To be able to define the Concept of items and how they would affect the players, Michael first had to establish a baseline.
"As previously discussed, let's start with the two heroes we already ran tests on. Lina first. Please open their status panel for me."
[Processing...](Mildred)
[ Hero name: Lina Inverse
Hero type: Ranged
Learning complexity: 4/10 stars
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Roles:
1. Carry - 4/10 stars
2. Support - 4/10 stars
3. Nuker - 10/10 stars
4. Disabler - 4/10 stars
5. Jungler - 0
6. Durable - 0
7. Escape - 0
8. Pusher - 0
9. Initiator - 0
--------
Attributes:
1. Strength: 20 points (+2.4 points growth per level)
2. Agility: 23 points (+2.4 points growth per level)
3. Intelligence: 30 points (+3.8 points growth per level)
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Stats
1. Attack: 51 - 59 points of damage
2. Base Attack time: 1.6 times per second / 123 attack speed
3. Armor: 3.8 points of damage reduction (melee)
4. Magic resistance: 25% reduction of all magical damage types (except Pure Damage)
5. Mobility: 290 movement speed (a normal person's movement speed is capped at 100 points)
6. Vision range: 1,800 meters in front and 800 meters around herself
7. Regular attacks range: 67 meters
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Skills:
1. Dragon Slave: Lina channels the breath of a dragon, sending out a wave of fire that scorches every enemy in its path.
2. Light Strike Array: Summons a column of flames that damages and stuns enemies.
3. Fiery Soul (passive): Grants bonus attack and movement speed each time Lina hits an enemy with a spell.
4. Laguna Blade (ultimate): Fires off a bolt of lightning at a single enemy unit, dealing massive damage. ]
Reading through all the details, he felt despair, thinking there were 123 more heroes for whom to do the same thing.
Furthermore, this 'status page' was simply the outer layer, void of any actual substance. The numbers and descriptions weren't sufficient, and he couldn't fully infuse Intent into them due to the lack of completion.
If Elder Rolan learned that he was severely beaten by an A.I.-controlled hero who wasn't even 40% functional, he would probably slap Michael into oblivion for sheer audacity.
Shaking his head and looking at the interface, he nodded while inspecting each category.
"First, the name, type, and learning complexity. The name is obvious but needed for the Concept and Intent stages, so each hero must have its own backstory.
For the type, simply separating them between melee and ranged attackers is sufficient. While melee attackers might have ranged abilities due to their skills and vice-versa, it's best to keep it simple so we don't scare our audience.
Then, learning complexity. We'll leave this star ranking to give the players a general idea of how difficult mastering the playstyle of this hero is. Furthermore, as they would try a multitude of other heroes in the future, they will be able to compare and understand what we are talking about."
[Sir, I suggest expanding on your idea of creating a promotional video and establish an online forum or website where each hero and their skills are presented in a visually pleasant manner.](Mildred)
Thinking it made sense, Michael agreed and gave this job to the A.I. to handle.
"As we record the details for the Concept stage, you can copy the full interface and add it to the webpage you have in mind. However, do not release the webpage until the demo is on the market. Furthermore, I suggest creating an interactive website where the users can select each one of the 124 heroes and have a second page pop up with all their details, as well as their backstories, a short introduction of their personality, their attributes and stats, skills, and level growth."
[Understood, sir. Making the necessary adjustments.](Mildred)
"Mhm... it would be good to do the same thing for items, neutral items, creeps, neutral creeps, Roshan, and the towers. We'll add everything on the same website with the same type of interactive performance."
[Making the annotations. You can proceed, sir.](Mildred)
Rubbing his eyebrows and mentally complaining about how his job turned more and more complicated with every step forward he took, Michael couldn't help but pity the game developers back on Earth.
They were an ingenious but pitiful bunch.
"Okay, back to it. The nine roles are critical in making the players understand the role of the hero. It wouldn't matter much in the 1v1 mod, but it is vital in the 5v5.
