Damage calculator

[Holy_Diver]

I understand if you don't want to change SoM's default mechanics, but it sounds like you are changing the default formula so I don't quite get how your new formula is any better than the old.

From reply #49:

Specifically I think you can start doing damage if your rating is within square root of 0.5 or 70.71% of the defense rating. That's a fairly auspicious number. It shows up in circles. For instance it's how far you can move diagonally when pressing the movement buttons.

Whereas with ATK-DEF you would have to be at 100% of the defense rating before you can deal damage. Which seems unrealistic, though I've no doubt games use this. It's reasonable to suspect that a weapon with a rating just below the armor can do more than 0 damage.

When the weapon and armor are equally matched you deal 55.90% of the weapon's damage. I am not sure if this number is significant (it almost definitely is) but it is the same number that SOM's classical formula yields. So that seems good (edited: I have a feeling this may be 50%. Could be rounding and stat bonuses were making the difference. Still seems like an awful big difference. May be worth revisiting sometime)

I expect when the weapon is 141.42% over the armor you will deal the weapon's maximum damage. This is square root of 2. Or the length of the diagonal of a square enclosing a unit circle. Whereas square root of 0.5 is the width of the square formed by that diagonal clipped at the edge of the circle. ‎  Anyway at this point the armor is no longer effective (edited: for the record, this hunch seems to checkout)

Quite a few games have used damage=atk-def, as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure Brigandine does with a slight randomizer and elemental adjustments. My desire for SoM has always been to make it easier for the common fan to make a game. And the problem that everyone mentions about SoM damage is that it's too abstract to adjust without tons of trial and error or calculation. That's just wasted time that would be better spent on other aspects of game development. ‎ 

This new formula is atk-def. It just has a damage window from about 70% to 140%. This models real life expectations better than atk-def. Since if you bang two things together that are approximately the same hardness they damage one another. Whereas atk-def only begins to produce damage when ATK is harder than DEF. Please read posts carefully so I don't have to repeat myself so much.

The bottom line is "how many hits does it take to kill something". No matter how fancy the damage formula is, it always boils down to that same thing. If a player with 29 ATK goes against an enemy with 100 HP, 18 DEF how many hits would it take to kill the enemy using this formula: ATK-max(0,DEF-ATK*ATK/(DEF*2)) ? Good luck without a calculator.

In that case the ATK overwhelms the defense and does 29 damage. Around 12 ATK it can't penetrate the defense and deals 0 damage. Or 1 using the 0=1 handicap. This is like real life armor. If you just remember that when the two are matched 50% of damage is dealt you'll be fine. The formula is well behaved. Unlike SOM's.

But if the formula is "damage=atk-def", most people can do the math instantly in their head (29-18=11 100/11 = 9.x = 10 hits). Because of that, players can also evaluate equipment in a meaningful way. In KF, if I found a weapon with "56 Slash atk", I had no idea what that meant other than it was better than "55 slash". ‎  With a simple formula, players can weigh the pros and cons of equipment and plan strategically. That adds potential enjoyment to the game.

Yeah, but it doesn't model anything like real physical dynamics. So its more confusing. And very unforgiving. You can't have parity between the weapons and the armor, since the weapons must always be harder to make the slightest dent.

SoM's default formula IS "damage = 1.5xATK - DEF" as long as stats are balanced. The only point in deviating from that formula as stats grow apart is to restrict players from going into areas where they aren't supposed to be yet - aka "rat in a maze" game design. ‎  If someone wants to make a linear "rat in a maze" game, there are far easier ways of doing it.

Well that's why this formula. When matched it produces the same results. Plus it isn't a radical departure from SOM's identity. It just shifts its terms around very slightly to produce something that is not so impenetrable, if not ill conceived.

I've said all there is to say, and you never change your mind once you've decided so I'm done talking on that particular topic.

You'll prefer this formula. I didn't expect it. It just emerged organically. Call it divine providence.


PS: For the record. My concern is always for the player. Both in game. And when they first open up the Ex.ini file out of curiosity. I want them to feel welcome and get sucked in. Just like reading a book. Writing is difficult. Reading should be easy.

EDITED: News Flash. There is also handicap_quantifier to change the behavior of 0=1. There will probably a Player handicap preference too, but it will be a straight scalar. This one is intended for authors.

BTW: Am I the only one that gets freezed out of this site after a couple page reloads? I just expect for this site to go dead for 5 minutes at least once every time I use it. Might want to clean the lent trap on the database.