Playable characters and their abilities

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

most young swimmers don't all talk like Ducky

Actually, I don't recall ever hearing another young swimmer, except for briefly in the background of that one family song in LBT 8. And there, they didn't use contractions.

This, however, is rather off-topic, and probably of the least important matter to this RPG.

On a more relevant matter, I've noticed that the earlier posts are asking for rather a lot of playable species. I think we should probably just stick to the main character species (Apatosaurus, Triceratops, Parasaurolophus, pterosaur, and stegosaurus. I guess you could make an arguement for Oviraptor due to Ruby). Remember, we'll need NPC's of different species, and I think the gallimimuses and pachycephalasauruses would be better served there.

[Kor]

I don't think we should reduce the number of playable species, but as, I think it was Malte, did one could classify a number different species into certain kinds.  So one can be a swimmer and the different types can be subspecies, that mainly only is part of how one looks, likely no coded differences between the different species within that type.  I would guess this would be easier on the coder too.

[Malte279]

^ That's right. When Tim and I talked on MSN the suggestion was to come up with the following groups:
Longneck
Threehorn
Swimmer
Flyer
Spiketail
Fastrunner
The subspecies (e.g. Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and Brachiosaurus in case of the longneck group) are just meant to increase the variety of characters' possible outward appearances while they won't differ in abilities at all. The idea of enabling the player to choose between different species along with different colors is to avoid that there will be confusing "clones" in the game. I suppose we might have to consider a mechanism to prevent two perfectly identical looking characters in the game.

[Coyote_A]

Different eyes colors, specific skin tones(Cow-like colored longneck for example. ), different forms of horns for Threehorns(One could be broken for example.)... There's all types of stuff, taht can made a character unique.

[Kor]

And if they are young threehorns some personalizing choices could be having horn like Cera, all 3 like Dana and Danah, and if instead of the 1 horn on their nose like Cera they may instead of the 2 on their head among other options.  With longnecks there are many species so lots of options.

[Malte279]

I made a few drafts for possible longneck characters; an Apatosaurus (basically Littlefootlooking), a Diplodocus (more pointed snout and slightly longer tail), and a Brachiosaurus (foreleg longer than the hindleg, bump on the head).

One thing I realize is that in case of some other species (e.g. swimmer, spiketail, and threehorn) far more than three interesting variants (species that is) would be possible. For example apart from the three kinds named so far for the Threehorns (Triceratops, Pachyrhinosaurus, and Chasmosaurus) there are several more interesting species with distinctive looks (e.g. Styracosaurus, Torosaurus).
I made another rough sketch which points out a few distinctive features which we might want to consider when thinking about creating a large variant of different longnecks:

[Mumbling]

Very nice, detailed drawings you got there Malte. It really looks awesome! :^.^:  

[Coyote_A]

You've made a very nice sketch, Malte.

[Kor]

Longnecks would have a lot of variety, along with some other types, swimmers and some classified with threehorns and flyers also.  Some of the scenes of the longnecks at the arrival place in LBT 10 shows quite a few different types of longnecks.

I do like the idea, instead of being inconsistent like they are in the movies and tv series of only females having eyelashes.  That would be one easy to tell difference one could see right off between male and female dino characters.   Another may be males or females tend to be darker shades and the other brighter.

[kjeldo]

that is detailed i see,looks quite interesting

[Serris]

Late but I want to weigh in.

Personally, I think Malte's got the best customization format.

Now for my points and suggestions:

I think a Pachycephalosaur could added as a Fast-Runner with a charge ability. But obviously, the charge would be weaker but faster to power up than a Threehorn or Spiketail charge.

Is the Clubtail classed as a "Spiketail" in this RPG?

About the Longneck class, they appeared to have a somewhat prehensile tail (LBT 7).

I think this would work:

Tail Grab: Can only be used by Longneck class

Longnecks can use their tail to grab objects or enemies. This must be gained by leveling up. At first, it will be rather weak and can only grab smaller objects (shrubs, fast-biters and the like) and the time the character can hold the object is limited. As it levels up, the character can grab and move larger and heavier objects and hold them for a longer period of time (there are some objects that cannot be moved and some that cannot be held and some objects that cannot be affected by this ability).

In combat, this can be used to trip enemies, slam enemies against other enemies or objects or pull down things like rocks or trees on enemies.


