The new combat system got a lot bigger than I originally intended, which is why it has taken me longer to get a playable prototype working than I first thought it would. But I also think it is a lot cooler and more fun...it's a complete overhaul. This is going to be a really long announcement, so let's dive in!
The new system is more tactical and fluid than the current system. In combat, you will need to learn your enemies' tendencies, watch what they are doing, use special attacks to even the odds against multiple foes, and plan your attacks, blocks, and dodges accordingly. There are seven major components of the system. Targeting, the basic "combo" attack, blocking, special attacks, states, stamina, and monsters.
Stamina
All attacks, blocks, and dodge rolls, use stamina. Getting hit will also reduce your stamina a small amount. Stamina will no longer be used when sprinting, so you will be able to sprint as much as you want! However, you won't be able to sprint if you are completely out of stamina. I'm going to re-balance the basic stamina, the stamina gained from "fitted armor", and stamina potions to work with the new combat system. The new combat system will not use the three gem power-up system so all of that will be removed.
Stamina is regained by standing still, not attacking, and not blocking. I might allow it to regenerate slowly while walking so you can gain some back without having to stand still and get pummeled. When you are out of stamina, you can still perform the basic attack but you cannot block, dodge roll, or use special attacks.
Targeting
Before attacking you will need to lock onto a target using the TAB key. Note, if you don't have a target selected and left-click, the system will target a monster if there is one nearby. Once you have an enemy targeted your character will automatically face it, allowing you to easily strafe around it. Pressing TAB again will cycle through available targets if there are any. And pressing ESC will cancel your target allowing you to move freely.
Basic Combo Attack (Press and Hold Left Mouse Button)
The basic combo attack consists of two quick attacks followed by a medium and a long attack. These all flow together much better than the current standard attacks. Stamina use occurs with each attack and increases with each attack in the combo. So stamina use starts very small for the first two attacks and the last attack uses a medium amount. Damage increases with each attack in the combo. The basic attack can be canceled at any time by releasing the left mouse button until the fourth attack hits, then you must wait for animation to end and the character to reset to idle to perform another action.
Block (Press and Hold Right Mouse Button)
Blocks an enemy melee attack if you are standing in front of them. Uses stamina to start blocking and continues to use stamina while holding the block. A block is only effective for a few seconds, after which enemy attacks will break through your block. Short cooldown after you stop blocking before you can block again. The cooldown will be displayed as a block meter that appears near your character. When the meter fills up to maximum it will disappear until you start blocking again.
Special Attacks
These are attacks that are earned as you level up. Using a special attack creates a global special attack cooldown that affects all other special attacks. So you can't spam them. The cool down might be reduced based on what kind of ore your weapon and/or shield are made from. These attacks use hotkeys will be editable in settings.
Some special attacks can place a monster in a special state, such as "stunned". These are explained below in each special attack description. The cooldown for special attacks will be displayed similar to blocking. Each special attack has a "speed" that relates to how quickly the attack occurs and how long it takes to finish, freeing you up to perform another action such as running, rolling, blocking, attacking again, etc.
I'm still adding the slow-motion effect to some of these special attacks so in the gifs below not all of them have it yet.
- Kick (R)
- Fast speed attack. Uses a small amount of stamina, does not do damage, puts enemy in knocked down state for a medium duration and knocks back enemy a short distance. Cannot be canceled, must wait for animation to end. Short cool down.
- Fast speed attack. Uses a small amount of stamina, does not do damage, puts enemy in knocked down state for a medium duration and knocks back enemy a short distance. Cannot be canceled, must wait for animation to end. Short cool down.
- Shield Smash (F)
- Medium speed attack. Uses medium amount of stamina, does small amount of damage, puts enemy in a knocked down state for short duration and knocks back enemy a long distance. Cannot be canceled, must wait for animation to end. Better shields do more damage and increase knockback duration. Medium cool down.
- Medium speed attack. Uses medium amount of stamina, does small amount of damage, puts enemy in a knocked down state for short duration and knocks back enemy a long distance. Cannot be canceled, must wait for animation to end. Better shields do more damage and increase knockback duration. Medium cool down.
- Shield and Strike (Z)
- Long speed attack consisting of a quick shield hit and a melee attack follow-up. Uses medium amount of stamina up front. Shield hit puts enemy in stunned state for short period of time. Strike follow up attack does extra damage. Stunned enemies take more damage from all attacks. Can be canceled until sword follow-up attack hit, then must wait for animation to end. Swords do more damage. Better shields can do some damage and increase stun state duration. Medium cool down.
