As much as I despise D&D 4th Edition as a Pen-and-Paper RPG system, I've got to agree with Savin on both counts: it *is* surprisingly close to how TiTS currently handles abilities (but indeed does it better), and it *is* probably what best matches the game's needs. I think something like modifying/replacing basic attacks based on class/perk and making most active abilities one-time uses per battle (or on cooldown; as long as there's no long-term cost) would work well. Leaving Energy as the "big" resource you have to manage for super serious fights only would be fine, though you'd also want to remove the whole "Sex costs Energy" thing because, to be blunt, it's a terrible fit for a sex game.
Concerning progression... if we want to stay as close to the current system as possible, then I'd suggest expanding on the whole perk choice system. That's how TiTS currently works, really; you pick between two perks (you can only get one of them) and it changes the way your character functions.
It could work for classes. I recently brought up how I like that the Tech Spec class is able to branch into two different directions (Drone Combat or Shields) with a simple perk selection, and I think this could be a very simple, efficient and easily balanced way to improve the class system by generating virtual "subclasses" or "builds" (Drone Tech VS Shield Tech).
You could just leave it as-is (choice between two perks every level), but incidentally, it introduces a way to create a tree-like progression: every x levels, classes could pick between two "major" perks (again like the Drone VS Shield choice) that have a strong impact on how the class is played, and if you make those perks dependent on the previous "major" perk chosen, you now have tree-like progression. You make players choose at level 5 and level 10, for example, and suddenly you have four different major builds, with other, "minor" perks letting players choose between active abilities and such.
There could be a parallel perk system available to all classes for things like weapon/armor/style specialization and such, to avoid making weapon types too "exclusive" to some classes and to avoid overloading class perk selection with general stuff that doesn't need to be there. Primitive VS High-Tech, Kinetic VS Energy, Brute Force VS Finesse, Light Armor VS Heavy Armor and whatever other sort of generic customization you'd expect to see in an RPG.
Right now, some perk choices are incredibly defining while others are mostly irrelevant, seemingly at random. I think we need better structure and consistence.
Plenty of other systems I'd be totally OK with, I'm just trying to stay as close as possible to the current game with those suggestions.
Concerning progression... if we want to stay as close to the current system as possible, then I'd suggest expanding on the whole perk choice system. That's how TiTS currently works, really; you pick between two perks (you can only get one of them) and it changes the way your character functions.
It could work for classes. I recently brought up how I like that the Tech Spec class is able to branch into two different directions (Drone Combat or Shields) with a simple perk selection, and I think this could be a very simple, efficient and easily balanced way to improve the class system by generating virtual "subclasses" or "builds" (Drone Tech VS Shield Tech).
You could just leave it as-is (choice between two perks every level), but incidentally, it introduces a way to create a tree-like progression: every x levels, classes could pick between two "major" perks (again like the Drone VS Shield choice) that have a strong impact on how the class is played, and if you make those perks dependent on the previous "major" perk chosen, you now have tree-like progression. You make players choose at level 5 and level 10, for example, and suddenly you have four different major builds, with other, "minor" perks letting players choose between active abilities and such.
There could be a parallel perk system available to all classes for things like weapon/armor/style specialization and such, to avoid making weapon types too "exclusive" to some classes and to avoid overloading class perk selection with general stuff that doesn't need to be there. Primitive VS High-Tech, Kinetic VS Energy, Brute Force VS Finesse, Light Armor VS Heavy Armor and whatever other sort of generic customization you'd expect to see in an RPG.
Right now, some perk choices are incredibly defining while others are mostly irrelevant, seemingly at random. I think we need better structure and consistence.
Plenty of other systems I'd be totally OK with, I'm just trying to stay as close as possible to the current game with those suggestions.
