Update time! First, here's a new translation video. It's a pretty long one, but not as long as it's been since I last updated. >_<
http://youtu.be/R1R8pSVBvMsAlso, I have some translation documents. One is just yet another version of the Spell Card translations (which mostly fixes minor errors, including a really embarrassing one in which I accidentally said that Rumia could use Demon-Binding Circle instead of Reimu o_O), but the other one is the first version of the long-awaited translation notes. Here are the links below.
Translation Notes
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?8ek5odgjmqakii4Spell Card Translations
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?42lguzv5guuj5dnIs there anyway you could include the names in Japanese? It's hard to play with them if I can't read Japanese.... :blush:
Actually, the existing versions of the Spell Card translation document were formatted for being inserted back into the game. I haven't actually made a version that's more ideal for practical use during gameplay, but I definitely plan to do so. What do you think the most effective way to set it up would be? One possibility would be to put it in an Excel document, and include each Spell Card's Japanese name, English name, and English description (because I don't think the Japanese description would be any help for practical use). I could divide the Spell Cards across Excel sheets according to in-game classification (such as Short-Range Physical, Long-Range Physical, and so on), and have one sheet with all Spell Cards listed, for when someone wants to search for something across all Spell Cards. Of course, this would require someone to be able to open Excel documents; would most people be able to open those files?
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Also, in the background, I've done a bit of work on the potential remake, just in case it looked like it might end up being a good idea. I don't want to get too involved in it this early in the translation (especially because I can't really make it until the translation is completely finished), but I have done some planning and a tiny bit of programming.
I've finally set up a lot of the core game mechanics, as well as some of the ways in which menus are laid out. In particular, I think I finally have a decent-looking status menu, which looks better than the status menu in the original game (and WAY better than the RPG Maker default). All of the stats display properly, including even elemental and status ailment affinity, and I even have a large character portrait for each character. (I think I need more practice drawing human(oid)s, though. It took me about 5 attempts to get a portrait of Reimu I was satisfied with. I'm more used to drawing animals and monsters.) I've also updated a few of the character sprites from the original Defiant of Shrine Maiden; some were simple (for Reimu, I just changed the color of her ribbon from blue to yellow), but others were trickier (Youmu pretty much got a total overhaul, because there were a lot of things wrong with her original sprites).
I thought I might outline a few of the additions and changes that I thought could be nice to have in the remake, though, so I could get opinions on them. I'll group them, so that they're easier to swallow. I tend to go on and on a little too much. >_<
Overview-The game will be made using RPG Maker XP, which I have prior experience with. It will feature custom scripting, but all of it will be done by me (and most of it has already been implemented). This means it won't be buggy like most RPG Maker games, because it won't have scripts conflicting with each other. It will be thoroughly bug-tested.
-The game will be based on a custom RPG Maker engine that I'm developing for an unrelated original game that I'm designing right now.
-The game will include the material from all of the expansions, but EX mode's material will be overhauled because Mountain of Faith is no longer the newest game in the series.
-The game will be much better balanced than the original game. Characters and skills will be meticulously tested to make sure that none of them are overpowered or underpowered. This means that characters who were nearly useless in the original game (like Wriggle) will now be very powerful.
-The difficulty will be overall much more forgiving than in the original game, but multiple difficulty modes will be present to suit different difficulty preferences. The game will avoid using "fake" difficulty, relying more on strategy and planning than on trial-and-error.
-The structure will be less like a dungeon crawler and more like a traditional RPG. There will be sidequests separate from the main story, and areas with NPCs to talk to. Dungeons will be less linear, with interconnected areas for easier navigation. There will also be more puzzles.
-Characters will speak in cutscenes much more evenly. Characters like Wriggle and Rumia will continue to participate in cutscenes after they've joined the party, unlike in the original game.
-The game will use graphics and music from the original game, as well as custom graphics and music designed by me. New graphics will closely imitate the style of the old graphics so that they don't stick out.
-There will be new plot elements, and there will be new areas to visit. There will also be reasons to revisit old areas.
Gameplay Modes-Main mode will still be the first mode, and will be structured similarly to the way it is in the original game, albeit with additional material. Notable among these is the fact that there will now be 8 possible routes instead of 2. Completing it opens access to EX mode.
