Posted By Watru at 6:29 PM - Thu Apr 18 2019
Q: And what about parrys and riposets how will that work when characters will be jumping back and forth. When you commit to a attack will you be unable to cancel?
That combo is a chain of 3 attacks that are ~1sec a piece. At the contact point of each attack if you don't click, the combo cancels and it will quickly do a transition back to combat idle/locomotion, depending on the input or lack there of.
If you successfully hit the button within the input window, were not blocked, parried and they didn't dodge, it will transition to the next attack in the chain.
Within the attack window, your opponent has the opportunity to block or if they time it right, parry and if successful a small opening is created for him to riposte. Those are concepts we have always included in each iteration of combat, they are important to us and I don't see them going away, not without a damn good reason. I think a brawl might actually break out if someone tried... lol.
Just to be clear, the 2 sec of settle in at the end, only happens if you do not do anything at all. You click a button and you step back. If you press attack or movement after the contact point, it will cancel out of the settle in. It's only there so the player doesn't do a hard snap back to combat idle, and to make you look cool if you just laid waste to someone who went flying back on their ass. That gives you small break to stand there and bask in your awesomeness, if you want to, we don't force it.
Let me back up a second because I might have glossed over some key points.
Right now an attack has 3 phases:
Anticipation (~250ms), this is the wind up phase, this is the time you have to preview the attack and react. 200-250ms is roughly the time your average gamer is given to react to most attacks of a similar nature.
Attack(~250ms), this is the active point of the attack, it contains a critical contact point that either resets the combo tree or carries on.
Cushioning (~250ms), this is used to blend with the Anticipation of the next attack or to start blending back to combat idle/locomotion.
Keep in mind that these are just some rough numbers that we're currently using. We've dialed it up and down and I'm sure it will change and evolve as we get closer to putting it in your hands. But this should help give you a rough idea.
When, you see a series of attacks like this, they are broken up into quarters and eighths and depending on the attack, the weapon and style, you are given more or less time to react. You won't ever hit one button sit back for 5sec and wait for control again. Likewise we don't want this to be rockem sockem robots where people just furiously spam a button until someones head pops off.
We want openings, we want risks and rewards. We want attacks to be impactful. We want them to carry some Elyrian history so players seek them out like treasure, learn them and use them with pride. We want combat to be engaging, fun and satisfying.
Right now when I play, it still feels a little rough around the edges, that's to be expected at this stage, but even now it doesn't ever feel like you lose control. You do commit to an attack and that does leave you vulnerable which is part of the calculation that make when you build your combos and when you choose to attack. I do get punished for making bone headed moves at inopportune times, which I'm ok with. A game that doesn't punish players for positioning and incorrect timing isn't much of a game at all. Right now I'm actively reading my opponent, positioning myself, reacting and attacking. Even though it's not 100% tuned in with final anims, it feels good.
Some of the bigger weapons might have a different cadence and that cadence might leave you a little more exposed but if they connect, it could be a huge pay off. It's part of the risk and reward calculation that you'll have to do when you build your combos, train up your character, pick your weapons and head out to do some damage.
If none of this makes sense, I completely understand, I'm a visual guy and text isn't the best format to be having a discussion about timing and combat. Most of the time words escape us and we're chasing each other around the office with swords. Anyway, hopefully we'll be able to show some more examples in the near future...
I guess it will ultimately make the most sense when it's ready to leave the lab, enter Elyria and you can get your hands on it.
Until then we'll try our best to listen to all of the advice, hound all of the experts and iterate on the game so it will be as fun as it can possibly be. I know we will release a game that we know is fun, that we enjoy playing and that we have always wanted. If for some reason our version of fun doesn't match up, we sadly understand. If there is something we can do to make it fun and if that manages to fit within our scope and design goals we might incorporate it. That is one of the great things about this game being developed the way it is, our community is a member of the team. But if we can't fit it in or if it conflicts with a core principle, we hope you find something else that you do like playing.
I know most of us at SBS set out on this quest because we weren't happy with the games that are out there and we wanted to make some fundamental changes that would make things fun and engaging.
If you set out on the same quest, hit us up, we have a lot of love to share for a fellow traveler.
