I’ve worked on the combat system enough that I feel it runs basically how I want it to. I may have to mess around with some numbers/variables when it comes to actual gameplay, but I feel it works the way it should.
I hope.. haven’t tested the PVP aspects just yet.
I’m currently working on coding up the village info. There are 5 villages, each with up to 3 clans. Belonging to a clan offers benefits that are very nice and help offset the “cost” of death. In addition the survival and strength of a village is dependent upon the ninja who reside in it. You have an option to use certain items to strengthen yourself, or turn them in towards improving your village. Also the missions and quests you complete will give your village growth in various areas as well.
I’m not sure how to “handle” the village leader issues just yet, but I am planning for it.. allowing the leader to invest in a village, to increase it’s commerce.
Villages can raid each other, in 3 turn combat lengths. During this time, Npc mobs will spawn in the village that is being raided, in an effort to cause mayhem and attack players.(Maybe.. hadn’t really thought about programming this feature yet.) Either way, after the three rounds of simulated combat between the village’s forces, the victor gains coin and a few other bonuses, whilst the loser suffers setbacks in growth and other areas.
Also there will be a fair level of RP for this game in the fact that anyone can attack anyone, or do whatever they like however there will be repercussions. If you go around attacking members of your clan expect not to be able to use the village’s resources, your family name may be tarnished for a generation or two, etc. That kind of thing. I haven’t really gotten into all that coding wise yet.. but I plan to soon.
I also think I will add safe zones and “training” turfs. If a turf is marked as safe,you will be revived upon death at a spawn point/safe point. If it’s marked as training, the same will occur. This would allow players to test new skills and abilities on others. However I’m also thinking about adding some feature that would prevent others from abusing these areas.
Ninpo now have the ability to stun targets with a certain probability, also ninpo projectiles can deliver an area attack with the “explosive” trait.
This also applies for tools, however tools have a much lower success rate for stunning/paralysis.
[video]
Today has been quite a productive day. I’ve spent most of it getting rid of bugs that I’ve found in the game.
The ninpo casting system is now fully functional.You can click on one of your ninpo to cast it instantly or you can use hand seals to cast it, giving that ninpo a boost in power.
Impact images work now.
The next phase of the project is to get the major systems in place that affect the overall game play.
The main point of the game is to ensure the growth of your village by doing missions, entering and winning combat and becoming stronger. The more your village grows, the more services your shops/buildings will offer. Allowing your ninja to become stronger. This fosters teamwork, as a bunch of ninja can work towards a goal to more quickly upgrade their armory, or ninpo arts library.
Life and death also plays a more major factor in the game. But I’ll touch on that some other time.
Screenshots Of a Few Char animations.
Title Says It All
YEA BABY.
Now just to add some variety and we can get it going…
Death is a very real fact of life in Kage no Odori. All ninja, even the lowest ranked of such have the ability to kill a normal person with ease, this makes ninja vs ninja battles even more deadly. Use of limited tools, limited energy and limited stamina are key, as well as which ninpo arts your ninja chooses to learn and utilize in fights.
In the event of death two things can occur:
If you have been blessed with resurrection, you can revive with no penalty. Resurrection is a somewhat rare thing to be blessed with however. If you die without a resurrection blessing, you will be rebirthed, another member of your family line will be born (looking quite like your last ninja…suspiciously.. )
You will lose any ninpo that aren’t specific to your clan or family, and return to starter status, however, you will be able to become stronger potentially as you will be able to develop your character more than the previous run through. As your family generation increases, your family line becomes stronger.
As a ninja you have many skills at your disposal. Tools, which are fairly weak yet don’t require exerting yourself. tai-ninpo or ninja martial arts. gen-ninpo or illusionary skills which make it difficult for your opponent to fight/cripple opponents and of course nin-ninpo, which is using elements of the earth and environments against your foes in battle.
The ninpo system is very diverse in the fact that along from there being five different ranges of attack, there are also 10 different element, each with the ability to overpower, cancel out or be weakened by another opposing element.
On top of this there are options for defense, recovery and attack that are always at your disposal.
This is just a bit of the ninpo system.
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I’m pleased to announce that the animation design is going over well. The artist gave me exactly what I wanted at a price I could afford. After fighting with myself to wake up and get out of bed for several more hours to do work (I go hard, even in my sleep apparently..) I added some new touches to the already robust ninpo system. Ninpo is a term for ninja magic, and is a skill that makes the game highly strategic, as anticipation and preparation come heavily into the mix.
I also have yet to touch on the leveling system… that’s because I want to keep it a secret. Needless to say, the leveling system will involve learning, then utilizing what you learn. Also generations of ninjas exist in this game. I’m hoping to make a sort of genealogy or family tree for players of this game. Each passing generation, your family grows stronger in certain ways.
In all I’m very excited for the game in general and the sooner I can implement all of the planned features, the sooner I can get feedback on the game from people who actually play it.