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| Idea Info |
Name:
The Vision
Index:
Primary
Category:
Online
Submitted:
9/9/2003 9:49:24 AM
Written By:
Broken_Bear |
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The Vision
9/9/2003 9:49:24 AM
By: Broken_Bear
Show
all Game Ideas by this Member
Category: Online Games
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BACK HISTORY:
You can skip this if you'd like. It is not essential to the game, but I like creating world history, so whatever.
Unhinged from time, floating in the wilds of space, there existed a realm not quite real. Amdrei, the god of Holy Wind, was the first to find it. At the time it was filled with nothing more than the lunatic musings of nightmares: Dark light, empty color, and twisted, jutting waters ruled the world.
She glanced at the land with her pale eyes and sighed.
Through the chaos, she sifted out the order.
Oceans settled, skies grew calm, and piece by piece, Amdrei crafted the land for the coming of life.
Breakpaw, the god of nature, was the next to come. He sewed the first seeds, planted the first trees, and breathed air into being.
The first race of the Vision stood up and beheld the world.
Lolo, the god of the celestial spheres, ran by and trailed stars from her scarves for them to muse over. Music was born. It was a time of gentle peace. Other people rose and claimed their spots in the world.
Then the inhabitants discovered death. Soon after, the first war of the Vision erupted.
Drux and Warren, the twin gods of war, were intrigued by the conflict and came to make their mark.
More races came into being, each jostling for space. Other gods, gods of love, of mystery and knowledge, of travel and celebration and wealth, all came upon the realm to watch the mortals live feebly in the bloodshed.
When Amdrei returned from her wanderings, she was horrified by what she saw: Mountains of bodies, starvation, disease, hunger, strife, homes razed and broken - the very earth was scored with Cracks from the strain. Even the holy city of Korro was stained beyond recognition.
She shouted for silence. Only twelve races of the Vision listened.
"This land is dying," Amdrei spoke. "If you wish to save it, come to the Center of the World. Time grows short."
And so each race sent a single messenger to bear the unknown. At the Center, the navel of the Vision, Amdrei appeared before them and held them in her arms.
"You now share the same blood," she said. "The hurts of one shall be spread through you all. You are now a Clan." Amdrei pointed to the earth. "Now build a home."
And so they did. It was the infancy of Gorrol, the city where union was possible.
Amdrei was growing weary, and again felt the need to wander. "Listen closely and listen well," she told them. "I cannot stay. Your people shall not survive until I next return unless you can band together and hold off the coming tide. Good luck."
There was a flicker, and then she vanished.
As more and more Clans gather, the tide of war continues to grow.
The future of the Vision is uncertain.
RACES:
There are 12 playable races in all, and many have extreme strengths or weaknesses that can only be compensated by staying in groups - something that will not only be encouraged, but forced upon the players, as you'll later see with the Clan system.
ANANJI: This is the smallest race, and also the most physically weak one. Ananji rarely stand over a foot tall, although their impressive wingspan and tail length makes them seem bigger. They are furry, lithe little beasts, clever, quick, and adept at arming and disarming traps. Locks give them no trouble either, and with practice they can open any door or chest with ease. Ananji make excellent thieves. Among their other talents, they can cast dark magic such as blindness, illusion, and plague on their enemies, they can fly short distances, and they can see in the dark. Ananji have mastered the fabric of space-time and can carry an indefinite number of magical items in the folds of reality with them. The only downside of Ananji is their size, making one-on-one combat with most monsters impossible. Ananji are also considered vermin by many races, and may be killed on sight beyond Gorrol (The main city).
LUMIEN: These distant cousins of unicorns have spent their years deep in the Boom Wood perfecting the healing arts. They are large, tough, and are the fastest race of all, tearing through valley and dale like a thunderclap. Though they are primarily healers and scout reconnaissance, they can place positive buffs on their allies at higher levels. The touch of their horn will cure any poison instantly. In addition, Lumiens have a high magical immunity and are completely invulnerable to poisons. Lumiens are quite powerful and can carry up to 300 pounds, plus 5 pounds per level (This includes passengers). The downside of Lumiens is that because of their horse-like shape, they can't use any weapons, and armor is very limited. They can't use wands either for the lack of hands, though they can use all scrolls. Lumiens do not have a high attack power, but their defense and hit points are on par with that of an elite warrior. They are their own light source (they glow).
