- Proposal
- CH should be able to train mounts to give them different speed or endurance enhancements.
Only CH can train the mount. All players can enjoy a well trained mount.
The CH should not have an inherent speed bonus themselves, so that other players can enjoy mount racing too. The CH should be able to train mounts with different abilities. Then trade the pet to other players, the trained abilities transfer with the pet.
Baseline stats are defined by the basic stats of the creature, just like combat pets. Low level creatures can still make reasonable mounts, but to get a top level, race winning mount, you need to start with a high stat creature. The dilemma of whether to make a new pet into a mount or a combat pet is an intentionally difficult decision here.
Speed effect skills should be centered around the gallop ability, how long a mount can gallop vs how fast the gallop is.
Speed stat for gallop speed increase.
Endurance stat for gallop duration.
Recovery stat for how fast the gallop refreshes.
Momentum stat for tighter turns. Not all races will be in a straight line.
There will be some limit on the amount of upgrades a mount can have, making it a challenging decision on which upgrades to include. Similar design constraints are used in smuggler slicing and ship component mass limits.
The intention is to have a complex decision structure to allow multiple viable designs, not just one, high speed design formula that everyone uses.
Current mount abilities will remain as a baseline for low ability creatures. They won't be glamorous, but they will still be perfectly functional mounts. Nothing we currently have is lost. New opportunities to customize mounts are gained.
- Justification
- Mounts are currently not complicated. Creatures with good stats get made into combat pets, everything else gets made into a mount. There is a missed opportunity to have complex, challenging decision making involved in mount design.
- Motivation
- Imagine a mount race where players use the storyteller race droid to compete with their high end mounts. A competition where a mount's design really matters in how well it does in the race. Mount design should be a challenging and fun activity with multiple viable strategic options.
Interesting decisions to design mounts for different strategies for racing or simply travelling are possible.
