Hello all,
I have some general feedback on Animal AI, based on my own experience, and reading feedback of other users.
IF animals are going to be Parry-able, AND, are intended to be something a strong fighter can deal with on foot: (Option A)
What do you think? I have included a poll. Please, comment if you have other ideas, like mine, or have something else to say.
Cheers,
Nef.
Final Note: If you are here after I updated the title to "Combat Feedback: Wow Bears are Strong", it provides evidence toward the validity and effectiveness of click bait. Thank you!
I have some general feedback on Animal AI, based on my own experience, and reading feedback of other users.
While I think we can agree that in real life, a bear, wolf, or cougar would be faster, and more vicious than the vast majority of us. They also fight with no sense of honor, as honor is a construct made by us, too.
Translating that into a game can be cool, having strong bears and other animals that are terrifying to get caught by - perhaps making a point that you need allies or traps to deal with them.
However, at some level, they need to be manageable. As @bbihah mentioned in a thread I recently skimmed over, animals should adhere to the same rules other AI do, for the sake of game play consistency. You could introduce animal specific mechanics, sure, as long as they fit the puzzle that is the game.
Right now, it is extremely difficult to tell which direction an animal is attacking from, or if it is a direction at all. They also attack extremely quickly in most cases. While I think these two factors are SV making a point about realism and trying to add challenge to wildlife, I think it feels pretty bad. We have a 4 directional blocking/parry system, so we should be able to use it.
Todays patch notes buffed "blocking" to 50% damage reduction on pets, which is nice. If this is the route we are taking, being able to block instead of parry, I strongly suggest tuning down attack speed so that it becomes worth it to even try and block. You should also be able to block any animal attack without concern about the direction - but, I don't think we should let go of being able to parry.
Another thing to consider, as I mentioned prior, is that it may be intended that animals are extremely difficult to survive on foot. I still think trying should be fun, though.
Let me turn this into something easy to read.
Translating that into a game can be cool, having strong bears and other animals that are terrifying to get caught by - perhaps making a point that you need allies or traps to deal with them.
However, at some level, they need to be manageable. As @bbihah mentioned in a thread I recently skimmed over, animals should adhere to the same rules other AI do, for the sake of game play consistency. You could introduce animal specific mechanics, sure, as long as they fit the puzzle that is the game.
Right now, it is extremely difficult to tell which direction an animal is attacking from, or if it is a direction at all. They also attack extremely quickly in most cases. While I think these two factors are SV making a point about realism and trying to add challenge to wildlife, I think it feels pretty bad. We have a 4 directional blocking/parry system, so we should be able to use it.
Todays patch notes buffed "blocking" to 50% damage reduction on pets, which is nice. If this is the route we are taking, being able to block instead of parry, I strongly suggest tuning down attack speed so that it becomes worth it to even try and block. You should also be able to block any animal attack without concern about the direction - but, I don't think we should let go of being able to parry.
Another thing to consider, as I mentioned prior, is that it may be intended that animals are extremely difficult to survive on foot. I still think trying should be fun, though.
Let me turn this into something easy to read.
IF animals are going to be Parry-able, AND, are intended to be something a strong fighter can deal with on foot: (Option A)
- Attack Direction from the AI needs to be easier to understand.
- Animations for attacks could be more clear, or perhaps a tutorial that showcases these fights to give players a foundation.
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- Attack Speed should be slowed down, or damage should be altered.
- Often it is redundant to try and parry an animal right now. They attack so quickly that the parry is invalidated, by the time you swing it you can already be hit again several times.
- Lowering ATK speed in general would make discerning that attacking direction easier, too.
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- Instead of flurried attacks that are hard to read, go the opposite direction - high impact, telegraphed hits.
- Make the attack direction more clear, and the animation more of a wind up.
- Increase the damage of the singular attacks, and add a large amount of Knock Back and Knock Down chance.
- True fighters have mastered Balance (just saying).
- It just makes sense that a large predator would knock a humanoid down...
- This way, fighting an animal will feel intense and fun, while still being difficult or even impossible.
- -
- Blocking as an action, should occur regardless of Block Direction.
- Enable a hit to be Blocked without consideration of the animals attack direction.
- This helps solve the issue of attack directions being hard to follow, and rewards players who may be experiencing the animal for the first time.
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- Give them more utility - such as a roar, or other in-line actions.
- Giving animals abilities other than just attacks would make for a more engaging experience.
- In my example of roar, I imagine a bear. The bear rears up and roars loudly, hitting the player with some knockback and debuffing them.
- -
What do you think? I have included a poll. Please, comment if you have other ideas, like mine, or have something else to say.
Cheers,
Nef.
Final Note: If you are here after I updated the title to "Combat Feedback: Wow Bears are Strong", it provides evidence toward the validity and effectiveness of click bait. Thank you!
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