CardDeck Speculative Mock-Up

I thought it would be fun to speculate on what the "Card Deck" interface might look like.

http://evilgrief.com/2013/08/24/card-deck-mock-up-speculation/

Please provide feedback and discuss.

 

The UI is too large for my tastes, but that's not to say I don't appreciate the work. Could you explain a bit about each of the four options? I'm assuming from right to left we have basic melee/archery attack(s), healing and curative spells and actions, something about cards, and then one thing which I am completely unsure about.

 

No matter how many times we go through this card discussion, it makes very little sense to me.
I want the following skills basically available all the time:
dodge, block/parry, cc/interrupt, normal swing, aggressive swing

I really dont want many more buttons than this. The fewer the better.
I also don't really want to not have these options.

Note that these are really generic choices, rather than specific skills so they can play out differently by a build or an equipped weapon or some kind of card randomness.

 

Absolutely. I think the UI stinks.

I was just throwing it together in an effort to push out the idea that a "Scrolls" like card game might overlay SotA Combat. I for one think it's a GRAND idea that has a ton of potential. If done correctly (not like Scrolls), it could be much easier to balance and give "almost" a turn-based or semi-turn based combat system to players.

The four options are intended to be random cards available to the fictional player character shown in the picture. The cards available would be different for every player, based on what they've learned and achieved in the game. By clicking on a card, you unlock that power, and maybe the remaining cards disappear and you're forced to pick from new cards from your "deck" going forward.

The actual mock-up cards are just silly things I put together off the top of my head. From left to right, (Ice Wand, Divine "something" I can't even remember, Minor Rejuvination, and lastly Stealth Attack). It doesn't really matter, you can pretend they say whatever you like. I don't care what these skills and spells would do, for the purpose of this mock-up.

 

I really like the card deck idea as I think it can be balanced well. But in regards to dodge, block and parry, I think these types of defensive abilities are precisely why you'd want a system more like this than something that was traditionally twitch based.

 

My ideal system would allow for all of these things all the time, on top of a system of random cards.

 

"Twitch" is a strong word here. I do want active avoidance. But you still have some effect like GCDs where everyone is making say one move / half second simultaneously. Being constantly 100ms faster than something shouldn’t translate to a big advantage. I don’t want a game where the person with the lower ping kites circles around everyone.

Think of is as chess with a fast clock where simultaneous actions are resolved through r/p/s like mechanics where applicable. Some moves it’s best to dodge vs. tank vs. counter.

 

Ever seen Warframe?

Base weps/character + card mods on top.

I'd like to see something similiar, just not the extreme they have done over there.

 

When I hear them talk about a card deck system, to me it makes me think of this:
http://bit.ly/1deLqwR
It was an ill fated MMO called Chronicles of Spellborn, but it had a unique "deck-based" combat system that I enjoyed.
Basically you would put your skills on the wheel on the bottom of the screen, and everytime you would use a skill, the wheel would randomly turn one direction and give you another set of skills you can choose from. You could customize the wheel however you wanted, but you wernt exactly sure when certian skills would be ready for use.

 

I think yo uare taking "card game" too literally. I believe it was just to give you an idea of how it can be randomized and you choose your abilities prior to combat. Infact, they frequently refer to it as runes and a runebag in some of the chats. The UI is already in there, you can see it in the demo when he is in combat, looks very much like your standard Wow style with a row that will likely populate as abilities come up. There will be some way to combine abilities as well (maybe a fire attack + swinging sword attack = aoe fire damage+slash damage to everyting within X). The reason it would be like Dominion (or Thunderstone, my prefered game over the 2) is that as you play the game you continue to add cards(runes/abilities) to your available deck (rune bag or thought pool) but I believe there will be more strategy to it than I find in those games. maybe something more akin to Magic: the gathering when it comes to the deck building part. (i'd hope so anyway)

@Primerib dodge, block/parry, cc/interrupt, normal swing, aggressive swing

I would want block/parry to be passive skills. cc and interrupts should absolutely be part of the "random bag" normal swing will be your base attack, no additional input needed, infact they said you wouldn't even have to use any abilities on easy fights, yo ucould just auto-attack them to death. aggressive swing again would be part of the "random bag".

 

100% No. I would hate to see a game based gear and stat stacking. WoW was designed a dozen years ago. That's not how games are built today. I would hope the difficulty is somewhere like gw2. You need to be aware of your surroundings and adapt. You may use basic attacks, but you probably will need some avoidence.

 

I'd much rather see a combat system where players don't spam spells and attacks at each other. I really dislike the MIN/MAX mentality of PVP and RP.

I wish the devs would just hide all the numbers from us and make a system that was intuitive.

 

I don't think a dodge/parry should be skill based then primerib, active movement based instead. akin to neverwinter, except I don't like their dodge system (double tap a direction to dodge) or final fantasy 14, which I think is fairly fun... But that's okay Primerib, We have very different ideas on what we find fun in games

parry/dodge skills as a passive bonus or ability is a staple of many games long before wow. Basically I'd see it as you are attacked and you have a sword equiped your dodge/parry has a % chance to negate some or all damage. Usually it gets bonuses from dexterity and/or agility. anything you actively have to do might as well be actively moving out of the line of attack/fire using your wasd keys (or whatever you prefer)

 

I agree, no numbers please!

 

I think we've progressed to an age of connection speeds we can do more action-oriented online gameplay without crippling latency affecting the outcome. I'd like to see more active participation in the character's actions in terms of dodging, blocking, and parrying, as well as any attacks.

GW2 is good, but still has an auto-attack (though implemented differently than in past games), which I'm not too fond of. What I do enjoy, though its implementation is somewhat clunky and far from perfect, is Skyrim's combat. I like how you can hold right click to block and then left click to do a shield bash. It feels natural. What I don't like are the power attack implementations; you have to be moving in a direction and holding the attack button down and then I generally swing wildly away from my target. The jumping and movement of the character is also quite rigid.

Maybe if you combined the speed and fluidity of Dynasty Warriors or 99 Nights with some strong interactive combat abilities then I think that would make it more engaging.

 

Assuming your being completely conceptual. I agree with other on the size, as a percentage that you are showing on your screen, is too large. But I love that the cards are not 'litteral' cards. they are this see-thru object. The position on the screen is typically a place I look for information on my characters status, I like to keep weapon and talent stats(like these) in the upper right below where my suroundings map is. I would like to see some consitancy in the design. it looks like it was made by 4 different designers at the moment. I would also like to know there is an option for english being that my Runic need a ALOT of rework... I used to be good at it at one point in my life.

Conceptually... I like it. But size, consitency in design, and position can all use a little work.