TYCANTH: Are they trees who sprouted legs? Are they animals that grew bark? Either way, these creatures of the Boom Wood are agile warriors skilled at surviving the harsh environments of Vision. They have balanced attack power and defense, but their wooden frame grants them a high constitution, and hence high hit points. They have limited spell casting abilities related to nature: They can make other trees spring up to help them, they can tie down the enemy with vines, and they can rain thorns from the sky. However, their most distinguishing feature is that they can root themselves to the earth for sustenance. They look like very big (normal) trees in this form. Fruits fall from their branches, roots drill water wells, and their shade provides accelerated healing for Clan members who sit in it. In the tree form, they are aware but they can't use any chatting channel but the Clan. Their defense becomes extremely high and they are immobile. Once they uproot, water will disappear quickly and their fruit will rot if not on someone's person. The downside of Tycanths is that they are quite slow and they are very weak to fire. Their aversion to fire is so powerful that they can't hold torches or weapons imbued with fire qualities.
FIGAZ: The bane of Tycanths everywhere, Figaz seem to be ordinary humanoids, albietedly with large ears and emerald eyes. However, Figaz have the ability to light themselves on fire at will. Figaz are legendary fighters, masters of blitzkrieg with excellent speed and power. Their fire skin imbues them with added defense and it deals damage to enemies each round of melee combat. They can cast limited offensive fire spells in addition to things such as creating their own light sources. These incredible fighters suffer only two drawbacks: Without their fire skin, their natural defense is a little on the puny side, and all their equipment must be fire proof or be in fire proof bags. If not, it will suffer decay. Although they can't see in the dark, their fire skin offers a light source.
KRIEGER: These hulking violet-skinned golden-eyed giants habitually roam the Ire Plains. Lacking in intelligence and aggressive by nature, most Kriegers outside Gorrol are still in the stone age. They have the largest power scores of any race, and their defense and hit points are also quite high. It addition to being able to enrage themselves at will, they have the largest repertoire of warrior skills in the game, including kicking, goring (they have tusks), and tackling. They can see in the dark as well. However, this powerhouse race can't use magic. And although their huge size may be useful in fighting, they have a lot of trouble getting into shops, buildings, and facilities of the cities. Kriegers have to eat a lot more than other races.
RAI: In the infant days of the world, Rai were rare and mighty creatures indeed; many people thought they were demigods or angels. And although time has worn their powers, Rai remain striking allies on the battlefield. Whereas Lumiens are almost purely healers until their higher levels, Rai begin with a myriad of other helpful spells, including buffs, charms, imbuing objects with lasting effects, and the ability to make non-fire light sources. These versatile healers can fly (though not as well as the Ananji), use nearly all non-metal armors, use most wands and scrolls, and are semi-immune to many negative buffs. The drawbacks of Rai include a low strength, defense, and constitution scores, and they can use very few weapons.
PRESHKA: These people gave up everything for their remarkable magical skills. With their skin shriveled and blackened, their bodies thin and withered, they often have to employ mounts or a gracious Lumien to carry them because they are so fragile. However, their magic is incredible to behold - at the highest levels of power, they can summon storms, giant monsters, gases of lethal poison, missiles of electric might, and many other spectacles of sheer glory. Their power can be heightened by sitting still and meditating. They have a high magic point regeneration rate and like the Rai have semi-immunity to many negative buffs. Preshka are very wise, and with practice they can use every wand and scroll in the game. In exchange for all this power, they have the lowest strength, defense, and constitution scores in the game (second only to Ananji) and they tire very quickly. Heavy armor and weapons disagree with their weak constitutions, and so they are severely limited in terms of what equipment they can use.
VARG: Short, stout, and generally cranky, Varg are beast masters. They are able to call monsters, tame animals, and shape-change into different creatures even at a very low level. Any animal pelt a Varg wears enables it to change into that creature until the Varg wishes to change back or a spell compels it to. Their tradition keeps them from bearing bladed weapons, but almost anything else that causes pain is just fine with them. Varg have very limited magic, but their foraging, tracking, and shape-changing abilities more than make up for it. Despite their short legs, they are quite fast. They can see in the dark naturally and their hide gives them some natural protection from fire and cold. Varg are a well-balanced race, with their only significant downfalls including their limited magic and their inability to use bladed weapons.
MEMORIADS: One of the eldest people of the Vision, born into the world before even the Rai. Memoriads have extremely long life spans and are natural musicians, creating ballads to preserve the events that happen during their lifetime. Tall and elven in appearance, they are actually a variation of satyr, their feet still cloven and hooved. Although Memoriads don't excel at any one thing, they make decent fighters in a pinch and have good support magic (especially if in a group of people, since its spells affect an area rather than one target) with their songs. They are the only spell caster that can maintain the effects of their spell as long as they are playing. They can move freely while casting and they can't be interrupted by melee attacks. Their statistics are average at best though their intelligence is good. They have the best charisma in the game however, and stand the best chance of any other race of traveling unharmed. Drawbacks of Memoriads are that instruments must be equipped to use magic, and most don't double as good melee weapons. They also can't cast more than one spell at a time unless they are at a very high level.
