Quick notes from some brainstorming I did while too lazy to get up from bed. Those are the best. Not really “design” ideas, just practical implementations.

*Bring back precasting, beyotch!*

The spells will be broken in two “moments”:
– the actual casting time
– a “ready” time

During the casting time the spell is being prepared and the caster should remain still. The movement doesn’t break the casting as in other games, but it doubles the casting time and halves the ready time (this “malus” will be clearly shown graphically if active). This “ready time” represents how long the caster can keep a spell, already prepared, ready to be used. Only some of the spells can be readied. The ready times are supposed to be generally short and also available for healing spells.

The spells may have different “stages”. These work on a basic level as power ups. For example there could be a fireball with three “ranks” where each rank represents the increasing power. In order to cast the higher rank fireball, the caster will need firstly to cast the first rank, then cast the second and, finally, the third. Then the fireball will be ready at its maximum power, ready to be casted on a target (depending on the “ready time”. If not casted in time, only a small part of mana used will be returned to the caster). In some advanced magic schools (and relative specialization paths) these “ranks” can also used to “bundle” different types of spells into one (so mixing different effects). And in the most advanced version of this system (tied to the battle system) different casters will be able to work on the same magic “flow”, creating collaborative spells (“rituals”) that may affect a whole area and an army of men.

Since I’ve already explained that I want immersion and I don’t want to see the screen cluttered with buttons and multiple quickbars, the game is supposed to be playable with a joypad. So that the controls are smooth and don’t become a nightmare. I chase the simplicity and the ease of use so that the combat can be more naturally fun and lively, opposed to clunky and confused. The control scheme is definitely not satisfying enough, but this is what I decided for now:

directional keys (left and right): switch targets
directional keys (up and down): switch between enemies or friends for target selection
L1-R1: cycle spells (on a row) under the same magic school/type (for selection)
L2: switch schools (columns)
R2: macro button, it activates/deactivates a custom made row of spells
cross button: starts casting the spell, if tapped again before the casting time ends, the following “rank” is activated (the spell icon shows a “2” in a corner). This only for spells that have different “ranks” available
circle button: cancels the spell that is being casted or that was readied. It can also be used to reset a “rank” back to the previous stage
square button: releases the spell on the target. Instant spells and spells that cannot be readied, don’t need the square button to be released
triangle button: switches in/out of combat. When out of combat the other three keys will be used for other standard actions (jumping for example)

(the players are supposed to only change the order of the spells in a school, the macro button works instead as a quick custom hotbar)