RPG game design questions

[Randomizer]

Jeff Vogel didn't do the Linux version of Avadon, he got a third party to do it as part of the Humble Bundle. So while there isn't much demand for Linux it can still happen.

[MyGameCompany]

MOVEMENT

I like the way game movement is done in Eschalon vs Avadon. The constant clicking and manual scrolling in Avadon drives me nuts. I like the movement arrow that Eschalon uses, and how you can hold down the left mouse button to continue walking. For my game, I'm thinking I would have a mode where the player would control the movement of the party leader, and the rest of the party would follow along behind (maybe you could rearrange the list of party members to specify a marching order). You could toggle off that mode during combat, or if you want to send a party member to scout ahead, cover room exits, etc. Does that sound reasonable?

So I've been thinking some more about movement, and reading various threads on the topic on both this forum and Spiderweb's. I think I've got a pretty good handle on what players like and don't like about each system.

The big advantages of the point and click movement system like Avadon seems to be 1) it requires minimal user interaction (one click and wait for the characters to auto-navigate there), 2) they can scroll to a very distant portion of the map, click, and wait for the party to move there, and 3) it's easy to use for people on laptops with trackpads. The disadvantages as I see it are 1) the constant manual effort it takes to keep the camera following the characters, and 2) there are some places you can't navigate to, like when an object sits between your cursor and the tile you want to go to.

Eschalon seems to have the exact opposite pros and cons. With the movement mechanic, you can easily walk behind stuff and get to tiles that are obscured, and since the camera automatically follows you, it isn't as easy to get lost. But it's difficult to use if you're on a trackpad and don't have a number pad (yeah, I know there's a W key, but it isn't documented in-game). The quick travel system helps a lot, but it's still slow to get around. (Or so some players say - personally, I don't have a problem with Eschalon's movement system)

So here's how I'm planning to modify my original movement idea. I'm going to stick with Eschalon's style, but with some tweaks. First, instead of holding down the mouse button, the player will left click once to start moving, then use the mouse movement to control the direction as the player walks. Left-click a second time to stop moving. This basically integrates the "w" key with the mouse, so it's more intuitive. It should also work well on an iPad or other tablet. And, of course, it will let you navigate to obscured tiles.

Second, I like Eschalon's Quick Travel system, so I'm going to "borrow" that.

Third, for players that want to be able to travel from point A to point B quicker, I'm planning to add a Run toggle to the toolbar. All party characters will walk at the same speed. Characters will run at 2X the walking speed. I'm not going to add exhaustion - that might make it more realistic, but will only frustrate players that want to use it to travel faster. During combat (when party members operate independently), you can turn on/off the Run toggle for individual characters. In run mode, a character can move 2 squares per turn instead of one, but they can only move - they cannot attack. So you can use it to flee or get to a better tactical position. When not in combat, the run toggle will double the scrolling speed of the game.

I know I can't please everyone, but I think that system should work fairly well and strike a good balance between realism and convenience. Any thoughts?

[MyGameCompany]

Oh, and by the way, you can follow development progress of the game on my blog here: http://www.mygamecompany.com/forums/for ... roy-s-Blog

[Vroqren]

I like that, it sounds like a good movement system. My only qualm would be the no exhaustion system. I think there should at least be a limited amount of time one can run for, if no other side effects.