RYKKAL: Offshoots of giant spiders, Rykkal inhabit the Cracks as a shamanistic society. Basically peaceful, though a little nuts, Rykkal tend to have high favor with gods. They make good warriors with a high defense and hit point count. They can make all sorts of traps and ropes with their silk, and paired with an Ananji, they can make a two-beast arsenal. Although not very strong, they have four arms instead of two, and can thus strike twice as often as other fighters. Like Kriegers, Rykkal can't use any magic whatsoever. Rykkal use heat vision in addition to day-time vision, which is good for spotting targets at a distance, but useless for seeing heatless undead.
IJIN: These apparitions of smog have a piercing gaze and a perpetual toothy smile. They are creatures out of nightmares and disliked by many people. However, an Ijin's power lies not in its looks but in its ability to cast self-illusions. Unlike Varg, Ijin's statistics don't change with the visual transformation, and Ijin can change into virtually any shape they choose, evoking reactions from the environment accordingly. They make excellent explorers, leading other monsters into traps, and they can cast negative buffs undetected. Directly attacking anything will shatter the illusion, so Ijin must be careful. At higher levels, Ijin can disguise other people. Another handy ability Ijin have is that they can learn abilities from monsters they meet, and they have the highest skill-learning rate in the game. They can use most weapons, but because of their smoky body, their armor selection is limited. They can steal with some practice and learn to backstab. Most of an Ijin's statistics are poor though and they are not suited for front-line combat. Ijin can see in the dark.
ZIMMER: Zimmers are perhaps the strangest race of all in the Vision: They are sturdy, shiny, unstoppable machines. They are the only race with a combined hunger/fatigue scale (i.e., fuel level), and they can consume almost anything for energy (if fuel hits zero, Zimmers must wait five minutes before restarting to allow generators to come online). In the middle of their bodies, they are equipped with a high-powered barrel cannon, and they can fire almost anything from the cannon to cause additional damage to enemies. For this reason, they make excellent distance fighters, although they can do up-front battling if necessary. Their natural defense is incredibly high, and is in fact the highest in the game, which is good because they can't equip any armor (except rings, and they can equip up to 8 unlike the 2 (4 for Rykkals) that other races are limited to). For a pretty penny, Zimmers can hire a blacksmith to do a full-body upgrade. They can employ most weapons with ease. Speed is lacking because of their incredible weight. They are completely immune to lightning attacks, and will in fact route any electricity that hits it right back to the enemy. Zimmers have two big disadvantages, however: They can't use magic, and they are very vulnerable to short-circuiting by water. Thus they can't swim without protection and rain has a chance of paralyzing them. Water attacks have a higher damage rate and may cause paralysis.
GODS:
Alignment to certain gods affect how enemies and shopkeepers react to you and what kinds of skills you learn faster/gain first. If you have not made your god angry recently, there is a 1 in 50 chance that they will aid you and your Clan in certain situations called Dires. A Dire can target any member of your Clan.
OX MAH: The god of wealth. Shop keepers will lower their prices significantly for followers of this god and the Dire happens once a kill is made; there is a chance of finding up to ten times the usual money. Ox Mah's followers tend to learn fighting skills faster.
DOSOJIN: The god of travel. Speed is greatly increased. The Dire gives the entire Clan a speed boost after one person has been running for around ten seconds, making laborious journeys go much faster. Dosojin's followers learn speed skills and elemental magic faster.
LOLO: The god of celestial bodies. Intelligence and wisdom is higher. The Dire has a chance of raining down stars on the targeted enemy at the beginning of the battle and empowering any magic users slightly. Lolo's followers learn all of their magic and skills at a slightly lower level.
BREAKPAW: The god of nature. Wisdom will be slightly higher and being around any trees (Including Tycanths) will regenerate health and magic faster. The Dire ties any targeted monster(s) to the earth at the beginning of the battle, damaging them with powerful thorns. Breakpaw's followers learn water and earth magic very early, and non-magic users get a healthy power bonus.
HARASHIA: The god of love. Wisdom and charisma get a boost. The Dire happens when you or someone from the Clan has less than ½ health, everyone gets a regain spell that can stack with any other spell already in effect and all negative status effects are automatically cured. Curative magic and buffs are learned at earlier levels.
ZY: The god of knowledge. Intelligence gets a huge boost. The Dire doubles all friendly spell's power and duration at the beginning of a battle. All magic is learned slightly earlier.
MAKOHI: The god of celebration. Power and constitution are raised. The Dire gives the Clan a higher attacking speed and faster magic/health regeneration, but there is a 50% chance of making the Clan slightly drunk as well. Any positive buffs and crafting skills (trap making, torch making, skinning, etc.) are learned faster.