Let's make some annotations about the roles and their meaning, Mildred."
[I am recording, sir. You can proceed.](Mildred)
"Good. First, the carry. The carry's role is to 'farm.' Basically, it means they need to kill as many creep waves and neutral camps as possible, accrue a large number of gold coins, and spend them all on expensive items that would allow it to become the linchpin of the team in the 5v5 mode.
Second, the support is at the polar opposite. Their job is to stack neutral camps, help zone out the enemies, and ensure the carry can farm in peace. If needed, they have to sacrifice their own lives to safeguard their carry life. Such is the purpose of these poor creatures.
Third, the nuker. Rather than a role, it's more of a description of a hero capable of dealing massive amounts of damage in a brief amount of time. No matter if the hero is a support, mid, or carry, as long as they have the potential to burst down an enemy in a matter of seconds, they qualify as a nuker.
Fourth, a disabler, just like the nuker, is a description of their skills. As long as the hero's skills are capable of temporarily disabling the enemy's movement in any way, shape, or form, they qualify. Lina's Light Strike Array has this effect, as it can stun the enemy once it hits from above.
Fifth, the jungler. *Sigh* Both hated and somewhat accepted, the jungler is a hero capable of sustaining himself while not showing up on either of the three lanes. Instead, he entirely focuses on farming neutral camps. Since I plan to strongly buff the neutral creeps, it would be impossible for heroes to use this strategy in the early game, but it should be feasible in the mid to late game.
Sixth, durable. Uhm... this... rather than calling it a role, it's also more of a description. It will refer to a hero capable of taking punishment during fights with other heroes without losing massive amounts of HP. Their usual characteristics are high Hit Points, high armor, and skills that reduce the damage they take.
Seventh, escape. This one is relatively simple. All heroes with skills that allow them to disengage during fights with enemies fall under this category. Teleportation, phasing out of the physical realm, entering invisibility, creating doppelgangers of itself, etc.
Eight, the pusher. Since the goal of the game is to destroy the enemy's Ancient, the player must first destroy five increasingly strong Towers before even reaching the base. Any heroes who deal extra damage to buildings, when compared to the rest, fall under this category.
Finally, ninth, the initiators. Heroes with means of short, medium, or long-range teleportation fall under this category. Not only can they use the said skills to escape a fight, but they can likewise use it to start one.
Not only that, but heroes who have a large area of effect skills can also buy items such as the Blink Dagger and gain the ability to teleport for a short distance, making better use of their assets."
Taking a break and exiting the deep-dive space to grab some water, Michael brought a pitcher, placed it on the nightstand beside his bed, and returned to work.
"The attributes are the most significant and complex for this game, so it is best if you can monitor, simulate, analyze, and provide feedback based on what I'm saying. That way, we can make sure I make no mistakes, or if there are areas we can improve, we do so."
[Understood, sir. I am recording our conversation and will further use it according to your instructions.](Mildred)
"Good. Then, as previously stated, the three main attributes are Strength, Agility, and Intelligence. Now, it would be boring if only these three categories existed, so when we release the Full Version, I plan to add the Universal hero as well. But more on that later.
For starters, let's set up the baseline. Let's say a regular human that hasn't had any contact with cultivation has 10 points in each one of these three base attributes. A hero starts at the 1st-level of Qi Gathering, therefore, their attributes increase accordingly. We won't take body cultivators into account for now, so let's focus purely on Qi cultivation.
Mildred, would it be exaggerated to say a 1st-level Qi Gathering cultivator is between two to three times stronger than a regular person?"
[Negative, sir. According to the data I've gathered, even the weakest Qi Gathering cultivators are between four to five times stronger than a regular human.](Mildred)
"Huh!? The disparity is that big?"
[That is correct, sir.](Mildred)
"Ugh... then let's change the baseline to 5 points for each attribute instead of 10."
