Monday, April 30, 2012

Damian's Tournament: Combat System

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About:
A short rundown of the combat system's purpose.

Attributes:
An explanation of the statistics that define a character's combat ability.

Arenas:
A preview of every possible arena and what they do.

Signature Abilities:
An example of what a signature ability is.

Matches:
A simple rundown of the tournament bracket system as it works.

Frequently Asked Questions:
Elaborate answers to the most common questions raised by this article.





About the Combat System

Damian's Tournament is an event held on my FurAffinity gallery, in which characters face off against each other in combat. A match takes place when I submit the picture of the contest, and the winner of the match is decided through votes. Everyone can participate in the match by simply casting a vote for the character you think should win the fight.

To keep the event from being a plain popularity contest, a combat system has been created to help influence votes. Each character has different attributes and a signature ability to define their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the matches take place in different environments, which also flavor different attributes.

It's then up to the users to decide which character they think has the advantage by taking all the decisive factors into consideration.






Attributes
There are four different attributes, which all strengthen a character's combat ability. The first three attributes all strengthen a character's attack, but in different ways. All characters have a total of nine attribute points divided between the different stats, with a minimum of one and a maximum of three points spent in each.

Power
Defines a character's strength when attacking. The more power, the harder a character hits when landing an attack on his or her opponent. Power also determines the damage caused by any special abilities, such as magic.


Speed
Defines a character's movement rate. The more speed, the faster a character can attack and move around. Speed also determines the chance to avoid attacks, if both characters have an equal amount of Awareness.

Awareness
Defines a character's reaction. The more awareness, the more attacks the character can land on his or her opponent, and allows the character to dodge more attacks. Awareness also makes the character less subjectable to terrain obstacles.

Endurance
Defines a character's stamina. The more endurance, the more damage a character can take before fainting. Endurance also increases the character's resistance against environmental damage.



At first sight, the attributes may seem fairly even. However, when you begin to take signature moves and arenas advantages into account, it can make a large difference whether a character has more Power or Awareness, for example.






Arenas
All matches take place in an arena, and each arena provide environmental advantages. Whether a character fights in an arena that's advantageous is an element of luck, and it's up to the voters to decide how much influence the arena has on the battle.

Arena Number: 0
Boxing Ring
A small closed boxing ring with hundreds of fans cheering on their champions. Characters may not leave the ring or they are disqualified. The limited space gives no room to dodge, forcing characters into constant close combat.

Close Combat: Causes characters' Awareness to become equal to their Power and makes characters lose the match if forced out of the ring.

Arena Number: 1

Mountain Falls
An arena set up in the mountains, where the characters must keep balance on wooden pillars while fighting. Falling down will result in the character being teleported out of the match, automatically suffering defeat.

Balance and Fall: Causes characters' Awareness to become equal to their Speed, and characters lose if they fall from the pillars.


Arena Number: 2

Dungeon
Formerly a sewer system, the dungeon is a labyrinth of mist and darkness. Only a keen sense of direction can utilize labyrinth's layout, the rest is lost in this dark maze. The first champion to knock out his opponent wins.

Darkened Vision: Reduces Power and Speed by one stage, to a minimum of low (1). Characters with high Awareness (3) are unaffected.


Arena Number: 3
Battlefield
An arena in midst of a war zone, the battlefield's only rule is survival of the fittest. Champions take environmental damage during the match from the surrounding destruction. The first champion to knock out his opponent wins.

War Zone: Causes frequent damage to characters (depending on Awareness).

  
Arena Number: 4
Wonder Tree Lake
A tranquil lake around a large magical tree, Wonder Tree Lake is an enhanced environment with replenishing waters that heal the champions as they fight.

Wonder Tree: Increases Endurance to high (3) for all characters and negates effects that reduce Endurance.



Arena Number: 5
Frozen Wastes
A harsh arctic battleground int he cold north. The champions must endure the biting cold and not succumb to the freezing climate in order to battle in this hostile environment. The snowstorm rages on constantly through the match.