- Long speed attack consisting of a quick shield hit and a melee attack follow-up. Uses medium amount of stamina up front. Shield hit puts enemy in stunned state for short period of time. Strike follow up attack does extra damage. Stunned enemies take more damage from all attacks. Can be canceled until sword follow-up attack hit, then must wait for animation to end. Swords do more damage. Better shields can do some damage and increase stun state duration. Medium cool down.
- Power Attack (X)
- Long speed attack. High stamina use. Does double damage. Cannot be cancelled. Axes do additional damage with this special attack. Long cool down.
- Smash Attack (V)
- Long speed attack. High stamina use. Does damage to all nearby monsters. Has chance to put enemies in stun state. Cannot be cancelled once started. Hammers have increased chance to stun and an additional chance to put one enemy in knock down state and knock it back. Long cool down.
- Long speed attack. High stamina use. Does damage to all nearby monsters. Has chance to put enemies in stun state. Cannot be cancelled once started. Hammers have increased chance to stun and an additional chance to put one enemy in knock down state and knock it back. Long cool down.
- Dash Attack (Middle Mouse Button)
- Long attack. High stamina use. Does damage, puts enemy in knock back state and knocks enemy down. Ram Helms do more damage. Cannot be cancelled once started. Long cool down.
Monsters
Monsters can perform normal and special attacks. Unlike the current system, two or more monsters can and will attack at the same time. No more taking turns! In addition, the health bar blink will be removed. Monster attacks will be slowed down a bit and/or have a "charge up" so you will have time to react before the attack lands.
If a monster is not attacking, it will do a "got hit" animation. This can cause a delay before a monster attacks as they have to wait for the animation to finish before attacking.
Attacks can place monsters in two different states. Knocked down and stunned. A monster that is an in affected state cannot be affected by another state. So a stunned monster cannot be knocked down or stunned again. After a monster recovers from a state, there is a cool down before they can be affected by a new state. So you cannot just keep kicking and knocking down a monster over and over again.
Large monsters (such as elementals, treants, etc.) cannot be knocked down or knocked back. Instead, they take additional damage as they stand their ground. These creatures can be stunned, but doing so will require a diamond or blood stone shield.
Monster attacks are not interrupted by attacks that do not create a state. So it is possible for you and a monster to hit each other at the same time. Special attacks that create a state (stunned, knocked down) can interrupt a monster's normal attack if it places the monster in a state.
However, while performing a special attack, monsters cannot be put into a state. You have to dodge or block these if you want to avoid taking damage or being put in a state yourself! And some monster special attacks (such as the Orc smash attack) cannot be blocked!
For example, Ratmen might have a special attack where they perform 3 or 4 quick stabs. And Orcs will be able to do a smash attack. Once a special attack has started, it will finish, unless the monster is killed. Normal attacks and special attacks will look different and some may have a "charge up" animation so you will be able to determine how to react.
Special attacks will likely be limited to Brute versions of monsters. In that case, Brutes will be a bit more common. Spellcasters remain the same as the current system. Note, monsters CAN place you in a state even if you are doing a special attack. So avoid these attacks! The only exception is the Dash Attack and the Smash Attack.
Low level monster spawns will also be reduced to only spawn one basic monster and sometimes a spellcaster, but not two melee oriented monsters. This gives new players a chance to learn combat and level up and learn a special attack or two with a knockdown or a stun without being overwhelmed. These state based attacks will be important when facing more than one monster.
Monsters can also dodge attacks by jumping away. They probably won't do this often, depends on what feels fun. When a monster does this it will either stay put for a bit, charge right back in, or perform a special attack that closes the distance quickly. When a monster dodges back, be prepared for anything!
Additional Stuff
The new combat system also has improved sound effects and different sounds for the blade (sword and axe) and the hammer hits. No more "clang!" sound. There will also be better feedback when you are hit (right now I'm thinking a very slight camera shake) in addition to the floating damage numbers. And there is a weapon trail that flows with your weapon when you are attacking with it. The new system has does some cool slow-motion effects for attacks that hit, reinforcing the feedback.
So combat will not only play better, it will look and sound better too!
Current Status
At the moment I have targeting, the basic combo attack, four special attacks, the stun and knocked down states, and most of the monster movement parts of the system done. Once I clean this up a bit I'll release the test map so you can try out the basics. Then I'll be adding the monster attacks and reaction AI, stamina, the new blocking system, and other parts of the system over time. Once it's all on the test map and we're happy with it, I'll incorporate it into the game!