Am I the only one who prefers turn-by-turn combat?

Yeah, I realize that turn-by-turn combat won't work in the MP situation - but that's not to say there isn't some way to address that (for instance, you have 60 seconds (or some amount of time everyone agrees to) to input your commands or you automatically 'pass'). Leaving to do a chore during combat is not recommended.

But frankly, I don't want a twitch combat game. I stand by my claim that U5's combat was the best of the series (for instance, if you had a character with a high Dex, he'd attack and move more frequently than others).

 

i miss the party system of U3/4 actually. when I heard that Lord British was 'going back to his roots', i had jumped to the mistaken conclusion that it was U1-4.

 

Yep, I prefer the strategic depth that turn by turn can give you. Can't see how it could be made to work in an online game where most people want realtime combat though.

 

I enjoy turn based combat games, but I hope SotA is not turn based!

 

The big problem with turn based combat is that this game is going to be an MMO. When there are fourteen million people running about, the waiting for someone to select the perfect response to you stepping to the left and holding up your shield will just be unfeasible. And imagine the griefers?? We start combat, you go, I afk JUST as long as any timers will let me. Then I use a delaying tactic. You go again, and I wait JUST as long as I can, and kite you...

 

I would love turn-based combat. Technically SOTA is not an MMO and with the Selective Multiplayer I think they could implement it. Obviously it would be more phased time as with multiplayer you would not want to completely stop, but giving a certain amount of time to setup your turn and then run them in sequence. They could make it work.

Not everyones cup of tea, but Civ is still pretty popular even in multiplayer.

 

I think old school players overestimate the strategic advantages of turn-based combat. Sure, it allowed an advantage when combat was party-based; I don't know about solo player.

If you're playing solo, without a party, you still have the opportunity to plan and strategize -- its just requires a different approach .For example, I play Skyrim a lot, and never take companions with me. So, as you can imagine, I come across a lot of situations where I'm grossly outnumbered or overpowered. That often puts me in the position of trying to figure out how I'm going to defeat an enemy party and get ahead where I'm trying to go. I move around places very carefully, listening for enemies up ahead, so to make sure I know they're there before they know I'm coming. Then, once I know the situation, I start to plan. There are several strategies I try to use: sneak attacks from a safe place, diversions, and splitting the group up so I only have to face one enemy at a time.

The key here is the game has to be designed well enough that both the enemies behave in a realistic way, and your options to deal with them are diverse enough to handle the differing situations. A lot of MMOs don't do this. I think a lot of people imagine there can be no strategic real-time approach -- that it's all twitch based -- because they imagine the only event in a combat situation is head-to-head mêlée. And even then -- even in mêlée combat -- a good game could provide strategy for the player in different ways, but most games are not good games in this regard. It could, for instance, require a player to plan ahead for the fight -- not allowing them to change weapons and armor in the middle of combat or dig through inventory for potions while busy. And it could also allow them opportunities to flee or hide in strategic ways. A mêlée fight might include a process of fleeing and hiding to regain strategic advantages.

Its obviously a different situation for party-based combat. Turn-based offers you infinitely more control than real-time. But even then, you have to ask, in a situation like in this game where you're a particular character and your party is just a group of followers, just how much control should you have over all the individual the members of your party? Does turn-based control of every single one of your followers ruin role-playing?

Ultima VII handled this very poorly from every possible perspective. You just ended up giving combat stances to party members, and all strategy went out the window because they would often behave in very stupid ways. It also handled solo combat mostly poorly, by giving you little requirements to plan ahead, and little opportunities to deal with enemies in different ways. The game also handled a lot of other things poorly that were unrelated to combat, like hunger and sleep. Other RPGs also handle all of these things poorly.

Personally, I would rather this be an opportunity for innovation : finding ways for these things to work. I don't like the fact that people are passing judgment on these features based on the fact that past games have handled them poorly. I'd rather people think of ways that they could be made to work for this game.

Darklands, by the way, offered an example of how real-time and turn-based could be mixed. Your combat proceeded in real-time, but you could pause it to give your party members new commands. I don't know how this would work in a MMO game, but I thought it was worth bringing up.

 

I hope SOTA isn't turn based. Final Fantasy has come and gone already.

 

yes. as in yes you are the only one who prefers turn based combased.

 

As this post shows Ice Shenron a lot of folks like turn based combat (me included) not just Turquin, but since SotA is mainly an MMO it wouldn't work for it. Those that are looking for several new turn based CRPGs should take a look at Wasteland 2 and Divine Divinity as they are turn based CRPGs that already have a huge following, and they look like they're both going to be really good.

 

Don't forget Shadowrun which is out this week (the 25th). I love Turn based and honestly I really do think you can get something close in a MMO, but its true most would not like the slower pace it would provide. However, CIV is very popular with a proper timer and interface I think a turn based MMO would rock.

 

GOD no, no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no


Seriously if we are going turn based I want my money back, I HATE JRPGs, I want to play the game, not watch as the game plays itself

 

This is one of the few times I will vote "Nay" for something old school. I enjoyed turn based combat way back in the day.. but realtime combat is simply better. Entering turn based combat brings immersion to a screeching halt.

 

Settle down Asguard. I don't think anyone expects SOTA to be turn based.

And I think you still play the game plenty in turn-based games. You just get to grab a soda when the enemy gets its turn.

I remember a video a Gamespot editor made where he set a location in Star Wars Galaxies and went home for the weekend. His character walked this long distance, fought enemies, and ended up at the location unharmed without a player sitting in front of the screen for 32 hours. THAT is a game playing itself. Wish I could still find that video.

 

I didn't know there was a new Shadowrun. Do you have a link to its page?

 

http://harebrained-schemes.com/shadowrun/

 

as you agreed, turn based doesn't work. so how can you prefer something that you know doesn't work?

 

could actually be done as a mini-game..

 

I would not play this game, and would even try to ask for my money back if the combat was turn based lol

On the fly, twitch combat works best for PvP. The player who thinks quickest on their feet and is able to react to changing conditions is the victor (character stats and gear being equal), which actually mirrors exactly what happens in real combat.

Turn based combat is slow as molasses, and while I do enjoy strategy RPGs and turn based games, I certainly don't want to do it in a game such as this.

Remember old RPGs had turn based combat mostly due to technology limitation.

 

I Wouldn't Go So Far As To Ask For A Refund...But I Agree With Everything Else You Said, Posthulio. I Dont Think We Have Anything To Worry About Though. I Believe The Chances Of Turn Based Combat Are Slim To none.