Hi all, I am designing my next projet and I decided to do a RPG and while designing I thought of something I've not considered before:

Should the user know how things are calculated, for example should it be documented somewhere in the user guide or in the GUI tool tips that your chance of hitting is (var1 - var2)*var3 or should it be left for players to work out. I've played quite a few RPGs and I have seen that for the really succesful ones (mostly online I know) you can go to websites such as guild sites or forums and get some of this kinf of info.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance

Ian

I am pretty sure that the people posting that info have taken the time to try and figure it out, so I am not sure if it will be as big of a benefit to you as you are thinking.If the users are willing to try and figure out the equations you use then you know you have a following, if you give the equations to the users they may just copy them and try to create their own game that will totally wipe yours out (that is what they always say at least). It is totally up to you whether or not you do it. If you decide to do it you may want to have something that you post in the chat window that opens up an additional window where all the equations used are posted as they are used. So, when you attack something it shows you the chance to hit equation and solution then if you hit it shows the damage equation and solution and so on. It could be a cool idea, I don't know if it is necessarily a good one or not. You may want to try it out and see the outcome.

I personally would not let them know. By doing so it could possibly ruin the possibility of people playing on any of your future projects. Because some audiences refer to the game as something to play, where as some are easily bored by all the work they may have to do etc.

Just my opinion. And my I also ask off topic, what will your game be based off? Any current games? Or a clean base? I'd like to know more.

Thanks
~Dan

Thanks for the replies, what you're saying is kind of what I was thinking too, although the chat idea is a point as it is what they do in Neverwinter Nights but they only show how the formula works out if I remember (for luck rolls and such).



I guess it's a clean base, at least in plot, I'm hoping to create something like a basic version of Dungeon Siege but less linear. For technology I'm thinking about taking an existing engine as I'm planning to use DirectX 9 and I think that if I take the sample engine from one of the DX9 books I have and build on it then I will learn from it and be able to maybe build my own for a future project.

It actually maybe a good idea to show the formula. For what reason, I'm not sure. But it could be useful.

@ Your game plan:

Using an existing game engine is always good I think. I personally did that with another game engine and modified different aspects of how the game runs. I'm sure you could always do the same or go further.

Maybe you could keep us/me updated, Ian?

~Dan

Well once I'm passed the design stage I will probably start a game project thread, and I will probably need to request for some graphics/model/audio contributers at some point as those areas aren't my strong point, but realistically the design is going to take me a while as I have to create it around my real job and family life etc

Regards

Ian

Working at your own pace and taking your time to do other things is fine, Ian.

I just look forward to the progress you make.

~Dan

Many guys here consider DX9 to be an invention of the devil, and for good reason, allegedly coding for DX9 is very difficult.
The alternative is OpenGL, and using SDL you can quite easily access its functions.
As an added bonus you will have portable code.
If you dont need anything fancy you can stick to a book/democode engine, but as soon as you want to extend on that you are going to run into trouble.
Just a thought.

Hi Trogdor, a few years ago I did try to learn OpenGL as I started using SDL for graphics it made sense, but I just couldn't get into it, then I started looking into DX9 and things started to click, also I like the fact I can do everything from one SDK. Maybe I will change my mind once I get further into this project, but still mistakes are there to be made

Most D&D style rpg's have some/most of the formulas available somewhere. You don't need to put it in the normal gameplay, but it is nice to be able to look it up in the reference guide so players can see why certain rolls are happening, and figure out a correct strategy. As any rpg based on D&D has shown, displaying equations in no way enables users to "just copy them and try to create their own game that will totally wipe yours out". Try looking up some of the strategy forums for games like WoW. A lot of players get obsessed with working with the equations in a game.

I personally picked up DX9 faster than OpenGL. I don't think either are 'harder', just different styles. There are compatibility issues with DX9 though, especially with MS$ making neither DX10 or DX11 backwards compatible with it, so if you want to target the latest systems thats something to keep in mind. SDL can abstract a lot of the tedious work too, if you go OpenGL

Hi mocker, thanks for the advice. I had thought about the DX10 issue before but I have read somewhere that only about 30 AAA published games use DX10/10.1 and that even some of those that do can be run in DX9 mode even if it needs some config changes like in Crysis. Also, since I don't yet have a DX10 graphics card I won't be able to test the game properly at top settings. My thought is that once I finish this game I will be able to get the hardware I need and DX10 will be more mature or DX11 will be here so for the next game I can learn the new code and upgrade appropriately.
Does that sonud possible or are the changes too radical in DX10+ for me to learn easily?

DX9 is still by far the standard and most common version, and should work fine for most games. I'd only suggest targeting DX10 if are planning it as a learning exercise and want to be more on the 'cutting edge' for graphics engines. DX9 will still be around for a while due to its popularity. I'm only suggesting to keep this in mind because it is a lot easier to pick either OpenGL or DX and become proficient in one. The fundamentals are the same behind both but they take pretty different approaches, so you can't really switch freely between them without extra training time.