I hereby launch the forum! :P Combat system suggestions

[Jean]

I don't think the beginning needs to be made easier. OK, depending on which background you start from you aren't able to recruit many men, but you can earn easy money in the tournaments... betting the 80 gold gives you a good chance at earning a peasant each time.

And if you need other easy fight, just wait a while and look for battle between existing groups, like manhunters chasing down some river pirates.

Even if the river pirates are faster than the manhunters, you can slow them down by engaging them in an encounter screen, then hitting leave battle. This causes the engaged group to halt for a few seconds in which the chasing group can gain ground. Once they are engaged just join the fight. No cost - lots of troops.

 

[pck]

One feature I'd really love to see is more complex slave trade. Right now it makes no difference whether you capture a lowly mujik or a dark knight.
Different prices for slaves would be great, as well as the ability to ransom back captured enemy soldiers in red towns.

And seriously, why can't we attack those stupid refugees? I'm sick of seeing everyone attacking farmers and other sitting ducks, I want a piece of the cake too!

Although the devs already wrote that there won't be more violence than there already is, I think the atmosphere would be MASSIVELY improved with more blood. Right now, the battlefield after a large fight looks more like a troupe of larpers taking a nap in the park than anything else. Puddles of blood around the corpses would change that.
Dismemberment has already been mentioned and would totally kick ass, people don't simply fall down as if smacked with a club when hit in the head by a broadsword wielding knight in full charge. That might be a bit too much, I guess most people would also be happy with more death animations which are certainly in development anyway, eh, eh?

 

[Balor]

Heh, it's not as Armadan hates violence, I guess - it's just not that as easy as it sounds. Blood puddles is nice idea, but dismemberment and blood squirts is a rather major feature... and not that important for gameplay. I'd prefer to have more advanced order system and ability to capture towns instead.
But slave trading that is based on level of captured troops would be a nice feature indeed... as well as ability to capture civillians, but that should make people like you less in the area you are 'hunting'.

 

[HailandKill]

You would be surprised at the different type of atmosphere... I mean, look at Severance: Blade of Darkness.

Just imagen a calary charge lopping of heads!

"Today, heads will role!"

EDIT: I mean roll.....

 

[Balor]

You mean, roll?
Well, I've enjoyed S:BOD greatly.. if they had rather nerfed and yet perverted twohanders.
But, again, I fear that would be asking too much from Armadan.

 

[Am Shagaar]

I dont hit as often as I would like, guess I'm not to sure on where the hit zone is for the couched lance.

you have to put the aim dot on the target, you have to time your attack .. it comes with practice, and i think that the knight are not overppowered, in reality i knight on a horse with a lance vs a foot soldier, the f solder dont have a chance, if the knigh is a veteran that is, and you can fight with a lance even if you are not charging , the game in that aspect its perfect in my opignion, the only disavantage a horsemen can have its vs a spear men because of its reach... and i found that the game do that real good.. try to kill a bot with a spear.. its hard.

 

[Balor]

Ok, I suggest a total rewamp of stab-only polearms. Those should not be fit for blocking, could be used only for stabbing and second "block" button should performs "extend weapon" manuever.
When performed on a horse, it will auto-couch your weapon. The extra damage and 'unblockablility' will be enabled only with required speed, though. If you hit someone at walking speed this way, it may actually cause less damage.
When on on foot, you'll put butt of the blade into ground, and extend it's tip - to face charging horsemen. If he'll be unlucky enough to run into it, it will be considered a 'charging' hit. Like we say in Russia: "Что совой об пень, что пнем по сове." .
Logical and historical... at least pikeman used that tactics very often.

 

[armagan]

This makes sense and would be a nice little touch. Let's hope I'll find the time to do it.

 

[Whitmire]

Good ideas, Balor. But if the second mouse button extends your weapon, how do you block with a shield?

What if the left mouse button acts as an Extend button AND Strike button: as long as you hold your button, the character will keep his weapon extended (couched/planted). Or perhaps Extend weapon could be placed somewhere on the keyboard - you don't really need to access it that quickly.

What do you mean by extending? Poking farther? Grabbing the end of the spear with both hands so you can whack with it like it was a baseball bat? I assume you mean the couching/planting effect.

What do you say in Russia by the way?

