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I posted this on BG, and as much as I despise cross-forum posting, its too much of a wall of text. Since Chocobo Racing is around the corner, I think now is the best time to release my opinion and ideas of it.
I'd hope that Chocobo Racing is tactical and becomes a complex(yet simple to pick up and play) mini-game. We've already been told it will be mostly tactical, I hope SE delivers on that. Anyway, as always, I've pretty much wrote up what I would think would be one of the best possible versions of Chocobo Racing they could add. I'd only hope that what they put out is similar to this. Don't mind the spelling/grammar errors.
edit: I made a small addition towards the bottom about favorite weather.
I'd hope that Chocobo Racing is tactical and becomes a complex(yet simple to pick up and play) mini-game. We've already been told it will be mostly tactical, I hope SE delivers on that. Anyway, as always, I've pretty much wrote up what I would think would be one of the best possible versions of Chocobo Racing they could add. I'd only hope that what they put out is similar to this. Don't mind the spelling/grammar errors.
Chocobo Racing
The race is broken into 6 events, with cutscenes in between them, so 7 cutscenes. During each event, the rider is told the status the chocobo and is given a list of options. Based on these factors, along with the base stats of the chocobo and some variables, the cutscene shapes itself. Each cutscene usually depicts actions taken by each chocobo and the status of race(who's winning and losing). The first cutscene shows the race starting and the last cutscene shows the race ending.
Strength: This decides the speed of the chocobo and how powerful the initial starting sprint is. It also is the force behind some of the more physical actions, such as bumping into other chocobos or making a gallop.
Endurance: This is the driving force of the chocobo. It decides the amount of "HP" a chocobo has in a race. HP is drained from naturally running and the use of actions. It can also drop from the actions of other chocobos, like being bumped into. As HP drops, so does a chocobo's speed, defense(see below), and ability to follow directions(see below).
Discernment: When a chocobo is given a command to perform an action, how well they follow it is based on this stat. It is not only the "accuracy" for some actions, but the chocobo may follow an order poorly or not at all without the correct amount of this stat. Another very important thing about the stat is that most actions are learned from abilities, which rely on this stat to be learned in the first place.
Receptivity: This stat is basically the 'defense' stat of chocobo racing. When an opposing rider attempts to bump into your chocobo to lower your endurance, this stat might make the damage minimal or even negate it. It also is what powers actions that require using the situation to your advantage, like cutting off a chocobo.
Affection: This stat has a small, but global effect on racing. It assists every single actions and reaction a chocobo does. If this stat is lower, it will hurt the chocobo's effectiveness. Finally, it has a negative effect on "cheating" type actions if it is too high. Cheating actions would kicking sand into the eye of another racer or bumping into another chocobo. While having very low affection doesn't help these actions, having it at very high does. Racing drops Affection like Carrying Packages/Acting in a Play does.
Some of the basic actions come free. Stuff like:
"Nothing" - Remain normal pace.
"Stall" - Restores a small amount HP while lowering speed while doing so.
"Rush" - Lowers HP to increase speed slightly. While rushing, there is a small chance you'll make a chocobo around you drop in speed after gently sliding into it.
"Reserve" - Lowers HP to enter a more defensive position that helps against any other attacks.
While learned outside racing, abilities could transfer into racing:
"Canter" - Increases the amount of HP gained from Stall and lowers how much speed is lost.
"Auto-Regen" - Obviously, this slows the amount of speed lost during the race.
"Gallop" - While Rush is still available, Gallop becomes a choice which drops a greater amount of HP for greater speed.
"Burrow" - Opens up the option to use "Peck". Peck drops the speed of a chocobo in front of you at the cost of speed and HP.
"Bore" - Increases the amount of Defense given while using Reserve.
Other new abilities I could see being created for racing:
"Cheat" - Opens up the options to use "Kick Sand" and "Bump into Chocobo". Kick Sand, if successful, disables "Rush" and "Gallop" choices until the next events. Bump into Chocobo, depending on success, drops the chocobo's HP.
"Study" - Opens up the options to use "Cut Off" and "Drift". "Cut Off" drops the speed of the Chocobo behind you at the cost of HP(and if the Chocobo bumps you, the damage is amplified). "Drift" drops speed and HP to make the Chocobo completely immune to attacks.
"Counter" - While being attacked there is a chance you can negate the attack and use it on the opponent instead. The chance of this happening is greatest during "Reserve".
Basically, there would be a lot of options to make different builds. Basically, someone could make a Chocobo using Brute Force, with full Strength and Endurance, but that chocobo would probably get massacred by an Enfeebling type chocobo using cheats, peck, or cut off. But that enfeebling type chocobo would probably be put into check with a Defense type build using reserve, counter, and drift. A Brute Force chocobo could just ignore the Defense bird and go for the win. A delicate balance.
Attitudes play a very small role in racing. They give a tiny boost in certain areas. Ill-Tempered boosts attacking actions. Very patient may sometimes lower the strain on HP when using actions, but only slightly. Quite Sensitive boosts listening to commands. Rather Enigmatic boosts defensive actions.
