How long should a multiplayer rpg be? 30 minutes?

I would say two hours at most. If you've got a real good map probably an hour to an hour and a half. Not too many people have the attention span or patience for over two hours.

30 minutes is usually too short for the player to feel immersed in the story.


Or time.

Assuming there is a story. (A good one for that matter)

hey if you need help, im a very experienced RPG maker. my speciality is triggers. i am capable of any advanced reliable system as far as starcraft mapping goes. i can make your map highly interactive and entertaining. message me if your interested.

I suggest he should be the one talking the most if he is experienced

interested

okay i just need to ask some basic questions and give you some feedback from your initial map summary.

i hate to start off critical. however you are aiming for a good map right? the story is just a bit brief at the moment. it only involves a start and an end. you need to throw in some other events in the middle that patiently unfold to the players throughout the game. probably the most important part of any RPG is the story that has an edge. it has to constantly leave people wondering what is going to happen next. also, is this game based on past, present, future or just entirely abstract? the reason i ask is that you used the word KING, which would nowdays be considered history. probably a more relative term would be RULER. anyway thats up to you

i like the idea of the chooseable classes. it adds more depth to the game. maybe a third would really get it interesting? what units are you thinking of? im assuming protoss, because thats really the only effective way you will get the shields to work.

just a question about the items... how will you get the swords to increase damage? maybe the swords upgrading battle abilities is a better option? by the way, im a master of programming characters abilities and skills etc. for example, maybe the short sword has a 5% chance to instantly kill another surrounding enemy, or some other skill, and the long sword possibly a 10% chance to do that and 5% chance for another ability/skill.

okay i like the idea of unique skills for each class. my ideas for skills are as follows;
convince: forces random enemy units to ally you for 10 seconds
morph: a more powerful being for 20 seconds
vitality: gives a 10% to highly increase shields to all allies for 5 seconds
curse: morph enemy units into weaker creatures
immolation: instant death of units surrounding hero for 3 seconds
corrupt: instantly weaken 5 surrounding enemies to 1% of their health
conjure image: creates a hallucination to take damage for you
bloodrage: gives a 10% on a kill to instantly rip apart multiple enemy units
silence: stops enemy units from using spells

the gameplay would be great if enemy units had battle abilities/spells. they could call for reinforcements, slow you down or stun you? maybe some units could burst into smaller creatures on death? maybe they can heal each other or go berserk for a few seconds dealing extra damage?

you mentioned quests to advance in the game. good. i will need to leave the ideas to you. however i am wonderful at the triggering of such things, so please leave that to me. my triggering is effective, reliable and easy to go back on as i comment all triggers and build them in relative order and good structure. im looking forward to programming all the units speech and interaction to give the game as much life as possible.

i also like the idea of the random money system. i could even program an upgradable salary which could work by implimenting a day/night system. or possibly the player gains more or less money according to his estates level. maybe there could be an item which improves granted money from killing enemies?

anyway these are all just ideas im laying our for you. its up to you if you want to take them anywhere

Vitality sounds weird for a shield spell.
I'd have called it warden.

Also, If you're stuck on quest ideas I'd like to offer my services aswell. That is if you plan on having quests.

Map Progress?

If you've noticed his new partner topic, you'll see he's looking to make a different map. Besides, he can't get any work done with a partner!

This map is indefinantly posponed