Certain weapons should break more often.

[Timetwister]

The code for weapon breakage should be tweaked. That is all.

[Schrodingers Cat]

Which weapons and by what rationale should they break more often than other kinds if weapons?
I agree with you in principle but it sounds like you're addressing something specific with this post.

[RogueGunslinger]

Meh. I feel the same about weapons breaking as I do armor degrading.


It's annoying and usually just a mild distraction. It doesn't immerse me more or make me think "oh that's cool". Just an irritant.

[evilcabbage]

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

WEAPONS BREAK ENOUGH!

Leave my code alone! my armor breaks, my weapons degrade and then they break too! I don't need them to break MORE!

[Krishnamurti]

Metal swords break. IRL that is.

And obsidian is really, really sharp. I posted an article from a medical journal not long ago that talked about how the aztecs used it in their weapons and how we use it today.

Also, when you wear a plate breastplate and plate sleeves and leggings and whatnot, just like the knights of old, you'll find that combat styles evolve that counter that. For instance a lighter-armored swordsman with say a foil, sabre or Épée (as in the sport of fencing) who can poke through vulnerable spots in the armor while avoiding slower hits and exploiting reduced visibility from the armored opponent.

There are always vulnerable spots or you'd basically not be able to move at all.

Strikes me that obsidian would be the perfect thing to exploit that, particularly in halfswords and daggers/dirks/knives. And I also don't see why  thrusting/stabbing weapon used properly should shatter or break in those situations.

[Orin]

I disagree.  They break as often as they need to, especially without real maintenance.  I could go for an indicator applied when you assess an item, such as "it has several nicks and cuts" to get an idea of how damaged it is currently, though.

[musashi]

Do weapons degrade? I was always under the impression that armor degrades (and gives indications of its current condition already) but weapons just have a chance of going from perfectly fine to shattered.

I wouldn't mind seeing weapons shatter a lot less, but degrade the same way armor does.

[Maker]

I've never had a weapon or piece of armor break on me.  WTH am I doing differently?

[RogueGunslinger]

I've never had a weapon or piece of armor break on me.  WTH am I doing differently?

Not sparring half-giants.

[Maker]

Now, why would I do a fool thing like that?!?!

[Spoon]

I think people miss the subtleties of this system for a few reasons: All their combat characters are consistently strong/weak, they don't use a variety of weapons, they don't take enough PCP, they're too lucky, they're too unlucky.

If that doesn't cover it, Timetwister, then you really need to elaborate!

[Synthesis]

I think people miss the subtleties of this system for a few reasons: All their combat characters are consistently strong/weak, they don't use a variety of weapons, they don't take enough PCP, they're too lucky, they're too unlucky.

Yup.

[James de Monet]

I've never had a weapon or piece of armor break on me.  WTH am I doing differently?

Armor?

Not sparring half-giants.

Weapons?
Not playing half-giants.

Code Select Expand

You pick up a solid titanium sword.
A solid titanium sword shatters in your hands!

You pick up a solid hunk of granite.
A solid hunk of granite shatters in your hands!

You pthink: "Son of a bitch!"
A pthink shatters in your hands!

[Timetwister]

Arm is known for it's realism. Certain types of weapons (made of certain materials, ie: fucking glass like obsidian.) should break regardless of your strength stat. Just my opinion though.

[Delirium]

^ When confronted with an inexplicable scenario, I say to myself, "Zalanthas is Zalanthas. Not Earth."

[musashi]

And anyway obsidian armor is all the rage over in Morrowind. Stuff is durable as hell!

[Spoon]

Arm is known for it's realism. Certain types of weapons (made of certain materials, ie: fucking glass like obsidian.) should break regardless of your strength stat. Just my opinion though.

For specific items it might be worth sending in a request cc'd with Salarr (seems all my questions about these items get sent to those staff).

[Lizzie]

I disagree that Arm is known for its realism. It's known for its believeability. It isn't realistic to have elves. Or half-giants. Or a desert planet where fire-spitting insects are bigger than humans. Or a planet that isn't round, but instead, simply stops once you go too far west, north, east, or south. It isn't realistic to only be able to see north, south, east, up, down, in, and out, but not northwest, or south-southeast, for instance. It's not realistic to have defilers. It's not realistic for obsidian to not shatter every time you use it on anything more than delicate, meticulous knifework. It's not realistic to skin an animal of its meat, put the raw meat in a bin in your apartment, and be able to cook up a succulent steak with that meat 2 game-months later.

It -is,- however, believable in the context of the fantasy world in which it exists.

I see nothing wrong with it.

However, since blades *do* shatter eventually, I'd love to see a weapon degradation implemented, along with weapon repair skill, so that people don't have a perfectly good weapon one moment, and a completely destroyed one the next. I'd love to see obsidian blades chip, and wood weapons splinter, stone knives crumble...etc. etc.

