Classes
by Matt Fairfax · in General Discussion · 07/01/2002 (9:47 am) · 30 replies
This is my first pass at a class list for Realm Wars. I tried to pick a theme for each of the races and to center their skills around it. As for the races themselves, elves, humans, and orcs were obvious choices given the work that has already been done but James' mention of a Necromancer and some concepts in another thread gave me the idea of a demon race.
Humans
(humans revere fire and the metal that fire has given them - steel)
Knight: pretty straightforward knight class, heavy steel armor, large swords, axes, shields
Wizard: think Gandalf =) robes, beard, battered peaked hat, spells: fireball, ring of fire, and heal
Rogue: female, throwing knives (leather bandoliers corssed over her chest), small crossbow, light on her feet
Elves
(elves honor the sky, the sun, and the moon)
Sorceress: the sorceress' spells are primarily offensive magic - lightning strike, chain lightning, spear of the sun (fire lance)
Priestess: the priestess' magic is mostly defensive - magic armor, heal, wall of wind, and blind; the priestess also makes heavy use of a large staff in HTH
Guardian: the guardians are the male elves charged with protecting their lands and cities (flying cities maybe?); they carry a spear and a bow and are proficient in HTH combat, they are light on their feet but can't take a lot of damage
Orcs
(orcs live close to nature and honor mother earth)
Grunt: the orc we already know and love; carries a crossbow and a mace; average speed, above average toughness
Shamaness: only females are allowed to lead the holy ceremonies of the orcs and only they can tap the powers granted by mother earth: heal, summon beasts, mud trap, ring of earth
Crusher: huge, slow, not very bright, favor large clubs (like a tree), can take a lot of damage and when they hit, deal out a ton of pain
Demon
(the only interest that the demon races share is dealing out death)
Necromancer: necromancers dislike combat (they are weak and can't take much damage) and prefer to summon underworld creatures to fight for them (not skeletons or zombies!), they have the ability to resurrect their teammates but they are as likley to convert their teammate's soul into more mana for their own use
Fiend: large, vicious beasts who can move fast and do devestating damage with their claws (anyone who remembers the fiends from Quake I can vouch for how nasty they can be)
Warrior: the demon warriors have mutilated their bodies horribly in hideous rituals that give them unnatural strength and vitality, they favor flaming swords and spurn ranged weapons; try to kill them from a distance b/c when they close on you it is almost over
Humans
(humans revere fire and the metal that fire has given them - steel)
Knight: pretty straightforward knight class, heavy steel armor, large swords, axes, shields
Wizard: think Gandalf =) robes, beard, battered peaked hat, spells: fireball, ring of fire, and heal
Rogue: female, throwing knives (leather bandoliers corssed over her chest), small crossbow, light on her feet
Elves
(elves honor the sky, the sun, and the moon)
Sorceress: the sorceress' spells are primarily offensive magic - lightning strike, chain lightning, spear of the sun (fire lance)
Priestess: the priestess' magic is mostly defensive - magic armor, heal, wall of wind, and blind; the priestess also makes heavy use of a large staff in HTH
Guardian: the guardians are the male elves charged with protecting their lands and cities (flying cities maybe?); they carry a spear and a bow and are proficient in HTH combat, they are light on their feet but can't take a lot of damage
Orcs
(orcs live close to nature and honor mother earth)
Grunt: the orc we already know and love; carries a crossbow and a mace; average speed, above average toughness
Shamaness: only females are allowed to lead the holy ceremonies of the orcs and only they can tap the powers granted by mother earth: heal, summon beasts, mud trap, ring of earth
Crusher: huge, slow, not very bright, favor large clubs (like a tree), can take a lot of damage and when they hit, deal out a ton of pain
Demon
(the only interest that the demon races share is dealing out death)
Necromancer: necromancers dislike combat (they are weak and can't take much damage) and prefer to summon underworld creatures to fight for them (not skeletons or zombies!), they have the ability to resurrect their teammates but they are as likley to convert their teammate's soul into more mana for their own use
Fiend: large, vicious beasts who can move fast and do devestating damage with their claws (anyone who remembers the fiends from Quake I can vouch for how nasty they can be)
Warrior: the demon warriors have mutilated their bodies horribly in hideous rituals that give them unnatural strength and vitality, they favor flaming swords and spurn ranged weapons; try to kill them from a distance b/c when they close on you it is almost over
About the author
By day, I am a senior programmer at The Playforge, makers of the popular iPhone game Zombie Farm. By night, I work on my own games as Night Heron Games. I am an ex-GarageGames employee who helped ship TGE, TGEA, Torque 3D, and Constructor.