Snowstorm: Causes damage (depending on Endurance) and reduces Speed to low (1).


Arena Number: 6
Outer Space
A space station setup with a large arena. When the match begins, the artificial gravitation is turned off and characters become weightless. The state of weightlessness changes the way movement works.

Zero Gravity: Reduces Speed to low (1) and causes characters to fight weightless above ground.


Arena Number: 7
Burning Desert
An old abandoned oil station in the middle of a burning hot desert, the sun bathes on the sand and the metal is so warm it almost burns to stand on. The champions must endure the lax heat to fight in this climate.

Burning Heat: Reduces Power and Endurance by one stage, to a minimum of low (1).


Arena Number: 8
Toontown
A city unlike any other, Toontown is a city that unexplainable manages to defy the laws of physics. The champions must keep their sanity within the random chaos as everything they know has been reserved within this realm.

Toon Shuffle: All attributes have been inverted, and causes random damage to characters (depending on Awareness).


Arena Number: 9
Vhaldaria Gym
A gym located in the natural lands of Vhaldaria, and the home grounds to champions endorsing strength. The gym's presence has an inspirational effect on the champions, bolstering their attack power to the utmost.

Gym's Inspiration: Increases Power to high (3) for all characters and negates effects that reduce Power.


Semi-Final and Final Round
Testing Lab
The facility in which the teleporter was originally developed, the laboratory is now used for 'temporary storage'. An unnatural presence of memories imbue the champions, allowing them to recall abilities once used by their ally. 

Remembrance: Allows characters to use their former partner’s ability instead of their own.






Signature Abilities
Last of all, every character has a unique ability that defines their strength.While these abilities alone do not determine the outcome, they are the largest influence a character has in a battle.


List of All Abilities:
A complete list of every character with their signature ability.
Read more »






Matches
When two characters are matched against each other, a submission will be made on my gallery which will stay up and allow for at least a twenty-four hour vote period. When the voting period ends, the votes will be counted and the character with most votes will win the match.

 Team Battles
Because of the large number of champions, the first two rounds will be in a Two versus Two format, instead of One versus One!



How to decide which character to vote for?
There's no iron rule on how you cast your vote, people are free to vote for their own reasons. If you can't decide what character you think is stronger, you can always look at:
  1. What kind of attribute does the arena favor?
  2. What character has the best stats for that arena?
  3. How does the character's unique ability affect that?
And then, finally, deep down ask yourself which character you sincerely think would win the match.

Victor

The winner of the match will proceed on to the next round, and won't fight again until all characters in that round has fought against their opponents. This system continues until one man is left standing, the victor. For example:


The number of matches will be determined by the number of characters in the tournament. Only the owner of the winning character will receive the cash prize of 300$.

Defeat

Characters that are defeated by an opponent are "eliminated" from the tournament and cannot fight again. The host has invented a special way to eliminate the characters by teleporting them into glass dome capsules as "trophies". With every fight, a champion is defeated and a new trophy is collected.

The trophies are then displayed in the bottom of the match for everyone's view as the tournament progresses.

You can also submit a line for your character to say when defeated in my journal »







Frequently Asked Questions
What does "stages" mean?
Each attribute has different levels, such as low (1), medium (2) and high (3). If an attribute is raised or lowered by a stage, it means the character loses or gains a level of that attribute. For instance, an ability might increase a character's Power by one stage, raising it from medium (2) to high (3).

What does "light", "moderate" and "heavy" damage mean?
Just like attributes are divided into levels, so is the damage caused by signature abilities. Since there's no actual health or damage values, the words just suggest the amount of damage caused.

What happens if an attribute is raised or reduced below the cap?
The "cap" of minimum one and maximum three points in each attribute only applies to the initial point distribution, signature abilities are still capable of moving the attributes past those values. However, an attribute cannot go below zero (e.g. no "minus").

