Musings on stat systems

The stat card I posted in the last update was based on a 30-point system I had in mind (yes, I realize they add up to 29 in the picture) where each character starts off with 30 'points' already making up their ability sets and then I thought differently. I've since knocked them down to a 25-point system. That should make their shortcomings more pronounced, without making gameplay impossible, and allow me to dump in power-up items and also make use of status effects without them seeming debilitating. The 30-point system was intended to be static with no power-ups, while the 25 swings in the favor of dynamic; allowing players (i.e. me) to feel like they're earning something while they're progressing, rather than raging  because that fucking mushroom poisoned them again and now all they do is wallow around on their stomach like the town drunk.

I think the best way to implement a system of damage taken/resisted vs damage given would be to allow for multiplication of variables or addition vs subtraction, D&D-style. Enemy A slashes at Player for 10 damage. Player's resistance (stat 0-10 divided by 2, making 10 now 5) will factor in as A - P = DT (damage taken). 10 will, of course be a very strong enemy; likely even just an environmental hazard, but it's handy for the math. So, to make that clearer:

A (enemy attack) = 5  P (Player's strength/defense at, represented by STR, starts at 8, divided by 2) = 4

So...

A=5 P=4

A - P = 1 damage taken. That would be a light enemy against a stronger character.

---Overview---

STR: Strength and Defensive (Value divided by 2, subtracted from damage taken)

DEX: Dexterity. Agility and damage avoidance (via dodging moves) affects invulnerability period duration after executing a successful dodge. Will likely be starting value divided by 4 and the result implemented in seconds; the max possible being 2.5 seconds of invulnerability from a successful dodge. Will also affect jump height. Minimum potential jump will be equal across each and increased by their stats.

SPD: obvious, speed. Movement only. (Value entered directly into game engine as # of pixels moved with each tick of the keypress. A raw 10 would zip around the screen super fast. Potentially game breaking?)

RES: Resistance/Resiliance. Resistance to knockback and DOT, resiliance against status effects. (Value divided by 4, subtracted from knockback distance and from duration of DOT/status effects.) This one could get tricky. Essentially, if the player is potentially knocked back 5 spaces but has a RES of 8, he/she would only suffer a 1-space knockback. 10 is basically a human wall. Poison or burn DOT duration would be reduced by that same value. DOT of 5 seconds reduced to 1. That's with an almost best-case scenario for the character.

Balance is going to be a bitch. On top of that, all characters will have latent abilities. Examples: ability to crawl/squeeze into tight places or push certain objects out of the way to open up a unique path.

New character status portrait:

Hanako Mishima