Also posted this to
http://sync.in/HybridCardDesignIf we go with the fire -> increase attack, entropy -> spread attack to others, there are some points to consider.
1) How fast should attack increases be at max? E.g. steam machine can do +4 per turn effectively... I would guess +4 to +5 would be a good place to cap out at
2) What should dispersion cap be (same as fire? higher? lower?)
3) How will we handle the dispersion mechanic? I can think of a few options myself:
a) Give attack to lowest attack creature (provided it has lower attack than thurmoose)
b) Distribute 1 point at a time to randomly chosen creatures that have a lower attack until none remain
that have a lower attack
c) Try to match distribution to simulate a "physical" distribution.
E.g. distribute attack 1 point at a time. Each creature has a chance to get a point based on the ratio
of its attack to this cards attack ->
P(get attack point) = Exp(-k*(thurmoose attack - card in question's attack))
This would simulate spreading out according to a "Boltzmann" distribution
... technically it gets a little more involved than that. If we want to be very rigorously close to a real "physical" like
repartitioning of attack, we would need to incorporate a partition coefficient as well.
...*aside* I'm getting flashbacks of my Thermo-Stat-Mech course from a few years ago now...
The dispersion option is very interesting. It essentially acts like a continuoual attack power buff. Could be very useful in a number of different strategies. Scorpions being the first that comes to mind.
Once we have that down, we could use either the Log type mechanic or the Catapult scaling type mechanic to calculate amount of bonus attack given or amount of attack dispersed:
Log scaling -> Log( quanta in pool + 1) / Log(Base); adjust base to reach cap e.g. at around 60 to 75
Catapult scaling-> (quanta in pool * Cap)/(quanta in pool + cap)
