Angelus_dead
09-12-2009, 12:30 PM
I'm sure there are other changes that could help the new combat feedback system, but these ones jump out. Some are actually needed, in that they'll look like bugs until they're fixed, while the other are just good improvements.
1. Increased peak display speed. Simply put, a Hasted Fighter20 with GTWF has an attack rate that's well over how fast the combat feedback can scroll damage lines. Toss in Haste Boost and forget about it. This means that as a long fight goes on, the damage messages become more and more delayed from what's happening, and they all buffer on the client. Then as fighting stops I can stand there for 30+ seconds and watch an "instant replay" of what just happened. Probably the scroll rate should increase when the damage messages are coming faster.
2. Support simultaneous hits. If I use Cleave or Fireball to hit 5 Kobolds at once, I should see 5 damage numbers pop up at the same time from different locations. Instead they print one at a time going around the room, so that by the time the last one is reached the battle positions have moved on.
3. Clamp the output to be visible in Y. The damage numbers go up over the target's head... but from Frost Giants to Pit Fiends, a lot of monsters are so tall that their head goes off the screen. No combat feedback then.
4. Flag the output to be visible in Z. A less frequent problem is that if there's an opaque object (like foliage) over the monster, the damage text can go behind it.
5. Physical damage isn't alignment damage. Here's a minor inconsistency: with a +1 Holy Longsword, the combat log says I hit for 10 slash and 5 Good damage, but the damage type icons show 10 Good and 5 Good. That gets more confusing if the target is immune to Good, but not to slash.
6. Get the word "Immune" out of there. Sometimes you need to hit a golem with +5 Holy Acid Burst Transmuting of Slicing. That's a whole lot of numbers that are replaced with "Immune" on every hit. How about an option to replace "Immune" with a brief symbol, such as the "Cancel" icon (A circle with a diagonal line across it)
7. Make it easier to distinguish incoming and outgoing. A fight level monk will attack enemies at a very high rate, but only infrequently get attacked himself, and be damaged even less. It would be good if it were easier to visually distinguish the damage that's happening to you. For example, maybe instead of floating upward it could float down, or whatever. And since players typically take damage slower than they inflict it, the incoming damage could scroll slower (except when the buffer is full)
8. Options to add up the damage. Some people like having every part of the damage separate, but others would like all damage of the same type added up (Flame + Flame Burst totaled), and others might even want it all added together into one big number. And of course they'd want different options for incoming and outgoing damage.
9. Option to add attack rolls. Some people might like to have the choice to have their d20 result included whenever they fail on an attack roll, so instead of "Miss" it shows "Miss: 7 + 44". That kind of info is already displayed on the combat dice, but they might like it interspersed with the damage feedback. (You're less likely to care about the d20 result if it was a hit)
That's all for now!
1. Increased peak display speed. Simply put, a Hasted Fighter20 with GTWF has an attack rate that's well over how fast the combat feedback can scroll damage lines. Toss in Haste Boost and forget about it. This means that as a long fight goes on, the damage messages become more and more delayed from what's happening, and they all buffer on the client. Then as fighting stops I can stand there for 30+ seconds and watch an "instant replay" of what just happened. Probably the scroll rate should increase when the damage messages are coming faster.
2. Support simultaneous hits. If I use Cleave or Fireball to hit 5 Kobolds at once, I should see 5 damage numbers pop up at the same time from different locations. Instead they print one at a time going around the room, so that by the time the last one is reached the battle positions have moved on.
3. Clamp the output to be visible in Y. The damage numbers go up over the target's head... but from Frost Giants to Pit Fiends, a lot of monsters are so tall that their head goes off the screen. No combat feedback then.
4. Flag the output to be visible in Z. A less frequent problem is that if there's an opaque object (like foliage) over the monster, the damage text can go behind it.
5. Physical damage isn't alignment damage. Here's a minor inconsistency: with a +1 Holy Longsword, the combat log says I hit for 10 slash and 5 Good damage, but the damage type icons show 10 Good and 5 Good. That gets more confusing if the target is immune to Good, but not to slash.
6. Get the word "Immune" out of there. Sometimes you need to hit a golem with +5 Holy Acid Burst Transmuting of Slicing. That's a whole lot of numbers that are replaced with "Immune" on every hit. How about an option to replace "Immune" with a brief symbol, such as the "Cancel" icon (A circle with a diagonal line across it)
7. Make it easier to distinguish incoming and outgoing. A fight level monk will attack enemies at a very high rate, but only infrequently get attacked himself, and be damaged even less. It would be good if it were easier to visually distinguish the damage that's happening to you. For example, maybe instead of floating upward it could float down, or whatever. And since players typically take damage slower than they inflict it, the incoming damage could scroll slower (except when the buffer is full)
8. Options to add up the damage. Some people like having every part of the damage separate, but others would like all damage of the same type added up (Flame + Flame Burst totaled), and others might even want it all added together into one big number. And of course they'd want different options for incoming and outgoing damage.
9. Option to add attack rolls. Some people might like to have the choice to have their d20 result included whenever they fail on an attack roll, so instead of "Miss" it shows "Miss: 7 + 44". That kind of info is already displayed on the combat dice, but they might like it interspersed with the damage feedback. (You're less likely to care about the d20 result if it was a hit)
That's all for now!