Favored weather plays a rather small role as well. The racing track will sometimes have Water(cloudy), Double Water(rainy), and Thunder(stormy) weather. If it is your chocobo's favored weather then it receives a small bonus. Chocobos that like "Rainy" weather get a bonus on Cloudy weather too, but receive a penalty on Stormy weather. There will be a forecast NPC at the stadium so its possible to plan ahead.
Finally, there would be a small chance that your Chocobo trips and falls and becomes injured(chance is slightly greater if bumped). An injured chocobo can not race until healed. A chocobo with a condition can not race.
There is a big lack of gil in the economy. Betting and reward money from racing could help that a lot. Being a career chocobo raiser/racer would be pretty awesome. Betting on birds would also be a lot of fun while seeking for party. If the add a handicap system(odds) into the betting based on wins/loses that would even be more awesome.
Strength: This decides the speed of the chocobo and how powerful the initial starting sprint is. It also is the force behind some of the more physical actions, such as bumping into other chocobos or making a gallop.
Endurance: This is the driving force of the chocobo. It decides the amount of "HP" a chocobo has in a race. HP is drained from naturally running and the use of actions. It can also drop from the actions of other chocobos, like being bumped into. As HP drops, so does a chocobo's speed, defense(see below), and ability to follow directions(see below).
Discernment: When a chocobo is given a command to perform an action, how well they follow it is based on this stat. It is not only the "accuracy" for some actions, but the chocobo may follow an order poorly or not at all without the correct amount of this stat. Another very important thing about the stat is that most actions are learned from abilities, which rely on this stat to be learned in the first place.
Receptivity: This stat is basically the 'defense' stat of chocobo racing. When an opposing rider attempts to bump into your chocobo to lower your endurance, this stat might make the damage minimal or even negate it. It also is what powers actions that require using the situation to your advantage, like cutting off a chocobo.
Affection: This stat has a small, but global effect on racing. It assists every single actions and reaction a chocobo does. If this stat is lower, it will hurt the chocobo's effectiveness. Finally, it has a negative effect on "cheating" type actions if it is too high. Cheating actions would kicking sand into the eye of another racer or bumping into another chocobo. While having very low affection doesn't help these actions, having it at very high does. Racing drops Affection like Carrying Packages/Acting in a Play does.
Some of the basic actions come free. Stuff like:
"Nothing" - Remain normal pace.
"Stall" - Restores a small amount HP while lowering speed while doing so.
"Rush" - Lowers HP to increase speed slightly. While rushing, there is a small chance you'll make a chocobo around you drop in speed after gently sliding into it.
"Reserve" - Lowers HP to enter a more defensive position that helps against any other attacks.
While learned outside racing, abilities could transfer into racing:
"Canter" - Increases the amount of HP gained from Stall and lowers how much speed is lost.
"Auto-Regen" - Obviously, this slows the amount of speed lost during the race.
"Gallop" - While Rush is still available, Gallop becomes a choice which drops a greater amount of HP for greater speed.
"Burrow" - Opens up the option to use "Peck". Peck drops the speed of a chocobo in front of you at the cost of speed and HP.
"Bore" - Increases the amount of Defense given while using Reserve.
Other new abilities I could see being created for racing:
"Cheat" - Opens up the options to use "Kick Sand" and "Bump into Chocobo". Kick Sand, if successful, disables "Rush" and "Gallop" choices until the next events. Bump into Chocobo, depending on success, drops the chocobo's HP.
"Study" - Opens up the options to use "Cut Off" and "Drift". "Cut Off" drops the speed of the Chocobo behind you at the cost of HP(and if the Chocobo bumps you, the damage is amplified). "Drift" drops speed and HP to make the Chocobo completely immune to attacks.
"Counter" - While being attacked there is a chance you can negate the attack and use it on the opponent instead. The chance of this happening is greatest during "Reserve".
Basically, there would be a lot of options to make different builds. Basically, someone could make a Chocobo using Brute Force, with full Strength and Endurance, but that chocobo would probably get massacred by an Enfeebling type chocobo using cheats, peck, or cut off. But that enfeebling type chocobo would probably be put into check with a Defense type build using reserve, counter, and drift. A Brute Force chocobo could just ignore the Defense bird and go for the win. A delicate balance.
Attitudes play a very small role in racing. They give a tiny boost in certain areas. Ill-Tempered boosts attacking actions. Very patient may sometimes lower the strain on HP when using actions, but only slightly. Quite Sensitive boosts listening to commands. Rather Enigmatic boosts defensive actions.
Favored weather plays a rather small role as well. The racing track will sometimes have Water(cloudy), Double Water(rainy), and Thunder(stormy) weather. If it is your chocobo's favored weather then it receives a small bonus. Chocobos that like "Rainy" weather get a bonus on Cloudy weather too, but receive a penalty on Stormy weather. There will be a forecast NPC at the stadium so its possible to plan ahead.
Finally, there would be a small chance that your Chocobo trips and falls and becomes injured(chance is slightly greater if bumped). An injured chocobo can not race until healed. A chocobo with a condition can not race.
There is a big lack of gil in the economy. Betting and reward money from racing could help that a lot. Being a career chocobo raiser/racer would be pretty awesome. Betting on birds would also be a lot of fun while seeking for party. If the add a handicap system(odds) into the betting based on wins/loses that would even be more awesome.
edit: I made a small addition towards the bottom about favorite weather.