#22
07/09/2002 (12:24 pm)
My belief concerning weapon splits is that each class has recommended weapons, that they will use the most effectively, and they spawn with one of those, however they could intheory drop it and pick up another weapon, they would just use it less effectively than a class that has had it designated to them. So you could fill in that crossbow man's place if your team required even though you are a wizard, it is just that you will do less damage and your bolts will fall quicker.
#23
07/11/2002 (6:57 am)
For Now I think we should make as many race models as possible and make each one a unique class in itself. This solves two problems with one stone. We can experience all the race possibilities, and it gives us classes to play with. This would be able to have the game progress without hurting or losing time.
#24
As for the huge player I like the idea, but I can't think of a simple way to implement it. The only one that springs to mind is to give each player a certain number of points to chose skills e.t.c but a chunk of those points must be spent on choosing a class, with a class like an ogre leaving little to chose skills, but I feel that in the current light of development this is too complex, perhaps a method of attaining giantness during the game could be derived, a powerup or something, but unfortunately that rewards the good players too much over new ones.
Thinking about it, a huge player (say twice as large) would only be able to use his one weapon he would not be able to pick up other weapons. Whilst he would have a lot of health and be very strong perhaps we could disadvantage that player in otherways, make him very slow, unable to jump high, cannot pick up dropped weapons.
I like the idea, but not sure how to implement it so they are the rare class not the norm.
07/11/2002 (12:45 pm)
I don't think each class should be a different race, it seems forced. I think there should be 2 distinct sides at the end, both having basically the same classes, but different models for each, not a requirement for anytime soon, but I feel it would make the game a little easier to swallow, than watching an elf supporting a demon.As for the huge player I like the idea, but I can't think of a simple way to implement it. The only one that springs to mind is to give each player a certain number of points to chose skills e.t.c but a chunk of those points must be spent on choosing a class, with a class like an ogre leaving little to chose skills, but I feel that in the current light of development this is too complex, perhaps a method of attaining giantness during the game could be derived, a powerup or something, but unfortunately that rewards the good players too much over new ones.
Thinking about it, a huge player (say twice as large) would only be able to use his one weapon he would not be able to pick up other weapons. Whilst he would have a lot of health and be very strong perhaps we could disadvantage that player in otherways, make him very slow, unable to jump high, cannot pick up dropped weapons.
I like the idea, but not sure how to implement it so they are the rare class not the norm.
#25
As far as the diffferent "sides" go, there could even be multiple sides such as in Warcraft or Warhammer in the board game world. So one side would consist of humans, elves, dwarves, etc (the usual). Another side would have the Orcs, humans, demons, etc.
Jeff Tunnell GG
07/11/2002 (4:46 pm)
What if the big guys were not played by people, but were NPC's that could be owned by the different realms? They would kind of function as turrets in Tribes, i.e. guard a base or could be slowly moved to a new location. That way we could have the cool models, but would be much easier to balance.As far as the diffferent "sides" go, there could even be multiple sides such as in Warcraft or Warhammer in the board game world. So one side would consist of humans, elves, dwarves, etc (the usual). Another side would have the Orcs, humans, demons, etc.
Jeff Tunnell GG
#26
That is an interesting idea, perhaps you could allow them to be summoned and then controlled through an interface much like UTs bot command interface.
The sides idea was definitly what I had in mind.
The idea then is are we going to create two sides with the same classes, just different models and effects or 2 sides that play differently with their own advantages and disadvantages?
