Update #52: Monk!

[Zed]

The monk concept sounds to me like "If you damage me I'll delivery you a lot of pain. It's better to be far from me."  I don't like it, sorry. Looks like a class where they want more pain to fight better.  Not a good concept on my opinion.

I agree with this.

Not a good concept for the RTwP IE-like combat system either. You're gonne be pausing like a mofo, and just for the monk too. Doesn't sound very fun at all.

Just make the game turn-based if you want to implement stuff like this.

[Wynstein]

Well sounds nice... really. First I thought" Yeah, finally I can Play a Monk with light and/or no armor equipped with a sword"... fists against Dragons an demons are always a Little ridiculous (like smuggler with his barenaked fists against big-battle-droids in SWTOR)
But then I read further and then it came--- U can equip a melee weapon but ist better to be without.... U can wear Plate but it is better beeing naked...
Well that is not Play as u want--- it is more--> "that´s the way the Monk is meant to play--- if U want to Play it otherwise do it but U will be less powerful less efficient and U will die-- often--- have fun with your choice! Feel free to Play an often dying noob..."
Actually this are neither bad News nor good... it´s just like every casual RPGame always was.
I hoped U would set a new higher Benchmark.
in that case I would prefer a Talent System which regulate and Balance decisions out. For example: putting skill points in sword mastery makes my attack as fast as fists and putting sill Points in fists increases damage like wielding a sword
That means every playstyle of the Monk is the same mechanic and damage Output and so on... but I REALLY can CHOOSE how i want to equipp and Play my Monk....
Just my 2 Cents...
So long

 

[PrimeJunta]

I think the Monk sounds like a class that requires intensive micro to use properly. In a single class game that would be fantastic, in a party class game, I worry I would spend too much time managing his wounds mechanic, instead of managing all the classes in my party.

 

Thanks for the update though.

That depends on how much control we get over the AI, and how easy it is to override. It wouldn't be hard to make an AI script that would have the monk behave relatively reasonably most of the time. I.e., not keel over dead because he's too dumb to use those wounds on his own initiative.

[Greensleeve]

Fantastic update! Love the monk mechanics. Feels like a very nice, unique way to show that even classes like the monk are supernatural. A nice way to use their soul. Very impressed I must say. 

 

As for worries regarding micromanaging: if we have a decent script/tactics system, similar to Dragon Age: Origins, we can just give the monk a script saying "when Wounds reaches X, and HP/stamina > Y, use ability Z." etc. It'll allow for automatic usage of abilities and Wounds without requiring us to pause and micro all the damn time. A script system like that would actually be pretty fantastic. 

 

As for cultures, they're fantastic. Love the South American style clothes for the Ixamitl and the Greek inspired khitons for the Aedyr. Very much looking forward to seeing some other races cultures and their looks.

 

Keep up the good work!

[PrimeJunta]

The Culture Concept is OK. I also noticed it reflects the currently popular view that women have no breasts (beacuse if they did, it would be sexist). Good job.

I also notice the men don't have their dongs hanging below the hem of their khitons. Sexist!

[cyberarmy]

I like them monks, they sound like flagellants (or clerics of Ilmater) and this kind of lads fits in setting. Not that I care game having monks but some of our friends here sounds still upset about them. (immershun... in a fantasy game)

 

 

Edited May 8, 2013 by cyberarmy

[Lysen]

 

Nice update. So far it looks like:

Dyrwood - anglo-saxon\germanic

Valian Republics - Italic city-states(?)

Aedyr Empire - greco-roman

Jxamitl - slavonic

Yeah! But ixamitl in my opionion have some mix between slavic and east cultures( like 30%/70%). Even word  Ixamitl is not quiete slavic. I mean, i`m slavic and  just cant spell this word in slavic manner, it`s just dont fit.

 

 

Maybe they are 'slavic' from American perspective)) Jxamitl, of course, isn't slavic at all, this is something Mayan I guess.

