I have decided to post up another game play update. This one will focus on the role of light in Arcane Duelist. While the actual implementation of this system is a ways off I thought people might like to hear what our vision for the mod is. With some luck and skill we should be able to pull it off and create something quite new.
So what roles does light play in Arcane Duelist?
There are three major roles that light plays in addition to the natural effects of light in an environment. The normal roles I am thinking of include simply visual effect and the utility of shadows.
The first change involves the ability to target spells. Normally the lighting in your environment can be a tactical advantage if used correctly. For Arcane Duelist we wanted to take this concept a step further. Some spells that the characters can cast require the opponent to be targeted. When I say targeted in this sense I do not mean that the player doing the targeting would need to have pinpoint accuracy, nor do I want to imply that the player merely selects a target and can automatically hit it. The targeting system for non-projectile and non-environment spells relies on a few different factors. One of these factors is light levels. The ability to target an opponent with these types of spells will be affected not only by factors such as range and cover but also by how dark the area of the map is where the target is standing. A player hidden in a shadowy corner will be much more difficult to target with these spells than if they were to be standing in a well lit area. While the light levels do not add any extra protection from environment or projectile spells they will provide significant protection from these targeted spells. The maps in arcane duelist are designed with this lighting in mind and it creates an extra layer of complexity within environment.
The second change to lighting is related to spell casting as well. However, in this instance the tactical application of each spell is modified by an additional attribute. Each spell in Arcane Duelist gives off some degree of light. The light could range from a small flickering glow to a bright flash of light. The actual effect depends on the spell cast and each effect must be taken into account when choosing a spell to cast. A spell that creates a large amount of light is likely to give away your position as well as obviously show which spell you may be casting. In addition to this the light can also affect your environmental light level and leave you open to being the victim of targeted spells that previously you had protection from. The spells in Arcane Duelist are balanced with this light attribute in mind. Many spells are designed to reduce light levels and other function primarily as illusionary effects to confuse your opponent. A powerful attack may come at the cost of a large amount of light being generated, depending on the situation it may be wiser to use a stealthy attack, one which gives of less light. Light is not the only extra effect that spells will have, but it is certainly a major one.
The last important new effect that light will have in Arcane Duelist has a double effect on gameplay. When a character takes damage during a duel they will begin to lose their sight. A characters vision will becomes blurry and dark in relation to the amount of damage they sustain. Lightly wounded characters may have a hazy border in their field of vision with a slight darkening effect; a heavily wounded character near death may be barely able to see at all. The first result of this is a tactical consideration directly tied into the previous two applications of light in Arcane Duelist. A player with dimmed vision will be at a disadvantage when casting targeting type spells in addition to the hindrance darkened vision would naturally imply. Secondly, the use of light producing spells becomes an even more crucial point. Players with darkened vision will still be able to detect sources of light relatively easily. Players will want to carefully consider their spell choices in an effort to prevent the opponent from being able to target and attack them. The other effect that this vision dimming has is tied into the interface. Arcane Duelist does not have a traditional interface; as a matter of fact it has no graphical interface at all. Every statistic about your character is represented visually and aurally within the game. The indication that your health is running low is the condition of your sight. Clear sight indicates good health, while blurred and darkened sight indicates you are near death. Once a character’s sight goes completely dark they will have been defeated.
I hope that this has been an interesting read and I really hope that we are able to realize this vision in Arcane Duelist. If you have any questions or comments about the system feel free to ask here or on our forums. We welcome you to keep an eye on our mod and if you want to know more please don’t hesitate to visit our website.
