RIKGUENTHER'S PROFILE

author=Skip_Sandwich
I like the idea of replacing stats with 'affinities', but i'd prefer are more give-and-take system then as posted in the OP. Perhaps a wheel of elemental effects, where increasing one stat decreases another.

perhaps a wheel like this; Water(DEF)>Fire(ATK)>Earth(MDEF)>Thunder(MATK)>Water, where increasing one affinity will greatly reduce your affinity for the stat to the right, and slightly reduce it for the stat to the left. (perhaps one 'level up' of a stat will increase that affinity by +6%, reduce the subordinate affinity by -3%, the neutral affinity by -2%, and reduce the superior affinity by -1%.) Affinities are multiplied against a character's base stats to determine their actual stats, and range from 1% to 199%.

If you started with 100% affinity in all stats, and spent 16 level ups increasing the same stat (let's say Fire), you'd end up with affinities like so;

Water Affinity 84% (below average physical defense +16% damage from water element)

Fire Affinity 196% (very high physical attack, -96% damage from fire element)

Earth Affinity 52% (very low magical defense, +48% damage from earth element)

Thunder Affinity 68% (low magical attack, +32% damage from thunder element)

Sun Affinity (HP) 68% (derived from the average of Water and Earth affinity)

Moon Affinity (MP) 132% (derived from the average of Fire and Thunder affinity)

I saved this in a word document titled "This is the coolest idea ever"

I thought about implementing something along the lines of equipment requires a specific level. The HP/MP bonus is a given, giving you a visual bonus to your leveling (stats you can actually see) but not so much that strategy in battle can't overcome any minimal bonus imbued from increasing your level.

The only problem I have with leveled equipment is it's kind of an arbitrary restriction placed on the player or even a punishment for not leveling up enough. "But rikguenther, you should balance it so they can afford using the equipment"

That would defeat the entire purpose of the restriction if everything was perfectly balanced like that. I mean, I could put the requirement a level or two above what you SHOULD be at in that particular area but, again, that gives way to going out and grinding to get up to a particular level to use the equipment. I'd rather my game be a grind-free zone.

I do like the idea, don't get me wrong, but I feel like unless implemented PERFECTLY it would tarnish the otherwise pretty good system.

Any other suggestions? I'm going to go check out that other thread for ideas/input.

EDIT:

author=Link_2112
Leveling up can give you points that you use to purchase and upgrade skills. It can be a requirement for things; mostly skills, but even other things like quests.

Also, I forgot to mention that I like this idea too. When you level up you get a point. Points can be spent on upgrades/abilities for your character. The upgrades/abilities aren't mandatory, but they can definitely help the player with the game. Increasing your levels will yield more upgrades which will yield better characters. You don't HAVE to level up to get these bonuses, but it sure can't hurt. I'll think heavily about this idea because it can really help customize your characters and give the player who wants to grind an edge but still not make them OP (as grinding often does) but still leave the player who plays the game at normal pace in a winnable situation too. You can choose your own difficulty, essentially.

Nope. Once you make a change and save it in 2k3 it will warn you that the conversion process is irreversible.

I recommend GIMP for recoloring. You can choose a range of colors to recolor so you don't end up trying to change your red hat blue and get green skin in the process.

You could still have the ATB system and have invisible battlers. The attack animation could be something like your character walking up from the bottom of the screen and attacking. Check out legion saga for an example (ignore the battle style just pay attention to the animations.

EDIT: Also, no, you can't change to the turn based system without going to 2k.