STRAK'S PROFILE

So I've been hard at work on a kind-of rogue-like not really game, which focuses on a loot system that randomly generates unique equipment. This sparked the thought of moving loot between save files, which I figured out how to do (think storage in Diablo), which then prompted the necessity for a save system that creates accounts rather than files. In other words, a system that doesn't allow you to duplicate items by saving twice and moving gear from a disposable save file to your actual save file.

However, this prompted another issue. Dying. What happens if you find a wicked legendary weapon, forget to save, and die in the next encounter? The answer? Death doesn't mean game over. Simply respawning. But that begs the question that is the focus of this topic. What are some ideas for a respawning mechanic that makes canonical sense to a game world?

Pokemon had one of the best systems I've seen, where it's not actually YOU fighting and fainting, but creatures you control, and if they lose you run back to a health center which acts as a respawn point. Diablo has a respawn system that doesn't make a ton of sense, but is very functional. And Borderlands has New-U stations, which make sense for the player, but aren't the most sensible thing in the actual game world (especially when characters actually LEGIT die).

So yeah. Let's have a conversation. What are your thoughts on respawn systems, how they work with your game world, and whether or not it matters if they make sense?

If I had to say that my idea of vampires has an inspiration, it's probably a blend of the different vampires from the Dresden Files novels series. The humanity of the white court succubus vampires, the powers of the red court vampires, and the appetite and weaknesses of the black court vampires. I've even thought of a whole small story arc where vampires are considered more human than humans, since they feed on the most violent species in history, whereas humans cultivate and butcher completely docile and peaceful creatures for food. In addition, humans kill vampires simply because they consider them monsters, whereas vampires kill and eat humans to survive. And I've thought about playing with the main characters humanity and their perspective of how they see vampires, and have some really dark moments where it really throws into question who the real monsters are. But other than some vague ideas like that, I haven't really settled on anything specific though.

Having said that, it's good to know that the darker, more monstrous and scarier vampire trope isn't considered overdone, and I like the idea of drawing from various regional folklore as opposed to pop culture. That does give me some more material to work with.

I would say the upper body of 1 with the legs of 5 would be great. 5 looks a little akimbo with the arms, but the legs of the middle 3 look like they're about to squat. Legs on the first one are fine too, but I like 5 better. If I had to pick one as a complete baseline, I'd go with 1.

Is AI generated stats ethical?

...because that might actually make this a lot easier.

So basically every item gets a randomly selected template that determines it's rarity, icon, name, and attack pattern. There's about 350 templates to choose from. Then, the items stats are generated based on the level of the weapon, which is determined by the enemy or chest that dropped it. The stats for weapons are ATK, DEX, accuracy, and critical hit rate. Each of these stats has a range they can draw from, so no two weapons are alike.

However, once the stats are generated, then the prefix is generated. Common weapons don't get a prefix, but uncommon weapons and above do. The prefix determines any modifiers the weapon gets. There are 12 uncommon prefixes. 4 are materials which affect the four stats mentioned above. 4 are elemental prefixes which give the weapon an elemental type and status ailment. And 4 are accessory prefixes that give the weapon an additional modification. Two of the accessories give stat buffs but decrease the opposing stat, one accessory increases critical hit DAMAGE, and one accessory gives the weapon first turn priority in battle.

That's it for uncommon. Now, rare prefixes are basically any combination of two uncommon prefixes, with some exceptions. No weapon can spawn with two elements, or two accessories. A weapon CAN have two materials though. And materials can be the same, and stack, so you can have ATK+ and ATK+ for a super damaging but kind of plain weapon. You CAN'T however have a weapon that does increased Crit cabbage AND gets turn priority. Those are both accessories, and you can only have one. Each of these prefixes has their own name, so you won't get a "Fierce Burning Longsword" but instead you'll get a "Incendiary Longsword." That way you don't have ridiculous long weapon names that don't fit on the screen.

Now, EPIC weapons get a combination of any THREE prefixes, with the same rule. No two elements or two accessories, but multiple materials are allowed and can stack. By the way, you can have an element AND an accessory, just not two of one type. Legendary weapons get the same prefixes as epic weapons, and so do Mythic weapons, but they also get unique effects that aren't listed on the item card. They also get a little red flavour text to distinguish them. Those are what this status were trying to figure out.

All in all, there's about 1,000,000 different stat combinations you can roll on any given weapon, with about 350 templates and another 350 prefixes, so there's approximately 122,500,000,000 different weapons that can theoretically be generated by this system. And the weapons database only goes up to about 509 slots to make it all work.