Skill System: Spend skill points, or use skills to increase them?

gillvane1

It seems like there are two ways you can design a skill system.



1. You earn skill points. When you earn enough skill points you can spend them to either increase the effectiveness of a skill you already have, or you can purchase a new skill. If I'm not mistaken, this is sort of how Knights of the Old Republic (Star Wars) worked.



2. The other system is whatever skill you use increases. If you swing your sword , your sword swinging skill gets better. If you shoot fireballs spells, your fireball spell gets better.  This is how Dungeon Siege worked.



If you want a skill system in the game, instead of a level system, which one would you prefer?

uruku_x

#2. It makes sense.

Forcan

I would want a Skill system where you use specific items/equipment to get better at it.

I would have imagine that the combination of the two is good. (i.e. you have skill points, you use it to learn skill, and use the skill to get better at it)

There's many talk to skill-based system, and for me, the idea of a skill system is that you learn skills (through skill points building your template), and using the skills (improve the base stat of the skill or your character's base stat.) 

 

Mrbloodworth

#2

 

However, use based individual skill improvement, and skill points for buying additional skills.

Aelfinn

I feel that a combination of the two works best, with points being chosen for basic/passive skills/attributes and perhaps choosing new active skills and active skills/feats being advanced as you use them.

seabass2003

I would like to see a system that uses both.

Mrbloodworth

Originally posted by Forcan


I would want a Skill system where you use specific items/equipment to get better at it.
I would have imagine that the combination of the two is good. (i.e. you have skill points, you use it to learn skill, and use the skill to get better at it)
There's many talk to skill-based system, and for me, the idea of a skill system is that you learn skills (through skill points building your template), and using the skills (improve the base stat of the skill or your character's base stat.) 
 

AKA = SWG-pre-cu

LordSlater

Eve used to ahve system 2 in it you know and a big problem showed up so i shall illastrate it in a example below.

If you wanted to get really good at sword use make a macro that lets you swing yuor sword automatically at a tree. Leave long enough any you get skillpoints to destribute. Or if you couls for example harvest trees for wood make a apropriate amcr find a big forest in newbie land and leave the macr running overnight when you wake up you will get a lot of free skillpoints to put into where you want.

Basically in eve when this system was tried out people would just get ther ships out to randomly warp around the palce to increas ethere warp skills. Or they would constantly mine the cheap ore to increase there mining skills.

 

You see this system is too easy to abuse so id go for system 2

XApotheosisX

SWG pre-nge system

so probably number 2 where you gain skill as you use it.

Kyerna

Rather a combination of the two.



The more I practice with my sword the more adept I should become at it, but it should be my choice if I'd train on speed, strength or accuracy and weaknesses in the opponent's armour.



On top of that I'd actually like to see a system that rewards clever play and skill use or efficiency than just time spend.

paulscott

lesson base pwns all.  do what ever is fun to you, then use your lessons learning from a human(so they get a slight learning bonus also, while you get a slightly better one) or a npc.  use the lessons on whatever you want

FreddyNoNose

Originally posted by uruku_x

#2. It makes sense.

How do you get new skills if you can't currently use a skill?

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Samuraisword

No 2 choice doesn't work without some kind of opportunity cost, or everyone will be the same, which defeats the purpose of a skill based system. If everyone has access to every skill, then no one is unique. You need a system where you have to choose a limited amount of skills at character creation and then you can increase them with usage.

Aelfinn

Originally posted by Samuraisword

No 2 choice doesn't work without some kind of opportunity cost, or everyone will be the same, which defeats the purpose of a skill based system. If everyone has access to every skill, then no one is unique. You need a system where you have to choose a limited amount of skills at character creation and then you can increase them with usage.

No one ever said that it would necessarily come without opportunity cost. If there are classes, each might have a set of skills and some universal ones. If there are no classes, simply make the "cost" of investing in skills go up based on a character's total number of skill advancements regardless of field, lets say you have skills A,B, and C. A is at 5, B at 10, and C at 0. C will cost as much, or nearly as much to advance as A or B, said cost in turn is much more than it would have been to advance when all skills were still at 0. If balanced right, a character can invest in a relatively small speciality of skills without the cost being too prohibitive, but will quickly find himself overwhelmed if he/she tries to become a master of all trades.

freebirdpat

Combination of both with some questing involved to gain new skills.

FreddyNoNose

Originally posted by Samuraisword

No 2 choice doesn't work without some kind of opportunity cost, or everyone will be the same, which defeats the purpose of a skill based system. If everyone has access to every skill, then no one is unique. You need a system where you have to choose a limited amount of skills at character creation and then you can increase them with usage.

Exactly!