The simple concept that the more you hurt an enemy the more it will ignore other party members and will go after you specifically. Introducing this concept in game could open up missions in which you need to stealthily retrieve something from amongst enemies (introducing a rogue like skill/gear set) Due to the vast amount of creatures, races, and possibilities of interactions, some enemies could have different Aggro triggers, for instance you could be pounding away on an enemy and then one of your party members uses a healing item on you which just completely pisses off said enemy who now will go off and attack the healer. Other aggro interactions can be based on status inflictions, range, player outfit colors, gear level, even just the potential to deal damage and of course line of sight, and in some cases you might land on one pissed off planet. Also in counterpart to aggro there would be a Fear system so that if you're returning to a rather low level low threat planet at higher levels some of the more intelligent species tend to run away form you depending on all of the aforementioned stimuli. Addressing the problem with aggro systems: 1. The tendency for class based mmorpg style fighting: lets face it, we all have our own preferences for how to play the game, and within a game that will have some party based questing there will ALWAYS be a division based on fighting style. it's just how the mentality works out, whether it is intentional or not. its not a problem of game mechanics for class systems to arise, its a problem of player preference. and its one that will exist, much to the chagrin of some players, as long as there are a variety of options for weaponry and stats on equipment. 2. Advanced AI vs Simple AI: although some people (coders included) would just prefer a simple side-scroller style ai stystem, where enemies come at you from both sides and attack the nearest hing to them. However others would prefer a more dynamic AI system where simple enemies do simple things and more intelligent enemies and bosses do more complex things and work in different ways. aggro in a side-scroller is difficult to grasp for some. they're concerned with being ignored even though they're the big threat. well it's a side scroller, some intelligent enemies will find ways around you, others will try to push past you, and if you don't move will change from attacking they're preferred target to attacking you. Possibly a visible threat meter with a fear and hatred side that changes based on actions and gear and of course aggro/fear simulators could be included. maybe as a function of a piece of gear. Uses: protect missions, party based combat, stealth missions.
I hope there is some sort of aggro system. Here's a few things I'd like to see aggro amounts dependent on: Amount of damage done Amount of Healing done Amount of Armor(Defense) Type of armor(Types of metal, leather, cloth, etc.) Distance from entity being aggroed Weapon/Armor buffs with +/- aggro stats I'd also like to see NPCs and tamed creatures take part in battles, making aggro important even while playing solo.
I like the idea of aggro but it should also depend on the creature aswell! Normally low-threat creatures should follow the most damaging/closer enemy. Some mid-threat should behave differently, like intelligent stealthy creatures run away from high defense targets, enter in stealth mode and run straight to the lowest resistant character. High-threat enemies should always have a unique aggro system. This may be extremely difficult to code but it would be awesome!
i would think wed have to have a set list of races, their diplomacies, predjudices and intelligence levels before we could even think about programming an interactive aggro code for each species. which jsut makes it all the more complicated.
I hope there's different AIs that respond differently to aggro. Also, I think not necessarily DOING damage, but possibly the CAPACITY for doing damage could be a factor. I'm over here shooting a pistol, but Mr. Aggro is dual wielding rocket launchers. Obviously he's classified as the greater threat, initially. But what if my pistol is a high-damage magnum, and his rocket launchers are defective and inaccurate? Different AI types might then consider me the bigger threat. I'd compare it to Guild Wars in this sense. Me and my party finds a boss. Obviously this boss is the bigger threat, but we elect to kill everyone else first, so we can deal with the bigger threat uninhibited. So, certain AI types might go after the biggest, baddest mofo first, but other AI types might kill the easy pickings first.
While I don't think every mob should have it's own aggro system I do think it's quite fair that the more dangerous mobs should have a more advanced AI to make them harder to fool. I say that, as long as they aren't as stupid as the common MMO mobs I at least should be quite happy.
Not every mob, just advanced one, really. As threat level advance, difficulty and mob AI should also ramp up.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I basically agree with your first statement, though I can see now that my previous text sounded like quite the opposite. Lets pretend that I didn't say anything until "I do think..".
How about a fear function? I'm sorry, but when I look like the sci-fi version of War himself, wielding some pretty effing BAMF gear, do you really think some goblin is going to run at me and attack? No! Some hopelessly outclassed enemies should become afraid or, better yet, neutral background npc's. Think about it.
Some intelligent creatures would run from or avoid you, but there are other creatures that are too stubborn or down right dumb to even consider the odd of winning a fight agaionst someone as strong as you. But then again it would depend on the creature's behavior. I kinda agree on, when strong or looking manacing, certain creatures should run away.
Well of course brainless sea-slugs or some sort of berzerk top-predator wouldn't run away, but some enemies should flee or ignore you in hopes that you won't kill them. Like tribals or scavengers, sentient or otherwise.
thi would be a good thing as well. i like all these contributions, i might edit top post this weekend to include a more refined version
This would be really cool! I have played some games recently that didn't have agro and the enemies would just go after the closest guy and not always the strongest so I couldn't help my friend always because the high level guys would go after him and not me! I also like the idea of fear because in some games (like terraria) low level guys would just get in my way and slow down my pace from getting from one place to the next. you have got my support!
Well i updated the main post earlier now i sit and wait. -hopes the mods see this- maybe blue will add it to his compendium of stuff and maybe itll make it in game.
Part of this would be the awareness system that Rho and Tiy were talking about in IRC. The idea is that a creature can be aware or unaware of a player or other entity, and thus have different actions. Some creatures might sleep, some creatures might idly eat grass, then change completely upon sighting a player. While I think a traditional aggro system is good, I would much prefer there to be different levels of sentience, like Sokina was saying. Some creatures would be stupid - attack whatever hit them last. Some would fixate on the first creature they saw, and attack that. Smarter ones might be able to identify which are the weak links, and go for those, but have a rage mechanic, where, after getting hit a certain number of times, they just go to a traditional aggro table. Some might operate solely on who builds the most threat - be it from healing, damage dealt, or certain weapons/items. There are a number of different "unique" threat behaviors that would fit a lot better with the way this game is played, rather than the traditional "tank has threat" kind of thing.
Overall i would like some aggro and awareness system that has a logical feel to it but it has to be done with care. What you are speaking of is a typical MMORPG aggro system. Thus you had to adjust the amount aggro is produced between let's say "class" Heavy armored players would have to get the most aggro to make them usefull as tank. DPS should always stay below the tank class in terms of aggro and healers should be the one who aggro the least. But because we don't have real classes and stats/skills are determined by equipment you could very well get imbalanced results. I for one just want to equip myself as i desire without having the need to push my way into some kind of class and thus aggro generation has to be balanced very well to work in situations where you have players with mixed equipment. I would prefer player characters with shields to just be able to block enemy paths more efficently to protect other players behind them.
Personally I've always thought that the DPS/Tank/Healer trinity system is pretty stupid. A brainless zombie might go for the heavily armored guy first but anybody with any sense of tactics attacks the skimpy healer chick first. I think that intelligent enemies should attack lightly armored targets and healers first, yeah. Games are much more fun when everything goes horribly wrong.
Then what's the point in wearing heavy armor at all in a group? That mechanic exists for a reason If monsters are just going to ignore you if you have heavy armor, there's no point in heavy armor. That said, armor will probably be the same across the board, just with randomized stats, so your healer type might wear the same equipment as a tanky type, just with +Healing stats on it.
