SoTA Combat - unintentionally comical!

Action from the ol' Gem Mines:



Just pulled a kobold with the bow and it's running towards me with glee. It obviously knows that I've used my last standard arrow and I'm standing here in only a set of unremarkable leather armour.

Boy, is that Kobold in for a suprise!



POOF! One press of the deck swap key and I not only have a warhammer and shield equipped but all my clothes change too!

That's right - one complete set of plate armour materialises instantly in mid-combat to replace the leather.

Let's get over how incredibly stupid that is and think of the possibilities...

You might be sleeping with the Lord's wife, but not to fear, when you hear him come home just get out of the bed, enter combat mode and hit "X". You will be fully armoured-up in an instant with no impropriety left in evidence!

Problems with spell fizzle? Cast your spells naked then do a quick deck-swap when the mobs get too close.

But I digress... Back to the action:




"I will kill you human," the kobold says in my face.

No, I mean really IN my face as you can see...

One of the annoying things about SOTA melee combat is how close the mobs stand to you. Either nose-to-nose with you or often on top of (or inside) you

Let's have a bit more realistic fighting space!

On with the quick and deadly "visceral" combat! (Well it's more like tit-for-tat alternate swings, similar to two kids playing conkers in the school playground, but we live in hope of improvement...)




Oh this is getting quite intimate now! Shall we dance?

There is no sense of "gravity" or "impact" to SOTA combat. When you hit a mob, it doesn't feel as though you have actually connected with anything. It is like as if you are not hitting anything of substance.

Here the kobold has swung its hammer which has gone right through my body and out of my back.

It must have tired the poor creature out because it's taking advantage of my comfy shoulder to rest its head for a bit. Its right knee is in my crotch. No, I mean really IN... (however-much I hate to make the same joke twice in one post).


Honestly, there is stacks wrong with combat in SOTA at the moment, although I do hear that familiar mating-call "This is pre-Alpha". A phrase, well all know, which provides only a temporary excuse.


Sorry that I have not been looking my resplendent best in these screen-grabs. I think the dullness of the armour is to do with (well-documented) contrast issues covered elsewhere by others. Unless something is in direct sunlight it usually turns out looking extremely dark.

 

Great feedback.

And i will formally refer to the combat system as 'conkers'

 

"That's not a side effect, that's a feature!"

In all seriousness, I'm glad someone can take the time to point out a opportunity for improvement like this one. True, there are factors (like the stage of development) that call for a certain suspension of disbelief, but that doesn't mean we should overlook things that could be done to make it better. Frankly, I would've never thought of this, simply because I consider it "normal" for there to be this kind of interaction in a MMO. But that low standard doesn't need to apply to SotA, right?

Plus, you managed to provide feedback AND make me laugh. I think that deserves +1 Internetz/Diamonds/Whatever.

I salute you, sir.

 

Exactly! Do we give feedback and suggestions to improve 'negative & positive' while the game is under development?, or after launch as some "its pre alpha" spouting peeps seem to think lol

 

Yes! That is what you are being asked to do in exchange for playing it this early. The common phrase "It is pre-alpha" is simply a reminder that it is not done yet which is appropriate for some criticisms (or more importantly some tones).

Anyway, I am preaching to the choir!

 

I think the term "It's pre-alpha" should only be used when someone is literally complaining about something being off in the game.. .like when you can tell they were expecting something polished and to be working perfectly. Some people do entirely ignore that "Entering construction zone" page when they boot up the game. . This is some good feedback though. I've laughed at some of the things mentioned in this post as well.

 

In my opinion they have got the combat basics in place... It should be clear enough to know what is needed to not only fix the problems that are now created, but to also finish implementing higher up design requirements or the whatever is supposed to come next.

