"Charged" Magic

[mrVoid]

Good night, dear listeners.

I want to tell you about my Idea of "Charged" Magic. What is the "Charged" Magic? This is something what I will use in my map and what will be describing below. (Due to my bad English text was translated by my wife, and she is not a gamer)

It is not easy to boost the magic. In fact, you can have power energies control skills but these are just skills which define your limit. In the beginning, the magic is easily cast - it is always the first level of spell-effect. After this, the magic can be warmed up - you can involve additional power for the sake of increase of the effect.
For instance, you have the healing skill of the second level. If you apply this skill towards your ally, they get cured as if it were healing of the first level. If you spend your power and improve the effect up to the second level, you spend more power on maintenance of your magic (you move slower and grow weaker when fighting). You can't boost the effect up to the third level because your skill is not enough for doing this.
For convenience, the magic can be devided into two types: maintained and prepared. Healing is maintained magic. The prepared magic is a bit trickier. A caster first accumulates energy before releasing it. For example, you have a "fireball" of the third level. A caster accumulates energy and obtains the first "charge". In case, a caster casts right away, s/he will inflict, say, 100 damage. You can accumulate more energy and get the second charge - now the fireball will inflict 200 damage, but the caster will have to spend their will to maintain this power reserve and get penalties for fighting. In case of the maximal third charge penalties are even stricter but the cast effect will grow alongside with the penalties.
Every charge slows down the caster and gradually burns down his health. A higher charge-level means greater problems for the caster. Besides, the energy accumulated at a definite level is so immense that it begins to damage everyone around. The maintained magic doesn't possess this feature - the caster releases it right away.

Examples

Spell "Evil Bond" (maintained). While caster maintain it, target will move slower(-15/-25/-35%) and attack weaker(-10/-20/-30%). The caster will get slow-effect too (-15/-20/-25%). Caster has a 2nd level of the spell. He casting it and target gets -15% movement speed penalty and 10% damage reducing, caster gets 15% slowing. After that caster can do 3 things:
1) charge the magic. in this case target will get -25% movement speed and -20% damage, but caster will move with -20% penalty (instead of -15%)
2) cancel the magic. everybody will get their normal attributes
3) do nothing. everybody will keep they penalties.

Spell "Enchantry" (prepared). Caster enchants his weapon and his next attack will do addiotional damage(100/200/300). 1st level - caster gains -10% slowing. 2nd level - caster gains -2hp/s effect and slowing grows up to -20%. 3rd level - caster gains -4hp/s effect, slowing grows up to -30% and nearby units will burns for 10 hp/s. Hero has "Enchantry" of level 2.
When caster casts it at first time - he gains -10% slowing, but will do 100 dmg. If he casting it a second time - he will do 200 damage, but before it he will lose 2hp per second. If he casting it a third time - nothing to be happend cause his ability level is 2.

I hope it is clear. If it is not - let me know and I'll explain.

PS Also I'll be glad (+rep) if somebody re-explain how this system works in understandable language

 

[magIc_seeKer]

uhm i hope i got this right

so you cast a spell, let's say the evil bond, and while the spell is channeled, the caster and target get those slowing buffs. if you maintain the channel then the debuffs will increase, at that point you can do those 3 things, charge it that will maintain the effect on both caster and target, cancel it or keep channeling to increase the debuffs

the prepared spell enchantry it's a self buff that hits for 100 damage on next attack. if he caster uses the spell again (presses the spell button again) it deals 200 damage and gets another debuff, but he can't go higher because the spell is only level 2

that's about it?


well the idea is very unique, it gives more "realistic effect" to magic itself, not like in other RPGs where you can spam 1 spell for ever if you got enough mana. i like it.

here's a suggestion : i don't know where do you want to use this system, but i guess in an RPG / ORPG. you should make a special trainer that learns you how to control this magic (reduce the debuffs that you gain while casting). this trainer should be rare and very hard to find, and then "training process" should be a bit difficult to see the difference between a trained character, some1 who worked hard to get that, and a new gamer.


sorry for the long text hope i helped good luck

 

[kari0003]

With this system, you will have to create every ability with triggers, but if you manage to create a balanced version, it would be really amazing!

Could be used in RPGs, or even Arena games (like Warlock). It seems easy to build a whole game&world around this system. ^^

How i see the mechanism:

Every ability has more attributes than you can define in Object Editor, so every ability's extra effect may be saved in a hashtable at the beginning of the game.
(extra effects: minus damage[1],regen[2],armor[3],speed[4],manaregen[5],attackspeed[6] etc.)

And when the spell is casted, the caster all the negative effects (if 0 is saved nothing happens) and if you charge the spell, the effects will be set to next level.

 

[mrVoid]

Yes, guys, you have understood right. I'm glad
You can easily change slowing the target to haste him - and you'll see how tactics will change.

I have more examples for spells (feel the tactic!)
For example, Healing, channel version. The healer gains the choise:
1) keep healing and be weak.
2) cast another usefull magic or be strong and help teammates (but stop healing).
3) neutral option: heals a bit, do damage a bit

Good sugesstions, I like them. Guys, you have improved Charged Magic to Advanced Charged Magic
magIc_seeKer, we can made this trainers as a feature and important part of gameplay. Everybody who smart enough can learn a magic and every nerd can learn it up to max level. BUT experience will show the difference.
For example, hero can buy spell as items - pay gold and you will get the Spell Of Ultimate Dominating. So what hero can do when he gains lvl up? He can spend skill points to control magic skills and reduce some type of negative effects. It seems realistic.

Newbie learns the Cool And Expensive Spell and tries to use it in the battle. But he gains so huge penalties that nullify the effect of using this spell. Balance complied!

kari0003, good idea how to make this in reality. We making hashtables for each spell (empty in the beginning of the game) and when somebody learns this spell - we adding the learner as a key and other spell-parameters by their default levels to this key. When the caster in any way improves the spell, appropriate values of the hashtables will be improved.

For my luck I use this system not for RPG so I don't have to remade my map If you interested what kind of map I'm doing - I will answer. This is attempt to combine Strategy and AOS types: 5 players for each side, 4 heroes (they play as usual) and strategist, the one who controls cities and buildings, creeps (non-direct control) and shops, and other macro-features. Advanced Charged Magic is not needed here, just Charged Magic is enough.

UPD:

keep channeling to increase the debuffs

1) Charge to make debuffs worster
2) Keep channeling to keep current state of debuffs
3) Cancel channeling and stop debuffs
may be you mean exactly this but due to my English I wanna be sure

 

[magIc_seeKer]

yep that's exactly what i meant

well i wish you good luck and ask if you need more help

 

[mrVoid]

yep that's exactly what i meant

well i wish you good luck and ask if you need more help

thanks) I'll do
Main reason why I have made this topic is to share my ideas to other people