In LBT 4 Ducky used a vine to rescue Cera. Could this be implemented?

I'm thinking of this:

Vine Rescue: Can only be used by Fast-Runners or Swimmers

This skill must be learned by leveling up and can only be used if a vine is in the inventory or nearby. The dinosaur throws a vine to the dinosaur in distress. It allows the rescue of a dinosaur too far to reach from shore and it allows a faster rescue. As it levels up, the vine's accuracy and range increases.

This skill cannot be used in combat.

Accuracy:
Start - 35%
Mid - 50%
Final - 90%


Also in LBT 4, the characters bombarded Icthy and Dil with rocks to distract them. Could this be implemented as an ability (without overemphasizing combat)?


How about adding in large class flyers (See LBT 7, the white flyer that rescues Littlefoot, Cera and Spike)? Obviously, this would have to be a fictional creature as there are no flyers actually that large.

These large class flyers are the only flyers with the transport ability.


As for Chomper and Spike's boosted sense of smell, I think the best way to implement it would be a simple "radar" range extension.


As for gender differentiation, I think addition of eyelashes to females would work well. But I also came up with something similar to Animal Crossing (text boxes would have different colored background for the genders <blue - male> <pink - female>). The only problem would be for non-speaking NPCs or player characters.


The mention of combat by someone raised an interesting point. I'm assuming combat would play only a minor role in leveling up.

But is combat in real time (no zoom in on battle, fight seen on map) or "traditional RPG" (turn based) or "Tales of Symphonia style" (real time, zoom in on battle)? Would hit points/health be featured in?


How would healing be done? I'm leaning towards a combination of time based with "healing plants".


How would an inventory system work if even present?


FEEL FREE TO EDIT OR CRITIQUE MY SUGGESTIONS

[Kor]

I think any combat should be avoided.  As for vine rescue, if it is a skill why not let any 2 footer be able to do it.  Flyers could, and Chomper could, though his arms are smaller in proportion to his body then the others.  

Having Clubtails as a type of Spiketail makes sense, though the damage with their tail may likely be blunt instead of impaling for coding purposes there may be no real damage.

[Malte279]

I think a Pachycephalosaur could added as a Fast-Runner with a charge ability. But obviously, the charge would be weaker but faster to power up than a Threehorn or Spiketail charge.

I really like the idea of involving Pachycephalosaurus (domeheaded bipeds).
Same as some other kinds of biped dinosaurs (e.g. Iguanodon) they are standing out for a special ability not shared by many distinctly different looking dinosaurs. As I am not the one who has to deal with the work of programming and creating 3D models I cannot say anything about how likely they are to be included, but I really like the idea.
Come to think of it Pachycephalosaurus may be a very, very interesting element in some tasks as an NPC as well. We've seen Pachycephalosaurus running amok several times throughout LBT. They might be one of the "enemies" to be tricked in tasks (lure it away from that cave entrance, but don't let yourself get caught while the others are sneaking in).

Is the Clubtail classed as a "Spiketail" in this RPG?

Yes, I think so. Of course a club is not identical with a spike, but as they are resembling each other and as there is a lot of programming involved they will probably be made one class. Apart from Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus, Nodosaurus and Kentrosaurus may be interesting species for that class.

Tail Grab: Can only be used by Longneck class

Longnecks can use their tail to grab objects or enemies. This must be gained by leveling up. At first, it will be rather weak and can only grab smaller objects (shrubs, fast-biters and the like) and the time the character can hold the object is limited. As it levels up, the character can grab and move larger and heavier objects and hold them for a longer period of time (there are some objects that cannot be moved and some that cannot be held and some objects that cannot be affected by this ability).

I like the idea, especially as longnecks are so far the class with the least clearly defined abilities. Apart from grabbing they may also be grabbed (as in case of LBT 2, 3, and 5) to save someone from a "cliffhanger situation" so to speak.

In combat, this can be used to trip enemies, slam enemies against other enemies or objects or pull down things like rocks or trees on enemies.

I don't know about this one. From what we said so far combat is meant to play a very minor role in the game. No matter the LBT 10 longnecks I still think that Shorty sized longnecks could easily trip a sharptooth. I suppose the tail would be the "weapon of choice" if there is to be such a situation though, but I don't think we would ever have one kid take on a Sharptooth in head on combat.

