The software architecture of MC happened largely as a result of trial and spectacular error. Ive never worked on something with so many complex components before, many parts of the design and implementation were intuitive processes. Overall Im really happy with the flexibility of the engine, and the ease with which I can add new features/dimensions to the game.
Today, while fixing bugs, I playfully started playing with the idea of combos, very much like ones in Chrono Trigger. So, on a lark, I decided to try my hand at a few, and to my surprise and delight, it was a process of hours, not days, before I had a fully functioning combo attack, along with the software architecture to handle complex, multi-character combo actions. Pretty fun stuff! Ive started with the simplest of combos, the melee multi-attack, where two of your party members can deliver a single nasty attack to an adjacent victim simultaneously. I even got the enemy AI to use this attack, without much effort on my part!
All this raises the spectre of feature creep, which can both dilute fundamental gameplay, as well as create code maintenance problems (ie, bugs). I personally really like the idea of combos, it was always my intention to include them at some point, but I still need to guard against ballooning complexity of both gameplay and development. In general Ive tried to not throw everything into MC, but rather keep each ability/feature sparse and useful. Up to and including version 1.9 I failed with some of the spells (undead and vision spells are pretty nerfed), and with skills like sneak and pick pocket, but those will be rebalanced for version 1.10. Whatever combos I end up putting into the next version, I want them to be useful and balanced.
Just something that was on my mind today! Let me know what you think of feature creep, or if you have good ideas for combos. And thanks for your spell ideas, they really got my brain jogging.
