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DArtagnan
Guest
Sorry, DArt, I'm not sure where the article was, but I remember reading that Morrowind made a ton of under-the-hood dice-roll checks, especially compared to the relatively simple formula of Skyrim. Someone much more technical than I am wrote an article about it and gave examples, and the complexity was quite high. Good luck finding that article now, though.
Edit - Actually, it was a YouTube video made about Morrowind, discussing why the author felt it was still worthwhile in 201x. There was a segment about the determining dice-roll factors of combat and it was quite impressive. I'll continue looking for the exact video and see if I can find it.
Edit #2 - Here you go, I found it and this link should take you exactly to 9:00, which is when the segment starts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf0jiOpD-AQ
Thanks
I've listened to it, and it doesn't sound more complex than most CRPGs. I think his point is that it's too complex for a PnP system, which I would agree with. Then again, so are most CRPGs - as they don't have to worry about the time it takes to calculate and put all those things together.
I don't see how the Morrowind formula is more advanced than Skyrim, just because there's more random chance involved - as that's about the player actually hitting the enemy, physically.
However, Skyrim also includes things like armor, stamina, magic bonuses, skill level, weapon damage and so on.
But where Skyrim is much better and arguably more complex, is in the amount of combat moves available as well as the passive perks that add to the complexity and richness of the system - where Morrowind only had 3 pre-set kinds of attack, and each and every weapon was more effective using just one of those, meaning there was no variety whatsoever during melee combat.
Then we have the much more advanced stealth and archery mechanics - both of which have a lot of perks on top of the standard combat mechanics - and I consider the overall combat system both much better and more complex in Skyrim.
But I get that some people prefer not to have their own personal skill involved in combat, and that's cool. Morrowind is likely better for that kind of player - as you can rely entirely on your stat sheet.
More old-school, you could say.