that aint nothin post

_posts/2017-08-15-that-aint-nothin.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "That ain't nothin..."
+excerpt: "A long overdue update. A brief recap of the play test and what's coming next."
+---
+
+I randomly decided to checkout the analytics for this site and came across a surprising and exciting find: _people are 
+visiting this site!!!_ It's not a ton of people, averaging ~30 a day. But this conversion seems to be generating interest, 
+and that ain't nothing. Thus, I've got a renewed motivation (urgency?) to get some major work done in the next few months.
+And thanks to everyone who has taken a gander.
+
+But first...
+
+## A brief recap of our play test
+
+We had 3 players with the following loadouts:
+
+1. Drell Marksman Soldier
+2. Asari Justicar Adept
+3. Human Saboteur Infiltrator
+
+We ran a fast-paced session, testing the classes out on creatures, 
+mobs I pulled straight from D&D, bosses (a Banshee), and 2 fully spec'ed NPCs (Sentinel & Engineer).
+We leveled quickly so we could check out the classes at different phases. Specifically, level 5, 9 and 12.
+Overall, the flow, battle mechanics, spells, etc. all had the necessary feel of both ME and D&D. I was excited to see
+that they melded together nicely. I even started on a bestiary, creating monsters for various Reaper mobs, including
+Marauders, Cannibals, Husks, and a Banshee. If you're so inclined, [check out my prep notes](https://drive.google.com/open?id=19iMxTqyu7Vtyqy3I2-INWwurnXea_YuKzy7HbMZMuXw) 
+for the very short campaign. **Note**: we didn't get to Operation Driftwood, and we chose Operation Metal Detector.
+
+## What's next
+
+I've been quietly working on a key aspect of any game system: **balance**. For the past months, I broken ye 'ole spreadsheets,
+working on class analysis and overhauling the classes. 
+
+**Issue 1**: Some classes vastly outperformed others. 
+
+**Issue 2**: Classes peaked around level 9, with nominal damage increase beyond level 12.
+
+I found a D&D class analysis in [The Optimists' Guide to D&D 5E Damage by Class, Subclass, Weapon, and Level](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JIrEV1RFv6yxWEdqG6zP3z-ZONDTacquGyqYj8G-CdE).
+It gave me a framework to review the ME classes. In doing the work, I also tried to align the classes more closely with
+D&D counterparts. Soldiers became more like Fighters, Adepts like Wizards, Sentinels like Paladins. Other minor updates include
+a better variety of weapons stats and improving/standardizing spell text.
+
+All in all, the next iteration will _look_ similar but be a huge overhaul. Rest assured, I'll be sure to make the current 
+version available on the site, in case anyone is running a campaign.
+
+## Other things in the works
+General site fixes, a bestiary, armor, adding new spells, printable spell cards, and adding some sort of "NPC maker".
+
+
+This endeavor is far from over...
+
+
+