WARREN: The god of blood. Power and defense are raised. The Dire gives a chance of automatically killing an enemy with the first strike, at the expense of 1/4th of hit points from every person in the Clan. Offensive magic is learned slightly faster and offensive warrior skills are mastered quicker.
DRUX: The god of tactics. Wisdom, speed, and constitution are all raised slightly. The Dire gives a huge power boost and a much greater agility to any person under half health. All skills are mastered a bit faster.
CHADO: The god of mystery. Wisdom is given a huge boost. The Dire unlocks all locks, doors, safes, and triggers all traps that will not injure someone in the Clan in the immediate area. All non-offensive skills and non-healing non-offensive magics are learned faster.
YOMSK: The god of the feast. People with this god become hungry much less often (Zimmer's fuel gauge goes down slower), and any food this person touches becomes more nourishing. The Dire occurs when a player becomes hungry; every person in the Clan is given a full belly of food. Innate skills (disarming for Ananji, tree-form for Tycanth, etc.) are mastered faster.
AMDREI: The god of holy wind. Charisma, intelligence, and defense all marginally increase. The Dire causes an explosion around the character who triggers it (struck with a critical hit), damaging all enemies nearby and rendering the Clan invincible to all attacks and magic for eight seconds. This is the best Dire, but also the hardest to trigger. Positive buffs and magic/health regeneration during rest are GREATLY enhanced.
There is only one way to make your god angry: To kill another one of their followers, either in a duel or in the battlefield. You will be warned the first time, the second time all gauges (health, magic, hunger, fatigue) will be halved, and the third time you will be struck dead by your god's power of choice.
Although enhancements by a specific god are usually limited to the person who worships them, anyone in your clan can trigger the Dire. The more people who worship a single god, the more likely that particular Dire will occur.
For example, Drux gives a power and agility boost to anyone under half health. If two people in one clan happen to worship Drux, and one of them goes under half health, then instead of having 1 in 50 chance of obtaining Drux's Dire, there is a 2 in 50 chance.
CLANS:
Perhaps THE most central concept of the Vision, Clans are essential family units that give players reliable allies to play the game with. Clans can be matched up automatically for player region and expected playing times, or players can pick their own people to form a Clan with. Clans are absolutely vital to the game for many reasons:
-It helps maintain integrity of the game. Anyone in a Clan can find out exactly what any other person of the Clan is doing at any given time. Whenever money or items are transitioned from the Clan's vault, everyone knows. Anything looted from a corpse is known by everyone. Most importantly, if a person is really being obnoxious, they can be booted from the Clan with a 2/3rds majority vote (at least 8 for a normal Clan).
-It forces teamwork and communication for a successful unit. EXP is spread out among all the people in a Clan, provided that they are online, more if they are in the same region. EXP is lost among everyone if someone dies. This is to discourage all those antisocial jerks that are often found running around MMORPG's.
-The monsters running around the Vision are extremely tough for the amount of exp they provide and often attack in groups. With teamwork, levels can be gained in a timely manner and allow people to explore the world.
-The more people of a Clan that are online and in the same region at one time, the more of a statistical boost each player gets. Clans can team up with other Clans for really fierce battles, but they gain no statistical advantage (They DO share EXP).
-Many excellent tactics require more than one person, such as a Rykkal making a web trap, an Ananji setting it, and an Ijin leading a monster into it.
There are 12 people in a Clan, one of each of the 12 races. There is no restriction on what gods are allowed in a given Clan; they can all worship one god or they can all focus on different gods. There MUST be 12 people in a Clan at all times or else no one in that Clan will be able to gain levels after level 5.
Clans can communicate telepathically at all times. Members of a Clan can teleport to other people within their Clan by appealing to their god with gifts of food, weapons, or health. Or, they can go to Gorrol and teleport for free.
Each Clan has a name, which is made as the last name of each character's name so everyone within the game can tell at a glance who is related. This Clan name is chosen by a majority vote once the last (12th) person has joined.
Each Clan is also given their own area, a Den, that no person not of their brood can enter. If someone comes across items they can't use that another of their kin might, they can deposit it in the Den. They may also buy decorations and furniture as they see fit. The Den has its own supply of unlimited (but irremovable) sources of food and water.
Someone can be removed from a Clan in three ways:
-Voted EXILE (written in big, red letters in the place of a last name as a warning to other Clans that this person may not be someone suitable to invite) by 2/3rds of the Clan (At least 8 people).
-A member volunteers to leave.
-A member's account becomes static (no activity for 2 months), banned, or destroyed.