 

I think combat is fundamentally flawed in SotA. It just doesn't fit into the game and the world. It seems like a completely different game in a game.
On the one hand you have this complex simulated world without handholding. On the other hand you have this shooter-like combat.
On the one hand the game wants to be as realistic as possible but on the other hand you can change armor and weapons etc. in a second.
Something doesn't fit here. It is like the devs said: "The game is overly complex and casual gamers might shy away from it, how could we give them something to enjoy? Oh, let's create a combat and skill system for casual players!"

It seems that the devs suddenly realized that MOBAs and online shooters are very popular right now and they simply forced such elements into the game.

Combat, magic and skills feel totally wrong in this game. It is like ordering ice-cream but instead of getting some cream with it you get mustard because the people making the ice-cream thought that they had to add this taste in order to reach those people who like mustard. It doesn't fit.

 

Could you explain what feels like a MOBA or Shooter?

 

Please do, because everyone knows, MOBA are the future for PvP

So, if someone had the foresight to make MOBA mechanics = MMORPG without the instancing of PvP (which this COULD have instancing PvP since there's instancing taking place all over), ohhhhhh the bliss.

 

Take the spells for example. Basically you can cast spell after spell which feels like in an action game.
Also the skills: Whirlwind attack? Spinning attack? What do we need all of those skills for? It feels like they added them into the game in order to have something you train in the game (some kind of occupational therapy so that players get the feeling of doing something) and skills with which you can extend your deck. I am sure that combat would work without all of those skills. I got the impression that I just advanced other combat skills for them to show up in the skill bar. For me it was just an attack, I don't care if it is whirlwind or a thrust. It is nothing more than an opportunity to attack. So why have them in the game? Why not just have skills for the different weapon types and defense? Wouldn't this be enough?
So clicking on all those hotbar icons feels like playing some kind of MOBA.

The spell system should be more complex and deep and tactical with players not having unlimited spells in combat but just a few they have to choose in advance and use tactically and with care.
Also I think we would not need so many combat skills. They should have sticked with the way combat, skills and spells worked in UO. Or maybe used something like in the Elder Scrolls games. But what we have now just feels totally out of place.

 

I brought this up about 3 releases ago, calling said actions "Player Character Megatrons".

I don't know why this works like this in the game. The developers have never commented if it's working as intended or just part of a long process of balancing. This exploit, in my mind, is one of a large group of possible "working as intended" type mechanics that I hate with every fiber of my being.

The swapping of clothes, weapons, and armor, in the single press of a button is a perfect example of stupid casual play that favors people that won't be playing this game a month after they try it out because they'll be too busy trying out something else. That's what they do.

The same thing can be said for Reagents, Twitchy Combat, and a variety of other casual mechanics.

 

All of combat.

 

good rule of thumb, if someone is complaining about something that is in the "Known Issues" or the lack of something that has been slated for development or improvement (in this case an array of graphics issues that will be addressed with Unity 5) then we can whip out the old "pre-alpha" mantra.

I love this post though! so much better than that bug reporting template! *shudders*

 

Was fishing for something a bit more detailed if possible. Otherwise I'm not able to see how its similar to a shooter or MOBA at all.

EDIT: I missed that other guys explenation above yours, my bad.

They arent too worried about balancing at the moment, just trying to get all the systems in the game they wnt first before they try to do all that in detail.

Maybe in the future, spells will be more of a drain on focus than they are now, to prevent having machine-gun like casting abilities. Thats one of my hopes anyways, im not exactly sure of the direction they want to go

 

Thanks for giving some insight into the Crowfall project.

 

Shhhh, no promotion of other games! Especially in Beta Feedback Forum.

 

Are you a mod over at the crowfall forums?

 

Somehow it always comes back to the reagents

 

Combat could use some other activities besides hitting the Icons and run around in a little circle to confuse the AI. I think Elder Scrolls did a good job with the mouse buttons to give you a quick attack, power attack, and block in addition to your regular quickslot abilities. I think there is a good opportunity here to add more depth to combat. Active blocking, parrying, and switching the auto-attack to a mouse-click attack would make the combat much more interesting in my opinion.