'Not A Villain' Webcomic - Kleya wins. Her fans pester her to know how her Special works.

‘Not A Villain’ Webcomic – Page 116

Alas, Punk Knight did not last long.

I got an amazing new year's gift in the form of fan art from Arti! Yay!! Also, I added in a bunch of old incentives in the Extras page.

And for the vote incentive, Kleya has a chat with the computer... 😈

Thanks for reading!

30 Comments

I guess we’ll have to wait to find out too. Although they should figure out some of the obvious parts on their own: It’s a counter attack that deals physical damage equal to the damage received. It’s the second damage value that’s the curiosity. If you’re going by typical damage colouring, then physical damage is red, healing is green and damage to mp is blue (or some other colour) but that second damage value was pink.

2 hits of (Damage recieved x 4)

First hit is normal damage. Second hit is KO colours (Of the main colour of the person who made the KO?).

Correction, 2 hits of (Total Damage Recieved) only. I somehow missed the “-24” and only saw the “-8”.

Why would K.O. damage have different colours?

Some games have it to make it more obvious that something is KO’d (and if so, by who/what). This game doesn’t have XP indicators (like PSO) and doesn’t feature gibs, so it may be a design decision on behalf of the developers to make it more obvious. And since this is supposed to be an e-sport (of how large a scale, don’t know), having colour-coded KO damage would make it easier for commenters and viewers to quickly see where the frags are happening and who’s fragging.

For an (unintended) example in Gunz International (several years ago), I used to rely on experience point indications to figure out if I killed another player (due to having to “aim in the future” using ping).

See?! Even Dr. Grace finds the smileys downright confusing and slightly disturbing.

I can see some of what specials are capable of in the Game, mainly, trading a sacrifice for an advantage. There are specials that drain your stats in return for damage (a fireball), specials that drain one stat to boost another(Bandit’s bandanna), Hero smiley probably drain’s kat’s stats in return for boosting the opponent’s happiness, or posibly draining the opponent’s stats but I don’t think so. This special likely affects the user as well as the opponent, dealing double damage that they dealt out, although it may have holes in it for specific kinds of attacks (that only Kat would know). Specials don’t give a direct boost; they have an equal tradeoff, but the point is to where you use the boost to your advantage. For example, Bandit is blind after using his special, but before he uses it, his high sight allows him to remember exactly where the opponent is, so his first rush is likely to hit.

I think you’ve pinned down exactly how Attack Specials work based on Kleya’s conversation with Danni (Though only Aneeka can say for sure 🙂 ), but I think Random Specials work differently and I suspect Nice is a Defence Special with it’s own set of rules.

It has been said previously that TENkla has made specials so rediculously complicated that only they know how to use them.

Another speculation is that the second clump of damage applies to the stat most responsible for the damage in the first place – Strength in this guy’s case. If it was a weapon hit, then weapon skill might be drained (which would not incapacitate him and would leave her vulnerable to body slams), so she dodged that one to avoid an undesirable result.

This particular build would benefit most from high HP (to survive the shot in the first place) and high Agility (to dodge blows you don’t want to trigger the Special with).

I know it isn’t her style, but she should have prepared a convincing lie to tell at this point… to further disinform her next opponents.

But villains don’t lie. Anyway, she didn’t attack after the special activated, as such the trade off is her own inability to attack once it starts. Any damage dealt to either side could probably cause a retaliation from the Nice Special. Also, I think I understand why the fans are watching Kleya. Tenka won’t explain specials to anyone to keep their power in hand, they’re trying to figure out hows her work and will likely try to ask her for publized versions for them to use as well.

Simply returning double damage is too simple and unreliable for her.

And yet, that is apparently what happened. Do you have a different theory as to what occurred?

Also, Aneeka, I see you’ve hit 3rd on TWC! W00t for you!

I know! You guys are all amazing for voting for me. Thanks so much!!

I really like this comic. The art is not that amazing to be fair- but the story actually goes somewhere, I am genuinely interested in the choices the characters make and I am not attracted to the main character visually but interested in her mentally.

A far more interesting read than most the other comics on the topwebcomics site. AND you update regularly which is a HUGE +. I know this may seem like a dumb question but are you author and writer?

Aw, thanks! It’s so great to hear that people are liking my comic 😀

As for your question, I’m not quite sure what you’re asking. Are you trying to ask if I’m the person doing this comic, both artist and writer? The sole author? Then the answer would be yes. I write, draw, and design everything.