-EX mode still causes characters to start over in terms of growth. However, it is structured completely differently. Instead of focusing on the Mountain of Faith characters, it will now switch focus between all characters. Different characters will team up with one another, and the perspective will switch between these groups of characters as you advance through the plot. For example, you might be playing as Yukari, Ran, and Chen for a while, and then the perspective might shift to Sanae, Kanako, and Suwako's group. All characters in EX mode will start at Lv.1 in areas of early-game difficulty, allowing the player to raise all of them from the beginning and customize their growth as he or she sees fit. The characters will eventually join up together, giving the player free control of the active party.
-SB mode (which was originally just a bonus dungeon) will now be part of EX mode. You will now use the Touhou characters inside the Tower of Trials instead of being forced to use Original Characters. There will also be other bonus dungeons in addition to the Tower of Trials, including ones that reference Genius of Sappheiros and Devil of Decline.
Difficulty Modes-Unlike the original game, this game will feature different difficulty modes. I haven't yet decided whether it will be possible to change difficulty mode after having already started a file.
-Easy mode will be ideal for people who are new to video games. The difficulty will be very tame, and the game will actively offer in-game tutorials to help the player adjust to the gameplay mechanics. Enemies and bosses will not be very aggressive, giving large room for error. Note that playing on easy mode will NOT lock the player out of any features, nor cause the ending to be less satisfying.
-Normal mode will be ideal for people who have some experience with video games. It will still be much easier than the original game, but it will still pose a bit of a challenge. Some battles may be difficult without using an effective strategy.
-Hard mode will be ideal for people who have completed many RPGs in the past. Enemies and bosses will be more intelligent and higher-leveled, and will have access to more skills. It will not be possible to blast through boss battles with raw power; strategy will be essential.
-Lunatic mode will be ideal for people who really want a challenge and think most RPGs are too easy. Enemies and bosses will have extremely efficient AI and will not pull any punches. Enemies will be high-leveled and will not only use skills intelligently and effectively, but will also assume combat roles and cooperate with one another. Boss battles will be nearly impossible without an effective strategy. There will still not be any "cheap" difficulty, though, and luck will not be required to succeed, meaning that Lunatic mode may still be "easier" than the original game from some perspectives. Even on Lunatic mode, strategy and preparation will trump all, and all characters will still be effective and usable.
-I'm considering implementing separate difficulty modes for puzzles, which will be much more prevalent and fun than in the original game. For example, puzzles would be very simple on Easy puzzle mode, but very challenging on Lunatic puzzle mode. This would allow a player to potentially have easy battles but difficult puzzles, for instance.
Storyline Routes-In the original game's Main mode, the player could choose between one of two routes, either siding with the Scarlet Devil Mansion to oppose Eientei or siding with Eientei to oppose the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
-In this game, there will be 8 possible routes instead of 2. Two of these routes will be neutral routes, in which the player does not side with any of the groups.
-There will now be 6 primary factions: the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Eientei, the Moriya Shrine, the Palace of the Earth Spirits, the Myouren Temple, and Senkai. As with the original game, characters unrelated to these factions may be aligned with them, such as Yukari supporting Eientei.
-Overall, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Eientei, and the Palace of the Earth Spirits are mostly concerned with finding a way to return to Gensokyo. The Moriya Shrine, the Myouren Temple, and Senkai wish to restore harmony to Tokyo City before returning (but for different reasons).
-Like in the original game, siding with the Scarlet Devil Mansion causes you to fight Eientei, and vice versa. Now, siding with the Moriya Shrine causes you to fight the Palace of the Earth Spirits, and vice versa. Siding with the Myouren Temple causes you to fight Senkai, and vice versa.
-In one neutral path, you fight everyone, but re-recruit characters to your side. In the other neutral path, you fight almost no one. One neutral path is difficult to unlock, while the other is always available.
-You are no longer locked onto a path extremely early in the game. You can accept missions from any group without being locked into supporting that group. You now actively choose which group you will support shortly before you would challenge one of them in the original game. Depending on your actions, you may be limited in terms of which groups are willing to let you support them.
-Depending on which route you take, you will obtain certain bonus items in EX mode. These bonus items are all obtainable through other methods, so you cannot permanently miss anything by choosing a particular route.
-Like in the original game, EX mode is largely the same no matter which route you followed in Main mode. However, EX mode may have more than one possible ending, depending on your actions within it (unlike in the original game).
Characters-The game will include all characters who appear in games from Embodiment of Scarlet Devil through Ten Desires, as well as Kasen and at least a few PC-98 characters (Mima, Shinki, Elly, Yumemi, Chiyuri, and Genjii are definitely in). Minibosses without dialogue (like Daiyousei, Koakuma, and Lily White) will be playable, too.
