Skill Degredation

[Forsythe]

This idea was brought up in IRC just a couple of minutes ago, when talking about skills.

As an individuals character matures over time, and say was previously was a mace user, but has since obtained an excellent 2h sword, his mace skill should slowly degrade.  This will in turn make it very difficult, if not impossible to become an uber character, but also make the game more realistic.  As the saying goes, \"if you don\'t use it, you lose it.\"

If you have any additional ideas or suggestions feel free to post.

Thanks much,

Forsythe

[Davis]

When a skill degrades, you should be able to gain XP in it faster though, until it\'s back up to it\'s previous level. Like if you haven\'t baked cookies in 20 years, and your skill degraded from 100 to 10, you should gain XP like twice as fast until it\'s at 100 again. Or maybe the speed should be different depending on how much it went down, but that\'s hard to code.

[Skizzik]

Yeah I like the idea. However it\'s not so much the maturing but the not using the skill. So if you still used the mace often even though you also use the sword, your mace skill shouldn\'t degrade IMO.
Maybe it would be a good idea if it would be easier to restore the skill to it\'s previous highest points. So if your X skill degraded from 10 to 5, leveling it from 5 to 10 would be easy, but after that it would be normal difficulty.

*edit*
lol davis I wonder where you got that cookie baking idea.

[Forsythe]

Great job of clarifying guys, that is more of what I meant.

Forsythe

[Davis]

More clarification:
It\'s only in-game time that counts. You don\'t go on vacation and come back with your char as an unter newb.

[Uyaem]

I also think, IF this is implemented, a skill should never drop below a certain fixed value. Or below a certain percentage of the character\'s all-time maximum.

Once learnt to ride a bike? You\'ll never forget how to do that.
Once learnt how to serve well in tennis? You\'ll always serve more aces than a newbie, even if you haven\'t played for years.
See what I mean?

[Wedge]

Both time and learning other skills can degrade them.  If they have a weapon circle system (weapons have effectiveness and weaknesses against certain types, just like magic), then you can have learning some weapon skills degrade from opposing ones.  Because that certainly should be the case with magic, so learning Crystal Way will degrade your Dark Way skills and so on.

And there should be a minimum to degragation, but by the same token you can have limits on maximums based on what else you learn.

[snow_RAveN]

how bout we put a limit to how much your skills will degrade ..


*EG*
every 20 lvls will be a save point * ( meaning if your skill is at lvl 67 it wont go lower than lvl 60 if it dregrades)
 
that way it seems more realistic or some thing close

[John_Thazer]

Although a nice idea...still wouldn\'t it be annoing if you had sword skill 100 and found really good club...started playing with it...got club like 40 but your sword went to 20...and then you found betr sword...I think once skill aquired it shouldn\'t degredate...

[snow_RAveN]

in this case i think its better if you stick to a particalar(SP) weapon and u could*(if u wanted to) trade that club off for a better sword to save your troubles

[Skizzik]

Originally posted by Wedge
Because that certainly should be the case with magic,

Magic and weapons dont have to work the same way, that would only make it boring.

[Wedge]

What are you talking about?  Why should weapons not have a cycle system?  Otherwise they are just the stuff you hit things with.  Even if it\'s not an opposing force system, they will have strengths and weaknesses against certain enemy types.  And even then it makes sense learning one degrades another.  The degradation would be LESS than the rate of learning something else, so this:

Although a nice idea...still wouldn\'t it be annoing if you had sword skill 100 and found really good club...started playing with it...got club like 40 but your sword went to 20...and then you found betr sword...I think once skill aquired it shouldn\'t degredate...

would not happen.

And I said there would have to be a minimum level of degradation... and then someone said there should be a minimum level... I\'m gonna go shoot some stuff now.

This is the kind of stuff that enforces a class-type system.  Just because the game is skill based, doesn\'t mean it shouldn\'t have \"classes\".  You just get to create your own here.  The good point of classes is that it causes people to have to work together to compensate for their weaknesses.

[Crj]

No, i dont agree. In RL i learned skiing first. Then i went over to snbrding. After a year i tryed sking agin. The first time it was kinda clumsy, but after that i could ski as good as i did before. When i go on vacation... my character will rot. No, no, no. I dont like it at all.

[roguewolftamer]

ok i didnt really read the whole thread so everyone know but forsythe has a point, there should be but if there is it should be real slow, such as if u did go from mace to a sword, then lets say if u havnt used the mace skill in a certain ammount of time that you start forgeting things, but in order to not forget things there should be a min on how many mobs should be killed before a certain time, like 2 mobs (within 5 levels below and any amt above) a day for each weapon skill that has been raised above the default

and for magic, basicly using a couple of spells in that spell class and you wont forget anything, but i also think the time given to reach these goals should be increased a small amt for each time u raise intelligence and/or wisdom

but as long as it isnt something like you forget like 1% of xp from the skill every 10 hrs or so, thats just stupid

[Icefalcon]

i dont like the idea of skill degredation...losing what you have worked hard for really doesnt appeal to me.