=Dev= Ways to make monster pools more varied (and a new Void monster) (Full Version)

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Kalanyr -> =Dev= Ways to make monster pools more varied (and a new Void monster) (1/12/2011 6:38:54)

Greetings all,

Today I'm going to write about something we're considering introducing to give monsters of a given level a bit more variety. This is to give monsters of a given level an extra descriptor that effects their power. You've already seen a version of this since its just an extension of the system we use for bosses, this change introduces (or formalizes) the monster categories of Mook, (Standard), Champion, Elite and Boss , each of these categories changes a monsters basic power by adjusting a monsters HP and Damage. The below table shows the total adjustment in monster power, as well as the way this power is allocated between HP and Attack by default. Many monsters can reassign this power (eg its not uncommon for current bosses to have no bonus to attack and x2 HP), the default allocation merely means that if a monster is re-purposed later on (eg a boss becoming a normal monster), it maintains the same ratio of HP to attack power (so a boss that puts all his boss bonus into HP as a boss becomes a tank-ish standard monster).

Category | Total Power (and Preliminary Rewards) | Attack & HP Adjustment (to 2 Decimal Places) | 
Mook     |        50%     		         |                x 0.71 (eqiv to sqrt(0.5))  	|
Standard |       100%     		         |                x 1  			        |
Champion |       125%                            |                x 1.12 (eqiv to sqrt(1.25))   |
Elite    |       150%                            |                x 1.22 (eqiv to sqrt(1.5))    |
Boss     |       200%                            |                x 1.41 (eqiv to sqrt(2)) 	|


These categories can be combined to for additional variety.

I've added an example of one of these monsters (an elite champion boss), Lord Ceiline the Supremely Great, to the Void, its designed as a Void-worthy challenge monster for level 63s (quiet a bit below the standard level for void challenge monsters), but if my estimates of its power are correct it should be roughly equivalent to a level 86 boss or a standard level 126 monster, because of this I've cleaned the other monsters out of the Void for the moment, since very few of them would be survivable by a level 63, don't worry they'll return at a later date. If we identify some other approximate gaps in the monster list (our eventual intention is to eventually release Lord Ceiline into the world as a Level 126 monster) that correspond with combinations of these categories, I may add a few more of these trial monsters to the Void, over the next week.

You may also see a couple of other monsters of similar pedigree debuting elsewhere in the next few days but I shouldn't say anymore on that.

We look forward to your feedback in the Discussion Thread

ETA - I should mention a few other relevant notes when people are assessing Lord Ceiline's power, firstly he's a Skill Using Monster, which means he uses (and regenerates) SP, so he uses a more powerful attack until he runs out of SP, he's also a Hybrid, which means that when he runs out of SP his attack is more powerful than a standard skill spamming monster because he's investing in Strength and Charisma similar to how a player Hybrid invests in Strength and Intelligence for the same advantage, he likewise suffers from the same disadvantage of having lower Dexterity and thus less BtH and Defence), lastly Lord Ceiline's skill attack wherein he plays ball with you is agonizingly cute and as such uses Cha/8 for damage and Cha/16 + Dex/16 + Luck/20 for accuracy.




Aelthai -> RE: =Dev= Ways to make monster pools more varied (and a new Void monster) (1/13/2011 0:53:39)

Well, Kal's already stolen most of the thunder (if you can call it "stolen" when it was his idea on how to deal with a problem I brought up :-p).

Still, there are a bunch of changes to the dev tools that he didn't mention - mostly because they aren't (very) relevant to this monster - and because they aren't *new*. You see, we've been doing these things in specific cases on specific monsters ... but it's all been done the hard way: manually. As long as I was implementing the changes to add the new monster categories, I added a few things I've been wanting to add for quite a while:

  • Monster category allocation (that is, where the monster's mook/champion/elite/boss status goes - usually split but it can go elsewhere)
  • Monster Lean (this is cannon/tank, and the reason I tend to object to high-end monsters with no lean being called tanks: they are tanky, but "tank" and "cannon" actually refer to the lean)
  • Monster defense alterations (this will make it much, much easier to have monsters who aren't the default in all three defenses)

    None of these are amazing - as I said, we already knew how to DO all of them, and had applied them to monsters in the past - but updating the dev tools means that they will be much easier to do, and therefore will happen more often - and give us more variety.




    It's already revealed in the thread as to why we were doing this ... but ... I guess I can give you a sneak preview -



    [image]local://upfiles/141968/FA12B695B9214DE6BE13ABFB47DAD926.png[/image]




  • Kalanyr -> RE: =Dev= Ways to make monster pools more varied (and a new Void monster) (1/14/2011 3:45:06)

    I've put a higher level (level 80) Champion Elite Boss in the Void on the Guardian Server.




    Kalanyr -> RE: =Dev= Ways to make monster pools more varied (and a new Void monster) (1/15/2011 6:51:02)

    Because some people seem to be masochists , Lord Ceiline has been driven from the Void, and Conflagrative Infernomancer Pir'os the Searing has taken his place.

    Pir'os, is a Level 136 Champion Elite Boss, Cannon, Spellcaster , caution is advised but the rewards are excellent for those who survive to claim them.




    Kalanyr -> RE: =Dev= Ways to make monster pools more varied (and a new Void monster) (1/16/2011 8:03:14)

    The Water Admiral has departed the Guardian Server void, Megdragon P1 , A drakel bio-magitek experiment has taken his place. Megdragon PI is only a champion.




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