jknemesis
Recruit
Hey everyone,
Been playing M&B for a while now, and I've come up with a new updated list of fixes/changes that I think ought to be made to the game. These are, for the most part, small changes, which are up for discussion and for the development team to think over.
I'll be editing this as time allows. I really want to see this game get better. I think it could be fantastic, but I wish Armagan and Ipek would talk in more detail about their plans for the game / and the way they would like their project to be when it is completed.
Interface changes:
Differentiate enemy and friendly units more effectively
In large battles, it is really difficult to tell the difference between friend and foe. While it may be "realistic" for this difficulty to be present in "real" combat, we're talking about a computer game. I think that having a tiny bit of a tint to the enemy, or making each enemy unit stylistically different (drastically different ornamental armor on black knights / swadian knights / vaegir knights). As of now, it's difficult to tell and this is a subtle interface change that would improve the game. Give each faction a unique style that makes it easier to tell whether you should bother swinging your sword at this guy.
Alter melee/missile weapon targeting
Right now, the way we target bows and crossbows in the game is just fine. When we aim a weapon like a bow or crossbow, our entire body moves with the target we're aiming at. Our eyes and hands 'point' toward the same thing. Mount and Blade treats this as all first person shooters have. Guns and projectile missile weapons are easy aspects for which to create a game interface.
Consider changing the way the sword/melee weapons and thrown weapons are aimed. I thought about how one could change the controls so that they'd be even more intuitive. Why not have the mouse be used to look around, like it is right now. However, it is frustrating to have to use the mouse look in order to aim the weapon. Having to look to a direction on either side of your horse, or having to look downward relative to your enemy to do a thrusting attack, is just plain annoying and feels awkward when it comes to melee weapons.
Instead, have the mouse be used exclusively to change the direction of the targeted swing whenever an attack is initiated. In other words, when you hold down the attack button to bring back the swinging sword, have a reticle or arrow show up on the screen, denoting the attack location. The player's view would lock in place until a direction is selected and then the player could release the attack button (as normal) to start swinging / throwing their weapon. The swung weapon's damage would vary depending on the attack type. A thrust would do damage according to what is listed, but have the swinging attacks be faster (but less damage) from the side, and slower and easier to block (but more damage) when executed as a downward swing. After the attack is executed, players could use the mouse to look around as previously. This feels very intuitive and can be applied also to the blocking interface / blocking button
When you use a weapon or shield to block, have the blocking direction be the direction that the player looks whilst holding down the blocking button. The view locks in place when the player holds down the right mouse, but the shield/weapon movies up / down / left / right, diagonally depending on where the player moves their blocking "arrow" on the screen. This would discourage units from holding up their shields all the time, and would require more skill and be more interactive than "hold down your block button when your opponent initiates his attack.".
Not only would the attack and blocks feel more fluid, but it would be difficult for players to figure out what direction the computer is planning on attacking from. (and in multiplayer, if it were ever implemented, it would make things far more interested than seeing players looking in odd directions in order to determine the direction of the swing).
I've included a cheap diagram below (or I will soon):
- Shield Blocking
Been playing M&B for a while now, and I've come up with a new updated list of fixes/changes that I think ought to be made to the game. These are, for the most part, small changes, which are up for discussion and for the development team to think over.
I'll be editing this as time allows. I really want to see this game get better. I think it could be fantastic, but I wish Armagan and Ipek would talk in more detail about their plans for the game / and the way they would like their project to be when it is completed.
Interface changes:
Differentiate enemy and friendly units more effectively
In large battles, it is really difficult to tell the difference between friend and foe. While it may be "realistic" for this difficulty to be present in "real" combat, we're talking about a computer game. I think that having a tiny bit of a tint to the enemy, or making each enemy unit stylistically different (drastically different ornamental armor on black knights / swadian knights / vaegir knights). As of now, it's difficult to tell and this is a subtle interface change that would improve the game. Give each faction a unique style that makes it easier to tell whether you should bother swinging your sword at this guy.
Alter melee/missile weapon targeting
Right now, the way we target bows and crossbows in the game is just fine. When we aim a weapon like a bow or crossbow, our entire body moves with the target we're aiming at. Our eyes and hands 'point' toward the same thing. Mount and Blade treats this as all first person shooters have. Guns and projectile missile weapons are easy aspects for which to create a game interface.
Consider changing the way the sword/melee weapons and thrown weapons are aimed. I thought about how one could change the controls so that they'd be even more intuitive. Why not have the mouse be used to look around, like it is right now. However, it is frustrating to have to use the mouse look in order to aim the weapon. Having to look to a direction on either side of your horse, or having to look downward relative to your enemy to do a thrusting attack, is just plain annoying and feels awkward when it comes to melee weapons.
Instead, have the mouse be used exclusively to change the direction of the targeted swing whenever an attack is initiated. In other words, when you hold down the attack button to bring back the swinging sword, have a reticle or arrow show up on the screen, denoting the attack location. The player's view would lock in place until a direction is selected and then the player could release the attack button (as normal) to start swinging / throwing their weapon. The swung weapon's damage would vary depending on the attack type. A thrust would do damage according to what is listed, but have the swinging attacks be faster (but less damage) from the side, and slower and easier to block (but more damage) when executed as a downward swing. After the attack is executed, players could use the mouse to look around as previously. This feels very intuitive and can be applied also to the blocking interface / blocking button
When you use a weapon or shield to block, have the blocking direction be the direction that the player looks whilst holding down the blocking button. The view locks in place when the player holds down the right mouse, but the shield/weapon movies up / down / left / right, diagonally depending on where the player moves their blocking "arrow" on the screen. This would discourage units from holding up their shields all the time, and would require more skill and be more interactive than "hold down your block button when your opponent initiates his attack.".
Not only would the attack and blocks feel more fluid, but it would be difficult for players to figure out what direction the computer is planning on attacking from. (and in multiplayer, if it were ever implemented, it would make things far more interested than seeing players looking in odd directions in order to determine the direction of the swing).
I've included a cheap diagram below (or I will soon):
- Shield Blocking
).
