Damage indicators

[svart]

This suggestion is to create visual presentations for damage.
It has been suggested in a few posts (dirtbag *cough*) but i haven't seen a topic solely for this.
I doubt this hasn't passed through the development plans, but i would like to hear what the community has to say about this.

• Following a percentage of hitpoints the screen's color balance shift more towards red. even at 1% health things are still visible, but have a red tone to them.
  To make this effect stronger, spourts of blood can be added.
  I've made a quick presentation of this (blood smears are more visible when the camera is moving, because they stay in place)
  full health : http://www.taleworlds.com/mb_ss/action1.jpg
  Very low health : http://people.freenet.de/matzager/link/action1_blood.jpg
  (notice how even at this low health the blood smears laid out not to obstruct the center of the screen)
• Background heartbeat sound which gets more frequent and louder as the character gets closer to 0% health.
• Different textures or overlay scars for horse wounding.
  a few textures for difference damage amount (like 25%,50% and 75%) are easier to make and implement but will multiply horse textures in memory, overlay scars are harder to implement and make but will barely make a performance hit.
• An option to toggle HP presentation when any alternative (like the above) will be implemented.

There's also blood dripping system which leaves smears on the ground, since i have no knowledge how this is engine-wise i won't include it with the above points.
If the blood file doesn't work try http://www.svartberg.com/link/action1_blood.jpg

 

[Nahkuri]

Rad.

Awesome idea.

 

[captain_bloodloss]

hmm...for some reason i can see the full health one, but not the very low health (byu permanent block list it says) so anyway you could host it through somewhere else...i am intrigued and would like to see this respresentation

 

[Dynamite_cow]

Great idea, but I think the low health one should be more red-ish. Also, some blurred vision etc. would be cool. Also this... What do they call it... I guess it's called ghost something, so that everything that moves leaves a trace behind it for a while. If you have played SWAT 4 and managed to get hit (which doesn't happen too often by the way, at least for meh) you know what I mean. That game has quite cool damage simulation anyways, the vision blurs, shakes and has these "ghost traces."

Also, could be cool if when you get hit unconcius the vision would just blur away and then black in. Also random black- and red-ins when being hit and seriously injured would be nice.

And after all, if you're badly injured, falling unconcius for like 0,5-2 secs randomly wouldn't be bad either. Then you'd have to take the time to get up again, which propably won't be easy if the heat of the battle is just above you.

 

[DaLagga]

Well...i think the screen turning red is a bit excessive. But things should blur and shake when you get hit, with the intensity being directly related to the power and location of the hit. And, while i think it would be cool to be impaired when you're seriously hurt, i don't think things like fainting would really add to gameplay...just be frustrating.

Background heartbeat sound which gets more frequent and louder as the character gets closer to 0% health.

So long as it is temporary, and not constant while you're at 10% health. Those effects just get annoying as hell, especially when you can't hear anything but your heartbeat and breathing for the next 10minutes before the round/mission/battle is over. All in all, good ideas so long as they are temporary and not taken too far.

 

[Ingolifs]

Y'know the half-life 2 mediaeval mod Age of Chivalry will be doing all this sort of stuff and more when you get hurt.

 

[svart]

thx for the feedback,
I've added a mirror for those who can't see the pic.

Well...i think the screen turning red is a bit excessive. But things should blur and shake when you get hit, with the intensity being directly related to the power and location of the hit. And, while i think it would be cool to be impaired when you're seriously hurt, i don't think things like fainting would really add to gameplay...just be frustrating.

This is the screen when you have around 10%, if this would be any lower you could barely notice when you'd be 50% health or so.

Well i didn't mention any extreme stuff because that would effect gameplay, my suggestions were marely a visual presentation of damage indicator without hurting gameplay.

So long as it is temporary, and not constant while you're at 10% health. Those effects just get annoying as hell, especially when you can't hear anything but your heartbeat and breathing for the next 10minutes before the round/mission/battle is over. All in all, good ideas so long as they are temporary and not taken too far.

They get louder, not necesseraly loud, but still noticable or they lose their idea.
Do you find a constant heartbeat sound annoying even with music and battle screams/sounds going on ??

 

[GonZ]

In the 3rd person perspective at least... would it not make more sense to show wounds and damage to your characters armour?

 

[barbaros]

Excellent idea. But arrow on your face should turn the screen completely red, you dont see anything initially. It fades to normal in 2-3 seconds.

 

[DaLagga]

Do you find a constant heartbeat sound annoying even with music and battle screams/sounds going on ??

Honestly, yes. Sure, it adds alot to the effect if it happens after you just dashed up a hill or got hit, but not constant. I don't mean to be too critical of you ideas, they're good. Its just that, for me anyway, constant breathing gets annoying, and loses alot of its effect when you hear it all the time. Same thing with the screen going red and all. A very nice effect right after you get hit, for 5-10sec perhaps, but if its persistant when your hp is low, it just isn't as cool IMO.

 

[Flaming Eyes]

Good sugestions. I like them.

[*]Different textures or overlay scars for horse wounding.
a few textures for difference damage amount (like 25%,50% and 75%) are easier to make and implement but will multiply horse textures in memory, overlay scars are harder to implement and make but will barely make a performance hit.

I like this a lot. I think that when your HP are geting low, your body will become wounded, and even can bleed, and leave blood marks as you walk.

I would like to add, that if the devs make the damage more real (if you are hurt of an arm, or leg, i.e.) the texture of that part of the body will change, and become wounded, and as worst is the hp of that body part, the texture will become bloody...

But, about the perfomance, I don't know if that can afect so much...

 

[svart]

It's still isn't known if realistic damage would be implemented (like getting crippled, reduced vision, etc).

I wanted the scope of this suggestion to marely be a visual presentation of getting wounded, since for now the only way is looking to the corner of the screen, and also a bit odd since sometimes you go "oh i only got 3/50 hp left" while if you didn't look you would have no idea.