Joined: Jul 06, 2010
Posts: 442
Location: The most interesting place in the world
Posted:
Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:04 am
How about eliminating the entire 'skill burning' concept?
If my warrior trains his strength to 11, why is the cap of his learned attack and parry skills mystically reduced until (if and when) he reaches Primus?
This has bugged me for decades (!). Is this a game balance issue or simply something that is hard to change in the code?
Grimm ArchMaster Poster
Joined: Sep 13, 2006
Posts: 1020
Posted:
Tue Jul 06, 2010 11:44 am
Well training stats versus skills is always a choice. First,Training ST to 11 does not cost any skills. If you go to Terrablood's website you will see the stat increases that give you skills.
The burner, is a warrior that can not quite make these stat skill points, so instead of DA'ing or if you see the potential of early skill gain you can set up stats to be a train or two away from these points. Now it is true you lose these skills until primus, but it can give you a jolt in the right direction when starting a warrior (therefore a lot of early potential in first 20 fights). If you stick with the warrior you can always get them back in primus.
Example 10 7 10 20 20 5 12, you have 3-4 immediate burns if you like wt to 21 wl to 21, DF 13, and spd to 6 if ya wish. In 4 trains you will get a ton of skills, but you lose those until primus. Yet, this is a nice start in say a rookies tourny.
Seems interesting, well it is, but not all of like burning. If you look in some of the past forms you will see write-ups on why not to burn. Really there is no right or wrong with burning, everything is situational.
Going back to your original point. I would wager that it would require a huge code change to make them separate of each other. Therefore, you have to figure your startegy per warrior and train appropriately.
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Obregon Advanced Master Poster
Joined: Jul 06, 2010
Posts: 442
Location: The most interesting place in the world
Posted:
Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:45 pm
That's my point. Why even have the 'burn' concept in the first place? From a game design perspective, why should stat training lower the warrior's skill training ceiling?
Stik ArchMaster Poster
Joined: May 06, 2003
Posts: 2514
Location: Frozen Tundra of North Dakota
Posted:
Tue Jul 06, 2010 2:41 pm
At this point, it's kind of a 'why ask why?' area, since it was one of the basic concepts built into the game from the start, and will almost guaranteed NEVER be pulled out or changed.
It's been very tough generally for us managers to get RSI to make even small tweaks to the basic code for certain wants/needs in the game over the years. They would never consider changing the "burn" feature IMO.
simply something that is hard to change in the code?
I am guessing this. Even if there was a consensus to change this aspect of the game (which there likely is not), the code is just too complicated to change without risking breaking the game.
The Consortium ArchMaster Poster
Joined: Nov 23, 2002
Posts: 10143
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Posted:
Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:43 pm
Obregon wrote:
That's my point. Why even have the 'burn' concept in the first place? From a game design perspective, why should stat training lower the warrior's skill training ceiling?
We think the interaction between the two is one of the most interesting and relevant parts of the game.
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Lukeal Unchartered Poster
Joined: Jul 15, 2003
Posts: 23
Location: Seattle, WA
Posted:
Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:47 pm
So, from what I recall and have re-read through the forums to make sure it hasn't changed.
You are thinking of it slightly wrongly.
The basic issue behind this is that skill training has a cap while stat training does not.
Stat training in and off itself does not lower your ceiling.
It is the timing of the stat training that trades off between near term advantage and long term maximums.
Stat train prior to skill capping may make your warrior more playable/survivable/better in the near term but it lowers his theoretical end game cap.
Waiting to hit skill cap prior to stat training may be way more painful in the short term, but gives you the maximum possible long term benefits.
This is a pretty core part of the depth of the game for warrior development and I can't see it being changed.
Bartender Advanced Master Poster
Joined: Sep 24, 2006
Posts: 416
Location: Sweden
Posted:
Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:48 pm
Lukeal wrote:
This is a pretty core part of the depth of the game for warrior development and I can't see it being changed.
That, and you can un-burn those skills in Primus, so it does not change your warrior's end game potential.
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Obregon Advanced Master Poster
Joined: Jul 06, 2010
Posts: 442
Location: The most interesting place in the world
Posted:
Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:03 am
I'm not thinking that it WILL change, and I understand that it is a core part of the game that some people enjoy ... I just find it illogical.
Why would studying and improving Wit LOWER the cap of learned skills? If a skill represents a manuever, combination, or routine, why should training my Wit deny me the ability to learn 20 such manuevers like the next guy? It makes no sense and is doubly frustrating because, like many of the secrets of the game, IT WAS NEVER OFFICIALLY DISCLOSED THAT SKILL BURNING EXISTED.
The underlying game design is the real reason for skill burning, not because there is some basis in reality for it. The game design reasons (my guess):
* No skill burning would reduce the incentive to train skills
* No skill burning would increase the effective cap on skill levels in Basic ... people could effectively train up to 25-30 skills over base in each skill
* Skill burning gives people an incentive to reach the end game
All of these are fine reasons, but they don't resolve the underlying fallacy of the regime. Pumping iron in the gym doesn't reduce your ability to learn how to punch someone in the face.
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DeepThought Grandmaster Poster
Joined: Jan 04, 2008
Posts: 590
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Posted:
Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:50 am
Obregon wrote:
I'm not thinking that it WILL change, and I understand that it is a core part of the game that some people enjoy ... I just find it illogical.
Why would studying and improving Wit LOWER the cap of learned skills? If a skill represents a manuever, combination, or routine, why should training my Wit deny me the ability to learn 20 such manuevers like the next guy? It makes no sense and is doubly frustrating because, like many of the secrets of the game, IT WAS NEVER OFFICIALLY DISCLOSED THAT SKILL BURNING EXISTED.
