G33X Nexus Entertainment > Precursors

Player Creation

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fehknt:
well, to me repairing something sounds more like a skill, while perhaps a where parts are in a specific model is more knowelege based.  Knowing how to dock a ship, again, doesn't mean that I can dock a ship.  Maybe if I was a skilled pilot I could, but then I suppose I'd have to know how and be skilled at something related, but if I was a good pilot, I could probably figure it out.

Languages could be placed under knowelege, I agree.

If we're using skills and knowelege, we're going to have to be careful to come up with a basic tenet that seperated the two.

Like, maybe, skills can only be learned by doing, but knowelege can be learned by sitting down with a book and studying _about_ something, or by having a more direct interaction.

contingencyplan:
Personally, my view on life is that just about any skill can be trained and knowledge can be learned, while talent / intuition cannot.  IMO, this would be a fairly good basis for character creation:

Let's take working on computers as an example.  I have a good, intuitive understanding of how computers (esp. software) work.  I can look at a program and to some degree see how it is working, what it's thinking.

However, I do not have all the knowledge I may need to fix a computer.  For a given problem, I have the intuitive understanding so I can understand the solution when I find it, but I lack the knowledge to have the solution ready to go.

On the other hand, given the right knowledge, any person can fix a single computer problem - all they need are the steps to follow.  However, if they lack an intuitive understanding of computers, they may not be able to modify those steps to solve a different (though perhaps similar or related) problem.  If someone's just following a manual to find the solution, then when a situation outside of the manual presents itself, the troubleshooter is lost.

So how does this relate to skill?  Skill comes when knowledge and intuition combine with use over time (perhaps even on a mathematical level).  I have an intuitive understanding of computers, and I have a fair-sized knowledge base to draw on.  Furthermore, I have worked with computers for a long time, and I have learned where I can find answers if I don't know what to do already.  I have honed my intuition and increased my knowledge by applying them over years.  Thus, I consider myself to be "skilled" with computers.

So how can we incoporate this into the game?  Well, let's say you're working on a computer fixing skill.  You have a datapad that you can use to download and learn new information - gain knowledge.  However, you must have an intuition in that skill area to be able to use your knowledge effectively.  And by using that skill more and more, you become more proficient at its use.  

Thus, when you use your computer skill, knowledge + intuition (+ time, maybe) determine whether you succeed in using it.  If you can succeed, the three combine to determine how long it takes you to accomplish the task.  

Btw: I think the inverse should be true as well - if you don't use your skills much, over time they begin to weaken.  This way we don't have any leetster "pwnzor of all teh trades" players.  

Perhaps we should also have a general "computer skill" that you can emphasize when creating your character, then have sub-categories underneath that (hacking, troubleshooting, etc.).  The intuition aspect applies to all, while the knowledge and time applies to the specific category.  

In short, anybody can learn to do something by gaining knowledge and spending time using the subject.  However, their "intuition" determines how successful they are in using that skill, both in areas within the subject that they are familiar with and in areas they are not.

My rambling thoughts on the subject. (I'm eating, working, and sleep-deprived while writing this post.  Interesting combination.)
~Brian

Morgul:
I really like this idea. I think that 'Skill' should be calculated based on 'Intuition' and 'Knowledge'. Hrm, I'm thinking it would work this way:

Computers:
     Intuition: X
     Skills:
          Build/Repair: (X + Y1)
               Knowledge: Y1
          Hacking: (X + Y2)
               Knowledge: Y2


That gives you a basic breakdown. Intuition is the same across all the skills in one general area, where as knowledge is specific to that particular area. The more you use any skill in a general area, the more your intuition increases (slowly). The less you use a General area, the more your intuition decreses (till something like half your starting value, I'd think. Never zero.... since you'll still have some sort of intuition, even if you never use it.) The same goes for knowledge, except it would be on a per skill basis. (Computer Build/repair is a skill... computers is not.)

Whatcha think?

whitelynx:
I personally don't think that intuition should decrease. However, what contingencyplan mentioned about "time" could also be called "experience". The more experience you have in a given skill, the faster you can perform it and the more likely you are to be successful. However, if you neglect to use a certain skill for a while, your experience should probably be the stat that drops. Also, knowledge about a certain skill could drop over time with lack of use, but over a much longer time span than experience.

Dave

contingencyplan:
Here's another couple of ideas that I had for Player creation.

What about genetic modifications?  By this time in the future, we should have a better understanding of the human genome, and may even be able to add characteristics like nightvision or things like that.

Additionally / alternately, what about cybernetic implants - things that help you think?  This might work well for a Field / Squad Commander, who switches from FPS to RTS view frequently.  This view could be switched and controlled directly via the brain, rather than having something like an arm-mounted device.

Perhaps we could have human-computer interfaces as well - this would definitely help enhance people's computer skills, since they can control a computer by thinking, rather than via physical devices (keyboards, mice, touchscreens, holograms, or whatever they're using 600 years from now).

What do y'all think?
~Brian

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