The core features are different for the characters given how different they are, but the placement of them is similar. At the top left of the screen, there are two bars; 1 that measures health, and the other measures the thing that fits best for the character.

• Vester has a bar that measures moral

• Parkash has a bar that measures credibility

• Costine has a bar that measures how many allies she has

• Mavrock has a bar that measures how many people he has under his sway

The secondary bar doesn’t have to be full in order to win, but it does affect the game play a bit. For example, if Parkash’s credibility bar is low, then he’ll be unable to trade in certain areas, while if it’s high, he can have more maneuverability. If Costine’s ally bar is low, she’ll have a more difficult time convincing people to ally themselves to her and have a hard time getting into certain areas, while if it’s high, it’ll be easier for her to access high courts and convince others to join her. Depending on where the bar is by the end of the game, the endings are affect. If Vester’s moral bar is high, then she will get a Good ending as her people will view high in a positive light. If it’s low though, she’s more likely to get either a Peaceful or Bad ending depending on why that bar is low.

Depending on who is traveling with them, the hero can view the health of their allies as well at the top left.

When the player plays as the hero, they’ll be able to see the character and move them around accordingly to interact with the environment and other characters. If they want to equip anything to them, or level up certain stats, or use an item, they can press the L1 button that allows them to pause the game and interact with these features, rather than having them all over the screen.

At the bottom right is a small map that can be expanded to help the player locate where they are and where they have/can go.

At the bottom center is a menu that allows the player to see what abilities they have and which items they have on hand (items can be switched in the quick menu) to use in battle or wherever they are at that moment.

Items can be used for multiple purposes, such as raising moral, swaying people, improving relations with certain ally or enemy characters, completing missions and repairing something. They can also be bought and sold for certain sums of money, and can be upgraded if taken to a scientist, inventor or weapons expert.

Money can be gained through selling items or completing missions accordingly, though it gets complicated.

If you play as the Commander, you can get personal money for doing side missions, but when it comes to upgrading your brigade you only have a certain budget.

In the side menu, you can see what the relations between the hero and certain characters is, and depending on who you relate to the most, you can romance them. If you romance a certain character, you get certain pros and cons. Like romancing someone from an enemy country might improve relations between those countries, but might make your own people think of you in a lesser light. If you romance a scientist, certain technology a hero possesses will be upgraded, but highly religious areas will dislike you more, and so on.

The control scheme is basically this:

• Button 11 (L1): Quick

• Button 2(L): Move

• Button 3 (R): Rotate Camera

• Button 15(X): Interact with people/objects. Also selects options in quick menu.

• Button 16 (Square): Jump

• R2 (Button 12): Basic Attack

• R1 (Button 10): Activates abilities

• Triangle + R1: use Ability

• Circle + R1: use Ability

• (Button 14) Circle: Use item 1

• (Button 13) Triangle: Use item 2

• Button 5: Makes the map larger; clicking it again makes the map revert to its small form.

• Button 6 and 8: Goes right and left accordingly when selecting options (be it in the quick menu or the conversation menu during certain cut scenes).

• Button 7: Allows the player to view missions and their details. Clicking it again will put the missions away.

• Button 1: Can select items in the Quick menu and select options in the missions tab.

• Button 4: Starts the game in the start menu.

• Button 17: Takes player to the PS3 menu (Exit Game, return to home menu, etc)

I apologize, I’m no game major so if I messed up the controls tell me and I can correct them accordingly.

Overarching Systems

Travel

• Open world

• Restrictions on traveling will by placed with in-world/game things/reasons

• Fast travel will be with boats, airships, etc.

Movement

Speed = min(s * h * ds * b, max*b)

• s = Base land speed

• h = hardiness coefficient

• ds = decrease in speed due to armour

• b = bonus modifier to speed

Jumping

• No mid air direction change

• Speed is affected by armour, jump height is constant

• Fixed jump (no hold for higher jump)

Dialogue Trees

• Morality System

  • Vertical Axis Good/Bad that is universal for all factions

  • Horizontal Axis of Famous/Infamous that is specific on a faction per faction basis

    • Ex. Bandits attack villagers. If you kill all the bandits, you become infamous with the bandits, famous with the villagers, and bad with both.

Inventory/Loot

• Items are limited by weight

• Accessed via menu (not list)

Combat

Player vs. Enemy AI

Player Specific Combat:

• Like Dragons Dogma ( All specifications )

• “Light Attacks” (Name not Final) is Comboable and Cancellable

• “Heavy Attack/Ability” Non Combable/Canceable

  • After attack player always returns to nuetral state

• Ranged attacks have two modes

  • “Quickfire” launches projectile in direction of movement a set distance

  • “Aiming” draws camera in close and creates reticle

  • Thrown projectiles have fixed distance, arc depends on which way player is facing while aiming

  • Path is not plotted during the throw

• Items used during combat are instantaneous and don’t leave player vulnerable

• Health regen will have a “Soft Cap”, where health will regenerate quickly to a certain midpoint, than start regenerating much slower

• Abilities/mechanics are going to be unlocked through narrative progression (Think Legend of Zelda)

• When player is hit they flinch. Flinches make player immobile briefly and small knockback.

  • Flinch is affected by how hard the player is hit and their strength stat.

Party Based Combat:

Base Stats

• Strength

  • Effects encumbrance

  • Combat capabilities

    • Flat damage

    • Health

    • Effects flinch

    • Allows character to lift heavier weapons

  • Charisma

    • Effects dialogue tree options

    • Increases ability for negotiations to be successful, and the end result

  • Speed

    • Faster combo chains/attack speed

    • Movespeed

  • Intelligence

    • Ability to operate machinery

      • Limit or increase options for machine interactions

      • Allow access to more mechanistic weapons

Quest

Time-limited

• Quests are the main determining factor for ending

Individual Character Systems

Different Status bar per character

• Troop Morale

  • Combat/Decisions before each encounter

  • Recruitment

• Reputation

  • Traveling Merchant/Supply & Demand

  • Ship System

• Survival

  • ???

  • Flying/divebomb

  • Allies

• Political Support

  • Bribing People/Giving Speeches

Mavrock - King

• Tree of Influence - Main system for Mavrock

  • Visualized as a tree whose nodes consist of all characters Mavrock can interact with. It begins with all except a few nodes greyed out.

  • Mavrock can collect bit of information in his journal (some menu type ui). Collecting info on specific characters unlocks that characters node in the tree.

  • When a node in the tree is unlocked, it results in either a new ability for Mavrock (ability to build helper robots in combat, etc.), new dialog options for Mavrock when talking to certain characters (telling guards who are loyal to a noble who under your influence to do an action, etc.), or story progression.

  • The “Influence” bar for Mavrock fills as more nodes in the Tree of Influence are unlocked.