11-04-2012, 03:32 PM
Random numbers are necessary for shallow games that do not go into the detail necessary to take all environmental factors into account. It is far quicker/easier to code a random number than to write up an engine to factor physics. The randomness is a quick-and-dirty way to replace those other systems so that the game is not reduced to nothing more than Paper-Rock-Scissors or Tic-Tac-Toe (As Slamz put it).
There are many other games, some of them MMOs, that do not have randomness. They go into enough detail within their various game engines that it isn't necessary. Two examples off the top of my head:
World War II Online (aka Battleground Europe).
There is (almost*) no randomness in WWIIO. When you shoot a Churchill mk.VII tank dead-on with a Pak-38, there is no "25% chance to hit, 10% chance to crit, 18% chance to start a fire in the ammo magazine" or the like. What there is are many complex systems built into the game engine to measure all of the physics.
o The velocity of a Pak-38 anti-tank gun AP shell is 835m/s at the muzzle, the weight of the projectile is 2.06kg, and the person manning the ATG has control over barrel elevation and slew. With these factors all known, you then also know where the shot is going to go - and if it goes where the target is, it hits. There is no need to roll dice to determine a hit. WWIIO replaces the randomness with actual real-life ballistics calculations.
o The target tank is intricately rendered and all component parts have been specified, from the armor to the fuel tank. At 1000m range, the velocity of the Pak-38's cannon shell has dropped to a point that it will only penetrate 48mm of armor. Since a Churchill mk.VII tank has 152mm of armor on its front facing, there is no penetration. You can shoot at it all day (which many n00bies will do) and never accomplish a damn thing. Your only choice if you want to score a kill is to lie in wait until it moves and you can take a shot at its more vulnerable rear/side facings, or get closer so that you can increase the effective penetration power due to the higher velocity of the shell at the impact point. During all of this you also need to be mindful of the angle of impact that your shot is going to have when it hits. A hit at a high-deflection angle will simply "bounce off" with the explosive force being redirected somewhere other than Directly Into The Armor. You need to hit perpendicular to the armor facing to apply the full amount of penetrating power.
o Assuming you get a shot to penetrate armor, there is no random roll to determine what you hit. If you struck the vehicle on the left side near the rear, where the engine exhaust vent is, then you will take out the engine. The tank may still technically be "alive", but now it's a sitting duck for you to take more precise aim at the fuel tank or a weak facing of the turret.
WWIIO is often referred to as a simulator due to taking so many real-world systems into account. But it's because of this level of detail that random die rolls are not needed.
(*) If you change absolutely nothing, and fire 10 shots, there WILL BE a small amount of variance between each shot. This is because WWIIO does not render air currents. They choose instead to replace wind with some randomness. (Their weather system is purely for visibilty - reducing effectiveness of aircraft and long range weapons because you can't see your target well).
Mount and Blade
Mount and Blade isn't often referred to as a MMO, but it is a popular multiplayer game, and some mods have added a certain amount of persistence to it, so I feel it qualifies to be used as an example for this topic.
Mount and Blade is much closer to a "fantasy RPG" than WWIIO, although there are no wizards or spells or dragons. It is a medieval combat game of trying to hit your target with an axe or arrow. Firing an arrow from a bow requires much of the same attention to detail as firing a cannon in WWIIO - again with random to-hit rolls being replaced by elevating your aim and leading your target to account for your target's distance and movement. The melee combat, also, is not random:
o Like WOW, GW2, etc, M&B weapons have stats like Damage, Delay, and Weight. However, other MMOs only consider weight of a weapon for determining how many of them you can fit in your backpack before your character walks slower. M&B uses Weight, as well as other weapon stats such as swing speed and weapon length to determine a weapons effectiveness in combat.
o Consider a two-handed greatsword. We'll assume for this example that its blade length is 44", and your arms lend an additional 18" of reach. We will also assume, for this example, that your target is a training dummy and is not going to block/parry your attack. When you swing your weapon, you will hit unless your target is 62.1" or further away from you. No need for dice-rolling here.
o When you hit with your weapon, you tend to not always do the same amount of damage. But it isn't random - it's due to many other factors. The game uses information such as how fast the weapon is moving when it hits and the weight of the weapon (f=m*a) together with a base damage rating to get a final damage amount. When you start your swing, the weapon isn't immediately moving at full speed. It takes a short time to "put your weight into it" and get the weapon up to your fastest swing speed. If, because of where you're standing and where your target is, you hit them at the start of your swing, then you wont be delivering as much force as if you had hit them at the apex of your swing. If your target is moving away from you when you hit, then the relative velocity of the weapon will be reduced. OTOH, if your target is moving into your swing, then the relative velocity is increased and you end up doing more damage.
o Critical Chance rolls are replaced by giving control of the weapon attack to the player. If you want to hit them in the head, then aim there. It's probably easier to hit them in the body, but head armor tends to be lighter, and, well, it's The Head so landing a blow there will do significantly more damage.
