BARDUCK'S PROFILE

author=Craze
Hmm. Fatigue works, although I generally don't like to associate negative terms with player input (not sure about your game's genre though, so it might be appropriate).

I did a very similar AP system for Wine & Roses, although it was "free turn". Basically, the game alternates between the party and the enemies' turns. The three party members each had 3 AP per turn, which a cap of 7. You could spend or not spend as you pleased.

Everybody started with only a few moves to start, none of which cost more than 3. They were all just simple attacks and then a light heal + stat buff that was cheap. As the player progressed, they earned more abilities that were more complex/had varied costs and that they could equip on anybody they wanted. This meant that the player was gradually eased into the idea of saving/spending AP -- it was a while before they got a 4 cost ability, and when you get one, it's pretty obvious that you have to save up.

Another way that I forced the player into learning how it works is by having enemies that defend or disappear entirely -- if you can't do anything to the enemy on that turn, you'll either heal up or just save your AP for a nasty barrage later. Eventually, the player must learn when to pause and when to go all-out -- for example, they might think they'll need multiple heals next turn, so they don't take actions with their healer. (A narrator that constantly gives advice mid-battle helps the player with this.)

Hopefully that can give you some ideas. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat about it more -- I love this kind of system. <3

Hello Craze,

Oh... I had not thought about it that way. I chose "Fatigue" because it's a much more intuitive and easy way to associate it, but it's true that it's a negative term, and I'm not sure if I want that. I'll try to think something better.

I'll test your game, the system you developed sounds very interesting. I'll leave my comments if I have something interesting to say :)

The idea of "forcing" the player to incorporate game mechanics is very good. I have planned on doing something similar: a few battles at the beginning with enemies that can only be defeated in unique ways.

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!