-The Original Characters will most likely not be playable. This is in part because of space constraints, but also because most people seemed to hate being forced to use them in the original game (and never used them when they were optional). As such, the player will now use the Touhou characters in the Tower of Trials, instead of being forced to use Original Characters.
-Unlike in the original game, some characters will not be overpowered or underpowered compared to others. Characters like Wriggle and Rumia will be powerful and useful, and characters like Sakuya will not overshadow everyone else.
-All characters will have the same stat total at a given level, but the stats will be distributed differently. In other words, no characters will have higher total stats than other characters, but they will still have specialties.
-Every character will be moderately weak to 2 elements, very weak to 1 element, moderately resistant to 2 elements, and very resistant to 1 element.
-Every character will be innately immune to 2 status ailments.
-Each character will have access to 5 Spell Cards and 1 Last Word, in addition to normal skills.
-Characters will have definite specialties, but will have enough versatility that just about any team can work effectively with proper strategy.
-Each character will have 5 decks that determine the character's stat distribution (and thus battle role). 1 will be the default deck (which will typically be the most balanced), while the other 4 will be more specialized and must be obtained or unlocked. The default deck will not be weaker than the other 4 decks; all decks are equally useful, but serve different purposes.
-In Main Mode, most, but not all, characters will be playable. In EX mode and SB mode, all characters will be playable. Because of the way in which EX mode will now be structured, no characters will join late like in the original game. Note that many Mountain of Faith characters will be playable in Main mode, unlike in the original game.
Stats and Mechanics-Characters will be able to reach Lv.99, instead of the original game's Lv.999 (although most people never went higher than around Lv.200). However, leveling up will be much more meaningful than in the original game, and will make a much more substantial difference.
-The experience a character receives from battle is dependent on the level of the enemy. If the enemy is higher-leveled than the character, the character will receive lots of experience and can level up quickly. However, if the enemy is lower-leveled, the character will not gain much experience. Enemies that are much weaker than the character won't give any experience at all. This makes it quick and easy for characters to catch up if they're behind, but difficult to get overleveled.
-Characters will level up even when not in the party, and even when they haven't even joined yet. This makes it easier to use a large number of characters, which will make the split-party dungeons much more enjoyable. The exception is in the first part of EX mode, when characters are split into different teams and each team's composition is locked into place. Characters in other teams don't gain experience when not being used, but by the time they all join up, they'll all be about the same level, anyway.
-Maximum HP and MP always cap at 100, no matter what.
-The 6 core attributes are STR (Strength), VIT (Vitality), DEX (Dexterity), AGI (Agility), CON (Concentration), and WIL (Willpower). CON replaces INT from the original game, because a character's intelligence has no logical connection to her skill at using offensive magic (glaringly, Eirin has lower INT than Cirno in the original game), but mental concentration does. WIL replaces POT from the original game, because not only does potential have little to do with magic defense, but not even the developers were sure what POT was supposed to mean (it stands for potential, but the Japanese description sounds closer to luck).
-The 6 core attributes directly determine 12 stats. Each attribute strongly influences 2 stats, and slightly influences 4 other stats. This makes it easier to keep track of stats than in the original game, as you only need to worry about boosting the 6 attributes. Also, all stats are very important. None of them are "dump stats."
-Physical Attack increases damage dealt by your physical attacks. It is most influenced by STR.
-Physical Defense reduces damage sustained by enemy physical attacks. It is most influenced by VIT.
-Magic Attack increases damage dealt by your magic attacks. It is most influenced by CON.
-Magic Defense reduces damage sustained by enemy magic attacks. It is most influenced by WIL.
-Accuracy increases the chance that your attacks will hit enemy targets instead of missing. It is most influenced by DEX.
-Evasion reduces the chance that enemy attacks will hit you, making them more likely to miss. It is most influenced by AGI.
-Critical Rate increases the chance that your attacks will land a critical hit, dealing 10 more damage than normal. It is most influenced by STR.
-Critical Dodge decreases the chance that enemy attacks will land a critical hit on you. It is most influenced by CON.
-Action Speed determines the order in which characters act in battle, with characters with higher Action Speed acting first. It is most influenced by AGI.
-Healing Power increases the healing potency of your HP recovery skills, and also makes it easier to cure status ailments and lowered stats. It is most influenced by WIL.