These examples are extreme to a point. Some people just want to shoot at something until its Hit Points are gone. That's fine, I like DiabloII too. For these games Random Numbers are necessary. Carefully Aiming At The Exhaust Port is replaced by a dumbed-down random die roll to determine if you hit.
There are many other games, some of them MMOs, that do not have randomness. They go into enough detail within their various game engines that it isn't necessary. Two examples off the top of my head:
World War II Online (aka Battleground Europe).
There is (almost*) no randomness in WWIIO. When you shoot a Churchill mk.VII tank dead-on with a Pak-38, there is no "25% chance to hit, 10% chance to crit, 18% chance to start a fire in the ammo magazine" or the like. What there is are many complex systems built into the game engine to measure all of the physics.
o The velocity of a Pak-38 anti-tank gun AP shell is 835m/s at the muzzle, the weight of the projectile is 2.06kg, and the person manning the ATG has control over barrel elevation and slew. With these factors all known, you then also know where the shot is going to go - and if it goes where the target is, it hits. There is no need to roll dice to determine a hit. WWIIO replaces the randomness with actual real-life ballistics calculations.
o The target tank is intricately rendered and all component parts have been specified, from the armor to the fuel tank. At 1000m range, the velocity of the Pak-38's cannon shell has dropped to a point that it will only penetrate 48mm of armor. Since a Churchill mk.VII tank has 152mm of armor on its front facing, there is no penetration. You can shoot at it all day (which many n00bies will do) and never accomplish a damn thing. Your only choice if you want to score a kill is to lie in wait until it moves and you can take a shot at its more vulnerable rear/side facings, or get closer so that you can increase the effective penetration power due to the higher velocity of the shell at the impact point. During all of this you also need to be mindful of the angle of impact that your shot is going to have when it hits. A hit at a high-deflection angle will simply "bounce off" with the explosive force being redirected somewhere other than Directly Into The Armor. You need to hit perpendicular to the armor facing to apply the full amount of penetrating power.
o Assuming you get a shot to penetrate armor, there is no random roll to determine what you hit. If you struck the vehicle on the left side near the rear, where the engine exhaust vent is, then you will take out the engine. The tank may still technically be "alive", but now it's a sitting duck for you to take more precise aim at the fuel tank or a weak facing of the turret.
WWIIO is often referred to as a simulator due to taking so many real-world systems into account. But it's because of this level of detail that random die rolls are not needed.
(*) If you change absolutely nothing, and fire 10 shots, there WILL BE a small amount of variance between each shot. This is because WWIIO does not render air currents. They choose instead to replace wind with some randomness. (Their weather system is purely for visibilty - reducing effectiveness of aircraft and long range weapons because you can't see your target well).
Mount and Blade
Mount and Blade isn't often referred to as a MMO, but it is a popular multiplayer game, and some mods have added a certain amount of persistence to it, so I feel it qualifies to be used as an example for this topic.
Mount and Blade is much closer to a "fantasy RPG" than WWIIO, although there are no wizards or spells or dragons. It is a medieval combat game of trying to hit your target with an axe or arrow. Firing an arrow from a bow requires much of the same attention to detail as firing a cannon in WWIIO - again with random to-hit rolls being replaced by elevating your aim and leading your target to account for your target's distance and movement. The melee combat, also, is not random:
o Like WOW, GW2, etc, M&B weapons have stats like Damage, Delay, and Weight. However, other MMOs only consider weight of a weapon for determining how many of them you can fit in your backpack before your character walks slower. M&B uses Weight, as well as other weapon stats such as swing speed and weapon length to determine a weapons effectiveness in combat.
o Consider a two-handed greatsword. We'll assume for this example that its blade length is 44", and your arms lend an additional 18" of reach. We will also assume, for this example, that your target is a training dummy and is not going to block/parry your attack. When you swing your weapon, you will hit unless your target is 62.1" or further away from you. No need for dice-rolling here.
o When you hit with your weapon, you tend to not always do the same amount of damage. But it isn't random - it's due to many other factors. The game uses information such as how fast the weapon is moving when it hits and the weight of the weapon (f=m*a) together with a base damage rating to get a final damage amount. When you start your swing, the weapon isn't immediately moving at full speed. It takes a short time to "put your weight into it" and get the weapon up to your fastest swing speed. If, because of where you're standing and where your target is, you hit them at the start of your swing, then you wont be delivering as much force as if you had hit them at the apex of your swing. If your target is moving away from you when you hit, then the relative velocity of the weapon will be reduced. OTOH, if your target is moving into your swing, then the relative velocity is increased and you end up doing more damage.
o Critical Chance rolls are replaced by giving control of the weapon attack to the player. If you want to hit them in the head, then aim there. It's probably easier to hit them in the body, but head armor tends to be lighter, and, well, it's The Head so landing a blow there will do significantly more damage.
These examples are extreme to a point. Some people just want to shoot at something until its Hit Points are gone. That's fine, I like DiabloII too. For these games Random Numbers are necessary. Carefully Aiming At The Exhaust Port is replaced by a dumbed-down random die roll to determine if you hit.