 

[pck]

You would be surprised at the different type of atmosphere... I mean, look at Severance: Blade of Darkness.

Just imagen a calary charge lopping of heads!

"Today, heads will role!"

EDIT: I mean roll.....

Oh yeah, Severance was a great game, I might reinstall it some time.
Does anyone remember Die by the Sword? I still think it's one of the best games ever made, it's a real tragedy that it kind of flopped and never got a sequel.

 

[Magnachar]

Those should not be fit for blocking, could be used only for stabbing and ...

Another option is to have a "blocking speed" defined for each weapon. Low speed on polearms and maybe Two handed weapons (blocking with a sledgehammer, Yuck! ) should do the trick.

Or you could implement a "blocking penalty" on those weapons like you have some bonus (bonus against shield) on other weaps...

Blood puddles is nice idea

Sure. In the same lines :

- It would be great to have more sounds. Right now, the battles are somewhat silent. There should be more crying, more battle shouts... I mean, troops charging without a sound is somewhat... It lacks style

- make bigger, nastier noises when there's some big damage involved... Smashing 85 damage in someone's head should make some big 'crunch'... Could have sound level depend on damage inflicted ?

- More difficult to implement, but could add a lot of atmosphere... Facial expressions... It's somewhat sad not to see fear or pain on your opponents face when you put your morningstar in his ribs...

 

[Balor]

About DBTS - well, it was flopped because it's revolutionary controls was also incredibly sluggish when you tried to control your sword arm with mouse. I enjoyed it (I still have it ) but I can understand why few people thought it was any good. Cyberglove is ULTIMATE in that respect, I think. But having in mind that cheapest one is about 100$...
Btw, it did have great wound&dismemerment system, almost completely realistic combat physics - and that is having in mind that this game is more then 6 years old!
Something that should be borrowed from it, tho - the main char flinged insults (and, with special cuss pack, even obscenities ) to enemies when hit, got hit, dismembered, etc. It added a LOT to atmosphere. Why I doubt that it'll possible here *sigh* , I'd be glad to have something like that.
Btw, here is what I've posted on the Codex as my thoughts about ulitmate controls for ultimate figting system:

Glove will control your sword arm position and wrist, joystick x,y axis - moving forward and strafing, z-axis (twist-handle, preferably, of course) - turning around (using legs) and POV - twisting and leaning your body. Most joysticks also have a set of buttons on the handle - for switching stances, and other uses.
Mix this with some slow-mo (it's not even unrealistic after all - many oriental martial arts does include 'combat meditation' technologies that allow speeding up personal timescale) and proper physics (DBTS did well, but was limited by power of computers of that time) - and, I guess, on the output we'll have a nearly-perfect fencing sim that will be worshipped by a handful of fans - and pretty much ignored by the general public, heh. For the reasons DBTS was largely unsuccessful.

I understand that, at least for a few years (gadges like joysticks and cybergloves evolve and get cheaper at MUCH slower rates then videocards and CPUs) that it'll be daydreaming... but I hope that, one day, the ultimate figthing sim will be created .

 

[Edam]

I'd like to see something become of the quests that you do.

With the capturing of the nobleman, it'snot as important, but the training/equipment gathering ones could be made into something more.

Forexample, when you'vetrained some guys up, or gathered so much equipment for a specific count you then have to go out with the band of men created form that equipment/trained guys and takeout an enem group, saya war party traveling around such and such town.


Hope that makes sense.

 

[Ronin]

Am I wrong or there isn't a post about the polearm combined with a shield and polearm(without shield) speed? You see, when you fight with a shield it's harder to swing the spear as fast as you can when holding it with two hands. The speed when fighting with a polearm and shield should be reduced. Try it in RL and you'll see I'm right

 

[armagan]

OK. Added a 10% damage and speed penalty to using polearms with a shield.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Balor]

Hmm, polehammer is somehow different from other polearms - I cannot use it with shield, and cannot couch it no matter what. *pout*
And by the way - when you couch your lance, you should also automatically defend with your shield, if you have one.
Makes sence (just see those movies about knights ), and also makes up for the fact that hitting enemies with couched lance is MUCH harder then with, say, just ride-by swings from two-handed weapons (and they seem to do more damage too... with my 44 damage war axe I easily pull off 100+ damage hits on light-armored opponents... and 50+ on dark knights with best armor in game.).