To invite someone to the Clan, one member must invite the new player, and then two others must OK the decision (not required for newbies making their first Clan or if a Clan, for whatever reason, is down to 1 or 2 players).
EXP:
There are many more ways to get EXP in the Vision than just killing monsters; EXP can be gained by completing quests, triggering and disarming traps, unlocking doors, and solving puzzles. Of course, the more of one Clan that is present during a battle, the more EXP they get upon victory.
REGIONS:
CITIES:
GORROL: This is the main hub of the Vision, and this is the only place where the Dens and personal vaults are available (This is to encourage a community atmosphere that everyone, newbie or veteran, can participate in). If proof can be shown of having traveled to other cities or towns (A sort of passport stamp), then you can teleport there for free. Teleporting to other Clan members is free here too.
PRA'ANK: A dark underground city located in the Cracks, Rykkals and Ananji (Along with a few Ijin) live here. Rare magical items can be bought here for very little, although they don't like visitors much.
VISHIODMAR: Deep in the Boom Wood where it is perpetually dark, Tycanths and Lumien reside here in gentle harmony. Their springs can cure any ills and their armors are truly a marvel to behold - provided you can pay their steep prices.
IO: A glittering metropolis of Zimmers is located here. Machines, weapons, and tools of all kinds are dirt cheap, although the journey here is long and hard - this is the only city you can't teleport to for free in Gorrol.
TOWNS:
OSA: In the middle of the Doga, this settlement of Figaz offers lots of fire-proof equipment and interesting mounts - including dragons.
GOGGAN: The only settlement of Kriegers ever known, it is located on Sunblack Peak of the Ire Plains. This is also a very difficult town to get to and the inhabitants are a little stupid, sometimes attacking visitors for no reason. They have the most powerful sellable weapons in the Vision here.
XAVI: The two oldest races, Memoriads and Rai, along with a few Preshka, live out their days in peace basking in song and magic. This town is located across a long, dangerous, rickety bridge at The End of the World. Some of the finest instruments, staffs, wands, and scrolls ever made reside here, and their temple is of particular grace and beauty.
TARS'KUM: Located in the Borobogs, Tars'Kum is a haven for Varg. Although you have to be a Varg to buy from them, they will not hurt any visitors. A wide variety of pelts and pets are available for sale here.
(Note: There are lots and lots of other small settlements and places of interest scattered though the Vision, but these are the major ones.)
OTHER MAJOR AREAS:
THE FLATS: The area surrounding Gorrol, filled with lots of simple quests and weak creatures for young Clans.
BOROBOGS: One step up from the Flats in most respects, it is also darker, danker, and very wet. Zimmers might want to invest in a dry suit or stilts.
NOMA TIERS: Sheer jagged mountains lodged in an eternal sea of fog plague this area, and the only way through it is to use teamwork, jumping, flying, and a lot of ropes.
IRE PLAINS: A dangerous area roamed by giant beasts and predators, but the wide spaces allow one to see if something is sneaking up on them. A Varg's paradise for taming opportunities.
DOGA: In the southeast of the Vision, there is a vast desert thick with poisonous scorpions, snakes, spiders, dragons, basilisks, and the undead. Each oasis harbors its own little danger, so be wary.
BOOM WOOD: Named for the gong-like noises that echo through the giant trees, many graceful and deadly creatures live here, including nymphs, dryads, treants, and sprites. The fairies who live here only allow passage to the clever, and employ a number of riddles for travelers to solve. It is very dark here, so be sure to bring a lamp.
THE CRACKS: Running all through the landscape are cracks in the rock that go miles deep, but it is only possible to enter them in a few places. All manner of lost souls and monsters wander the Cracks, getting darker and more dangerous the deeper one goes…
EMEWU: (Pronounced "Ay-may-woo") Reachable only through a towering tree in the Boom Wood, Emewu is a recreation spot in the sky for creatures traveling through the dimensional plains. Esher-esque with its complicated physics, it is a winding mobius of stone, clouds, and plants. Elementals and demons often pass through to engage in friendly combat with visitors. There is also a very small chance (about 1% of any given time) that one of the 12 recognized gods of the Vision will visit Emewu to challenge passerby or, in VERY rare cases, bestow blessings.
SUNBLACK PEAK: Above the Ire Plains, this obsidian mountain casts eerie multicolored shadows over the landscape. Abandoned mines are scattered through this area and may still contain undisturbed bounty… Giant wyverns frequent the mountain.
