Interesting that you say the reaction bar in this position is jarring, since this is where it was in the original MARDEK! The space at the right of the current status circle things would be an odd choice, since there can be up to four of those so that space is variable, plus less horizontal space gives less precision. Where it is now feels like the only place it'd really work, to me.
I'd forgotten about the silly potions like "God Piss" (the name of which is misleading, since it's never been near a real god)! Makes me think I could add potions as a subtype of 'food'...
I forgot to talk about equipment etc in this post, whoops! I'll probably do something like I did in Taming Dreams. I'd forgotten about how I handled it in that until just now, but I like it and think it could work for this.
Essentially, rather than having stats in the traditional sense, weapons could have a Passive skill that'd always be in effect (could be something like '+10 Body damage', or '20% chance of [status effect]' on hit), plus a Reaction skill that'd take effect on top of the reaction bonus for the action you were using. Maybe? Shields could be similar, though the reaction would apply defensively of course.
Rather than having a bunch of different armour items to equip, instead characters could have a limited selection of carefully designed Outfits, which would change their appearance. Each one might offer both a Boon and a Drawback. So Mardek for example might have his Casual, Cherub, and Seraph outfits... though plot stuff might prevent you from switching between those for him in particular. Even without manual choice between them, the way the character would play would change accordingly, so that might spice things up a bit.
Each character could also equip up to three 'memento' items, which might be unique to each character, relating to specific memories of theirs. In Taming Dreams, I see that mementos granted action abilities, so that's a possibility! What I was thinking before I looked back on this was that each memento could grant a passive skill, which might be more complex than just some simple stat boosts. Like, say, 'counterattack whenever Deugan is attacked', or something. And of course you'd only be able to equip three at a time, so you'd have to make a choice about your character's build.
I've not given that as much thought as I need to just yet though; I'll need to devote some time to it later.
1
JohnnyBoi45~4Y
I see why the reaction bar wouldn't work on the right - I guess the only difference with the original is that the screen was set up to allow a bit of space for the bar, so that it was below the characters, not on top of them.
For this equipment system, would that mean that skills and reactions could no longer be mastered? I don't know how Taming Dreams' system works so I can't really comment on it. It could be really interesting! A lot of items in Mardek existed for the sole purpose of mastering a skill. Take the blood opal, for example. Aside from the reaction it teaches, it's almost entirely useless as a standalone item because very few enemies inflict bleed. But in this new system, if it only works while equipped, that's a choice you'd have to make if the HP-draining effect would be worth what other items can offer. Then again, that's a choice one has to make in the original series to spend those 4 RP on the Drain HP 10% reaction as opposed to, say, Accuracy +50%. Mardek did have a slight problem with power creep due to the ever-accumulating skills and reactions, so maybe this is a good move? The idea of having interesting unique passive skills is great as well!
1
Tobias 1104~4Y
Ah right; I just had to check the game myself to see the positioning, and it is indeed under the characters. I suppose I see this as the '3D equivalent' of that positioning though? And having it layer over the 3D scene adds an appealing kind of depth, in my opinion. But as with everything, subjective perspectives vary!
When playing through MARDEK recently, I actually disliked items that 'forced' me to keep them equipped just to learn a skill (especially one I wouldn't even use just for the sake of completion), so I want to avoid that. In Taming Dreams, I don't think you mastered skills? Honestly I can't remember! I suppose it was more like Pokemon abilities, where you have a set number and can replace them, but can't accumulate a list, and a lot of strategy comes from what you choose to fill the limited slots with.
I vaguely remember that you could gain permanent boons from using the miasmon many times, so perhaps I could do a similar thing? That is, you don't need to use skills to learn them as such, but if you use them enough, you can get some permanent stat boost not necessarily related to the skill? It's one thing to add to the ideas pile.
1
JohnnyBoi45~4Y
First of all, thanks for replying to my many comments - gonna try and cap this off now. I will definitely get used to the new reaction bar placing. I agree on your point that it was sometimes annoying to keep items on for the sole purpose of skill mastery, especially passive skills which often took forever, so this feels like a step in the right direction. The permanent boosts from using certain skills enough sounds like a good idea to revisit though, especially if characters feel like they end up plateauing progression-wise. Limited skill slots also seems like a solid move so you don't end up with characters like Gloria or Legion completely overshadowing ones like Donovan or Sharla just due to their sheer versatility.
I'd forgotten about the silly potions like "God Piss" (the name of which is misleading, since it's never been near a real god)! Makes me think I could add potions as a subtype of 'food'...
I forgot to talk about equipment etc in this post, whoops! I'll probably do something like I did in Taming Dreams. I'd forgotten about how I handled it in that until just now, but I like it and think it could work for this.
Essentially, rather than having stats in the traditional sense, weapons could have a Passive skill that'd always be in effect (could be something like '+10 Body damage', or '20% chance of [status effect]' on hit), plus a Reaction skill that'd take effect on top of the reaction bonus for the action you were using. Maybe? Shields could be similar, though the reaction would apply defensively of course.
Rather than having a bunch of different armour items to equip, instead characters could have a limited selection of carefully designed Outfits, which would change their appearance. Each one might offer both a Boon and a Drawback. So Mardek for example might have his Casual, Cherub, and Seraph outfits... though plot stuff might prevent you from switching between those for him in particular. Even without manual choice between them, the way the character would play would change accordingly, so that might spice things up a bit.
Each character could also equip up to three 'memento' items, which might be unique to each character, relating to specific memories of theirs. In Taming Dreams, I see that mementos granted action abilities, so that's a possibility! What I was thinking before I looked back on this was that each memento could grant a passive skill, which might be more complex than just some simple stat boosts. Like, say, 'counterattack whenever Deugan is attacked', or something. And of course you'd only be able to equip three at a time, so you'd have to make a choice about your character's build.
I've not given that as much thought as I need to just yet though; I'll need to devote some time to it later.
For this equipment system, would that mean that skills and reactions could no longer be mastered? I don't know how Taming Dreams' system works so I can't really comment on it. It could be really interesting! A lot of items in Mardek existed for the sole purpose of mastering a skill. Take the blood opal, for example. Aside from the reaction it teaches, it's almost entirely useless as a standalone item because very few enemies inflict bleed. But in this new system, if it only works while equipped, that's a choice you'd have to make if the HP-draining effect would be worth what other items can offer. Then again, that's a choice one has to make in the original series to spend those 4 RP on the Drain HP 10% reaction as opposed to, say, Accuracy +50%. Mardek did have a slight problem with power creep due to the ever-accumulating skills and reactions, so maybe this is a good move? The idea of having interesting unique passive skills is great as well!
When playing through MARDEK recently, I actually disliked items that 'forced' me to keep them equipped just to learn a skill (especially one I wouldn't even use just for the sake of completion), so I want to avoid that. In Taming Dreams, I don't think you mastered skills? Honestly I can't remember! I suppose it was more like Pokemon abilities, where you have a set number and can replace them, but can't accumulate a list, and a lot of strategy comes from what you choose to fill the limited slots with.
I vaguely remember that you could gain permanent boons from using the miasmon many times, so perhaps I could do a similar thing? That is, you don't need to use skills to learn them as such, but if you use them enough, you can get some permanent stat boost not necessarily related to the skill? It's one thing to add to the ideas pile.