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[Amarak]

Primal Kingdoms is set in the savage world of Sharafell. This has been an ongoing project of mine since around 1995. There is plenty of lore and a fairly fleshed out history, but I won't post it here right now. This first post I will limit to the basic concept of the game.

On the surface, the beginning concept is similar to Ultima Online or Mortal Online, with skills instead of classes. It is a sandbox MMO, and player housing, guild wars, territory control, and even farming are part of the base design principles.

What sets this world apart from most other MMO worlds out there today are the inhabitants. There are no dwarves, elves, gnomes, orcs, or halflings. The races include a few strains of humans and a large variety of primal animal-men. Examples include dog-men which are similar to gnolls in other games, bull-men resembling minotaurs, rat-men, cat-men, etc. These will all be playable races, and they come in a large variety of sizes ranging from around 2 feet tall to around 10 feet tall. There will be game effects/mechanics that take these into consideration.

There are several factions, many of them hostile to each other, and war will be a constant problem in the lands. Factions and guilds will be able to control territories, which will give harvesters and crafters access to resources from those areas with NPC guards to help protect them. Harvesters from enemy factions can sneak in and steal resources but it is risky. This will give factions a reason to fight and control certain areas.

To prevent any one faction from controlling too much, I have some plans as to how to limit aggressive expansion. Perhaps the leader of a faction is limited to a certain number of territories before they start becoming lawless. Perhaps invading NPC armies will retake certain areas after a certain amount of time has passed.

There will be plenty for non-PVP players as well, from building homes, raising crops on their own farms, breeding animals, to sailing cargo ships to far off ports for profit.

That's enough for now, I will post again in the future. I am working on characters now, and will post screen shots when I have a few I am happy with.

[MarkusLappalainen]

I like what I read here! A good concept. You could implement some providing/sustaining mechanics. Meaning that in order to sustain power over a territory or a clan/tribe the leader must be able to provide for his/her followers. Food/land etc. also shipping and distributing it could be a part of the deal. That could limit territorial expansion a bit.

I look forward to seeing some screens!

[Prometheus2012]

More info

[Amarak]

I haven't decided yet on some of the mechanics. For example, I'm not sure if I want to use aim-based targeting and physics, or a more simple tab-targeting system. A mix of the two might work, for example you could target a player for spells, or cast straight ahead and see who it hits if there is no target specified. This would make it interesting because you might hit friendlies, or you might cast at the enemy forces' general direction and hit someone at random.

Players will be able to own pets, and may even have a mule and wagon to haul their loot and supplies. These will be destroyable when you are in PVP mode, which can be toggled on and off in towns and villages. I prefer to have PVP mode optional because some people really love games like Mortal Online, but hate the PVP part. If you venture into an enemy's territory your PVP flag will automatically be set to ON so beware.

For players who have pets, there will be a "Make Camp" option to safely log out and have your pets log off with you. If you forget to make camp and simply log off, your pet may or may not be there when you return. This applies to wagons and small boats as well, but large boats/ships will always remain in the world, but should be safe from other players if at port.

I am working on a multi-faceted magic and skill system. It will be similar to having different "classes" or magic schools. For example, you may learn the arcane magic of wizards, casting fireballs, levitating, and even becoming invisible. Or, you may seek the path of the shaman, communing with spirits to grant you protection or to hurt your enemies. An elementalist would command the elements, of course, invoking golems and elemental avatars to fight for them.

What makes it more diverse than games such as WoW or Everquest is the fact that each type of magic is a skill, so you can become adept at several schools and be a fearsome spell-slinger.

The way you will be limited in combat is that you will have a set of spell hotbars, weapon hotbars, and others, so you might only be able to slot 6 spells at a time, and replacing one with a different spell will take several seconds, not useful in the midst of combat, but doable in between fights.

Keep in mind everything is subject to change, but this is my concept at this point.

[MarkusLappalainen]

I haven't decided yet on some of the mechanics. For example, I'm not sure if I want to use aim-based targeting and physics, or a more simple tab-targeting system. A mix of the two might work, for example you could target a player for spells, or cast straight ahead and see who it hits if there is no target specified. This would make it interesting because you might hit friendlies, or you might cast at the enemy forces' general direction and hit someone at random.

I'd suggest this...

Click to target > click to execute > if friendly in the way that sucks

That would give space for character accuracy and leave timing for the player.

[Amarak]

That's an interesting idea Markus. I have some time before I get to that point but the more options I have the better!

[Prometheus2012]

League of legends has an interesting and fun combat mechanic. While not strictly point and click to aim, it employs skill shots that need timing and judgement to hit the target. Otherwise you might hit a friend.

Other skills and attacks use simple tab target which is safe.

Aim based with physics is a massive strain as everything has to be calculated rather than just distance to target.