KORRO: This ancient city appears normal on the surface, beautiful, bright - and completely empty. Faint voices of children laughing, men talking, and a murmuring voice that says "Follow the trail…" echo through the air. Indeed, there is a line of fresh blood that leads all the way deep inside to the temple, where there is a pool of it on the ground. Upon closer inspection, a corpse materializes, stricken dead with fear. It rises up and glares at whomever woke it. The sky turns ash black, and the vengeful souls of Korro rise up the kill the trespassers. The souls of Korro can't be killed, but each person who makes it out of Korro alive gets a huge amount of EXP for their Clan - enough for most people to gain a level or two (Needless to say, surviving Korro should be very difficult - perhaps 1 in 20 or so, if reasonably skilled and powerful, could make it). Upon the flagstones leading out of Korro, there is an item lying upon the ground - it may be junk, but it could be a legendary weapon. To prevent other people taking advantage of Korro's scenario, only the Clan who activates the corpse trigger will be able to lift the treasure at the mouth of Korro, and any person not in the upper half of Korro when the trigger is set off will not be eligible to win EXP for their Clan.
THE END OF THE WORLD: At one end of the Vision, the land just… disappears. No one knows why. Lakes, oceans of blackness, white voids, monster dens, and poisonous fogs are all frequent in this region. It becomes a maze of ruins about halfway through, and then settles into a calm ennui of mist and clear waters. Across the water, before the waterfall that signals the end of the Vision, there is a bridge that leads to Xavi.
EVENTS:
These are just examples of the kinds of random events that may happen while wandering the Vision. Hence, I'm only putting down two or three.
THE SIEGE OF IO: Every month or so, there will be 24 hours of continuous war between the native Zimmers of Io and the aquatic Gol. Gol give quite a bit of EXP, and the Clan who kills the most in the 24 hour period will be given a special gift from the leader of Io.
BOOM WOOD SCRAMBLE: In Boom Wood, all the fairies will vanish, and instead there will be a single sphinx hiding somewhere. When it is found, it will leave a bunch of gold and a little EXP. Then it will run off and hide again. This lasts one hour and happens about every three days at a random time. The person who finds the Sphinx the most will get a little prize.
SPARK FESTIVAL: The Spark Festival only happens once every year, but lasts an entire week. Osa comes alive with dancers, free booze, fireworks, mock duels, and raffled flamethrowers.
STATISTICS:
Just what the statistics mean in the game:
-STRENGTH: How powerful physical skills and attacks are.
-DEFENSE: The higher the defense, the more one is protected from physical attacks.
-CONSTITUTION: With each level gained, this determines how much hit point they'll gain (also gears starting hit points to be higher upon character creation). Constitution also determines how much weight a person can carry, how fast one can regenerate health, and how long one can hold their breath underwater (Last one doesn't matter for Zimmers, first because they are a machine, second because of their complications in water.)
-INTELLIGENCE: Intelligence determines how many magic points are gained each level, magical defense, and how quickly magic points are regained during rest.
-WISDOM: The higher the wisdom, the faster someone learns skills. Also determines magical strength.
-SPEED: Not only determines running speed, also determines how far someone can jump, how far they can fly, and how easily they can evade attacks.
-CHARISMA: Charisma lowers shopkeeper's prices, increases the duration/effectiveness of friendly spells, decreases the likelihood of being attacked unprovoked, and decreases the chance that other monsters in the area will help out the one you're fighting.
-LUCK: Although never actually displayed anywhere, everyone from birth is assigned a luck number from 1 to 10, 10 being the best. It determines your general success at everything. Luck drops permanently if you anger your god, and rises permanently every 10 levels, so if you start with a luck number of 1 and be good all through the game, you can still have a luck of 10 by level 100. In extreme circumstances (such as being blessed by a god at Emewu), luck can be raised in other ways.
START-UP EXAMPLE:
This is an example of what general things a player would experience during the first hour or so of play:
-First, you pick a race and customize its size, looks, etc. What size you make the character will very slightly modify strength, but a small size will also allow you to squeeze into more areas of the game trouble-free.
-You pick a first name and a temporary last name (Replaced with the Clan name).
-You modify your race's basic statistics with 10 creation points that you can assign anywhere. Don't worry if one starting race has vastly higher concentration of starting points over another - spells and skills play deeply into how effectively you can progress through the game and each race should be balanced fairly in this respect.
-You pick a god suited to your race and playing style.
-You pick a server.
-Once all this is done, you can choose to enter the game right away and find a Clan to join in Gorrol, or you can have the computer pick a Clan for you (Recommended for people new to the game). Remember that if you really hate your Clan, you can leave and find another. Clan names in general are chosen at random from the selection of last names designated by each player. It may be changed by a majority vote once settled in.
-Once a full Clan is made, they are given a Den and shown how to access it.
-If all goes smoothly, about ½ an hour should have passed by this time and the Clan may go out into The Flats safely to learn how to battle, practice skills and magic, get to know each other, and gain their first few levels.
