I was working on developing the idea of a skill web a bit and I came up with an interesting idea... What if all you had to do was switch into a Combat ''mode'' and specify any targets. Then based on your skills that you chose, the computer would choose actions for you. This eliminates control of how you fight...but would create some spectacular scenes. You could see something from Charlie''s Angels pop up. and it makes more interesting development. you could have a multiple target combat skill. Like Darth Maul vs the two jedi. and you wouldnt have to come up with some confusing interface to control it. ''but what if you think of a better move than the computer does?'' well, the computer would still react faster. the time it''d take you to figure out that to flip up, push off the wall, and hurl 2 daggers toward two different opponents was CRTL-ALT-F1-F6 then ALT-F3-F9...you''d be dead. waddaya think?

Take away all control of combat in an rpg, and you are left with an interactive movie. I''m not saying that it doesn''t have the potential to come up with some cool fight scenes, but the idea of computer-controlled combat will probably turn more people away from buying a game than it would convince people to buy it.

You could have an option that allows you to either fight the opponent(s) yourself or allow the computer to do it for you. That way you''d please the people who would have a hard time trying to figure out all of the controls to kill/defeat someone and you''d please the people who find it easy to fight with the controls.

a movie? if the game turns into a movie then its a bad game! Combat isnt all of it! I''m just saying why not let the computer handle that part rather than giving it a confusing interface. Besides, some control is left to the player in this system. What moves he can do is determined by the skills he develops and who he attacks is chosen by him.

i just realized that there should be some way to tell it to favor certain moves. that way advancement with skills also is controlled somewhat. (seeing as skills are awarded xp based on use)

Where's the fun in letting a computer play for you? Instead of avoiding the problem of making a good interface why don't you just face it and solve it?

First off, the computer will suck at playing compared to you because a computer AI won't think of strategies like you will. Unless you make an AI better than anything seen to date, the computer will suck.

Even if you did solve the problem of AI, why on earth would I want to buy a game that I didn't actually play? I don't WATCH games. I play games to actually play them, not watch some computer play them.

It sounds to me like you have a problem devising controls to do what you desire. Solution: Let the computer play for you! Problem solved? No. Fix the controls. Video games are not spectator sports.

"I feel sorry for the earth's population, 'cause so few live in the USA." -Bad Religion
--FenrisD--

Edited by - FenrisD on November 30, 2000 9:49:02 PM

In a way this makes a lot of sense for an RPG. You''d focus the game on character development rather than button smashing. The game could focus more on the player''s decision whether to fight rather than what buttons to push once the next random encounter comes along. Although, there is something that is just unsettling about having such a lack of control over the fight. The idea does serve some important functions for RPGs though.


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I agree with Nazrix and C-Junkie on this one. An RPG should not be about selecting one out of a bizillion possible fighting moves, and taking five minutes over each three seconds of combat. An RPG should be about being immersed in a story and affecting it with your actions. An automatic combat system would do a lot for a game like this - if you can select what kinds of movements you''d like your character to perform under different circumstances.
I''ve suggested this before, and got about the same reaction, but I still think it''s worth trying out.


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I would like to mention that character developement is not about having better skills and higher number but much more about the evolution of the mind of the character.
That''s what RPG are all about.

I think the idea is pretty good. It would solve all kinds of strange interfaces. AND it would prove that RPG is not about killing monsters or running amok.
Though, like it has been said before: There should be an option to chose between the new feature and the old, button-breaking, way. Although RPG is not about hack''n''slay, it still has an action part in it.