What does "damage over time" mean?
If a signature ability does damage over time, it implies that instead of dealing damage in an instant, the ability has a lasting effect on the character that continues to deal damage during the match. For instance, poisons or burns usually have lingering damage over time effects.

What does "stacking" mean?
If a signature ability has a stacking effect, it means each subsequent use further amplifies the ability's effect. For instance, if an ability does stacking damage over time, it means the damage effect will increase each time the ability is used.

What does "non-stacking" mean?
If the ability is used subsequently, the effect will not apply several times. For instance, if an effect of an attack reduces an attribute non-stacking, several attacks will not reduce the attribute by more stages.

What does "disarm" mean?
If a character is wielding a weapon, it refers to the removal of the weapon. Weapons allow characters to attack in a larger variety, and disarm takes away any advantage the weapon might have granted.

What does "terrain penalties" mean?
Terrain penalties refer to negative effects (but not damage) caused by the arena the characters are fighting in. For instance, an arena might reduce a character's Speed, but a character that can ignore terrain penalties will not be affected by it.

What does "reduces the strength of ability effects by 50%" mean?
If a signature ability states it reduces the strength of ability effects against the character by 50%, it refers to any lasting penalty from an opponent's signature move, such as an attribute loss. For instance, if an ability reduces an attribute by two stages, it would only reduce the protected character's attribute by one stage instead.

What does "ignores Awareness" mean?
If a signature ability indicates that it ignores Awareness, it refers to the chance to dodge an attack granted by the Awareness attribute. For instance, if a signature ability states it's an attack that ignores Awareness, it means the ability cannot be negated by the attribute.

What does "ignores defensive ability effects" mean?
If a signature ability indicates that it ignores defensive ability effects, it refers to the effect of the opponent's Signature Ability: If the opponent's Signature Ability would in any way stop the character's ability from working, that defensive effect will be ignored and the move will continue to work.

Does special types of attack have any effect on the combat system?
Different types of attack (like elemental powers or weapons) aren't supported by the combat system. For instance, wielding a weapon does not cause a character to have stronger attacks than others and abilities based on elements (such as fire or water) aren't at any disadvantage matched up in an environment that would make the power seem weaker (like a water-based ability in a desert).

How does abilities work in 2v2?
In team combat, abilities are shared with the team. If an ability grants an advantage to the character, it grants the advantage to both characters. In the same sense, an ability that puts the opponent at disadvantage puts both opponents at disadvantage. This is automatically reflected in the description of the abilities when in a team battle.
How does attributes work in 2v2?
In 2v2, attributes are joined together as a single unit. For instance, if the first character on the team has 3 points in Power and the second character has only 1 point in Power, the team then has 4 points in Power all together.

How does terrain penalties work in 2v2?
Terrain penalties caused by arenas are not altered by the 2v2 format and stay the same. As a result, the effects become less powerful in team battles. However, effects that depend on a character's level of an attribute automatically scale to fit the larger attribute pools. For instance, if an arena puts characters at disadvantage without high Awareness (3), the total amount of points required to avoid the penalty is raised to fit the larger number.

How does attribute gains and loses work in 2v2?
In a similar sense to how abilities benefit both characters, attribute gains are automatically doubled because they affect each character and the team's attributes are shared. For instance, if an ability causes a character to gain one stage of Power, both characters on the team gain one stage of Power and therefore the team all together receives two stages of Power. This works the same way for attribute loses.

3 comments:

  1. Nice to see Kehno here but no Galen?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Are attributes set from the first match, or will additional points be awarded as players progress through matches?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The attributes are set and cannot be changed through the event. Although it would be a cool feature to get additional points to spent as a reward for winning, the point of the current system is to force participants to pick either two strengths and one weakness (e.g. 3/3/2/1) or just one strength (e.g. 3/2/2/2).

      Additional points would allow participants to remove their weakness, which would only result in no characters being at any disadvantage and nullify the combat system's purpose.

      Delete