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The Evervamp

new sneak focus mechanic for adventure needs feedback

Posted September 30, 2015 by Xhin

Currently there is no limit and no consequences to sneaking, which means it's advantageous to always sneak, even when it doesn't make sense (how do monster trucks sneak) or ruins the gameplay. What I propose instead is a "stealth system". Here's how it works:

Stealth System

At any time in the game you have a "Stealth" rating, which is a number between 0 and 100. At a certain threshold your actions are hidden from other players.

Making actions makes your stealth rating go down. You can recover it by making explicit stealth actions like "Hide behind the bushes" which improves your sneak rating but wastes valuable movements.

The host can change how much stealth is lowered when you make an action and the threshold for hidden posts.

Focus System

This is an add-on to the above that adds some adventure v2 mechanics and improves combat

Every player has a special "focus" property. You can change this instantaneously at any time without cost. Here's what each focus type does:

  • Steady -- A general focus that never changes.

  • Watch [player] -- Better attack and defense against this player in combat. The ability to see their sneaked actions (although they do know they're being watched and can waste movements on losing their tail). Automatically follow them when they change rooms.

  • High-strung -- A steady focus that changes to a watch focus when you're attacked and switches back when they stop attacking you. This us the default.

    Nit having a steady focus will give you debuffs against being ambushed. If you're "watching" someone so you can attack them better then they might have a friend that can ambush you for more damage.

    Thoughts on the above?

    • There are 9 Replies

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    You can only watch players that are below the "perfect ninja" threshold. At that point, not only are their actions hidden, but they also don't appear in the player list for the room.

    September 30, 2015
    Edit
    Xhin
    Sky's the limit

    Currently there is no limit and no consequences to sneaking, which means it's advantageous to always sneak, even when it doesn't make sense (how do monster trucks sneak) or ruins the gameplay.

    Here's the issue I've always had with this:

    The person who does their actions first WITHOUT sneak is at an inherent disadvantage. Because if someone sees that your actions are all "investigate the room, type on the computer, heal a wound" they can load up three attacks and maul you.

    As a result, I -always- post in stealth just to hide what I'm doing. Even if my action is 'fires a machine gun while playing the star spangled banner'. Not because I expect this to be sneaky, but because it doesn't tip my target off.

    And if we can't post all actions in sneak mode, then you've just created a new meta where the savvy players wait until the very last minutes of the round to do their moves.

    I'd argue that you should always have the option to hide your actions from other players during the round, without this meaning that the actions are 'stealth' actions where you are actively trying to do something sneaky in the game world.

    "True Stealth" actions with your system sound fine.

    September 30, 2015
    Edit
    Count Dooku

    I think the threshold will probably take some tweaking but it seems like it would help a lot.

    How do you feel about the focus system? I think it would be good for attacks to have consequences.

    September 30, 2015
    Edit
    Xhin
    Sky's the limit

    Well people already do something similar to 'watch' in their actions so it seems good to standardize it. Although I'm halfway wondering if it should be split into a defensive focus and an offensive focus rather than buffing both.

    September 30, 2015
    Edit
    Count Dooku

    It builds both but it also makes you vulnerable to other players. A steady focus is probably better if you're a minority or the game is a free for all.

    September 30, 2015
    Edit
    Xhin
    Sky's the limit

    I guess that's my concern. Late game when there aren't many players you pretty much want to have 'Watch' on all the time. It becomes default, where as if you had to choose between a defense / offense focus you'd probably want to change it as the situation warranted.

    Not bothered either way though, I'm just looking forward to seeing how this works in game!

    September 30, 2015
    Edit
    Count Dooku

    Well if the number of players is low enough then they'd be watching you as well, which cancels out whatever your buffs are.

    Something like aliens -- the aliens would probably stay in watch mode while the humans would need to stay steady because they don't know *who* might attack them.

    But yeah, we can definitely see how it plays out in practice!

    September 30, 2015
    Edit
    Xhin
    Sky's the limit

    With just a little tweaking (like setting a bottom limit that the host can't exceed. Should never be 0 for example) I like the new Stealth System

    Not sure about the Focus System. Guess I'll just wait and see how it works and then bitch and moan if I don't like it.{:P}

    September 30, 2015
    Edit
    chiefsonny
     

    I think it's a fantastic idea. I don't entirely understand the Focus system but I'll figure it out.

    October 1, 2015
    Edit
    Growlithe

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