Hardcore mode

[nox]

I'd like to suggest the following for a 'hardcore' mode for this game. This would be a toggle option, and would change behaviour of the game in the following.

1- Melee headshots
If the player takes a significant melee headshot, the screen blurs watery, and the sounds ring like feedback. This should also happen sometimes on dismount. For npc's this would be simulated by a short period of disorientation.

2- Wound red-out.
Simulating pain, when a player gets hit hard the screen should turn red, and fade back to normal. In npcs this would be simulated by a short stun.

3- Injury effects.
Leg injuries slow the player/npc with a limp animation. Body injuries slow the player, and penalize agility.

4- Horse wounds
Horse performance is quickly degraded by injury.

5- Dismounting.
Riding skill - Horse difficulty = abilility to remain in the saddle. When the horse rears (from injury or collision) or the player/npc takes hit or a hard hit to shield, a dismount check is done.

6- Morale, Rout
A unit that takes attrition can break and rout. If the rout, the individual members may fight or panic and run for the map borders. If they reach the map border they are gone.
Player units that retreat lose morale.

7- Command aura
Every 'leader' unit has a radius that grows larger and more effective with each level of 'leadership' that gives a bonus to attack and defense of any unit within that command area.
These bonuses overwrite, and do not stack.
Leader units are designated by a banner attached to the unit.

8- NPC Commander
NPC battles have an npc "Commander" who confers bonuses to his troops. If disabled, this penalizes morale for the enemy. The player's goal in a big fight should be to eliminate this enemy commander as soon as possible.
Obviously, this commander will be a badass and should look like it.


more to come

 

[Nairagorn]

Very good ideas. I'd like to see any of these in the game. Except maybe the dismount check. We can assume that stirrups are being used, it takes quite a bit to dismount a decently trained rider. Maybe if it was just used in extreme circumstances.

 

[nox]

Very good ideas. I'd like to see any of these in the game. Except maybe the dismount check. We can assume that stirrups are being used, it takes quite a bit to dismount a decently trained rider. Maybe if it was just used in extreme circumstances.

Well my factor in that was that for each point of your riding skill over the difficulty of the horse, it would lower the dismount chance. So like having a riding skill of 5 on a difficulty 3 horse might make you resist dismounts most of the time..

 

[Shellcaster]

Very good ideas. I'd like to see any of these in the game. Except maybe the dismount check. We can assume that stirrups are being used, it takes quite a bit to dismount a decently trained rider. Maybe if it was just used in extreme circumstances.

Such as being smacked in the head with anomad sabre

 

[JohnathanStrange]

Not only are they cool ideas, they are good ideas.

Delivered 98 damage

Khergit warlord killed by Nox
You got 145 experience
You have increased your suggestions skill to 189.

 

[nox]

also - wound and kill

In medieval combat most wounds did not kill. The weapons used, the conflict and the fighting was just generally not as lethal as weapons are today.

what I'd like to see in a hardcore mode is the following -

when most troops are injured they fall injured and can be 'tended' -- even troops that are injured enough to die (i.e. not loss of limb etc.) they remain 'critically wounded' for a short while before expiring. critically wounded soldiers would lay no the ground writhing, groaning, moving slightly, bleeding...

it'll be critical to the player to try to move the fighting away from the wounded and give his npcs a chance to tend the badly injured or save them.

Also, it should be possible to deliver death blows to enemy wounded or give the order to show "no quarter". Certain enemies should show no quarter as well.

possible wounded animations :

man sitting, helmet off, bloody head and face
man laying on their back with one hand on their head and the other hand raised in the air reaching
crawling on the ground, feebly

these should all be accompanied by blood, wailing, moaning. the usual sounds and sights of wounded men in battle.

also, occasionally a terrified horse with a broken leg dragging a rider from the stirrup, someone wandering weaponless and dazed, bleeding from the head, a wounded man holding a dead man in his arms and calling for help...

let us see war

 

[Otto Von Lanstien]

I oppose the "red flash" idea, but support this for the most part.

My own selection:

1) Morale & Rallying
2) Dismounting Checks
3) Gore
4) Horse Degradation
5) Permenant Hit loss (when knocked unconcious and left for dead; the remainder taken over is taken off your hitpoints)

 

[0cool]

the best way for knock outs is to have a bank so that u dont have to carry a crap load of money with you that way when you are knock out they can steal a % of it. i like the gore, dismounting check how ever it would be better to the thrown from the horse.