In LBT 4 Ducky used a vine to rescue Cera. Could this be implemented?

I hope so, for it could be used very nicely in many tasks.

How about adding in large class flyers (See LBT 7, the white flyer that rescues Littlefoot, Cera and Spike)? Obviously, this would have to be a fictional creature as there are no flyers actually that large.

These large class flyers are the only flyers with the transport ability.

That flyer was a grownup though. For all I know (correct me if I am mistaken Tim) we mean the players to be Gang-aged in the game. We were discussing ways to spare the players long and eventless journeys from one end of the valley to the other. In this connection such large flyers were mentioned as a possible device of transport in the shape of NPCs.

How would healing be done? I'm leaning towards a combination of time based with "healing plants".

I may earn a lot of protest for this one, but I suggest a different approach. In most games it doesn't matter if a character is maimed by a bunch of orcs so long that character has enough food to eat afterwards. I certainly don't want to underestimate the importance of a full stomach (as a means to fill the energy bar) but I don't think it would be a good idea to establish eating as the kind of miraculous cure it is in most games. I suggest that if a character is actually wounded by a Sharptooth or whatever it will take a few game days (depending on the severity of the wound) for the character to heal. The live energy bar could gradually return to normal and there may be ways to increase the process a bit (Nightflower, the visiting of an NPC with some healing abilities), but it would still not be the typical "eat 10 treestars and will be fine" kind of matter. This may also encourage players to stray from traditional RPG procedures by thinking about how to get past that sharptooth (for example) without a fight; a progress which the characters in the movies are likely to take.

[Kor]

I think many rpg's would be better and more roleplay focused if they didn't have the elements of poof you're healed.

[Malte279]

I finished drafts for possible threehorn characters. There is a greater variety of distinctly individual looking types of threehorns than there are longnecks, so here are five rather than three types:

Please note that I did not let the Torosaurus sport three rather than two horns for any other reason than "testing". I don't suppose the kind to be any more likely to sport three rather than two horns at a young age than any of the other kinds. LBT does not give any clear hint on why some threehorns (Dinah and Dana) sport three horns at a very young age already while others (Cera, Tricia, hatchlings from LBT 2 and 3) sport only one. There is no explanation either why Cera sports only three "knuckles" (anyone knows a better term?) along the edge of her frill while younger Tricia sports five. Anyway, this lack of clarity allows us for some interesting devices of creating different looking Threehorns.
I considered if one or three horns could be a way to differentiate male from female threehorns at a young age, but this is not sanctioned by the movies (Dinah), and might be regarded as rather sexist (girls get two horns while guys get three, does that make them more... anyway ). Here is a sketch about possible devices of differentiation for threehorn characters:

[Mumbling]

Again a great job Malte. This looks really nice.

[Kor]

I wonder if some thing domeheads should have a similar ability to the threehorn ability of charge since they do have a thick skull that seems designed for impact.  

I guess maiassaurs would be considered swimmers, or are there other ideas or folks who know more about them.  As I recall there have been shown in the early sequels what could be a herd of maiasaurs in the great valley and some have been shown so that could mean there could be some young ones living in the valley, and at least 1 is shown in one of the movies as having eggs in a nest.   And how do you think their ability to move around like 4 footers, and yet also rear up and walk, at least for a while, like four footers and having hands would be handled?   No coding needed and instead just rped maybe?

Iguanadons, which I guess would be called spikethumbs or similar may have a different ability due to their thumbs, though it would be somewhat awkward to use unless something was right in front of them and close.

Are there other types of dinos that some thing may be unique abilities or similar abilities to ones that already are listed here like Longnecks, threehorns, ect?

[General Grievous]

About the health thing, maybe eating could help you regain health faster so you aren't as restricted in your abilities as long.  I'm not saying make it instantly heal you but make it heal you a little faster than just waiting around for it to slowly refill.

[action9000]

About the health thing, maybe eating could help you regain health faster so you aren't as restricted in your abilities as long. I'm not saying make it instantly heal you but make it heal you a little faster than just waiting around for it to slowly refill.

So basically: the more full your energy bar, the shorter your healing time.
Sure, we can do that!

[Coyote_A]

BTW, how about a "Hidden Runner" class, like the one from the TV episode? He may have some special ability to appear invisible, when he stands still.