-By one hour in, players should be done with character creation, have a Clan, and be on their second or third level.
OTHER NOTES ABOUT THE GAME:
-Only one character per player is allowed. This is to prevent multiple characters on one account joining one Clan and abusing the system. Perhaps it could be one character per server…
-Each character should be given a wide range of modifiers, including faces, skin color, hair (if any) color and style, and eye color. Some races should have additional modifiers specific to them, such as wing style for Rai's. The point is that there should be no identical twins running around, because that gets boring. Tattoos will also be available to further individualize players.
-Jumping plays a part in the game, unlike many other MMORPG's. Jumping, gliding, and flying all play extensive roles in many puzzles and in clearing danger.
-About 6,000 people should be allowed per server - roughly 500 Clans. Maybe less, but definitely not more unless the world was absolutely huge; community between Clans should be encouraged as well as inner-Clan relationships, and a smaller player volume will help this.
-Related to the above, since all the races must be of equal number on a given server, perhaps race creation could be randomized to favor balance? If that's an unpopular idea, maybe the races that need more participants could be given better starting equipment to entice people. Maybe the assignment of servers could be randomized to distribute players… This is the only really big potential problem that I see - if anyone has an obvious solution, please tell me.
-An offline version of the game will be available for people to practice in without fear of using up powerful items, spells, or getting killed - it is purely for training purposes, and nothing they do offline has any bearing with their Clan or the online world. Players can't learn new spells, new skills, get new items, or gain levels in the offline mode.
-When a player dies in the game, they and everyone in the Clan loses the same amount of EXP - about 1/8th of a level. If someone has joined a Clan purely to make the other people lose levels (because jerks DO exist), they can exile that person or petition a VM (Vision Master, basically a caretaker player who maintains order in the system). Anyway, when someone dies they leave no corpse behind and retain all of their items. This is to get rid of all this silly nonsense of running around for hours looking for a corpse in MMORPG's, especially if someone died in a very dangerous area such as Korro or fell off a cliff.
-Mounts add dimension to the game in terms of maneuverability and sometimes their aid in combat is very welcome. Some notes on mounts:
-Kriegers and Rykkals have almost no mounts because of their unusual shape and size. Lumien have no mounts at all. Either way, their size and length of stride makes them some of the faster characters in the game, even without a high speed statistic.
-Any player can serve as a "mount" of sorts, provided that there is room on their body and they have the constitution to support the other person's weight. Let's say that each player has "slots" that determine how many people they can carry; small people TAKE UP 1 slot, medium people 2, large people 5, and huge people 10. Kriegers are the only huge people in the game, and they have 6 slots with which to carry other players. Lumien and Rykkals each have 4. Everyone else has 2, except for Ananji who have 0.
-Sometimes multiple people can ride on an NPC mount. In that case, whoever gets on it first controls it.
-If at any time the mount becomes unrideable (person riding becomes too heavy, mount's constitution suddenly drops, or mount does something the rider can't tolerate, such as a Krieger holding a torch while a Tycanth is riding), then the player automatically dismounts.
-To create a steady influx of new characters, and so the Vision doesn't eventually become overpopulated with super-powerful Clans, high-level players (say anyone within the last 10-20 levels) will be given the option of starting over again with another Clan. This is called Rebirth. In this deal, they MUST pick another race, but they get 15 creation points instead of 10, better starting equipment, learn all applicable skills and spells at a slightly earlier level, their god's Dire happens more often, and they start with a luck score between 8 and 10. They also get to customize their character with more interesting physical features, something that will let everyone know that they are experienced (such as red eyes for Kriegers, two horns for Lumien, or blue fire skin for Figaz). This option will help extend the life of the game significantly. There can be no Clan made completely of Rebirthed characters! Since I really want the Vision to be newbie-friendly, I refuse to allow elitism in the game - Rebirthed characters MUST join a Clan with AT LEAST three new players, and if these players are kicked from the group, they must be replaced with new players.
-Though not really related to the game, I would like it if everyone who buys the game would be allowed 1 month of absolutely free playing - Not all games are for everyone, and it sucks to pay for a game AND its monthly fee to play it only once. When the month is expired, monthly fees start, and as soon as the game is uninstalled, it automatically cancels the prescription. For people who just plain forget that they have the game on their machine, once player accounts become static (2 months of no logging in), the payments automatically stop then as well, but player data is maintained on the network for up to a year.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to give any criticism you like.
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a great idea..u all got 2 read this.
