More robot game stuff: In a turn based fighting RPG with fighting robots, how would you like to level up your robot?

I miss the tech tree! Building the strangest things just to unlock the next upgrade.
Have players buy parts for their bots and give them special rewards when they use a particularly effective robot (considering available parts). Also, 1vs1 is better unless you plan on having teams cooperate with special moves or something.

@Zyx any more possible detail on that one? or maybe the name of a game with an example?

I’m aware of the tech tree system, but not quite clear on how you envision it working on the screen.

What i have in mind at the moment, when I talk about stats, is every item having its own stat. e.g. ZX9 model CPU: +1 to agility +1 chance to hit. and your robot then has a kind of set character page, with the total values shown.

Well if you want different parts with the same functions you could: create a table for the functions and one for the parts referring back to the functions. That way you can use the functions as the tech tree.

You could make it so that +1 speed and +1 strength has a bigger effect than either +2 speed or 2+ strength alone. Lots of small bonusus like that, a tech tree is born. You could have a bonus column with your stats people can check when they change something.

@Zyx How about something like this…

Have ‘kinds’ of item. e.g. all items are either “melee”, “magic/energy/power”, “ranged”. and you need enough of the same kind, to unlock stages on 1 of 3 trees?

So, if you decided you wanted to unlock the first melee box, you would need at least 1 “titanium spiked fist: +5 damage”. To unlock the next stage of the tree, where you can select 1 of 3 boxes, you need at least 4 melee items, eg. 2 fists and 2 spiked shoulder pads.

The tree would probably have to go in the “build experience level up” area of the game.

I’m trying to think of a way i can explain away the story to the players. Like, i dont want a robot who can get stronger because of experience, because it does not make sense. a robot whos program adapts to learn new moves can be explained. With a tree, i would need to think of how it will be explained to the player. the reason and lore of it.

That should all work fine. But if you just make the “design efficiency” the aspect that levels you reasonably explain the exponential increase in xp required to level up. The closer you get to a perfect robot, the harder it will be to improve.

I just want a robot that can shock the hell out of you, make you piss your pants and forget your name for about an hour. That would Rule! :)

If you have experience points, it wouldn’t make much sense if the robot gained experience (unless it’s supposed to have a learning AI), or even for the designer to gain experience which just automatically adds to the robot’s fighting ability. But the designer and engineers could gain experience by designing and building and repairing stuff, and improve their abilities to do that stuff, some of which might improve fighting performance, durability, cost to repair and upgrade, etc.

I would like to have a mix of ways to upgrade and maintain a robot. I’d want some simple basic options when first getting into the game, like buying entire robots and upgrades and repairs. Then later on, to keep from losing interest due to over-simplicity, I’d like to be able to do more complex stuff involving smaller parts and explore creative options and different strategies.

It would also be fun to be able to salvage parts from the ring and from one’s own robots.

I’d like it if major parts (arm, leg, weapon, power plant) had some interchangeable parts with some other systems. And different versions of those parts, and different damage and/or wear levels, so you could decide what to upgrade, what to swap in and out, what to leave in until it wears out, etc.

It’d be good too if some of the management was about time used. Sure, you could rebuild everything, but it would take time and you’d miss out on matches.