-Induction makes it easier to inflict status ailments and lower enemies' stats, and also makes it easier to dispel stat boosts from enemies. It is most influenced by DEX.
-Resilience makes it harder for foes to inflict status ailments on you and lower your stats, and also makes it harder for enemies to dispel your raised stats. It is most influenced by VIT.
-Some stats from the original game no longer exist or work differently. There are no longer border and barrier stats. Accuracy, Evasion, Critical Rate, and Critical Dodge influence all attacks and not just physical attacks. Skills can no longer be interrupted, so the Concentration stat no longer exists. MP costs are now unchangeable, so stats related to MP cost no longer exist. Status ailments have fixed durations dependent on the power of the skill that inflicted them, so the Recovery stat no longer exists. Skills and equipment no longer have Weight, so the Weight and Weight Capacity stats no longer exist.
-There are also no longer elemental affinity stats. Instead, characters are only able to learn skills for which they have a strong elemental affinity. For example, in the original game, Cirno could use Fire magic, but it would probably deal 0 damage. In this game, Cirno cannot learn Fire magic period, and can only learn skills that she would be good at using.
Notes on Status Ailments-Status ailments will be very useful and important, and will even work on bosses. Their odds of landing are not luck-dependent. They will either work 100% of the time or 0% of the time, depending on stats and immunities.
-If the target is immune to the status ailment you are trying to inflict, your skill will fail no matter what.
-If your Induction is greater than or equal to the target's Resilience, the status ailment will successfully apply 100% of the time.
-If your Induction is less than the target's Resilience, the status ailment will never apply.
-These rules apply when enemies are targeting you with status ailments, too. If you don't want to be subject to status ailments (or lowered stats), try raising your WIL in order to increase your Resilience.
-These rules also apply when attempting to use a Dispel skill to remove the target's boosted stats.
-Note that there are no longer instant-KO skills like Death. This means that although having low Resilience will leave you susceptible to status ailments and lowered stats, it will not leave you vulnerable to skills that would instantly defeat you.
-There are different levels of status ailments. A higher-leveled status ailment lasts longer and is tougher to remove. You'll need to use a high-level recovery skill to remove high-level status ailments. (The more MP a skill costs, the higher-leveled it is.) Note that status ailments that deal damage over time, like Poison, Burn, and Curse, always deal 10 damage per turn, regardless of the status ailment's level.
Battles-Battles will no longer be triggered by touching an enemy. Instead, only the player can initiate a battle. This means that you will not need to avoid enemies, and you will not be forced to fight battles against your will. Avoid too many battles, though, and you may be too weak to handle the next boss or miniboss. The responsibility falls to the player to strike a balance between accepting and forgoing battle.
-Battles can be started by investigating shadowy portals. Each portal has a mostly predetermined combination of enemies, although the number of enemies will differ depending on the size of your party. (For example, if you only have 1 character in your party, you'll never encounter more than 1 enemy at a time.) If you have cleared a portal before, it will be glowing with white light instead. You may obtain prizes for clearing many portals within a dungeon. Sometimes, it may also be necessary to clear a certain number of portals in order to open a pathway.
-The party size still consists of 6 characters. However, there is no longer a front row and back row. This means that all characters can fight using close-range attacks. Characters who were previously intended to be used in the back row, like Marisa, are now much more durable than before.
-Battles are now turn-based, similar to Genius of Sappheiros and Devil of Decline. This is partially to prevent Action Speed from being too important a stat, and partially because I don't know how to program anything else. XD
-On the whole, both playable characters and enemies are more resilient than in the original game. It will typically take multiple hits to defeat someone; 1 or 2-hit-KOs will almost never happen unless there is a huge level difference. This is helped by the fact that instant-KO attacks no longer exist, and by the fact that critical hits increase damage by 10 instead of doubling damage.
-Elemental weaknesses and resistances will increase or decrease damage from relevant attacks by either 5 or 10, depending on the strength of the weakness or resistance.
-Skills no longer have Use Count stats, so you can use them as much as you like.
-MP now works in a standard style (like in Genius of Sappheiros and Devil of Decline), so characters can no longer go into overheat. This means that for expensive skills, you'll need to have high MP before you can use them.
-HP and MP no longer recover after battle. However, a careful battler shouldn't be taking as much damage as in the original game, so this shouldn't be a problem. Resting at the shrine or at a healing circle will restore HP and MP, though, as well as revive KOed characters.
