The following are links to design documents and FAQ's on the various projects being conducted on the code side of things. The documents found have been written by the people currently working on them.
Enjoy
Combat System
Channeling System - Design proposal only... and still being written.
Frequently Asked Questions for Code Combat for A Moment in Tyme MUD
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1) When will code combat be done?
Currently code combat is my "main focus" development wise, and will be so
until it is completed, or something happens to me.
However, once the code combat system is complete that doesn't mean that
combat will be available right away. There are other factors involved
such as making sure that the mobs and objects and equipment are ready as
well.
2) What style of combat will Tyme have?
Turn Based with options for 'automatic' and 'semi-automatic'.
3) Why Turn Based combat?
It offers more advantages and no drawbacks compared to the standard mode
of combat in CircleMUD based muds.
Each player can toggle how "automated" they'll want the combat to be. They
can either proceed in fully manual mode, semi-automatic, and fully automatic.
In addition the Turn Based engine will give the user more control over the
outcome of the combat so it isn't just a matter of "He with the most skills
wins."
4) What do the different modes mean?
"Fully Manual" - Every turn all choices will be made by the player.
The computer will make no moves for the player. The player may choose not be
as specific as he's allowed. In this case, the code would automatically
decide what the missing peices should be. This mode will be designed
specifically to supplement roleplay emote based combat. Essentially, every
emote can be accompanied by a turn decision. Instead of relying on the
player you are targeting to decide whether he will take your hit (and
where he'll take it) you'll instead tell the code what you want to do,
where you're aiming, etc, and it will decide based on dozens of stats
whether the blow will land and where and how much damage it will do. This
kind of fairness added to emote combat should make it more enjoyable for
everyone by preventing players from 'supermanning', or refusing to take
blows from players who are clearly more advanced than them.
"Semi-Automatic Mode" - Your defense is automatically chosen, but you will
be prompted when it's your turn to attack to choose your move. This mode
will speed up the flow of combat quite a bit while still giving players a
very large say in how the combat will flow each turn.
"Fully Automatic" - This mode will look and feel very much like the old
non turn based combat system. All you have to do is specify a target and
let the code do the rest.
5) How will it be decided who goes when?
An initiative roll will occur for each round of combat.
6) How will you attack your opponent?
Once in combat you can attack and defend using combat Forms. Each Form in
the game has approximately 30 different stats and supports specialized code
procedures for 'special cases' that can't be accounted for in the stats.
To attack with the form you would do someting like:
<form class> [<form>] <player> <body location>
like:
slash 'overhead slash' Cormac head
To attack Cormac with the form "Overhead Slash". To defend he might do:
parry 'parry to left' <attacker>
To defend with "Parry to left"
7) How is the damage assessed?
Through a formula dealing with several factors taking in all facets of the
characters, including encumberance.
8) How much more has yet to be completed before Combat will be ready?
As of January 2008, we are standing at about 75% completed.
9) Do you need any help?
Yes! We need volunteers to help write forms and build equipment. If you want to help out,
contact someone on staff.