In an attempt to draw a player base from as wide a gameing genre as possible, there will be at least two different combat engines available in DRInc. This, of course, is also subject to change. The first combat engine will be a straightforward point-and-shoot Quake-style engine that works on realtime mechanics. It is understood that at the time of writing this overview that internet connection for some is not as good as it could be. I feel that by the time the game is ready to go to beta that such things will have improved substancially enough to allow for real-time combat. The system is very straightforward. You line a character up in crosshairs and pull the "trigger" of the weapon you are carrying. The path of the bullet will then be computed and any character intersecting that path will take damage according to the weapon and ammo type. Certain modifiers may be added, such as allowing a character that has cybernetic eyes, weapon arm and CPU a limited autotargeting system. Some weapons, such as grenade launchers, will have a "splatter effect" in which anything standing within a limited radius of the impact will take damage. Different effects may be acheived by the psychic class, but that will be investigated later. There will also be a form of hand-to-hand combat, but it will work on the same engine, using a very limited range.
The other combat system will perform more like a turn-based system. This system will be used by the hacker class in cyberspace. Hackers will be able to buy a portable computer console in which to keep hacking programs on, which he will use when hacking cyberspace. Cyberspace will consist of it's own simplistic world, taking on the appearance of a medieval world. When a hacker logs on to a system, the character (from here refered to as "main character") will be given another character (from here refered to as "avatar") that will act on his behalf inside cyberspace. The avatar's strength will be proportionate to the main character's inteligence. The smarter the main character, the stronger the avatar. Cyberspace will be represented as medieval cities, towns and dungeons. Large mainframes on the 'net will appear as dungeons or castles in cyberspace. The player will have a bird's-eye view of cyberspace. Anti-hacker programs, or "bots," will roam cyberspace, taking the form of monsters and other inhabitants. Hackers may interact with each other through cyberspace also. Hackers may choose to form teams inside cyberspace in order to overcome a particularly nasty bot.
A hacker's ability will be directly proportionate to his strength and any weaponry or defensive programs that the main character may have. The main character may purchase "programs" in the normal world that will take the form of weapons, such as a sword, or armor, or even magic, in cyberspace. All avatar stats will be determined by programs, with the exception of avatar strength, which will be determined by the main character's inteligence. Avatar dexterity will be proportionate to CPU speed of the main character's portable console. An avatar's magical capabilities, healing capabilities, and all else will be determined by software that the hacker will keep on his personal console.
Logging out of cyberspace will take time. The hacker, if faced with a particularly difficult bot, has the option of imediate "jacking out" or pulling his plug from the system to escape, but it will come at a risk. The hacker will risk having the bot actually follow him out of cyberspace and download itself directly into his cyber CPU. When this happens, the hacker will need to go have the bot "wiped," or deleted, from his CPU memory by an NPC known as a "Doc." If the hacker logs back into cyber space without having the bot wiped, he must face the bot in battle again imediately, plus the bot will be able to call on the aid of other nearby bots, while also making his presence known to the larger corporations, along with all bank account information, and any other pertinent secret information. If the player chooses to not have the bot wiped, the player will still have the option of upgrading programs and CPU speed to possibly be able to defeat the bot the next time he jacks into cyberspace.
When battle is engaged, cyberspace will calulate the avatar's statistics depending on CPU speed, programs used, and main character's inteligence, along with any armor, weapons, or "magic" the avatar may have due to programs stored of the main character's console. The bot will also have it's own array of weapons, armor and magic, and will also have it's own stats.
Cyberspace will be very imersive, and it's expected that many players will spend most of their gametime in cyberspace. This will be the most intensive of all the sub-games to program.