Current Events > why do so many RPGs use such convoluted systems

(+) Yeah! (+)

like, character A has 240 STR and attacks monster B for 539 damage or whatever, while monster b has like 300 DEF

the system used in games like Paper Mario are so much more intuitive:
Character A has 240 STR, enemy B has 80 DEF so character A attacks and does 160 damage

makes sense, right? STR should be the exact amount of damage dealt, while subtracting enemy DEF

---

Most RPGs multiply a character's attack by their level and then divide by enemy defense so the damage output scales linearly so it feels like you're doing more damage.

---

I'm with you, tc. I hate formulas like in Pokemon where it's like doing fucking rocket science.
In my indie game, I think the formula I'm using for skills/magic is the ((attackers strength / targets defense)+1) x (Skill Power) x (Modifiers like power ups)

So like if your strength is 50 and the enemy's defense is 40, and the skill you're using has a base power of 50, it would do 62 damage.
(Regular standard attacks I base on your characters level since a standard attack doesn't really need a base power.)

---

@LostForest posted...

((attackers strength / targets defense)+1) x (Skill Power) x (Modifiers like power ups)

So like if your strength is 50 and the enemy's defense is 40, and the skill you're using has a base power of 50, it would do 62 damage.

50/40= 1.25 + 1 = 2.25 x 50 = 112.5, did you forget the "+1"?

and are you saying you just replace [skill power] with level for standard attacks? Cause that sounds like bad scaling.

Never been a fan of level in attack formulas, its already implied that your strength rises as you level up.
---

RPGs ftw
---

Because if they make it simpler than RPG fans will complain about "casualization"
---

Funky math avoids an Arc the Lad situation, were the difference between getting curbstomped and doing the curbstomping is about three levels.

DoomSwell posted...

50/40= 1.25 + 1 = 2.25 x 50 = 112.5, did you forget the "+1"?

and are you saying you just replace [skill power] with level for standard attacks? Cause that sounds like bad scaling.

Never been a fan of level in attack formulas, its already implied that your strength rises as you level up.

Oh yeah, I think it might be a decimal then, like .1
(I'm not at my computer right now so I can't say for sure)

Basically I wanted the base power of a skill to be the most important part, and the defense/attack to just be a modifier in and of itself, by becoming a decimal.

It might seem iffy in that example, but I have it balanced in-game since I'm going for a lower-end damage/HP scale compared to most RPGs. Not as low as Paper Mario, maybe closer to SMRPG. There's too many RPGs where you're level 20 and your attacks are doing like 700 damage against bosses with like 12,000 HP just s few hours into the game.

---