[Adjusting...](Mildred)
Hearing that motivated Michae even more to release this game to the broader audience, where even 'mortals' can become 'gods.'
It would serve to close the gap between the two classes. While in this world there was no sense of discrimination due to the terrifying influence of the constant demonic invasions, it didn't mean there were none.
Nevertheless, 'mortals' still had their own place in society, even if they didn't directly contribute to the frontline battles.
Instead, they were primarily responsible for agriculture, research, education, etc.
"Next, the attribute growth per level. I plan to have the maximum level capped at 25 upon initial release. Starting as a 1st-level Qi Gathering cultivator, once the hero reached Level 13, they would become a Foundation realm expert. Then, the maximum level in-game means the player will be able to showcase the power of a Golden Core cultivator. What do you think, Mildred."
[While not impossible, the amount of resources required to do this is too extravagant for a Tier 1 Secret Realm, sir. A Foundation-level Combat Package costs 650 spirit stones, while the Golden Core-level Combat Package is 6,500.](Mildred)
"Damn... that's pretty costly, but it's within acceptable range."
[Sir, please don't forget that these combat packages only contain the basic means of a cultivator at the specified realm. You still need to infuse the Intent of a Foundation and Golden Core-realm cultivator if you want to reach the Restrictions stage.](Mildred)
"*Sigh* That's right... Hmm... it shouldn't be too much of an issue to have the Elders and Professor Morano help me with that part. What I need to make sure is that the Heavenly Laws approve of the project once it's complete and that the game mechanics don't go against it. Uhm... please make sure you remind me if there are things like that in my game."
[Understood, sir. There are currently 86 'anomalies' that match your description in the current project.](Mildred)
"..."
Sweating and wondering how the hell he gained the Heavenly Laws recognition the previous day, Michael had the A.I. make a note of each one so they could 'repair' them in the future.
Furthermore, his costs seemed to continuously expand, making him wonder just how the hell did small game developers back on Earth managed to actually create games in these conditions.
"*Sigh* Back to the matter at hand, the stats next. The most important part is linking these 'stats' to the attributes. For example, each point in the hero's main attribute increases the damage of a hero by one point.
Or, if a hero uses an item that gives them +10 Agility, they instantly also gain 5 armor. There's also the link that needs to be made between Agility and Movement Speed. Oh, right! And the Intelligence and Magic Resistance."
[Sir, I suggest creating a baseline just like we did previously.](Mildred)
"Go on."
[Let's set it so each hero has a basic stats page. Then, according to their attributes, the stats page changes accordingly. For example, in Lina's case, we could say her basic attack value was 21 - 29 points of damage, but due to her main attribute being Intelligence, it grew to the current 51 - 59. Then, we can calculate and replicate this process for all other stats.](Mildred)
"Great! We'll do it like that. Make a note of it, and let's move to the last entry. Oh, right, before I forget. Make sure you modify the Movement Speed difference between a hero and a regular person based on the same one to five or six value."
[Understood. Making the adjustments...](Mildred)
For the final entry in the hero status panel, Michael had to describe and assign values to the magic skills each hero could use.
They couldn't be too exaggerated since it would be game balance-breaking, and the Heavenly Laws wouldn't stand for it either.
A Qi Gathering cultivator with Qi Gathering-level attributes using skills to exhibit the power available at the Golden Core realm wasn't a thing in this world.
Maybe in novels written by A.I., but in the real world, most skills were only capable of showcasing power one to five levels above the user's current cultivation stage.
Therefore, while a 12th-level Qi Gathering realm cultivator could reproduce Foundation-level damage after using a secret technique, the higher one's cultivation rose, the more improbable that was to happen.
Using the same example, a 12th-level Foundation realm cultivator would have to use a legacy skill passed down by a Nascent Soul realm expert in order to be able to showcase the power of a 1st-level Golden Core powerhouse due to the vast gulf separating these two realms.