Kaendris said:
Arnoxthe1 said:
Yeah, I have been focusing on sneaking, haven't I? My bad. I'll dedicate some proper time to full-on melee next post.
So, I think the main problem we're dealing with here is that a good stealth game is all about player skill. Elder Scrolls is a stats driven game. The two don't really play well together. I'm sure it can be done though. Hm. If I had to ditch the QTE idea in place of something else, I do like a system where the difficulty is all in successfully sneaking to get behind a target rather than the actual backstab itself. That way, stats can be implemented for that easily and it's more satisfying, plus it ups the difficulty.
Oh I understand, trust me. Of all the things I adore about TES, the sneak system is not on the list. It is a joke, and I hardly ever go that route anymore. Seriously, crouching in front of someone does not make me invisible. At least bring back the chameleon effects if you are going to do that, then there is plausible deniability. So I, and I am sure most of the other posters, completely understand why Sneak is getting the most ire. It downright deserves it.
I also like the idea of approach to target being the key. It seems right doesn't it? That the challenge should be the stealth, the kill the reward?
Looking forward to your thoughts on the bulk of melee though. I just want some meat to the combat. Better sound, blows to seem weighted, screen effects and reactions to damage...
Alright, melee. A much weightier subject than Sneaking because now we need to deal with a lot of different weapon types.
So, I think we're all in agreement that we'd like to generally see some more oomph, me included, in the melee combat. Let's break down what will be improved when you level up.
Techniques: A person new to combat with a weapon only knows how to do three things with it. Block with it, strike with it, and strike REALLY hard with it. As one levels up though, they may be able to learn different moves (perhaps in the form of some perks) with it that scale in effectiveness according to how high up the perk tree they are.
General Strength: What I'd really like to do is reimplement the Strength stat that used to be in Oblivion and Morrowind for this. A universal strength value for all weapons and shields. But, let us assume that we don't have that luxury. In which case, it will work just like in classic Skyrim. How much damage you do and how much damage you can block are dictated heavily by how high a particular skill level is.
Second thing to do is get some weight behind those swings. Better sounds are a must. I particularly like the sound of your sword hitting armor and flesh in Morrowind. Very meaty and metallic. I think we should have four types of stunning to convey different weapon impacts.
Type 1: Normal swing from a one-handed in that the opponent might shudder or turn a little away from it but otherwise, won't have an effect in combat. Basically it looks like your swings are stunning the opponent without actually stunning them. This is purely for looks and feel. Again, has no bearing on how the actual combat will go down but it will always happen in some way or another with a normal swing from a normal one-handed weapon.
Type 2: A stagger brought on by a power swing from a one-handed OR a normal swing from a good sized two-handed weapon. The time of stagger will be a little less than a typical stagger in Skyrim. Cannot interrupt swings already in progress but WILL lessen the damage of them.
Type 3: Usually brought on by a power swing with a two-handed weapon. Will interrupt swings. Somewhat longer stagger than the second type.
Type 4: Dictated purely by how much damage in one swing is done to the opponents health. 3/4ths or more of an opponents maximum health must be taken out in one hit in order for this to happen. If it does, any swing will be interrupted like in the 3rd type and the opponent will be knocked completely down or at least be put on their knees. I don't know how long it should take for the opponent to get up though. Since such nasty damage was done, I'm thinking not for at least 4 secs.
Let's move on to Stamina now. Currently I think it does a good job with how it currently is but it can definitely be improved upon. For one, lets have it regenerate faster. Probably 1.5x - 2.0x how it normally is. Also, a normal two-handed swing will cost a little stamina as well now. The last thing will be that for every swing that costs stamina, a little bit is taken away from how much it is possible to regenerate. Stamina capacity (not the stamina itself) will be fully regained right after a battle is over. Also, just like in Skyrim, Stamina capacity can be improved by leveling up.
Now on to dual-wielding. Personally, I don't really see a difference in power output as compared to just using one one-handed weapon unless you have the Dual Furry perk. It needs to be more unique. Now, there's a lot of ways we can go about dual-wielding. Maybe we should have a whole separate skill tree for it. Actually, you know what, I really like that idea. This would give it the opportunity to stand out and allow you to earn separate techniques for it. Anyone have any other suggestions for this?
I only have little suggestions for blocking as I think it's just fine. I am definitely willing to listen though, however, I really don't think we should go back to blocking that's dictated by chance like it was in Morrowind. And I think blocking with a weapon needs to be just a bit more effective.
