This diary entry will resemble the previous one only in that it’s not exactly traditional. If you’ve been following our activities, you probably know that we’re cunningly plotting a final, “director’s cut” of the balance, which we are already working away at.
So today I’d like to tell you about that version—about its essence, spirit, and core, about what we want to achieve and when we will achieve that, at least approximately.
For this noble cause I cornered Mihail who stakes his head on the rebalance. He’s a tiiiny bit busy, but it’s okay, we’ll distract him and grill him.
I’m rubbing my hands with anticipation; let’s get started!
Q: Well, Misha, what’s the rebalance about? What’s our goal here?
M: There are several goals. The first on the list, but not in importance, is correcting mistakes. We analyze what is done and how it’s done, and think of ways of doing things better
Sounds reasonable, but quite broad.
M: Correcting mistakes will be necessary for our next project.
I’ve already told you about that in one of the previous diary entries.
M: The second goal is to remove imbalance both from the heroes and the opponents, to make the enemies behavior more fair, and the rewards more proportionate.
Personally I like looking for imbalances to have fun with them. But fine, let’s see.
M: There won’t be dramatic removal of game mechanics; most of the changes will be in the numbers.
Now that’s interesting.
Q: How do you work with numbers? Is there some sort of system?
M: The system is based on leveling out the damage and defense potentials for opponents and heroes. Those potentials are scaled through the biome progression. The principle changes a bit depending on what is being rebalanced (cards, items, economy or a cluster of specific mechanics).
Q: Misha, enough with the big words! Not everyone here is a game designer.
M: If you take cards, for example, then we initially set a certain number as the basis for attack or defence per cost unit and build up other cards of the same type on that basis.
Still a bit complicated.
(While we are having fun here, our artists keep creating beauty)
M: In any case, all mechanics come down to—“reduce the enemy’s health without letting your health be reduced”.
The difference is in the number of steps, and there can be many intermediary mechanics. The task is to make those mechanics viable and interesting.
Q: Will there be “trash” mechanics? That’s part of gameplay, too, isn’t it—to pick decent mechanics and filter out unusable ones.
M: It’s more interesting to choose between two good things than between an obviously good thing and trash.
Q: So there will be no trash at all?
M: No, not in its pure form. There will be mechanics of different usefulness and applicability.
Did you understand? I know I didn’t.
M: Progression largely depends on what you chose earlier and how it stacks with your current choices. Choice is a cumulative thing.
Seems clearer now.
Q: If you match cards and items just the right way, then will any mechanics work?
M: Yes, sort of like that.
When will it be ready?
Q: What can you say about progress? Are there some parts that you think are finished? What percentage is that, in your opinion?
M: Actually, common mechanics and Persival’s particular mechanics are mostly finished, they just need some final touches. Then we can start physically implementing them on the test servers and polishing.
Q: WHEN?
M: The first stage of testing will be done around autumn. Based on its results, we’ll develop our next plan.
As I understand it, we still have some time to play around with the vanilla balance. If anything’s unclear, feel free to ask, as usual!
Here’s the second part of Vanadis’ autobiography (for the beginning see the previous entry):
Vanadis’ dying letter, pt 2
Soon, destiny introduced me to a person who would turn my life upside down.
We first met when I tried to steal from him. He grabbed my arm with a grip of steel and, to my surprise, he dragged me not to the guards but to my pals. It turned out that everyone in the gang, except me, knew him.
“Is this wretched girl yours?”
“She is. This is Vanadis, the new girl. What’s she done?”
“Nevermind, it doesn’t matter. I’m Mortis, nice to meet you.”
He was an average-looking man; suspicious, but not really remarkable against the backdrop of my circle back then. Just a fraud of some kind. But we got along well. He wanted to learn more about me, asking a question here and there. But I didn’t tell anyone about my past, save for the fact that I’d killed someone with scissors when he tried to rape me. I told it to everyone—to send a message.
However, Mortis knows how to worm himself into a person’s trust. One day I confessed to him that I’d become a thief and a bandit against my will and that I’d like to live a normal, peaceful life. After that he told me about the Heathlands.
“Far in the North, beyond the Northern Ridge and the border of the Empire, in the Heathlands, there’s a settlement of humans who fled there to start a new life. They are mostly escaped peasants, but there are bandits and convicts there, too.”
So, what makes me better than them, I ask?
I developed a dream and a goal. I trained hard to kill anyone who would stand in my way. I tried to learn more about the Heathlands, piecing together everything I heard from others. I figured out how to get there. The hardest part was crossing half of the Empire without running into mercenary patrols that look for runaways with the purpose of getting a ransom for them.
Then a disaster happened. Our guys robbed the wrong person—some local noble. In retaliation he ordered his mercenary scoundrels to round us up. They killed almost every one of us. By pure chance I managed to beat the chasers off and slink away.
Mercenaries, all of them – elves, dwarves, and orcs – all come from the North to serve the wealthy men of the Empire, and for good pay, too. The powerful keep the poor in submission and fear by using the services of foreigners who don’t give a damn about us. So the rich are on the top, the poor are on the bottom, and this disgusting layer is between them, in the middle. That’s why I don’t like those pompous elves and greedy dwarves. Humans have to stay away from them and closer to each other.
I didn’t know what to do again, although I wasn’t confused. There were many other gangs left in New Agreement. I almost joined one of them, but Mortis found me earlier. He said he was headed for the Northern Gate and could take me with him. Of course, I agreed right away! At that moment, my dream of the Heathlands seemed almost real.
We traveled on the main roads in broad daylight, not shying away from anyone. At first I thought he was insane, and then I thought he wanted to get me killed. I cursed myself for having trusted him until I realized that no one seemed to be noticing us. I started peppering him with questions: How, What, Why? He only smiled slyly and kept telling me to trust him.
Around halfway we came across a discomfiting convoy: guards were taking three fettered escaped peasants somewhere… to the gallows or to the mines – it made no real difference.
Mortis suggested we kill the guards and free the poor captives. I refused. I didn’t want to put my dream at risk. Mortis pretended to be surprised.
“Those are escaped peasants, just like you. Do you not feel sorry for them?”
“I do, but what can we do...? Wait! I’ve never told you I’m an escaped peasant.”
“We could’ve saved them.”
“Save three peasants? Don’t be ridiculous, Mortis, that’s nothing. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of them. Say we free these three; they’ll be caught again or killed, anyway. To actually fix something, you need power. You and I can’t change anything.”
“As you say.”
“Listen, I’ve got a goal that’s more important than anything. I want to reach the Heathlands and start a new life. I’m not going to risk everything for the sake of three miserable captives! Shut up and stop tormenting me.”
We were close to the Northern Ridge when Mortis’ plan misfired. We were noticed by mercenaries, the very same peasant catchers whom I feared the most. Several orcs and an elf – a fine company. I realized right away that those cutthroats wouldn’t leave us alone, and I silently said goodbye to my dream.
When it became clear that a fight was inevitable, Mortis knocked them all out in five seconds, himself not getting even a scratch. I was rendered speechless. He said, “It seems like this will require some explanation”.
He took a long time telling me about himself, and I noticed another surprising skill of his: to talk for a long time and not really tell anything. When I remember that case, I think he attracted the mercenaries’ attention on purpose, to show me his strength. That was all part of the plan, of his grand game.
We passed the Northern Ridge without any incidents and parted ways in the Northern Gate.