There was a disagreement earlier about whether normal attacks should have a button you repeatedly press, or if they should be automatic. For me, one of the biggest problems in Torchlight was that you have to keep clicking, or hold the button down to continuously attack an enemy, so I'm in favor of the automatic system. This may make it more boring, but I think having special abilities activated with hotkeys will mitigate that. I recommend testing both systems when we have enough stuff. Aside from that, all above still holds. Here I will detail which stat values affect which things, names of stats are subject to change.
When making attacks, there are four things to consider:
What kind of hit it is (body hit, armor hit, or miss), what body part it hits, how much damage it does, and if it confers any status effects.
Hit type will be related to: Attacker Weapon Skill, attacker Dexterity, attacker Luck, defender Armor Coverage, defender Dexterity, and defender Luck. The probability of a hit will be some function of the Weapon Skill, both Dexterities, and both Lucks. Bonuses from special abilities and/or special equipment will be factored in here. If it is a hit, the probability of an armor hit will be a function of Armor Coverage, and both Lucks.
The body part it hits will be randomized. Larger body parts will have a higher chance of being hit. If a body part containing vital organs is hit, i.e. the torso or head, it will check if a vital organ is hit. In most cases, the body part hit will not affect damage. Hits to vital organs or limbs may cause status effects.
Damage will be related to: Attacker Strength, Attacker Weapon Skill, Attacker Weapon Quality, Attacker Weapon Type, Defender Armor Quality, Defender Armor Type, Defender Constitution, and hit type. Also, bonuses/detriments from special attacks or effects on the attacker or defender are added in here.
If the attack or weapon confers a status effect, or if a vital organ is hit, there will be a check against the defender's Constitution and Luck to determine if the effect is successfully conferred.
These apply to melee weapon attacks. Magic attacks, ranged attacks and engineering attacks will use appropriate stats in place of weapon skill and strength, but the same equations will be used.
This is super subject to change. Please let me know if you think anything needs changing. Actual functions can come after we know exactly what stats we will use.