-KOed characters are no longer revived after battle, and reviving skills are rare. Because getting KOed is much more avoidable in this game, the best strategy is to not get KOed in the first place. A very skilled and careful player should be able to complete the entire game without a single character getting KOed.
-If a character is revived, the character will be immune to damage and status ailments until the current turn ends. This prevents the annoying situation in which a character is revived, only to be immediately KOed again before you can heal her. This is good, because reviving skills are expensive, and they don't restore much HP.
-There is a new system in place that is tentatively known as "Tolerance." If a character is struck by a powerful attack, he or she will be highly resistant to additional powerful attacks for a certain period of time, causing most powerful attacks directed at the character to deal 0 damage, even Last Words. The stronger the attack, the longer the cool-down period before that character is susceptible to strong attacks again. Until then, you can only damage the character by using weak attacks with low base power. This serves two purposes. First, it prevents enemies from ganging up on one of your characters and defeating her before you can react. Second, it prevents you from bum-rushing a boss with Spell Cards and Last Words.
-Because of Tolerance, it is often best to spread out your attacks between enemy targets instead of ganging up on one opponent.
-No skills are ever rendered obsolete. Because Max MP never increases, skills that start costly will remain costly. In some cases, you may find it best to use weaker attacks, conserving your MP for other purposes. Weaker attacks are also less subject to Tolerance. However, weaker attacks may deal 0 damage to enemies with high defensive stats or who resist the attacks' elements, so be careful.
-If a skill deals about 20 damage when used by a Lv.1 character on a Lv.1 enemy, then it will deal about 20 damage when used by a Lv.99 character on a Lv.99 enemy. No skills scale poorly in terms of power. (Remember: Max HP never increases, so 20 damage at Lv.1 is as powerful as 20 damage at Lv.99.)
-Spell Cards are more powerful than a character's other skills, and often carry interesting effects, such as ignoring elemental resistance or slightly lowering a stat for 1 turn in addition to dealing damage. However, they have high MP costs, and are strongly affected by Tolerance. It is generally best to space out Spell Card usage instead of having everyone use Spell Cards on the same turn. (Healing and supportive Spell Cards are not subject to Tolerance, though.)
-If a character is damaged by a Spell Card, that character will be immune to Spell Card and Last Word damage for 1 turn. In other words, for the remainder of the current turn and on the next turn, Spell Cards and Last Words targeting that character will inflict no damage.
-Last Words are ultimate attacks with unparalleled power. They always deal damage, but they may apply an added effect at the cost of a bit of power. (On the whole, single-target Last Words deal more damage than multi-target Last Words.) However, Last Words are heavily subject to Tolerance. They also cost 100 MP to use, which is the most MP that a character can hold at a time. Before using a Last Word, a character may need to Focus until her MP refills to 100, unless she uses it on the first turn of battle. Make sure that character won't need to do anything else on the next turn, because with 0 MP remaining, that character will need to Focus on the next turn.
-If a character is damaged by a Last Word, that character will be immune to Spell Card damage for 2 turns and immune to Last Word damage for 4 turns.
-Remember: unlike in Genius of Sappheiros and Devil of Decline, Last Words may be used at will. You don't need to hope that one charges before you can use it.
Dungeons-Dungeons will be less linear than before, and easier to navigate. They will rarely dead-end, and will instead loop around to other parts of the dungeon once short-cuts have been opened. The boss is typically close to the dungeon's entrance, but requires something to be done in order to open a path to the boss.
-Most dungeons will have animals or youkai wandering around inside. Talk to them, and they'll provide information and advice. Because enemies are now fought by checking portals, all youkai wandering around are friendly.
-You may revisit older dungeons when undertaking sidequests. Because enemies are challenged through portals, you won't need to deal with enemies again if you don't want to. Also, portals will remain cleared, and short-cuts will remain opened. Sometimes, a sidequest may allow you to access a part of a dungeon that you couldn't reach before.
-Because there are no longer Map Actions for each character, you will traverse dungeons by interacting with the environment more often. For example, instead of using Chen to hop over a river, you might move a log over to act as a bridge.
-By obtaining certain items and completing certain sidequests, you can add or change already-cleared dungeons to make them more welcoming and appealing. For example, you can plant flowers and trees, or clear up rubble and fix broken floors. NPCs from town may even visit. Doing this is not necessary, but enhancing dungeons in this way might pay off later.
