High vs Low Numbers / Balancing out your game

[mroedesigns]

So I know there are people that tend to leave most of the default items/enemies/whatever else when working on an RPG Maker project, but my question is for those change them. Do you prefer higher numbers in your stats or lower? And how would you go about ensuring your game is well-balanced?

Personally I prefer lower numbers just because I find things easier to manage and change that way. Plus from low numbers I can scale up as much as I desire, which again I find easier.

[Blizzard]

I like high numbers. I know it's just numbers, but you can't deny that 954412 damage looks more awesome than 954.

I did it in CP. At the end of the game each character should have pretty much no problem dealing 20k-30k damage with a strong skill. 21437 looks better than 2143 does. <3

[mroedesigns]

That's true. I guess since I'm doing an online game I'm trying to go for a combination of players feeling like they can do a lot of damage when they're stronger, and still being fairly simple. Im also keeping it low for now at least for testing and to make it easier on me.

[Cid]

I'm using low numbers for the simple reason that my game is rather mild in nature, so I think outrageous damage would look a little out of place. Although I'm not really a fan of high numbers anyway.

[AliveDrive]

I think its good to start out with low numbers and then work your way up as needed.

For me, I like to see around 100 damage by Lv. 10. By Lv. 20 maybe see 1000 damage.

Depending on how high a level your max level is it seems appropriate to see outrageous numbers as your characters become more and more powerful.

In most games, you don't reach the max level before the final boss fight.

This ensures that if you are having difficulty with the fight you can always level more.

[winkio]

One of these days I'm going to make an rpg where damage is so large it must be expressed in scientific notation.  Deal a cool 3.5 * 10^37 damage with a basic attack.

[Boba Fett Link]

I don't know. I'd have to agree with mroedesign: smaller numbers are more manageable. When I think of real RPG games, all of them have numbers on the lower end of the spectrum.

[Blizzard]

It really depends on the game. Most games are in the 1000's and 10000's, most childish RPGs are in the 100's, maybe 1000's. Rarely you can see a game below 100's (which are often quite childish) or above 100000 (games that often look cooler and have a more lot serious undertone).

[AliveDrive]

Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door had extremely low numbers.

It is a childish game but I really enjoyed the simplicity of the system.

[Blizzard]

Every Mario RPG had extremely low numbers. I enjoyed a couple of Mario RPGs myself. I was just saying where low numbers are used and where high numbers are used.

[Lobstrosity]

I love starting games off doing damage in only 2-digit numbers and ending in the hundred thousands. The reason I love it is because it just shows the development of your characters. And 2 digit numbers - 6 or 7 digit numbers just shows a massive increase!

[Blizzard]

I like starting off in the 3 digits more. They don't grow THAT much. xD

[Lore]

Well, some of the Dragon Quest games start off in the single digits and end up somewhere in the four digits and you can argue that it is a pretty hardcore RPG.

[Blizzard]

It definitely is. xD Secret of Mana starts off in 1-2 digits and you can do nice 4 digit damage by the end of the game as well.

[legacyblade]

Just because I'm bad with numbers, I like to use single or double digit numbers. I owe this a bit to D&D as well, which uses smaller numbers. Once a number gets 4 digits, it's hard for me to read it. Now if it has 5-7 digits, I just level grind so I can mash the A button and not worry about thinking through the numbers and strategy (the numbers are just too big for me to think through, ya know?

I also think 999 should be insta-kill. Because...I dunno, it's 999.

[V o d]

I like high numbers only if I'm the one dealing it.
Playing Ragnarok Online for a long time made me love/hate high numbers. If you get a 5 digit number you're usually almost dead or dead. *spams pots* On the other hand if you dealt that its good, if it was a player. If it was a high-tier monster you'll need a 7+ digits to kill it.
But that game became even more extremely unbalanced, and the new stuff they added made me give up.
Pretty much starting out from 1 digit numbers, then after maxing your lvl and equipment you can dish a 7+ digit.

I've been playing Grand Knights History for the past 2 weeks. The digits, I've seen, only go up to 3 and even then damage is usually around 100-400+ for my party's average lvl. If my party was higher lvl I'd probably be one-hitted by everyone I fought. My characters' stats are bad  for their lvl, so they can't equip better equipment.

I think instant kill should be:
"∞"
There's no way you can survive that damage.

Slime 1 uses Slimey Death.
Arshes receives ∞ damage.
Arshes has fallen.
You've been defeated.
Game over.

But if that single word is too small for you, make it ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞..etc etc
Just to show the player how large infinity is.

[Lore]

One of these days I'm going to make an rpg where damage is so large it must be expressed in scientific notation.  Deal a cool 3.5 * 10^37 damage with a basic attack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soH8jG_gfGQ&feature=relmfu

Ahem. <3

[winkio]

bah, 10 million, weak sauce.

[Lore]

bah, 10 million, weak sauce.

They dealt 978 million+ with one skill LOL. You can chain skills.

[Blizzard]

This game could be more badass if they'd lose the childish anime graphics and used badass anime graphics instead.

EDIT: Did he just say that they lead you through "casual erections"?! O_o;