Re: [Adonthell-general] Inventory/Items

[Kai Sterker]

On Tue, 28 May 2002 10:01:39 +0200 address@hidden wrote:

> EQUIPABLE:
[...]
> All of the above can be equiped and have no effect on their own, if
> they do not hold any enchantments 

I would think that stuff like gloves, cloaks and boots would have some
armour bonus as well. The rest wouldn't have any use though, unless
enchanted. I also agree that it might be good to shorten the list a bit,
so the number of power-ups a character can wear at the same time isn't
too huge. Of course, this can also be controlled by the number of
available items. If there are few and/or if they are difficult to
aquire, it doesn't matter if there are plenty of slots. 


As far as the GUI goes. I guess you'd have some sort of paper doll next
to the backpack. And if you 'use' an appropriate item in the backpack,
it'll appear on the paper doll.


> The following are the combat relevant items. Whenever they are equiped
> they modify one of your stats. Of course you can only equip one armour
> at a time. Because it makes programming easier and leaves the player
> with more strategic choices I would allow the player to equip one
> ranged weapon, one shield and one melee weapon at the same time. 

Agreed. Maybe we should do some differentiation behind the scenes
though. For example, the shield would only be active (i.e. apply it's
bonus), if wielding a one-handed weapon. 

> ATTACK ITEMS:
>
> I would suggest that we do not use a fixed button for attacks and one
> for spells  (for example) . Instead we should use a more or less
> variable approch: A character has 2 (or maybe 3, though we should keep
> the number of buttons low, so adonthell can be played with a game pad)
> attack buttons, which are in fact just slots where items can be
> equiped. These attack items are the fighting feats, as well as spells,
> songs and the likes. A character starts the game with the two fighting
> feats ranged attack and melee attack. Both have no prequesites. As he
> progresses throughout the game, he can learn spells, songs and further
> fighting skills, which he can equip. 

Yeah.


> BACKPACK ITEMS : these include books, keys, gems, herbs and all kinds
> of other icons that can not be equiped or 'used'. These items are
> stored in the backback, they are not assigned to any one of the
> characters. Of course all the other items can also be put in the
> backpack (which is in fact the party inventory) but then no character
> profits from them.   

Basically, the backpack would be the storage for most items, unless
equipped. Depending on the race, there could be a
spell-/song-/'cook'-book that keeps track of the spells or recipes a
character knows. A keyring could be used to pile all keys.

I suggest that the backpack starts with a limited number of slots. Like
8 or 10. Whenever another character joins the party, the same number is
added. The player can further find some (rare) bags, that add another 4
or 5 slots each.



> Specific Situations/ Game Implementation: There are a lot of items
> that can only be used in certain situations. One example are keys.
> Instead of giving the player the option to use them, whenever the
> certain situation occurs (in this case the character tries to open a
> locked door), the game checks whether the required icon is in the
> backpack 

Exactly.


> The same works for reagents. They
> are not an item category on their own. Instead when your character
> uses an anvil a dialogue window opens (so internally an anvil is just
> a verrrrrry dull person), and checks whether you have ore in your
> backpack or not. Depending on this check the dialogue window could
> either read:'I do not what I could be doing here'. Or a choice of 'I
> use my ore to forge a magic hammer' and 'I use my ore to improve my
> armour'. Of course the same applies for enchanting items.  

Well, the anvil would probably be needed for Dwarves to use their
skills. So it could be implemented that way. But I don't think it would
apply for alchemists. They should be able to brew stuff directly from
the recipe. Of course, that would only work if the required items are in
the backpack, so it's kinda similar.


> Rune of Sharpness:
> useable/ Requires: weapon improvement 2 ranks/Desc.: your weapon
> carries the rune of sharpness. It can be activated once, then it
> diminishes. When activated the your melee damage increases by an extra
> 8 points./ Value: 0 gold

That's a good idea. I was wondering a bit how weapon improvements would
work. I guess some would be permanent, but the majority wear off after
using. 


> Recipe for medium poison:
> backpack/ req.:alcheny 2 ranks, 2 bitter leafs (activates when you
> talk to an anvil) / Desc. Use the knownledge written down in this
> recipe to create poison. Uses 5 power when brewed, consumes the 2
> bitter leafs. Creates a potion of medium poison. / Value: 45 gold

As said above, I would make a recipe an entry in the alchemist's
'cookbook', so they can be used anytime. Of course that also means they
cannot be sold.


That's pretty good so far. With that we should be able to continue the
item implementation.

For example, each item script could have a 'is_usable' method that tests
whether the character fulfills the requirements. That method would then
be called before equipping or using an item.

Trying to implement above items would also be a good idea. The recipe's
'use' method would for example search the inventory (backpack) for the
needed reagents. If all are there it would remove them and place the
resulting item into the backpack.

There might be some details missing to create above items, but I don't
think they will be too difficult to add.


Kai