Yeah you got what I was asking haha, thanks for responding

I think I’d be one of those fans following Kleya’s matches if I were in this world. 😉 And trying to figure out how her Specials work… much as we’ve been doing in this thread.

But then again… I have a feeling I would also have run afoul of TENka….

I find it very interesting that Dr. Grace is confused by the “grotesque smileys.” I wonder if Kleya used to have an artist working with her? Her combination of high programming skills and stick-figure level drawing style can’t be all that common– I think it would give away her identity if she’d used any of these smiley things before. Or even if it had been known that she lacks drawing skills. Then again, she seems pretty unfamiliar with the Game procedures, so maybe that was introduced after her falling out with TENka.

Regarding the art style, I think it fits this comic perfectly. It’s brilliant how you’ve worked one’s frustration with limited drawing skills into the plot itself. 😀 (Though I still have to suspend disbelief regarding the 2D drawing-> 3D avatar thing.)

Hm. Given the way you’ve worked different levels of art sophistication into the storyline, you might want to look into the 3D software I mentioned — google DAZ3D. You could use it to create another variation if you need one for a different context, either “real life” or some super-secret TENka serve or the hackers in Germany city or something. You’ve got my email address with this post– drop me a note if you’d like any more info.

Now that I think of it… someone else must have done the artwork for D….

Ha ha. I googled DAZ3D the first time you mentioned it. It looks pretty cool and would be fun to play with, but it probably won’t end up in the comic. I’ve got different ideas I’m planning to use, no offense 🙂

Thanks so much for reading though!!

well, I started reading the comic at this page, went back a few pages and then all the way to the beginning… Your artwork has improved a lot, but I like this comic almost solely for the story. On the other hand, you already know there is room for improvement.

Well, some of my own speculations to follow.
From what I have seen, the specials themself are not that hard to really use, but hard to make. You’d need to be a good programmer with a solid understanding of the protocols involved. Since most programmers work for TENka and they’re not offering too many details, it’s too hard for even a good user. That being said, she could make a fortune making specials for people.

From previous remarks, The Bandit knows who she is, so she has at least one person at TENka who doesnt want her dead, or at least not yet (see page 77, that thing at the corner of his mouth was seen before, page 69)

And I forgot to add: in the first fight with bandit, we could see that she can read other peoples programs to an amazing detail, so she’d know exactly which attack to dodge and how much damage she would take AND how much damage is needed to take out her opponent.
It is further possible that Hp are not directly related to level and stats, but that those affect how much damage you’d take. It is done in some online games now too (if I remember correctly, Guildwars) and only modded by items or specials (spells)

Thanks! Storytelling is my main passion so I’m glad the story is sucking you in. Hopefully my art will improve enough that it’ll one day be a positive attraction too! 😀

I love the Laying Down Victory Pose in the 2nd panel. It just seems to fit her so well.

As much as I hate using overuse stuff, it just says “Like a boss” to me.

Here’s a thought. Kleya took damage from both the fall and the actual strike – two sources of damage.

And then the special hit twice for the total amount of damage she recieved.

Maybe it hits based on how many sources of damage there were, for however much damage she’s taken?

I think that I might have the Nice Special worked out. It deals out sufficient damage to defeat any person who is not nice! In other words anyone who attacks, including Kleya. So if you attack and deal damage, it does equal damage, and then a penalty for being not nice to finish you…

That’s why I think it’s NOT that. That may be how it worked here, but I believe there’s more depth to the special. As it is, it’s too easy for later opponents to figure out and avoid, and could lead to stalemates. Either there’s a loophole in the special that Kleya can exploit, or it combos with her other special.

Sometimes I have the feeling the author closely monitors these boards to see if anyone comes up with a better explanation that the original one. I’ve been a DM of some kind of D&D game for almost 30 solid years now, and I’ve NEVER done anything like that! (ahem, that was sarcasm, for the people who don’t have their Detect Sarcasm spell going)

I feel like everyone who reads this comic are like those fans who follow people. Were all following kleaya ^^

Kleya needs a good publicist really badly. Someone to write fan friendly versions of the stuff she say. “hi everybody! I super excited you all like me and I know you are dying to know about me AMAZING specials. But for right now I have to keep them secret to win ok? After the tournament I’ll tell you AAAALLLLLLLL about them. Just be K? 😉 teehee See you next battle!

Not A Villain Webcomic

Webcomic of a semi- reformed hacker trying to redeem herself in a post- apocalyptic world she may have created.

‘Not A Villain’ Webcomic – Page 116