05-08-2023, 02:37 AM
![[Image: Untitled_700_394_px_2_1.gif]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1092179564203102270/1104951114497007728/Untitled_700_394_px_2_1.gif)
Hey everyone! For this month, we have a lot to show off, but we also a lot to go over in terms of changes coming to Verdict: Descent's ruleset and basic game systems. We'll go over these first and display a bunch of the new cosmetics and fun mechanics we're adding at the end.
Year Timer & Age
Firstly, as many of you already expected, we've decided to drop the year speed from 1 IC year / 7 OOC days to 1 IC year / 28 OOC days.
We know this is a big shift, but intend to make up the difference with seasons, which will occur once every 7 OOC days. The idea is that seasons keep it feeling like time is moving, but without pressuring characters to need to be online 24/7. We felt the "quicker" year speed contributed very little to keeping people playing and existed almost exclusively to get people to quit or AFK existing characters and to leave them behind for new ones.
As mentioned in April's Dev. Direct, our philosophy has shifted from trying to force people off of characters to simply providing unique incentives and opportunities to create new ones. If you're worried about the implications of characters being able to potentially live for long periods of time, stay tuned to the end of the Dev. Direct to learn more.
Two side-effects of this will be that elderly age nerfs no longer exist, and characters may now only spawn at 18+ unless during an academy semester or with PC parents, at which point 16 becomes the new minimum. If you import a character sub-18 years old, they'll be automatically aged up.
World Map & Risk Levels
Galvia's wilderness will be larger than Sarea's, with the city itself being approximately the size of Providence and Urosil combined.
With the transition to Galvia, we've decided to completely rework how capture chance and risk level are calculated for Engagements. By default, when participants don't agree, the capture & injury settings will be automatically decided by the game based on location, district skills, levels, and other related factors. However, there'll always be a freeform option for those that can agree on preferred settings.
Most notably, this change brings with it something we're calling Danger Zones. The map is divided based on how "risky" a given region is intended to be. Galvia itself, for example, is Safe, with a base capture of zero (depending on affiliation). The mountains outside, however, are Hazardous, with a raised base capture and a heightened risk of injury.
The biggest change is that character death is no longer allowed outside of specific "lethal" zones unless agreed upon by using the lethal setting. If a character steps inside said lethal zone (such as the desert to the southwest), they'll be prompted to consent, at which point the capture rules function as they do in current Verdict. These zones will be small and around the outskirts of the map.
In other words, characters cannot be killed on capture unless the capture was dealt in a lethal zone or both participants agreed to use the lethal setting in the Engagement.
![[Image: bb610dc99a0699b2cc4555d154a08e76.png]](https://i.gyazo.com/bb610dc99a0699b2cc4555d154a08e76.png)
Dynamic Consequences
With the removal of potential death on any capture, the obvious issue becomes consequences for character actions.
Right now, we feel the presence of death as virtually the only option to handle Touched or other antagonistic characters often leads to either no choice being made or too drastic of one. As such, we've introduced varied new consequences to help alleviate this issue. Here's a list of a few:
- Prison time (with an automated prison system to prevent abandonment)
- Cleansing of a portion of Touched/antagonist reputation
- Selling captured citizens back to Galvia
- Prolonged mechanical restraints
- Mechanical exile from the city
- and more!
Depending on your character archetype (f.ex, whether you're a constable or an outlaw), your experience with these will vary. Thieves have means to unlock mechanical restraints, while constables have elevated capture chance inside city walls. Our goal is to create a good ecosystem for an ebb-and-flow of antagonism in the city and around it.
Level Restriction & Ascendancy Mechanics
With the delay of the year timer, the obvious problem is people gaining levels infinitely. This is currently an issue, but would especially be a problem extending out several OOC years from the character's inception. In the hopes of resolving it, we've decided to cap player levels to a maximum of 100.
To prevent roleplay & experience gain from feeling stagnant, we've also added several new mechanics and systems to keep progression going and to keep characters feeling fresh. We've discussed one in a prior Dev. Direct- amulets- but another we're adding, ascendant weapons, work in a similar manner. These will be a new tier of weapon that require especially rare resources that level with you, just as the amulets do. Unlike current weaponry, ascendant weapons gain a unique stat on creation that scales to its tier.
Additionally, your district reputation works similarly, gaining value as you roleplay and complete other related tasks in-game. Combined with the idea that all of these factors can change over the course of a character's lifetime (f.ex, changing district, swapping your weapon, etc.), we aim to create even more of a feeling of constant progression than we had before.
You'll also gain Legacy Tokens based on experience gain at Level 100+, rather than having to rebirth your character to obtain them. These will be spent on an expanded collection of legacy shop items and features.
New Cosmetics
Now that we've gotten past the metric ton of new systems we had to broach with you guys, it's time to take a look at some of the new cosmetics that'll be coming our way in Verdict: Descent. There are plenty more where these came from, and too many to show off at once.
![[Image: 2c053a6538ba95180bd0f783c615b466.png]](https://i.gyazo.com/2c053a6538ba95180bd0f783c615b466.png)
![[Image: 7d13086e3a2b927ac497ed3ec4f06adc.png]](https://i.gyazo.com/7d13086e3a2b927ac497ed3ec4f06adc.png)
![[Image: 103f5201c6a5c945c1b28d2e762c7013.png]](https://i.gyazo.com/103f5201c6a5c945c1b28d2e762c7013.png)
![[Image: d75a7bdeaa4730a07e4aa15125015f39.png]](https://i.gyazo.com/d75a7bdeaa4730a07e4aa15125015f39.png)
![[Image: 8682697ff5e8891dc747c150d08c21a0.png]](https://i.gyazo.com/8682697ff5e8891dc747c150d08c21a0.png)
![[Image: xyFFLtK.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1085763737224499217/1103750632327884900/xyFFLtK.png)
![[Image: d278ad3521ca45f0a6b23c8bba118a6d.png]](https://i.gyazo.com/d278ad3521ca45f0a6b23c8bba118a6d.png)
![[Image: 9962525a1ad1243dd70220c0d80523f8.png]](https://i.gyazo.com/9962525a1ad1243dd70220c0d80523f8.png)
This is only a small fraction of what we've gotten made for Descent, so stay tuned for more!
Miscellaneous
Here's a list of a few things that're a little too small or random to fit into a given category.
- Starlight Drops are Verdict: Descent's rare material. They drop from the sky periodically as part of a weather event that happens roughly once a season.
- Ascendant weapons & other high level crafting recipes require Starlight Drops for their creation.
- Galvia is home to a desert, a mountain range, a swamp, a forest, plains, and several beaches and islands.
- Legend says that the Reflecting Well was forged from the first Starlight Drop, and that they've fallen to Galvia ever more often thereafter.