I have been conducting tests to determine what factors modify how fast a character runs. To do this I measured the time taken to run along a fixed path. The path chosen was across the center of the arena map. This path was selected because it was readily accessible on the NA Strategus-duel server, had walls as fixed starting and stopping points, had a visually distinguishable marking on the far wall that allowed for path alignment, and was a reasonable approximation for the types of terrain common to open areas found in cRPG battlefields. The first picture below shows the starting point used for these tests from an overhead perspective. The second image shows an over the shoulder perspective from the starting position and the use of the throwing reticule of a ladder for the alignment procedure to the arch on the opposing wall.
A stopwatch was used to measure the time taken to run from the starting position to the time the first sign of lateral deflection was seen when running into the far wall. All run time values reported here are taken from the average result of three individual run times at each test condition. Time measurement precision was better than 100 milliseconds for each test conditions using this method. This amounts to a worst-case measurement error of less than 1%. Different agility and athletics combination were achieved using 6 different characters. Character strength and level had no effect on run times. All test were preformed with empty hands unless otherwise noted. Weighting was achieved with a combination of armor and carried objects (weapons, shields, ladders, etc.) Weight of worn armor and weight of carried objects was found to be interchangeable and additive for the purposes of the run time increase due to weight. So carrying two 15 weight ladders, carrying one 15 weight ladder and wearing 15 weight of armor, and wearing 30 weight of armor all yielded the same run times.
The following plot shows the run times for characters with different combinations of agility, athletics, and weight.
From this plot it can be seen that the increase in run time is approximately linear with increasing weight. The increase in run time resulting from a 15 weight increase is approximately equal to a decrease of 6 agility and 2 athletics. The effects of weight on both the absolute and relative running times were larger for character with higher agility and athletics:
60 weight run time/ 0 weight run time 60 weight run time - 0 weight run time
Agility 3 and Athletics 1: 1.13 3.21 seconds
Agility 15 and Athletics 5: 1.20 4.21 seconds
Agility 27 and Athletics 9: 1.24 4.48 seconds
Tests were also conducted to separate the effects of agility and athletics. The following plot shows the run times for 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 agility with 0 athletics.
The following plots show the run times for 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 agility with between 0 athletics and the maximum athletic possible at each agility.
From these plot it can be seen that increasing agility and athletics independently reduces run time, and increasing athletics by 1 is approximately equal to increasing agility by 4 to 5 in terms of decreasing run time.
Held weapons cause an additional run time increase based on weapon weight and weapon length. The following plot shows the run times for a 27 agility and 9 athletics character carrying 15 total weight of equipment and holding different weapons.
From this plot it can be seen that an increase in weapon length will increase run time for a given weapon weight, and an increase in weapon weight will increase run time for a given weapon length. One-handed weapons appear to count as more weight than two-handed or polearm weapons of the same in game weight for the purposes of this run time increase:
Listed one-handed weapon weight Effective weight for calculation
1 1.5
1.5 2
2 3
The run time increase due to held weapons appears to be additive to the run time increase due to carried weight as all of the run time verses weapon length lines can be fitted well with a run time-axis intercept of 20 seconds, which is the run time for the 27 agility and 9 athletics character used for this test while carrying 15 weight of equipment with no held weapon. The magnitude of the slopes for the different weapon weight lines have a linear relationship with weapon weight as seen the following plot.
Unfortunately, only the trends can be generalized as both the relative and absolute changes in run time due to held weapons vary with agility, athletics, and weight. However, the linear behavior does allow for interpolation for all weapons using a relatively small number of tests for a given agility, athletics, and weight combination.
Holding a single shield was found to increase run time by the same amount as adding the weight of the shield as armor or carried weight. However, holding one shield while wearing another on your back was found increased the run time as if the character was carrying significantly more weight then they actual were. For example, the run time for a 27 agility and 9 athletics character carrying 15 weight of items including one held shield and one worn shield was equal to that of the same character carrying 60 weight of items.
Moving forward while blocking or chambering an attack increased run time by 17% + or - 1%. Back peddling increased run time by 52% + or - 2%. Back peddling while blocking or chambering an attack increased run time by 53% + or - 2%. These finding suggest that whatever mechanism is responsible for the run time increase due to blocking/chamber while moving forward is nearly inoperative while back peddling. So, you might as well spam or turtle while backing up...
Rain increased run times by 8.5% + or - 0.5%. Fog has no effect on run time. Interestingly, the weather you observe has limited significance on the actual weather effect you will experience. I think this is the result of the weather effect on running (and I would assume crossbows) being determined when the map loads but the graphical effects being determined when a player joins the server.
EDIT: Corrected dead link