9/9/2003 10:41:44 PM
Comment by:
nightsavior
i read this idea when it was in the ztgd forums guys and i can tell you its very good. broken bear put alot of love and work into the vision and it shows. though their are traditional rpg roots here there is also a huge emphasis on originality when it comes to the world and races found in the vision. even small actions effect the enviorment around you and there's alot to do and explore. bear, i really can't find fault with this idea. you took me back to the nastalgic innocence of a child when everything seems fresh,new , and exciting. the only constructive criticism i can offer is don't let it end here. i'd love to see a vision sequel someday. then again since its online you don't need a sequel u can just keep adding on to it as u see fit..lol.
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Very good.
9/9/2003 11:57:54 PM
Comment by:
DrmDiver1983
This is certainly a labor of love. The only problem I have with it is the forced clan thing. I understand wanting to make some sort of community, but when that is forced upon a player, it loses some of its charm. Other than that, I love it. Keep up the good work.
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Simply the best
9/10/2003 12:27:15 AM
Comment by:
bizpimp
Indeed, this is a great idea for an MMORPG. For any developers who may come across this particular idea, READ IT ALL, as this is not only beyond a certain complexity, it holds an enormous amount of creativity and imagination. Unlike most games, The Vision includes NEW races (it's nice to see something other than elves) and unlockable features within them- very intriguing. Personaly, if I had the capabilities, I would put an great amount of dedication to help you, Bear, guide this particular game idea to it's highest expectaions- sadly I do not (that's where the major industries come in...). As for criticism, there's not much to say. I myself found the "Vargs" the most interesting, as they are capable of transformation between animal forms. More on Vargs: I feel that you should include a "memory bank" for Vargs, that keeps track of which animal forms they possess. With this been said, only a limited amount of animal forms should be accessable ("slots"). Further clarification: If a player feels that a certain animal form is "useless", they should be able to delete that particular form from the memory bank, thus leaving an open space ("slot") for a new form. That's about all the criticism I can think of at this moment. All in all, you have an OUTSTANDING idea! I most definatley hope to see this in stores. Again, developers (and/or other readers/critics): If you decide not to completely read or pursue this idea, your are making a definite mistake! Great job, Bear- hope to see more of your excellent work here at GD.
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Thanks a Bunch!
9/10/2003 3:06:42 AM
Comment by:
Broken_Bear
I value every bit of information I get back from you guys, so thanks a whole lot. I know the Clan system can be kind of irritating, but I am one of those people who believes that people are inheritantly good and the a-holes of MMORPG's should be given fair retribution; this is just one way of doing it. And just because you have a Clan doesn't mean you can't go solo or team up with people from other Clans. A Clan is simply a "family" body, people you can always contact and always locate in the vast world. They are there to help you in times of need. They are your own small trading post. The whole thing of getting benefits while traveling with your own Clan is merely meant to reinforce the system, not deprive a gamer of the occasional solo experience. Keep in mind though that most people buy MMORPG's to play with other people, and the Clan feeds into that. If it still sounds like a crummy deal... then I guess not all games are for everyone. If you can sugguest a way to refine it so that would be more palatable, then I would be welcome to hearing it.
As for the Varg, that's a really good idea... I was thinking about them going around collecting pelts and then wearing the one they wanted to turn into, but a slot system would also work.
Again, thanks for the great feedback!
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wow
9/10/2003 5:24:49 AM
Comment by:
Newmoon17
The amount of detail on the races and history is awesome :) I liek the game concept as well.
My main critique would be on the requirement that all 12 members of a clan be of a different race. My second critique would be the actual required number.
Invariably in games, some races become more popular, so finding 12 of seperate races could become virtually impossible. A better restriction might be 'no more than three of the same race'. I know it would defeat the cool twelve tribes working together concept, but unless the races are randomly picked, then finding that many diff players will be a huge challenge! Well, unless the computer has a stock pile of automated 'extras'.
The number 12 is fairly large as well. Assuming each player sees all the others, you have up to twelve sprites crowding the screen from the clan alone. While the twelve tribe idea is neat, the number is complex. Six would sound more plaussible, or a flexible option 5-15 or whatever.
Another option would be to change the story so that it was only six tribes, *however* each tribe sent two representatives and represents two races. That way, the team could be 6-12, and could have more than 2 of any one race as long as all 6 tribes were represented. Just a thought.
Great detail and I love the thought that went into this. Sounds fun ;)
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Honesty best policy
9/14/2003 3:02:00 PM
Comment by:
deVil.shadow
And i say that because im gonna be honest:i didnt read the WHOLE thing and really i just skimmed it but i still got the gist and id like to say that this is way beyond me,and this is definately one of the better ideas out there and i could really picture this becoming a game.I had problems with a few of the names a little clarification needed on pronounciation please,with ideas like this maybe i should just give up on the writing and stick to reviewing....sigh...theVEE
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