An (Over) Radical: Skill Adaption Your Opinions Please!

[AdmiralAvalanche]

Alright before i explain the idea i want to explain to you how complex, nerve racking and distorting this idea is and how if not correctly done, it will not subtract from the game, but will look like a unpleasant chunk just stapled onto it.

 

my daunting pessimism aside, what i suggest is that war frame abilities individually should have some way to specialize into a specific role, now to not make it a sole rip off of other systems such as diablo 3's runes or mass effects evolution skill, something new would have to be integrated into it, more on that later on.

 

basics(don't read this section if you already understand) 

 

in many rpg's, dungeon crawlers and adventure games along the way or sometimes even early on, the player is given the choice (or illusion of it) to enhance their abilities in particular ways, for example making a damage attack chain to other targets, or making an area of effect have damage over time(really scraping the barrel for these, tying not to be too specific)

 

the way they implement these is that on some load out page or equipment screen, right next to your ability section is an evolution tree that splits up into different areas that get more powerful as you go along, entwine with other trees or both)such as the example below

 

 

Why it should be implemented here

 

so far their is little to no specialization of war frame abilities in game for the player to use to slant to a specific role. its almost mandatory to always "max out these ability cards" and then if you want to to possibly add a strengthening mod such as power duration to slap onto an ability rather than adding something new to it.

 

this would make a frame not unique but a bit more diverse than the next 

 

how it could be implemented here

 

now this could go and be somewhat similar to the old mod 1.0 system, in where whenever an item leveled up it would be given access to a single point which would be spent on any given linear upgrade from health to melee damage

 

a few things first!:

 

-the system is exclusive to war-frames and only effects their powers (ie embers fireball)

-the system does not revamp skills into something completely different, it only modifies the effects or bonuses from a skill during its use (so no linear things like more slash dash damage! or the other side of the spectrum turning shuriken into a pseudo venom)

-it isn't something that is going to come at a fee or a cost, and all players will have absolute freedom to do whatever with the points, no restriction!

^this also means that it is optional, but just better to spec into what you want!

^it wont make a skill, as the bonuses would at most be marginal in their effect to in game performance( that perfect blend of growing empowerment is hard to get, but we will get there!)

- each time you level up 5 times (level 5-10-15-20-25-20) you will get one point to spend on a single box of the tree

-at any time you can reset the points for a meager amount of credits ( 5 k sounds good!)

 

 

this system however would be much more linear and would resemble a triple helix, each beam to represent either offensive, defensive or utility upgrades to said ability.

 

take for example this one illustrating Loki's invisibility power

 

what new is it going to bring in that hasn't been done a million times?

 

what i plan at least in the eventuality that it just seems like a mass effect clone is upgrade synergy, which will bring in tough decisions on what to do that fall upon how the player plays.

 

what i intent on doing with this is that so long as you keep to one of these branches each time the effect of the next in the branch is increased by a factor of 1.5 as shown here!

 

 

now don't go thinking that its going against rainbow, no no, freedom of build is given by another factor in which firstly the skill trees could be far longer than this (if the skill designer is an absolute unstoppable zombie! or if the bonuses are just repeated in a two long rhythm) and the effect can only go to a max stack of 3 times to 2.5x

 

what difficulty could this face?

 

first and foremost is that the amount of coding to get this done for all frames is immense, either this is going to take months or it will have to be dumbed down, both of which are reasonable.

 

second of all is how it may complicate players quite a bit, which could be resoled by adding a tutorial or making it simpler (i'm terribad at that!)

 

third and finally is that this idea needs to be fleshed out as icing on the cake, not just a chunk missing! it needs to add a little bit of spruce to it but not be mandatory!(that is why i have tried to make all of my ideas scale able in scope, so no incomparable's)

 

skill evolution in the eyes of a beginner!

 

 

 

Alright one final thing is that i need you! you have the power to shape my ideas upward, just give me some advice and ideas through constructive criticism and i will get decorating!  

Edited December 17, 2013 by AdmiralAvalanche

[Alighierian]

might be important to add:

 

- is this warframe specific (i.e.: upgrade X only apply to, say, rhino), across the board, or a mix

- are the upgrades only for frame skills (like trinity's blessing, volt's shield, vauban's tesla), only for weapon types or both

- does following down a certain path get you new skills, or is it purely upgrading / specialization of skill X

- would it be insensitive or mandatory to upgrade / specialize (think of: skill can work, but are just slightly more efficient vs skill X won't work for *@&@$ unless you upgrade it)

- what would you unlock the upgrades with; XP, a combination of XP and credits, a new system, or something else

- how will it fit with how warframe works? how comprehensible will it be for new players as well as interesting enough for veterans

Edited December 16, 2013 by Alighierian

[VoidPunch]

It seems too far from how warframe play at the moment. Maybe with the above's posts consideration and more thought it could work. But I would just rather have the extra set of skills DE mentioned before, having a choice of 8 skills to choose from and interchange that way you aren't locked into a role if you find out you don't like the role

[DarknightK]

I like the Idea for both Warframes and Weapons, although it needs to be fleshed out further before being implemented, we all remember the skill trees right? Ew.

 

Aside from that, I agree with Alighierian's thoughts, please describe more in detail how this should be implemented and I'll offer my full thoughts.

The concept is interesting, as long as it doesn't follow the old Skill Tree system, and has a way to respec the progression using credits or platinum in case you screw up, as HandsOfnArtist said.

[AdmiralAvalanche]

alright I've rounded out your feedback and have modified the post with a tutorial sketch and a bunch of general stuff added to the "how it could be implemented" section, going of to a great start guys, keep it up!

[Alighierian]

please upload a bigger image, this one is barely readable without zooming the browser in manually

 

(mainly the last one, other ones are doable)

Edited December 16, 2013 by Alighierian

[AdmiralAvalanche]

please upload a bigger image, this one is barely readable without zooming the browser in manually

 

(mainly the last one, other ones are doable)

done!

[UltraNeros]

I find this a very intriguing idea. This could actually work. Looking at the whole way this is put together. I think it would be fun, but what must be changeable is the configuration. You should be able to change from a completely defensive stance to a tactical between missions.

 

Although i have much more to say, i think this idea should be held to a later date, because of the difficulties the devs are having with Damage 2.0, they need to get that ironed out before we add something like this.

 

Great Idea Though! =)

[AdmiralAvalanche]

I find this a very intriguing idea. This could actually work. Looking at the whole way this is put together. I think it would be fun, but what must be changeable is the configuration. You should be able to change from a completely defensive stance to a tactical between missions.

 

Although i have much more to say, i think this idea should be held to a later date, because of the difficulties the devs are having with Damage 2.0, they need to get that ironed out before we add something like this.

 

Great Idea Though! =)

thanks, i will consider your proposal and i think i will remove the credit cast and either leave it out or just tone it down so its something special for beginners and not a hassle for veterans

[Cobalt313]

Eh, skill trees like this are better for dedicated RPG's, not really games like Warframe. We already have a mod/equipment based skill/stat system, so adding in a permanent level-up based system would feel out of place unless you somehow reworked the entire game to take advantage of it.

 

That and the fact that you used an Elder Scrolls screenshot (I think) makes it harder for me to take this idea seriously.

[AdmiralAvalanche]

well really the only reason i used an elder scrolls screenshot is that it is a very clear example of skill or ability trees