Here is my new combat system idea for WoK, which uses a single pop army system (instead of current 10 units per unit, its only 1 unit with LIFE) and constant damage (no randomness at all in combat).

All troops have ATTACK, DEFENSE, LIFE.

The ATTACK value is the damage done when attacking.
The DEFENSE value is how much damage is blocked each turn (it resets at the start of each turn).
The LIFE is their health, and when enough damage gets through and it ends up at 0, the troop dies.

example : Spearman = ATTACK 5, DEFENSE 2, LIFE 5
(these numbers are just examples)

So if a Spearman attacks another Spearman :
Spearman does 5 Damage, but the defender has DEFENSE 2, so 2 of that damage is absorbed. That means the final DAMAGE inflicted is 3 Damage. The LIFE for the defender drops to 2 LIFE, and the DEFENSE drops to 0 (since it was all used up blocking the first attack).

This means the next Spearman that attacks does the full 5 ATTACK damage, since the defending spearmen has already had its 2 DEFENSE used up this turn. With only 2 LIFE left, the defending Spearman dies.

At the start of each turn, troops regain their DEFENSE value.

So some troops may have a small LIFE, but a large DEFENSE, meaning you'll need to attack it multiple times before it actually loses any LIFE, but once you do, they die quickly.
Other troops would have low DEFENSE, but large LIFE.

Comms would still give +1 or +2 to ATTACK, and Protectors would give +1 DEFENSE which blocks 1 DAMAGE each attack.

btw, WoK is War Of Kings, the new major version of WarOnline

Thoughts?

Last Edited : Sunday, 2 November 2008 - 20:42

Sounds good.

Will retal still exist and if it does how would that work within the constant damage idea?

that is a good question, and up for discussion.

im not sure yet whether retal will be the same as now, or all attacks will incur some kind of retal, or no retal at all.

If there is a retal it should be from the after attack stats of the troop, tied to defense I suppose.

my suggestion for retal:
most troops get one retal.

retal = ATTACK - LIFE lost. (down to zero retal.)

and defense mode would switch regular attack with retal:
your regular attack would be lessened if you were injured, and your retaliation equal your ATTACK.

I also suggest that the order of damage be Attacker first, then retal, with retal based on the new health after the attack.
so, with your hypothetical new spear stats: Attack 5, defence 2, Life 5 - a spear vs. spear encounter with both starting at full health would go like this:
1rst spear attacks 2nd spear
1rst spear does 5 damage to 2nd spear, 2 absorbed. 2nd spear takes 3 damage, now has 2 life.
2nd spear retaliates.
retal does 2 damage to 1rst spear, 2 absorbed.

so, the attacking spear would end up taking no damage, but would be out of defense to absorb hits later that turn.

then, later that turn:
2nd spear attacks:
Attack does 5 damage to spear 1, 0 absorbed.
spear 1 dies.

(obviously it could go differently if either spear went into defense mode, had been previously attacked, or had backup... etc.)

A major exception:
RPS confrontation. I suggest that a spear would always attack a scout first, whether it be attacking or defending (retaling). a scout would always do damage first against a swordsman. etc...
this way, RPS strategy would be doable without some kind of percent added on to attack/defense like we have now.

p.s. defense mode could also sacrifice movement for a higher DEFENSE number, similar to what we've got now - and just call the switch I made up "parry" mode.
if this were done, I'd suggest not allowing more than one "mode" switch per turn per unit. and maybe having to research them.

Last Edited : Monday, 3 November 2008 - 00:09

Love this idea, thought it was great when i was reading it over in irc

It definitely has promise; I think, though, that some type of healing system would need to be implemented. Perhaps troops automatically heal one life every turn (with ways to raise it, such as not being attacked, not moving, going into a building, healing with another "medic" unit, etc.). Without that you'll have big stacks you've worked hard for running around with no hp and nothing you can do about it except disband them or suicide...in the current system you can put them into other stacks, so I think some compensation for this is necessary under a one pop system.

This reminds me of tabletop wargames, where you'd like roll some dice and subtract armor and suchlike.

That said: much more streamlined, much sleeker, much simpler, much more intuitive. Can't hurt to try it.

dont make this game too simple, buddy! it is better than other games because its NOT mainstream and its NOT that simple.

my 2 cents.

Last Edited : Tuesday, 4 November 2008 - 13:47

A medic unit for faster healing, and slow healing would really add some depth to the game.

Yes, there will be Healer units and buildings.
All units might also auto-heal (very slowly) if they have not moved/attacked that turn. Not 100% sure on auto-heal as it may take away some of the value of healer units & buildings.

Yes, this is similar to tabletop wargames, but without the actual dice-rolling for combat. There will still be some randomness in some of the abilities though.

The idea is to make for a very simple mechanic that is intuitive and easy to understand while still allowing for complex strategies and tactical combinations.
much like good tabletop wargames, this is a good way to achieve that.
it doesnt simplify the game, just the mechanics of the game.

That's what I mean. If your game relies on some smoke-and-mirrors damage calculation formula to be "strategic" then it's not worth bothering. I'd prefer clear straightforward calculations so that people can't just exploit mechanics over and over (which people did and do).

I do have to say I can see myself playing it, but there is some psychological aspect to seeing numbers and groups of people, so armys instead. but then again seeing a master slaughter a lot of individuals has its appeal too.

If there were going to be the H(hight)hp/L(low)def and Lhp/Hdef units i am weary of an ability that could go through def and damage hp directly though (this in my mind comes as a logical extension of the troop types)
because i dont see a way of the opposite being true, a unit that does a lot of hp damage but high def stops it.

what is wok or you mean wol ?

WoK is War of Kings ... thats what comes next