Sagas RPG.com

So I have had some major breakthroughs with DPnP in the past few weeks. Primarily, I have brought the XML back to it through some help from a friend of mine. I also had a huge epiphany in regards to handling Load Out management. Load outs were introduced with the Modern Sagas Beta. They basically came from the idea that a single static inventory sheet that listed only what I carried, but not when I carried it and what it did was more or less useless. What I decided to do was create inventory sheets that included all stats for equipped items and armor, as well as items kept in packs, worn on the body, etc. Furthermore, they are designed to be written for multiple loads. For instance, you have a light load out for travelling, which may include light armor, a lighter weapon, and a dagger or back up with everything else in a pack. However, you have a separate load out for heavy combat with heavier armor and weapons, perhaps a shield, and no packs for unnecessary weight. The difference is plain. When you are travelling you need to stay light, but also capable of quick variation. However, when you know you are going to engage in heavy fighting you pretty much know exactly what you need, and only those few things. Weapons and armor change based on situation. You can play with load out combinations, name them, and modify them away from the game. Then, when you come back to the game, you can easily and quickly pull up a load out sheet with your favorite configuration for that situation. Its all very easy to use on paper, but much more difficult to implement electronically. It has to have a very easy interface as well as provide a multitude of variations and information. As many PC and console gamers know, electronic inventory management is usually the most unlikeable aspects of most RPGs. Very few games have done this well, and fewer still would even work with my situation. I have designed and tried to code no less than six variations so far. I finally found one that worked.

First things first: this is what a load out interface looks like in the DPnP Character Management Software:

Its broken into 3 sections. The top left section is a simple list of buttons representing the available slots in a load out. The right panel shows the items that are available to use in that slot. The picture shows that the Primary Weapon slot is selected and has listed all the weapons the character can use in that slot, and only those weapons. The bottom panel is an information panel. It shows the information for the slot or item currently selected. If the selected element is an item, or a slot with an item equipped, the information panel shows the stats for that item, as it is used by the character.

There are two things, in my opinion, inventory management needs to have. One is proper organization. This is handled by the layout. We take special care to make movements with mouse seem natural. People tend to read from left to right, so we naturally want to work that way as well. So first you select a slot. Next we filter all the items that can be used in that slot. We move the mouse right to the panel that list these items.

The second most important thing about inventory management is information. Click an item to see what it does below. The text in the information panel is larger than the rest of the text so that it is easier to glance and get what we need. If we like the item we check the box to equip it.

These two things, organization and information, go hand in hand in the DPnP interface. In the case of specific items, weapons, and other equipment new buttons are generated. For the primary weapon for this character we chose an MP5. This opens up a bunch of new buttons. They include modification slots for the weapon, as well as the ammunition clip.

We have the Rail Modification button clicked. That lists the firearm modifications we can add to this weapon. Each one modifies the weapon differently. Look at the weapon stats in the picture above. It says the attack for this weapon is “d8+4”. If we add the Aimpoint modification it will give us a +2 to attack.

By only allowing certain buttons/items to appear based on selection we can completely eliminate any problems with organization. Furthermore, the software calculates how that item performs for your character which eliminates guesswork as to whether that item is going to do what you expect it to do. This also applies to using elements such as off-hand weapons, shields, ammunition types, etc.

We take, what is essentially a simple thing to do, and make it easier. I actually took a long look at standard management without software. I also looked at how many video games looked at inventory management and took notes on what I liked, and what I didn’t like. What I liked came down to how organic the process felt. The more times I hade to change screens, or how hard it was to actually understand what an item would be like on my character the more I began to understand how the interface should work. It actually affected how other wizards are looking as well as I have gone back and actually changed them to fit this new philosophy, The idea to make things work as easily as possible for the user.

What is ironic is how complicated it actually is under the hood. With so many options in how we can actually outfit our characters there is a ton of things that must be accounted for. Just like using a pen and paper you are able to set up multiple load outs. Completed load outs are part of your character sheet which can be printed all or in part. Making these changes makes the overall process much more forgiving and less intimidating. They are tough changes to make, because they ultimately mean delays. However, a delay today for a much better product on release is always worth it in my eyes.

Until next time, Happy Gaming!

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 11:03 am and is filed under DPnP, Developer Blog, Player Character Creator. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.