[MUD-Dev] Can "non-twitch" ranged-combat be fun in a MMORPG?

[Paolo Piselli]

On Sat, 5 Jul 2003 11:38:15 -0400
Daniel Anderson <melinko at insight.rr.com> wrote:

> combat involving guns is at the very least an enjoyable activity
> for a MUD, or is it even possible without being twitchy?

Either loosen the twitch constraints (via some form of server-side
aim assistance), or remove the twitch factor entirely.

If you take the twitch factor out, you must give some form of
decision making in return.  What tactical choices does the player
get to make, how many options do they have, how much do these
choices matter, and why are they fun?

Just for example, lets say that all "player skill" has been
abstracted out of some ranged combat system. What does the player
control in this system?  Perhaps the player can select which target
to fire upon, determine what type of ammunition will be used upon
said target, and determine what range to encounter the target at.
Lets consider some scenarios and how these decisions look in each.

player versus one target (not too interesting):

  - target selection is not really a choice

  - ammunition selection might be based on some knowledge of this
  target's armor type and how it matches up to our available ammo

  - range selection might be based on maximising the effectiveness
  or chance-to-hit of our selected ammo, or perhaps based on
  maximising the distance the target must travel before it becomes a
  threat to us.

player versus multiple homogenous targets (more interesting):

  - ammunition selection might be based on things such as maximising
  individual target damage to thin the herd out, or perhaps
  inflicting area damage to weaken them all

  - target selection is more important if we are using area-effect
  ammo, but otherwise the equivalence of the targets makes this
  decision less important

  - range selection would again likely be based on balancing the
  utility of your chosen ammo with the danger posed by proximity to
  the targets

player versus multiple heterogenous targets (most interesting):

  - target selection becomes much more interesting as the player
  decides which targets pose the most threat, or provide the most
  group utility

  - ammunition selection is based on how the player wishes to
  pattern damage inflicted on the targets

  - range selection is again a balance of utility and safety

In Planetside for instance, you could remove all twitch based
gameplay, and replace it with mechanisms for selecting a target,
selecting a weapon to use, allowing the player to press the trigger,
but calculating the accuracy of the shot based on range and perhaps
some kind of marksmanship attribute.  In this way, we would provide
players with a "more even playing field" with respect to both
connection latency and individual FPS skill, while still providing
them with interesting tactical decisions to make.  As for wether or
not it is more fun - that probably depends on how much you feel that
the dice-rolling behind the scenes does not match your true aiming
ability.

- Paolo
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