[PrimeJunta]

Ixamitl sounds more Aztec than Maya to me. Axolotl, Mictlantecuchtli, Tlaloc, Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl...

[SunBroSolaire]

The monk sounds fantastic. Great work, Tim! And thanks for doing an update, it's always great to read you thoughts on game design. 

 

I love the culture concept, I'm immediately the most interested in the Ixamitl. They look almost like a combination of Persian and Chinese influences. I wonder if you guys are also prototyping the non-human races? It will be interesting to see how Aumua and Orlans express those cultures. The Dyrwood guys look awesome, definitely getting a strong pioneer vibe from them. When thinking about what kind of character I would create I was already considering a Davy Crockett type. 

 

Kaz is really talented guy! Great addition to the team.

[mudd1]

I'm not a fashion designer so I might just be an ignorant fool but is it really that hard to design a fashion style that doesn't feel like a variation on well-known themes, given a set of available materials and techniques?

[Bubu91]

I like them monks, they sound like flagellants (or clerics of Ilmater) and this kind of lads fits in setting. Not that I care game having monks but some of our friends here sounds still upset about them. (immershun... in a fantasy game)

 

 

 

 

They should of used this picture. It fits the mechanics they described perfectly!!!!!

[JFSOCC]

They should of used this picture. It fits the mechanics they described perfectly!!!!!

should have

[Sabotin]

The Ixamitl remind me of  Ex-Yugoslavian countries, like Serbia or Croatia. Maybe they'll be some kind of analogue of the Ottoman empire? The technology level would kind of fit I believe.

The name I would put as something Aztec. Indeed wiki says xāmitl means "clay brick" or some such in the Aztec language.

[Acerbissimus]

I've been interested in your take on the monk since the Wounds mechanic was first mentioned, and it looks like it has interesting implications for gameplay. Neat. I'm not terribly concerned about the plausability of an unarmed, unarmored fighter being a capable member of the party. Being able to triple his reach and set his bare fists on fire without burning himself would be bigger issues, IMO. I like the overall more grounded aesthetics of P:E compared to some IPs, but I am not really bothered with some crazyiness.

 

I'm wondering how the UI will communicate Wound-related information. Does every individual hit generate a Wound? If so, how does the "severity" and remaining duration of each Wound get communicated in a compact way, especially as new wounds overwrite old ones (assumption) once you hit your limit? And since it is important for monks to be taking damage, how will they get enemies to attack them? How will mob aggro work? I could see the monk being annoying to micromanage depending on these things, even with DA:O-style scripting.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Acerbissimus

[twincast]

Ohhh...I don't really like this update. The monk is just...I just get the impression that someone (Sawyer?) was trying to be too clever. For me the way the monk works is completely unintuitive. Why would you get stronger when you're getting your ass kicked? Is this some kind of magic? It's not clear. Unless, of course the monk should actually be called the masochist...you know, thriving and at his/her best when in a lot of pain...

 

Now, I admit the concept is interesting and will add (superfluous in this regard?) sophistication to the combat system, but at the same time it feels very unnatural. For me, at least.

 

I do have to agree that the Monk sounds kind of cool, but very Barbarian-ish (which is RPG-speak for berserkers). Not quite, of course, but too close for my liking. Doesn't really remind me of any real warrior monks at all, be that the typical Chinese ones or others. :-/

 

The Culture Concept is OK. I also noticed it reflects the currently popular view that women have no breasts (beacuse if they did, it would be sexist). Good job.

 

Please excuse me while I go facepalm for ten minutes, but before that:

 

I'm no expert on the matter, but for what it's worth, my initial mental connections regarding each of the Vailian designs were Baroque, Late Renaissance, Golden Age of Sail and New Orleans (each of them covering a broader (and partly simultaneous) period of course, but I'm thinking of the archetypal/stereotypical styles here), so yeah, they are kind of all over the place and really do not jive well with their supposed neighbors' much simpler dresses. Early Renaissance styles (think Assassin's Creed II) wouldn't be anywhere near as jarring and IMHO look much, much better to boot.

