Realism Without Sacrificing Fun Factor

I'm working on a sci-fi action RPG set in the future. I've thought about removing levels entirely because when guns are thrown into the mix a number of stats become nearly pointless (Strength, Defense). In order to balance this I created an armor type called "Barrier". Every character carries a unit that supplies a barrier around them, protecting them from projectiles. My project still has a melee element but only for sneak attacks. In a realistic environment stabbing someone in the back typically has one conclusion...

Barrier also counts as HP so instead of creating a Medic class I opted to make an Engineer class that does the same job. They repair Barriers as opposed to healing bullet wounds. I've created a Hacker class that can manipulate environments to a small extent and I'm working out how I'm going to keep that from becoming ridiculous. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my Sentinel class (tank) because Barriers are reliant on gear and not character level. I'm looking for a stealth script to give the Scout class an advantage.

Money is accessed from a bank card which means that enemies do not drop money and you won't find any laying around. Instead, enemies drop loot items that can be sold to a shop for Credits (CR).

What are some realistic ideas that you feel would benefit an RPG while holding onto the fun factor?

It really depends what exists in your sci-fi universe.  Today they are working on body armor which is made of a nanotech fluid, which hardens when a bullet hits it.  And on a real life type of invisibility cloak which uses nanotubes to literally bend the light around something. 

So, for realistic ideas:

- Hyperspectral goggles.  I love these in my sci-fi games.  These allow people to: detect transmissions, see through walls to an extent, see how badly injured someone is (blood flow, etc), and in-game would do a good job at finding hidden objects (even ones hidden by said cloak --- it can't bend ALL frequencies around it after all).  We don't use them as much today because they are VERY expensive and require high speed processing.

- You can have Cyberspace where the hacker can do a lot more environmental modification.  This can be Neuromancer-style, or complete immersion (like I think Wintermute does with the main character at one point).  This also means the Hacker becomes the key character to do battles and unlock things which change the real world (oh, those alarms are off now)

- Probably hard to do but:  Altered states.  If players consume certain items, it changes their entire view of the world.  Maybe a "They Live" style plot where things that were hidden become obvious.

- Telepathy/shared consciousness, or perhaps just when dreaming.  A nifty way to give the party unexpected insights.

Those are just some ideas off the top of my head.

I would make a cyberspace tileset which makes in effect a new world to explore. Just not good at making tilesets myself.

What about using MP as your shield and HP as your actual health using one of the MP shield scripts floating around.

From a realism standpoint I suppose you could say that the 'sentinel' is the only person strong enough to carry a generator of sorts, drastically increasing the %hp from barriers (a class feature can do this), or is the only person capable of wearing heavy armor that reduces incoming damage. You can use provoke mechanics for tanking, though realistically it's effectiveness is sketchy. If you want to use cover instead, you will  have to include HP with shield leakage (so the mechanic actually registers).

Alternatively, if you are able, you could alter the base code to change how cover works, or create an ability that lets the tank share damage. Of course, if you can't justify a tanks existence in your world, don't force yourself to create the class. However, on the note of realism, there isn't a reason for there not to be a medic, especially if barriers leak or there is hi tech armor. The medic could focus more on stimulant use and gasses than the standard healer role.

Realism is a funny thing. Usually, realistic gameplay elements die in planning because having to stop and eat or having to select individual items like sutures and disinfectants in order to heal...they're kind of a chore for both the developer and the player.

I've thought about it. I'm going to playtest it and see how I feel.

True enough. I'm trying to find a balance. After playing RPG's for years Magic is a major turn off for me. It's almost never explained and it allows ridiculous things to happen in the game world... like ruining entire towns in less than a minute or stopping time. Verisimilitude is probably a better definition of the problem.

Well, if someone from the Middle Ages saw a nuclear blast level a town in seconds, it would certainly seem like a very deadly type of magic to them...especially if people near the blast also got weird burns, sickened and died.

So you can certainly use Arthur Clarke's law "Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" and have loads of fun with THAT, if your plot has Advanced Artifacts in play or happens on a weird Lost World (which happens to be powered by Advanced Artifacts, unknown to the party).

I'll keep that in mind. Also, could someone point me to an Mana Shield script?

Here is one by Tsukihime.  His work is phenomenal and I myself will put his scripts to good use:

http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/5380-mana-shield/

I may've asked earlier but I'm using the Mana Shield script... is there a way to have it regenerate when out of combat? I feel like I'm building a Halo game...

That's actually how Ace works by default, as long as the character is under a regen status out of battle, they'll regenerate every 15 or so steps.

There are a couple of scripts that would let you fine-tune this behavior, too.

I would imagine that anything that allows you to have MP regeneration would help it work just fine.

The only advice I can give is to make it fun for the player. That's awesome that you made over 100 crafting materials, but will it overwhelm the player? I can't tell you how many times I play a game and the crafting system is thrown at me with little explanation and I just see a big grid of icons. Immediately I don't want to do crafting because of the confusion. 

All fiction holds truth, even if it is a small amount.
Strictly speaking, being as realistic as possible without causing lack of enjoyment can be difficult if you have no idea what you're doing. Experimentation is the only way to know the balance between realism and fun. (Not saying fun only equals no realism.)