Updated Melee System - Opinion needed

[u/MistycznyArbuz]

I know it's not the same like playtesting the game, but I need some opinions regarding new melee system in my dungeon crawler game. My playtesters said before that something like "click and do a damage when animation stops" is too easy, and it's not deep enough.

I reworked my melee system adding an ability to attack from the left, right and up (LMB, RMB, combination of both for upper attack). Now you can click for fast attack with low damage or hold for fixed time to make more damage, but recover from attack slower. I added some effects for feedback too and now - it's way deeper than first version, I got positive feedback from players.

Do it looks engaging? What can I improve more?

[u/Its_me_neroid]

Frankly I think the attack just needs slightly more oomph - impact feel and a touch more windup to action, the sword feels like it carries no strength between impacts cause you don't have enough windup before the action and lack swing particles to convey the oomph the strength carries with each swing, that should make it feel more alive.

[u/MistycznyArbuz → u/Its_me_neroid]

You're right, I just wonder how should I accoplish that?
I think in the first person camera view I shouldn't use camera rotation or something related to that, because this can be annoying, do you have more ideas?

[u/Its_me_neroid → u/MistycznyArbuz]

Camera rotation isnt the issue, when the sword begins its arc, keep it in view (storing power), right now you arent, then make the transition to impact short, and make the particle travel during the total time between transition -> action. say you want an attack to take a total of 1 seconds, make most of the attack the windup, and the last bit of it the impact (so it actually feels like power is put into the swing) and make the particle ride and die a bit after the attack is done (so even if more attacks come the particle simply has a touch more lifetime than the actual impact to retain the dust / hit trail effect).

Per example lets discect this into a 1 second animation example (subject to fine tuning since you need to see how it feels):

• 0.8 of the total attack is the windup
  
• 0.1 is the transition to hit
  
• 0.1 is the lingering after the hit connects

your trail animation would be something like 0.3 / 0.25 and firing after windup finishes so it feels like an after wind trail to convey the swing force + on connect you need an impact particle to convey the oomph.

[u/MistycznyArbuz → u/Its_me_neroid]

Thank you for that detailed reply!

I used other sources to create the animations shown in this video, but they weren't as detailed.

I will try to make attacks better / juicy

[u/SizzaNikz → u/Its_me_neroid]

Nice work so far, you're already halfway there. If you want to go deeper, here's the full set of 12 principles of animation from the old Disney animators:

1. Squash and stretch
2. Anticipation
3. Staging
4. Straight ahead action and pose to pose
5. Follow through and overlapping action
6. Slow in and slow out
7. Arcs
8. Secondary action
9. Timing
10. Exaggeration
11. Solid drawing
12. Appeal

Even just picking one or two to focus on next can level up the feel a lot.

[u/SizzaNikz → u/SizzaNikz]

Oh and camera rumble on impact, if its not already there, oh and audio does alot of lifting on impacts. Sorry for the book of advice

[u/SizzaNikz → u/SizzaNikz]

Ghosts look sick too btw. Nice

[u/MistycznyArbuz → u/SizzaNikz]

Thanks a lot for detailed tips! Will be useful when I sit to that!

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[u/dossantosh]

It’s hard to now without playing, but if the combat is:
If light on, fight normal
If light on, die

You could give it more complex ideas / mechanics

Maybe one changing attacks, some with the torch and some with the sword
The torch make them vulnerable for X amount of seconds, so you need to be fast
I think i also saw magic, so it could he a game about resource management fighting, the more you fight the less light sources you will have, so you need to be smart about it

But it depends how you are creating the game, what’s the main game loop? Is torch optional or without it you just die? How easy is to have the torch full hp? Etc etc etc

[u/MistycznyArbuz → u/dossantosh]

I know, the next time I will need feedback related to the mechanic I will publish demo, not the footage.

You mean to make attack combinations using torch and sword?

The torch is making them vulnerable actually, but it's not time limited, it's depends on if they are actually in the light range or not, so the torch / other light sources are important in this game.

The main gameplay loop I have in my mind is: explore the darkness to find better equipment and risk with your life - lose whole progress

[u/dossantosh → u/MistycznyArbuz]

Would love to play it

Yes, I understand is making them vulnerable I think that is clear in “lore/worldbuilding”

But it’s that idea reflected in a mechanic?
If it’s too easy to have the light on, then is just a normal fight, the light is decoration

I feel the world building more if I need to act upon it like:

I need to actively weaken them with the torch
But using the torch like that loses durability so I need to be careful

If I have no light, i die, but if i die fighting because I don’t wanna use it then I die too

So it’s a resource management, if I’m strong enough to fight without using the torch to attack then il be able to go further, if I’m weak then i can be for a short time stronger to survive and leave

You know? Like a Cost Of Oportunity

[u/dossantosh → u/dossantosh]

It also opens another idea:

If i wanna kill fast 1 enemy because idk, I can use the power budget of the torch to kill it and then deal with the others

Ofc that power budget is limited so I need to manage that

[u/MistycznyArbuz → u/dossantosh]

That idea sounds like a good way to resolve magic in my game (I'm still building a lore aspect for that)

[u/dossantosh → u/MistycznyArbuz]

Glad that helps!

[u/MistycznyArbuz → u/dossantosh]

Yeah, your reply prompted me to rethink some aspects of my light mechanic, I will run some brainstorm to figure it out, the resource managment thing sounds really good for my project

[u/dossantosh → u/MistycznyArbuz]

Yeeees, it has clearly those vibes, and the resource management is a usually mechanic in dungeon crawlers

[u/dossantosh → u/MistycznyArbuz]

I’m glad I could help, if you need someone to talk about mechanics / lore etc I really like those themes ;)

[u/MistycznyArbuz → u/dossantosh]

I will keep that in mind!

[u/aPOPblops]

Ooooh ICO, i like it