[Maker]

However, since blades *do* shatter eventually, I'd love to see a weapon degradation implemented, along with weapon repair skill, so that people don't have a perfectly good weapon one moment, and a completely destroyed one the next. I'd love to see obsidian blades chip, and wood weapons splinter, stone knives crumble...etc. etc.

Yes, yes, with degrading performance as well.

[Morrolan]

However, since blades *do* shatter eventually, I'd love to see a weapon degradation implemented, along with weapon repair skill, so that people don't have a perfectly good weapon one moment, and a completely destroyed one the next. I'd love to see obsidian blades chip, and wood weapons splinter, stone knives crumble...etc. etc.

Yes, yes, with degrading performance as well.

And low levels of a new skill "weapon repair" for fighting classes, and add it to the repertoire of weapon crafters as well. With the new code, add clothing repair for tailors, and get clothing to degrade easily in combat as well. There is no reason that sandcloth shirt should ignore a stab wound!

[RogueGunslinger]

Guys, guys. How about we let them fix the current armor repair skill first.

[Orin]

May your knife chip and shatter.

[Timetwister]

I can list some realistic things on the mud.

-Gravity (ie: if you fall off cliffs you will get hurt and might die)
-Hunger/thirst
-Permanent death
-Animals tire, (movement points)
-Consciousness is represented (stun points)
-Overall health is represented (hp)
-People get better at what they do (skill based system opposed to level based)
-You need arrows for a bow.
-You need rocks for a slingshot.
-Armor degrades.
-If you move in a storm you will get dust on you.

So while simply saying that the obsidian on zalanthas isn't earthy obsidian is kind of a cop out in my opinion. If a world is based upon our own I think it's safe to assume that the basic physical properties of our natural earth here are represented (and it looks like they are). Unless staff specifically state that the obsidian is 'special' on zalanthas I'd love to see it shatter more often.

Yes it would be a pain in the ass. Yes you would have to carry more weapons. Yes you might die from it. Just because your sword shatters doesn't mean you'll be useless, technically it should create a a small shard that you could stab with still. I remember when this game was a lot harsher in terms of surviving in the wild, and not having obsidian weapons chip or shatter completely as they should always irked me over the years. My argument is simply for something to happen that should under the current circumstances and physics represented. I would say obsidian would chip or shatter 7/10 strikes against a foe, depending on the armor they are wearing or what they are parrying/blocking with.

[Wolfsong]

For as many realistic things as you can list, there are as many unrealistic things. For example:

If I crush a tiny insect with a hammer, it may explode in a welter of gore and coat me from head to toe in blood, drenching through protective leather clothing and cloaks.

[RogueGunslinger]

Yes it would be a pain in the ass. Yes you would have to carry more weapons. Yes you might die from it. Just because your sword shatters doesn't mean you'll be useless, technically it should create a a small shard that you could stab with still. I remember when this game was a lot harsher in terms of surviving in the wild, and not having obsidian weapons chip or shatter completely as they should always irked me over the years. My argument is simply for something to happen that should under the current circumstances and physics represented. I would say obsidian would chip or shatter 7/10 strikes against a foe, depending on the armor they are wearing or what they are parrying/blocking with.

It's a bad idea solely for the purpose of realism. Realism for the sake of realism doesn't add much to a game that we use to escape reality. Make realism serve a FUN purpose and I'll be into it. Tacking on needless annoyances simply for the sake of being realistic is a really bad way to design a game made for fun.

[Delirium]

^ yep.

[Timetwister]

It's a bad idea solely for the purpose of realism. Realism for the sake of realism doesn't add much to a game that we use to escape reality. Make realism serve a FUN purpose and I'll be into it. Tacking on needless annoyances simply for the sake of being realistic is a really bad way to design a game made for fun.

For a video game I agree. For an RPI I disagree because there is a blend of roleplaying (deriving from MUSH) mixed with a robust code to back up actions performed from the roleplaying. Adding any feature because it would realistically happen I think would make the game more fun because I would have to be more prepared while fighting, or choose my weapons more wisely. The extremely expensive weapons from Salarr would actually serve a purpose besides just being eye candy, it wouldn't break on the first strike like that chipped old obsidian longsword that you can currently use for an entire characters life span if his strength score is low enough.

When you try to climb and slip that's realism. It's annoying but do you think we should remove it because it makes the game less fun if you get stuck in a pit? What about losing movement from combat actions, I remember when somebody posted the idea to lose movement for the combat coded skills and it was shot down by a lot of the playerbase, but once implemented all of that rhetoric left far behind with a more realistic combat code in it's wake.

[Timetwister]

I might even take that video game part back. Fallout 3 is one of my favorite games.

[X-D]

For the record RGS, armor repair was fixed some time ago...I have had it since that fix and noticed no problems.

[RogueGunslinger]

Sweet.