MMORPG.com and David Eckelberry Q&A #2

MMORPG.com's staff writer David Souza enages in a bi-weekly Q&A with Turbine Entertainment's Lead Game Systems Designer, David Eckelberry. In the second occurance of this feature, the following topics are covered: character death, issues with translation from PnP rounds to real-time combat, spell points, and racial abilities, and the presence of large scale combat opportunities.

An interesting excerpt on the adaptation of combat:

"DD Online’s combat system doesn’t make use of some pen-and-paper elements, largely thanks to being an online role-playing game. We aren’t turn-based, we don’t have “rounds” of combat, and thus Cleave can’t give you an extra attack in a round that you down a foe. When examining feats such as these, my goal is to produce the intent of the original feat (or skill or effect), while making the necessary adaptation for good videogame play. In the specific example of Cleave, use of this feat allows the character to make an area effect melee attack in a small arc in front of the character."

Read the Full article at MMORPG.com!