Potential Blog

Hear Ye, Hear Ye. By High Decree, the game shall be renamed! Huzzah! (No, that’s not the new name; that’s just an olde expression of exclamation.)

Until then, I’ll use a generic placeholder to refer to the Potential Games MMORPG. Portions of the site will be offline until relaunched. Alpha (Beta Beta) testing is paused briefly until relabeled.

For MMORPG Alpha (also known as Beta Beta) Playtesters, I’ve put out a minor upgrade featuring some combat tweaks. This does not yet represent the full MMORPG combat system, but some strides have been made in that direction. Particularly (for the curious), creature population processing logic, character navigation, and combat computations have been adjusted and improved.

What does this mean to you? If you’re a playtester, you’ll find you have an assortment of minor weapons to play with. Until towns are reinstated, there is no way to create any more. There is a population of weak Spiders to the South of Firsttown, which your default character is wildly overpowered to fight.

There are some gameplay limitations to be aware of for playtesting. As mentioned, combat computations are way out-of-balance (in your favor). Compounding the mass slaughtering this enables, corpses do not seem to decay properly. Consequently, the Spider Forest is littered with the crushed exoskeletons of vanquished arachnids. If you do find your hit points dwindling, the best way to replenish them is to die.

That’s all for the moment.

The plight of your character, and staple of RPGs, is to be ambushed by creatures bent on your demise. In MMORPG, the world’s proliferation of evil creatures is determined by population logic. New and improved population management is now in place.

From a gameplay standpoint, the new logic includes (the beginnings of) population dynamics. If you hunt down an area of creatures, the population will dwindle. In time, a population will restock its numbers. In addition, frequently traveled routes (such as along roads) will remain more clear of enemies. Population logic also controls potential combat rewards (items, resources).

From a scheduling standpoint, population dynamics will be further enhanced later. My immediate goal is to continue integrating Beta Beta core gameplay features. Combat improvements are scheduled next, followed by items, shops, and towns. These systems already exist from Alpha, and are being tweaked, per the latest game designs. After this, new components (such as magic, quests, and skills) can be integrated.

After a productive Alpha phase, MMORPG now moves into Beta Beta!

Whereas Alpha was focused on technical issues, the motivation of Beta Beta is to introduce gameplay. During Beta Beta, all core game designs will be integrated and tested, culminating in the MMORPG Beta release.

Beta Beta is not publicly available, but more testers will be sought as more gameplay is integrated. Current Alpha testers can continue to playtest as usual. You will find the world lies dormant for the moment, as most systems are disabled pending game design updates.

Beta Lore: This is a time of great upheaval, as new forces reform the world. Already, the very essence of character has been redefined. Those familiar with the ways of old will experience a world reemerging, with features both compellingly new and pleasingly familiar.

“Great change is necessary for greatness.” — Nyhm