 

And the Ixamitl kind of confuse me; a very Amerindian (particularly Mesoamerican) sounding name, but clothes that resemble Slavic and Turkic traditional dresses (not sure which would be more accurate). That's totally fine of course, but nevertheless kind of odd.

 

That said, what bothers me most is the right Aedyr man's nipple police undergarment, which just comically screams cross-dresser's bustier to me. And I could nitpick about the trousers all day, but hey, it's a Romanesque fantasy empire, not ancient Rome itself, so whatever.

 

[da-beast93]

Ok cool and all. and dont get me wrong ive been reading every update for this game and am super pumped for it. just havent made a members account yet. but im curious as to why you would make an almost invincible class?  does that not defeat the purpose of having a team who strengthens your weaknesses. being a certain race and class leaves you with strengths and weaknesses. thats the whole point of having other team members and the option to pause the game mid combat.  so personally i actually dont like it.  i like the fact that classes arent restricted to what they can wear and what they can use but overall i dont like this monk class.  to easy.

[Dezloc]

Anyone know if Monks will follow different religions and gods?

[Greensleeve]

Ok cool and all. and dont get me wrong ive been reading every update for this game and am super pumped for it. just havent made a members account yet. but im curious as to why you would make an almost invincible class?  does that not defeat the purpose of having a team who strengthens your weaknesses. being a certain race and class leaves you with strengths and weaknesses. thats the whole point of having other team members and the option to pause the game mid combat.  so personally i actually dont like it.  i like the fact that classes arent restricted to what they can wear and what they can use but overall i dont like this monk class.  to easy.

 

Doesn't that depend entirely on the rest of the classes combined with the power of the monsters?

[Jarmo]

Monk concept seems fine and sweet to me.

Just give them a higher level ability to change their fist like unto a thing of iron, and I'm all set.

[PrimeJunta]

And the Ixamitl kind of confuse me; a very Amerindian (particularly Mesoamerican) sounding name, but clothes that resemble Slavic and Turkic traditional dresses (not sure which would be more accurate). That's totally fine of course, but nevertheless kind of odd.

Heh. I thought the Ixamitl looked obviously Mexican-Aztec. Interesting how different impressions people are getting from those little figurines.

 

Google.

[Fashion Mage]

Don't care too much about monks but that Vailian clothing sure does look fabulous.

[Lysen]

Perhaps they (those who created the concept) tried to show that the Jxamitl are alien to Americans/Western Europeans hence the strange name and the mix of different 'alien' influences (Mesoamerican, Eastern European or even Chinese).

[Sensuki]

Enjoyed reading the update. Thanks!

 

Monks sounds cool, will see how the new mechanics play in the game before I make my judgement.

 

Big (Y) on the clothes.

 

I also noticed it reflects the currently popular view that women have no breasts (beacuse if they did, it would be sexist). Good job.

 

I know it's a shame, but I highly doubt we'll see much above a B cup in this game.

 

At the moment my first playthrough character concept was going to be a buxom female Ocean Human of undefined class called Cioccolata or something alas I am not sure the paperdolls will have the assets to support it!
 

[JFSOCC]

Monk'd combo well with rogue if multi-classing is ever going to happen, I'd imagine.

[da-beast93]

 

Ok cool and all. and dont get me wrong ive been reading every update for this game and am super pumped for it. just havent made a members account yet. but im curious as to why you would make an almost invincible class?  does that not defeat the purpose of having a team who strengthens your weaknesses. being a certain race and class leaves you with strengths and weaknesses. thats the whole point of having other team members and the option to pause the game mid combat.  so personally i actually dont like it.  i like the fact that classes arent restricted to what they can wear and what they can use but overall i dont like this monk class.  to easy.

 

Doesn't that depend entirely on the rest of the classes combined with the power of the monsters?

 

somewhat but thats why i like to pick class specific.  so that the rest of the team compliments my playing style.  this makes it sound like you could play the whole game with 2 monks no problem