of skills, let's look at how the class skills are setup and the dependencies between them.
So the skill page is changing drastically, with multiple skill trees per player. The number of skill points available will still be shared between all skills, so you don't get separate skill points to use for each tree.
Finally, I completely redid all the classes.
So the big change with classes is that there are now only 4 starting classes, but the specialized classes are now much less loosely tied to the starting classes. Instead of 2-3 specialized classes to choose from, you'll now have around 15 or so depending on your characters other stats, and be able to add more specialized classes as you level up to higher levels.
It's a lot of info to take in at once here without being able to see what exactly I'm talking about until the test site opens, so feel free to ask any questions you might have. I'll be the first to admit that I can be quite horrible at explaining things to others, so don't be afraid to ask for clarification.
What classes are available will be released in future updates.
First off, there will now be two types of skills: Passive and Active Skills.
First off, we have Passive Skills:
Passive Skills:
Passive skill are skills in which the benefits are always received, as long as that skill's level is greater than 0. These skills are listed in the first row on the skill page.
Passive skill are skills in which the benefits are always received, as long as that skill's level is greater than 0. These skills are listed in the first row on the skill page.
Basically, they act just like all the current skills do, giving you their bonus without any extra requirements.
New to this version are active skills:
Active Skills:
Active skills are skills whose bonuses are only received when that skill is activated. A player can only have a limited number of these skills activated at one time. This number is 3 more than the player's level divided by 15 (13: 3 for a level 14, 4 for a level 15, 5 for a level 30, etc).
Active skills are typically displayed in the second row on the skill page and have dependencies from the passive skills the row above it. All your currently in use Active skills are displayed on the "Active skills" tab.
To activate a skill, click on the "Activate" button listed below the skill you want to activate. A skill must have a level of at least 1 and not already active to be activated.
To deactivate a skill, click on the "Deactivate" button listed below the skill you want to activate on the Active Skills tab.
Active skills are skills whose bonuses are only received when that skill is activated. A player can only have a limited number of these skills activated at one time. This number is 3 more than the player's level divided by 15 (13: 3 for a level 14, 4 for a level 15, 5 for a level 30, etc).
Active skills are typically displayed in the second row on the skill page and have dependencies from the passive skills the row above it. All your currently in use Active skills are displayed on the "Active skills" tab.
To activate a skill, click on the "Activate" button listed below the skill you want to activate. A skill must have a level of at least 1 and not already active to be activated.
To deactivate a skill, click on the "Deactivate" button listed below the skill you want to activate on the Active Skills tab.
For those of you who have been around long enough, this may sound kinda familiar, as it's similar to how skills used to be way back in one of Craig's older versions. You may use your skill points to raise the level of an Active skill, but will only receive the bonuses for that skill if that skill is Activated.
Now that that I've explained the types of skills, let's look at how the class skills are setup and the dependencies between them.
Skill Trees:
Each class and (will update later) have their own skill tree, with completely unique skills in each tree. Starting classes and (will update later) each contain 5 skills, while Specialized classes will add only 3.
Each tree is set up in a similar arrangement. Trees with 5 skills are all laid out as follows:
_P1_P2_
_/_\_/_\_
A1_A3_A2_
In these trees, we have 2 passive skills and 3 active skills, with the 3 active skill dependant on the passive skills as follows: A1 can not be a higher level than P1, A2 cannot be a higher level then P2, and A3 cannot be a higher level than either P1 or P2.
Skill trees with only 3 skills are set up in a similar manner, with only 1 passive skill and 2 active skills and both active skills restricted by the one passive skill:
_P1_
_/_\_
A1_A2
Each skill costs 1 skill point per whatever level you wish to raise the skill to, so if you wish to raise a skill to level 1, it will cost 1 point, 2 points for level 2, 3 for level 3, etc. While all skills cost the same, skill with dependencies tend to give larger bonuses to make up for the extra requirements. Similarly, skills from specialized classes tend to give better bonuses than the other skill trees.
Characters will receive 1 new skill point to spend however they wish at each level, with an additional skill point earned each for every 15 levels your character has reached (ie. 1 point per level up to level 14, 2 points at levels 15-29, 3 points at levels 30-44, etc).
On the skill page, each skill tree is listed in a separate tab, named after the class or (to be updated) the tree cooresponds to.
Each class and (will update later) have their own skill tree, with completely unique skills in each tree. Starting classes and (will update later) each contain 5 skills, while Specialized classes will add only 3.
Each tree is set up in a similar arrangement. Trees with 5 skills are all laid out as follows:
_P1_P2_
_/_\_/_\_
A1_A3_A2_
In these trees, we have 2 passive skills and 3 active skills, with the 3 active skill dependant on the passive skills as follows: A1 can not be a higher level than P1, A2 cannot be a higher level then P2, and A3 cannot be a higher level than either P1 or P2.
Skill trees with only 3 skills are set up in a similar manner, with only 1 passive skill and 2 active skills and both active skills restricted by the one passive skill:
_P1_
_/_\_
A1_A2
Each skill costs 1 skill point per whatever level you wish to raise the skill to, so if you wish to raise a skill to level 1, it will cost 1 point, 2 points for level 2, 3 for level 3, etc. While all skills cost the same, skill with dependencies tend to give larger bonuses to make up for the extra requirements. Similarly, skills from specialized classes tend to give better bonuses than the other skill trees.
Characters will receive 1 new skill point to spend however they wish at each level, with an additional skill point earned each for every 15 levels your character has reached (ie. 1 point per level up to level 14, 2 points at levels 15-29, 3 points at levels 30-44, etc).
On the skill page, each skill tree is listed in a separate tab, named after the class or (to be updated) the tree cooresponds to.
So the skill page is changing drastically, with multiple skill trees per player. The number of skill points available will still be shared between all skills, so you don't get separate skill points to use for each tree.
Finally, I completely redid all the classes.
Classes:
Upon creation of a character, the player must choose a starting class. There are 4 starting classes to choose from: (list to be added). This class determines the starting skills of the character and also plays a role in determining what specialized classes are available to the character later on.
When the character reaches level 20, the player will be giving the option to select a specialized class for the character. This class will add an additional skill tree for that player to use, unique to that class. The player will be able to add additional specialized classes every 20 levels. There are 21 specialized classes total to choose from, though some classes are only available to certain starting classes, gender, or nationalities. (list to be added)
Upon creation of a character, the player must choose a starting class. There are 4 starting classes to choose from: (list to be added). This class determines the starting skills of the character and also plays a role in determining what specialized classes are available to the character later on.
When the character reaches level 20, the player will be giving the option to select a specialized class for the character. This class will add an additional skill tree for that player to use, unique to that class. The player will be able to add additional specialized classes every 20 levels. There are 21 specialized classes total to choose from, though some classes are only available to certain starting classes, gender, or nationalities. (list to be added)
So the big change with classes is that there are now only 4 starting classes, but the specialized classes are now much less loosely tied to the starting classes. Instead of 2-3 specialized classes to choose from, you'll now have around 15 or so depending on your characters other stats, and be able to add more specialized classes as you level up to higher levels.
It's a lot of info to take in at once here without being able to see what exactly I'm talking about until the test site opens, so feel free to ask any questions you might have. I'll be the first to admit that I can be quite horrible at explaining things to others, so don't be afraid to ask for clarification.
What classes are available will be released in future updates.