The secrets of the game was one of the best original ideas. I'm sure that RSI never thought in 1984 that this game would still be going in 2010 and that players would dissect every aspect of it. Not to mention the amazing amount of hours that some have spent tracking stats so the rest of us can push a couple of buttons and be able to see almost exactly what our warriors would look like. The underlying game design is the real reason for skill burning, not because there is some basis in reality for it. The game design reasons (my guess):
This isn't the only aspect of the game the contradicts real-world logic and is generally accepted as part of the game.
* No skill burning would reduce the incentive to train skills
* No skill burning would increase the effective cap on skill levels in Basic ... people could effectively train up to 25-30 skills over base in each skill
* Skill burning gives people an incentive to reach the end game
I had no idea about skill burning in my first or second go around with RSI...1987-90 and 1993-1995. But wasn't the best part of playing Zelda, using a bomb and finding a secret cave? All of these are fine reasons, but they don't resolve the underlying fallacy of the regime. Pumping iron in the gym doesn't reduce your ability to learn how to punch someone in the face.
And an open-hand AB shouldn't be able to parry and break my WS's off-hand hatchet, then his scimitar, then his backup scimitar. But that just happened in Talahya.
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Obregon Advanced Master Poster
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Posts: 442
Location: The most interesting place in the world
Posted:
Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:32 am
DeepThought wrote:
And an open-hand AB shouldn't be able to parry and break my WS's off-hand hatchet, then his scimitar, then his backup scimitar. But that just happened in Talahya.
Iron hand technique, grasshopper.
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bubbaganoosh Grandmaster Poster
Joined: Feb 15, 2009
Posts: 979
Location: Palm Harbor, FL
Posted:
Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:01 am
Obregon wrote:
I'm not thinking that it WILL change, and I understand that it is a core part of the game that some people enjoy ... I just find it illogical.
this is how i see it:
when you train SKILLS, you learn certain skills and improve in a particular skill area.
when you train ATTRIBUTES, you improve your warrior's physical capabilities- be it strength, con, wit, whatever.
when either of these two things happens independently of each other, all is fair. no penalty.
however, when you train an ATTRIBUTE and simultaneously gain SKILLS, it's much more powerful than doing just one at a time so it makes sense that there should be a penalty for improving your warrior in this fashion.
also, i think it's possible to burn your warrior beyond repair. if you take a good roll up - one that, given enough time and a wee bit of luck, can make it to primus, and burn the snot out of it, you could theoretically cap it's skill learns to such a low cieling that you'd never be competetive enough to make it to primus in order to gain those skills back. granted, this is a bit extreme... but retrieving burned skills isn't guaranteed.
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Managerr ArchMaster Poster
Joined: Jul 12, 2002
Posts: 4291
Location: Omaha
Posted:
Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:44 am
Quote:
also, i think it's possible to burn your warrior beyond repair. if you take a good roll up - one that, given enough time and a wee bit of luck, can make it to primus, and burn the snot out of it, you could theoretically cap it's skill learns to such a low cieling that you'd never be competetive enough to make it to primus in order to gain those skills back. granted, this is a bit extreme... but retrieving burned skills isn't guaranteed.
If you could pull this off though, such a warrior would be FANTASTIC in the ADM tourneys.
Obregon Advanced Master Poster
Joined: Jul 06, 2010
Posts: 442
Location: The most interesting place in the world
Posted:
Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:06 am
bubbaganoosh wrote:
Obregon wrote:
I'm not thinking that it WILL change, and I understand that it is a core part of the game that some people enjoy ... I just find it illogical.
this is how i see it:
when you train SKILLS, you learn certain skills and improve in a particular skill area.
when you train ATTRIBUTES, you improve your warrior's physical capabilities- be it strength, con, wit, whatever.
when either of these two things happens independently of each other, all is fair. no penalty.
however, when you train an ATTRIBUTE and simultaneously gain SKILLS, it's much more powerful than doing just one at a time so it makes sense that there should be a penalty for improving your warrior in this fashion.
also, i think it's possible to burn your warrior beyond repair. if you take a good roll up - one that, given enough time and a wee bit of luck, can make it to primus, and burn the snot out of it, you could theoretically cap it's skill learns to such a low cieling that you'd never be competetive enough to make it to primus in order to gain those skills back. granted, this is a bit extreme... but retrieving burned skills isn't guaranteed.
There is no question that stat training (and WL) would become overpowered if skill burning were eliminated. There would have to be a balancing factor for the reasons you suggest, although the diminishing returns aspect of stat training (harder to do the more you do it) would seem to be a counterbalance.
As far as burning beyond repair, I have to say that I may have a warrior that fits that description. Way back when, I burned 39 skills on him before I knew about skill burning, and I'm sitting at around 180 total skills. I am maxed on skill training. It's going to take a good long time to get Primus-eligible (210 to 220 skills, right?). Which is a shame, since he's a PR bonused in Parry and Defense and might be competitive.
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bubbaganoosh Grandmaster Poster
Joined: Feb 15, 2009
Posts: 979
Location: Palm Harbor, FL
Posted:
Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:24 am
Managerr wrote:
Quote:
also, i think it's possible to burn your warrior beyond repair. if you take a good roll up - one that, given enough time and a wee bit of luck, can make it to primus, and burn the snot out of it, you could theoretically cap it's skill learns to such a low cieling that you'd never be competetive enough to make it to primus in order to gain those skills back. granted, this is a bit extreme... but retrieving burned skills isn't guaranteed.
If you could pull this off though, such a warrior would be FANTASTIC in the ADM tourneys.
tru dat...
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