07/11/2002 (5:29 pm)
That is an excellant idea, the massive character could be treated like a seige weapon, some sort of lumbering NPC nasty.That is an interesting idea, perhaps you could allow them to be summoned and then controlled through an interface much like UTs bot command interface.
The sides idea was definitly what I had in mind.
The idea then is are we going to create two sides with the same classes, just different models and effects or 2 sides that play differently with their own advantages and disadvantages?
#27
Never meant for the classes to be race specific. We dont even have a 'large' alpha we need to start somewhere at a base and work towards the goal not other way around.
07/11/2002 (6:29 pm)
NO you didnt get what im saying. I meant for now just so we get SOMETHING going in terms of models and classes. I mean how can we say ya or nay to races and classes without testing them? Never meant for the classes to be race specific. We dont even have a 'large' alpha we need to start somewhere at a base and work towards the goal not other way around.
#28
Starcraft is a good example of this. You couldn't just take all the units in Starcraft and pick sides for them at the END. All the Zerg have a bio-look, all the Protoss have shields and are tough...
That said, we are working just to get things in the game, the decisions about sides and such are yet to be made.
About large characters, REALLY large could be cool (maybe a spell to largify someone) but I was thinking a stone golem might be say a head or 2 higher than the next tallest creature with different proportions, thicker overall, bigger hands, feet, and arms, etc.
For example, if anyone has seen the Capcom games with Juggernaut in them, he is only somewhat taller than the next tallest characters but massive in comparison.
I think it would be neat to be able to look at a battlefield and see different basic shapes moving around with different animations. A massive, loping golem, a minotaur charging horns-first, a thief slinking around, etc.
07/11/2002 (9:55 pm)
Justin we are working to get something going, but it is a good dicussion to have because the sides (if we have them) will be better the earlier we decide on them. That way they can have similar sounds, colors, themes, levels, and whatever else. Also we can plan the sides to have different play styles, different strengths and weaknesses, etc.Starcraft is a good example of this. You couldn't just take all the units in Starcraft and pick sides for them at the END. All the Zerg have a bio-look, all the Protoss have shields and are tough...
That said, we are working just to get things in the game, the decisions about sides and such are yet to be made.
About large characters, REALLY large could be cool (maybe a spell to largify someone) but I was thinking a stone golem might be say a head or 2 higher than the next tallest creature with different proportions, thicker overall, bigger hands, feet, and arms, etc.
For example, if anyone has seen the Capcom games with Juggernaut in them, he is only somewhat taller than the next tallest characters but massive in comparison.
I think it would be neat to be able to look at a battlefield and see different basic shapes moving around with different animations. A massive, loping golem, a minotaur charging horns-first, a thief slinking around, etc.
#29
ion Another note I agree fully in respect to the size thingy, a spell woul be great, but what about maybe an actual class, like the humans could have a kight, elves may have a treant, rcs have an ogre, so on and so forth. I can see how a psell casting thing would be useful because it will make it so not everyone goes all out inot that one class. What about maybe turning players into animals, like frogs, like polymorph them sop they become combat ineffective.
07/13/2002 (8:37 am)
Alright, that all makes sense. I was just coming from the perspective of "lets rock and roll" and make stuff. I want to make maps but, its like trying create a place where you dont even know the inhabitants.ion Another note I agree fully in respect to the size thingy, a spell woul be great, but what about maybe an actual class, like the humans could have a kight, elves may have a treant, rcs have an ogre, so on and so forth. I can see how a psell casting thing would be useful because it will make it so not everyone goes all out inot that one class. What about maybe turning players into animals, like frogs, like polymorph them sop they become combat ineffective.
#30
07/13/2002 (12:15 pm)
We need to have input certainly, but if a lot of random stuff starts appearing then we could end up with a mish-mash of armies, if we can decide the classes and the general models for them then we can set specific tasks of modelling those individually, and maybe our lead artist could draw up some concept sketches once James has nailed down what he wants and I think you will probably find people will model those more readily.
Torque Owner Owen "WDA" Ashcroft