[MUD-Dev] Better Combat

[Steven King]

Raph Koster wrote:

>   - There's downtime when you are waiting for the optimal moment
>   to perform an action you have already decided on.

AKA Tension.  The moment right before you pull the trigger.  IMO
this "unresented" downtime as it adds to the gameplay experience.

>   - There's downtime where you are prevented from performing an
>   action.

This depends on what actions you are prevented from performing:

  - Are you prevented from pulling the trigger because

  you're reloading?  This is usually well-integrated into the game
  or genre (FPS, etc) and is therefore "unresented" downtime.
  Spellcasting time could fall under this category.

  - Are you prevented from walking because your "move" points are
  too low (or any other meter-based prevention: mana, fatigue,
  etc.)?  This is usually a restriction imposed by the designers to
  add a sense of realism.  I'm torn on this issue.  While it can add
  an element of strategy, it is
	often viewed as a speed bump to keep the character restricted.

>   - There's downtime to rest up the player (physically or
>   psychologically).

In fast-paced games such as a FPS, this is understandable.  However,
most MMOGs I have played are not physically or psychologically
tasking.  I have played a MUD that was, though.  I played a thief
where stealing was challenging.  It always got my adrenaline
pumping, even when I became a master.

>   - There's downtime to optimally prepare for a subsequent game
>   choice (some of the preparation may involve choices in itself,
>   but some may not, such as sitting to recover mana or HPs).

Preparation time is tricky as well.  As a player, it is annoying
when game mechanics force downtime.  Recovering HP/mana or "buffing"
in preparation for a battle is acceptable as long as recovery time
is reasonable.  It helps when there is "meta-play", but only when
the "meta-play" is fun and engaging.  I am, personally, not a fan of
sitting around in a game.  For a hardcore roleplayer, pubs are a
great place to roleplay, but there is rarely any other engaging
"meta-play" available.

> I'll make the general assertion that resented downtime is that
> which gets in the way of doing something else that you want to
> do. But any of the other factors may ameliorate or even entirely
> remove that as a factor. For example, travel time is a frequently
> cited source of downtime. Yet travel time introduces a variable
> into gameplay that could be used profitably by many sorts of fun
> game systems (primarily of the strategic, slower-paced
> variety). Good downtime or bad downtime? Depends on which subgame
> you are playing, does it not?

Waiting for a carriage, riding a carriage, or running/riding across
the landscape offers very little in the way of subgames.  It is
usually time spent micromanaging or maybe roleplaying.  That is
usually the time when inventories get organized, titles get
colorized, or sweaters get crocheted.  If you're into that, it is
acceptable.  If not, it becomes tedius.

Steve
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