[MUD-Dev] Re: combat

[Richard Woolcock]

Quzah [softhome] wrote:
> 
> From: Ben Greear <greear at cyberhighway.net>
> Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: combat
> 
> >Holly Sommer wrote:
> 
> >> On Mon, 25 Jan 1999 diablo at best.com wrote:
> 
> >> > With all due respect, your paragraph illustrates one of my major
> >> > complaints with combat on virtually every mud I've ever played. Why is
> >> > just doing damage so important?
> >>
> >> *ding* *ding* *ding* :) Wouldn't it be a far greater challenge to
> >> _subdue_ your opponent? I mean really... you don't shoot a wild horse,
> >> you "break" it :)
> >
> >Aye, but how do you keep track of how 'broken' the horse is??  I'd bet
> >it relates closely to what most of us now use as HP :)

Well one of the things on my combat to-do list is strangulation.  It will
work a bit like regular combat, except the 'hitpoints' ('breathpoints'?)
come back far faster than regular hit points.  Thus it's very much a case
of 'win or lose', with the winner coming out unhurt and the loser coming
out dead.  I suppose you could choose to stop stranging them when they fall
unconsious, which would relate to Holly's 'subdue' idea.

> Personally, I want to add immortality to a mud. Not "I'm an IMM, I'm the
> boss of this mud!" type of immortality, but rather, more of a curse. Sure,
> you may be immortal, but how long does it take your body to heal after I
> beat the hell out of you so you are reduced to pulp? Imagine healing up
> from -50000 hitpoints, being unable to move, look, or do anything. I
> wonder how great they would think immortality was once I got done with
> them... maybe I'm just twisted, but I though it would be an interesting
> thing to add *grin*. Now add in limb based combat with the chance to
> sever limbs.

Actually God Wars does something similar.  "Immortal" players can only
die by decapitation (or in later versions of the code, certain nasty
powers).  Although players cannot fall below -10hp, they *can* loose
arms and legs, and this has resulted in various "punishments" that go
far beyond simple PK.  Most players are able to grow back lost limbs 
in one way or another though.  Still, this results in very much a sort
of 'subdue' combat, with killing only an option.

KaVir.