I'm getting closer to having most of the parts needed in place, then it'll be back to making content and number crunching..
The log ended up being what gives you the most information, like which direction you're hit from, looking back I think I was overcomplicating things. The video below shows some rough combat.
The art style is really cute!
ReplyDeleteI like how coherent it is also with the font choice and the little icons around the UI and the log, and the cel-shaded comic style just came out very clean imo.
The only thing I am maybe a little on the fence about is the on-map battle system, idk if that'll limit the amount of depth the combat system will have, so I'd love to hear what you have planned with that. I thought the stances, equips and skills in LL were, in a way, what made it feel like a game rather than a long minigame.
I suppose that part isn't finished yet though, going by your description.
Anyway, keep up the good work, I'm excited! :D
P.S.: Your stuff is really hard to find, maybe consider adding the link to LL-full and back to your twitter on this blog? I mean in pinned post or smth, idk what you can do exactly with Blogger. But I didn't find your twitter until today (on accident, by googling); and if someone from your Twitter clicks through to find nsfw LL, they might give up before they find the right comment section :o
I actually just went back and read some older posts of yours on this blog and found most of my answers regarding the battle system in the "UI thoughts" post, and I found that I actually like the idea of dropping the clean duel based combat system in favor of being able to be surrounded, or just engaging multiple enemies at a time.
DeleteYou talked about the info problem then too, like how to tell the player about unseen enemies. I think the current log would do, but maybe in combination with First-Person-Shooter-style damage indicators (arrows flashing on screen, pointing towards damage source). You could color them by damage type and maybe even scale the size for amount of damage taken. This would reduce the need to read during fights, which I think would improve game flow.
Oh and a silly idea on the side: if ambushes and attacks from behind are going to be a common theme of this game, maybe the log would only say "An enemy dealt 69 from behind" until you turn and see who it is? :P
For the combat system there's more of a focus on positioning yourself and not being surrounded, since multiple enemies can attack you now that's a very dangerous position to be in. There are also stationary enemies (traps) to consider while doing that. I'm still tinkering with ways to manipulate positioning like knocking enemies away from you, in a way this is what would relate to the stance system in LL.
DeleteThe items you pick up aren't always items, sometimes they are the enemy abilities, and you can drop/swap these out as you find them. The level up system and skills are a bit different compared to the one in LL in that you learn them from enemies this time, each enemy will have a set you can learn from at random. The skills you don't want can be "refunded" or further upgraded with XP, allowing you to build your character for that playthrough. You may be able to do funny things by stacking certain ones.
So for example, you'd defeat an enemy and have a chance to learn something like "Vitality", rather than it being in your skill list already. I'm still testing this though, it may not be like that in the final game.
I actually did consider having an indicator like an arrow telling you the direction of attack, it might be worth doing. I just have to be careful not to clutter the UI too much. I'm still not sure if I want to display enemy HP.
Thanks for the comment!
Interesting, I can't wait!
DeleteLooking good so far, I'm excited to see more. I'm especially interested in the enemy skills thing you mentioned, build variety adds replay value after all.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of being able to knock enemies away is pretty good, especially if you can knock them into traps (perhaps with their own H cut-ins/animations/however you're doing them this time if it's not too much).
For the idea brought up earlier of trying to work in indicators for telling you direction of attack, I would recommend you use the arrow keys onscreen in the bottom right. Just highlight the button red to show what direction the attack is coming from, and have a quick tutorial message in the beginning that explains that facet of gameplay. Should save on screen real estate that way.
Using the movement buttons is an interesting idea, I think I'll try it out.
Deleteyou're making good progress, can't wait to play the finished product
ReplyDeleteare you thinking of doing any open betas?
ReplyDelete