-At the entrance to each boss room, a helpful animal or youkai will be waiting to give you information about the boss. This includes the boss's general strategy, as well as what sorts of skills and strategies might work best. This can help people to know what to expect from a boss, so that they can organize their party accordingly. Listening to this advice is optional, so players can still do a blind run of the fight if desired.
-When a boss challenges you, the battle won't start until you accept the challenge. Until then, you can leave the dungeon and sort out your party.
-Bosses will always drop their items. You will no longer need to reset until you obtain a boss's drop item.
Town-There will now be a town in which ordinary residents of Tokyo City live. The inhabitants mostly lack combat ability and are bewildered by the influx of monsters and youkai into Tokyo City, but refused to evacuate the city like most non-combatants. This town will feature prominently in the plot, often serving as a location to learn about your next destination and to meet new characters. A bulletin board has a list of sidequests that are currently available. The shops will be located in this town now, instead of in Electric City.
-Many of the inhabitants of the town view Reimu as a potential savior from the problems they are facing. Whether you help them or not is up to you, but your actions will affect the flow of the plot. Other characters, such as Sanae, Byakuren, and Miko, often visit the town to offer help, but for different reasons.
-Rinnosuke and Akyuu have set up residence in the town. They now have dialogue and plot importance, unlike in the original game.
Items and Equipment-Because Map Actions are no longer present, money is now used for buying items and equipment.
-Raw materials, which can be purchased or obtained after defeating enemies, can be synthesized into new raw materials or equipment. This is similar to Genius of Sappheiros and Devil of Decline. You may be able to obtain equipment earlier than normal by making use of synthesis.
-Raw materials are much easier to obtain than in Genius of Sappheiros and Devil of Decline. Enemies are more likely to drop items than in the original game (including raw materials), and many raw materials can be purchased with money.
-The equipment system is more similar to Genius of Sappheiros and Devil of Decline, in that you have different slots for different types of equipment. Equipment is no longer classified as a type of Spell Card, and no longer has weight.
-There are five different kinds of equipment. Weapons primarily increase STR and CON. Body equipment primarily increases VIT and WIL. Arm equipment primarily increases DEX. Leg equipment primarily increases AGI. Equipment that goes in the "Other" slot tends to have a wide variety of effects, such as increasing resistance to an element or granting immunity to a status ailment.
-Each character has a unique type of weapon that she can equip, like in Genius of Sappheiros. For example, Reimu uses gohei, and Marisa uses brooms. However, there are no longer generic weapons that almost anyone can equip.
-Equipment in the "Body," "Arms," and "Legs" slots comes in multiple types, and different types can be equipped by different characters. There is overlap, though, and armor is not typically unique to a particular character, unlike weapons.
-Equipment in the "Other" slot can usually be equipped by anyone.
Skills and Spell Cards-There is no longer a limit on the number of skills and Spell Cards a character can have access to at a given time. Instead, characters have restrictions on what skills they can learn. For example, Reimu can learn magic of the Aura and Sun elements, which fit her specialties, but not magic of other elements.
-Characters are able to learn physical skills that fit their preferred weapon. For example, Reimu can use Crush-elemental skills (using her gohei) and Shot-elemental skills (using the Yin-Yang Orb). Many characters only have access to 1 physical element (like Marisa, who can only use Thrust-elemental skills using her broom), but others can use skills of 2 physical elements, like Reimu and Youmu. Characters with access to more physical elements typically have access to fewer magical elements to compensate.
-I'm still not sure whether characters should learn skills by using cards that are purchased or found (similar to the original Defiant of Shrine Maiden), or if they should learn skills by spending Growth Points earned by level up (similar to the original game I'm working on, and vaguely like Genius of Sappheiros).
-If characters learned skills through cards, you would find cards in treasure chests and purchase them using money. If a card's skill is one that a character can learn, you could use the card on the character to permanently teach the character that skill.
-If characters learned skills through Growth Points, characters would earn Growth Points after leveling up. These points could be spent to unlock skills and permanent stat boosts along 4 major skill trees. Each skill tree would embody a different role that character could assume in battle. You would need to unlock bonuses on each skill tree in order, although you could jump between multiple skill trees with no problem. Advancing through a skill tree far enough could unlock a deck that fits the skill tree's role.
-If you have ideas on which of these two possibilities sounds the most interesting, let me know.
Sorry for the huge length. If anyone looks through some of that mess, let me know what you think of those ideas.
