Interview Witcher Q&A at RPG Vault, part II

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: CD Projekt; Witcher, The

<a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com>RPG Vault</a> posted the <a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/522/522672p1.html>second part</a> of <a href=http://www.thewitcher.com>The Witcher</a> interview.
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<blockquote><b>Ryslaw Chojnowski:</b> Let me explain it in more detail. Before or during combat - you can always stop the action by means of active-pause - the witcher prepares his own combination of attacks choosing them from his list and putting them in special slots at the bottom of the screen. At the beginning of the game, he has only three slots available, which means that he can only create three-attack sequence, but as he gains more experience, he is granted additional slots.
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In each of the combat styles, there are different types of attacks, which are divided into three groups - basic, advanced and master. Each attack costs a specific amount of Endurance points (stronger attacks are, of course, more expensive), and each also has a so-called "minimal slot", meaning that more powerful attacks must be placed later in the sequence; you have to prepare yourself by using some weaker attacks first.
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After you've placed the attacks in a sequence, it's time to use them in actual combat. To start a battle, simply click on your opponent, and the witcher will use his opening blow. Then, you have to click again in order to get to the next attack. If you are fighting with more opponents and just managed to kill one of them in a middle of the sequence, it is automatically continued against next enemy. This enables the witcher to kill even a big group of opponents with one very spectacular combination.
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Also, if you manage to time your attack properly (which means clicking at the moment when your weapon hits the opponent), you get a so-called "perfect" strike, which is more powerful, always hits the opponent and costs fewer or even no endurance points. Scoring a perfect attack also gives the player more experience points, so the more skilled the player is, the faster will he advance</blockquote>Involving players in combat is a worthy goal, but I'm not sure that timed strikes are the answer.
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[Sol Invictus]

I think that it sounds better than Diablo 2's mode of combat, which consisted of nothing more than pressing the left and right mouse buttons a lot with no regard for timing, or even 'twitch-reflexes' for that matter. Timed strikes are an obvious method of alleviating the relative dullness of previous action RPGs.

 

[Vault Dweller]

It's also an obvious method of promoting a true twitch-based gamepay where your attention would be focused on the tip of the sword and trying to make that strike. There is no reason why action RPGs shouldn't be TB, btw. SS is a fine example of that.

 

[EEVIAC]

Timed strikes (clicks) will probably alleviate combat boredom for about an hour, but it still can't supplant a combat system that's reliant on character skills entirely. Or an action system that provides full controll over characters, for that matter.

I hear turn-based systems are good for that sort of thing, even though its a pretty new technology.

 

[Elwro]

Well, I'm willing to try it out. It seems to me quite an innovative combat control system (I don't play console games so I don't know if it wasn't tried yet). It's a bit retarded when you think about it, but it it plays well, I'll be glad.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I hear turn-based systems are good for that sort of thing, even though its a pretty new technology.

Yep, it is new, so many developers don't really know how it works. I heard that some company even released a game and claimed that it's turn-based to maintain its rep for innovation. Anyway, do you know anything about that turned-based systems? I heard you must make turns all the time, is it true? Do you, like, turn left or turn right or what?

 

[suibhne]

This is sounding better to me than it did previously. At the very least, we can probably agree that the developers know the right things to avoid, when they talk about Diablo-style clickfest and DS-style "click and wait" (and wait ... and wait ... and go to the bathroom ... and make dinner ... and watch a movie).

 

[Voss]

Yeah...

And suddenly this game is less appealing. Timed strikes, endurance points? click to activate a scripted attack routine, but then rush to click again when the weapon hits it for 'perfect strike' points? RPG or action game, guys?

 

[Elwro]

I heard of a game called Parappa the Rapper (or sth) where everything required of the player was to press the right buttons in an appropriate rhythm. So I guess it will be something like that . I wouldn't call this an action game.

 

[EEVIAC]

I heard of a game called Parappa the Rapper (or sth) where everything required of the player was to press the right buttons in an appropriate rhythm.

Precisely. Do we really want our RPG's turned into those dinky dance games in the arcades?

It astounds me that supposedly intelligent people (designers/programmers) are consistently choosing the dumbest, the least elegant, and the hardest to implement solutions to very simple problems.

 

[Sol Invictus]

It's not the same thing. Learn to read, guys.

This game's combat sequences aren't along the lines of DDR or Dragon Quest.

Instead, it's much more similar to Blade and Sword, with the addition with the 'perfect strike' attack provided you time your combos correctly. Blade and Sword had a REALLY GOOD COMBAT SCHEME but the game was completely boring because there was nothing to do but kill hordes of respawning monsters over and over again.

 

[Voss]

so there's no reason to worry because it's similar to a *really boring* game?
I feel so reassured.

 

[Dhruin]

It sounds a fair bit like Summoner to me, where you clicked the mouse-button to "chain" attacks together. At the end of each attack a little chain symbol would appear and you would have to click at exactly the right moment to succeed.

The problem is you tend to concentrate on only the symbol and not the whole game, a little like Dungeon Siege where you end up just staring at the character health and hitting the potion button.

 

[Vault Dweller]

The problem is you tend to concentrate on only the symbol and not the whole game

My sentiments exactly.

 

[taks]

wasn't combat in gothic similar to this? at least, the timing part? this always turns me off. i just don't have mad keyboard skillz...

taks

 

[MrBrown]

The combat style part sounds neat, IMO.


I don't like the timing your attacks thing, though.

I think a better way of moving away from click-as-fast-as-you-can games would be to tie the timing to the Endurance/Fatigue points in a different way. Fatigue could instead mean how focused the character is in combat. Game mechanically, Focus would go up constantly throughout combat, and the more Focus you have the harder it is for enemies to hit you and the easier it's for you to hit them. The trick is, attacking would cost Focus points and thus make you easier to hit and your next attacks be less effective. So a player who constantly keeps attacking would be an easier target for enemies and make less effective attacks, while the player who attacks less often is harder to hit and makes more effective attacks.

Not sure if something like this would work in a game, but I'd like it alot more because it lets the player decide on the timing, instead of rewarding the player for pressing a button just on the right moment.

 

[Stark]

It sounds a fair bit like Summoner to me, where you clicked the mouse-button to "chain" attacks together. At the end of each attack a little chain symbol would appear and you would have to click at exactly the right moment to succeed.

that's what i thought too. Summoner required "clicking at the right moment" to execute the special attacks correctly. This scheme reads similar to that one.

while it did makes combat less boring, in the end it still comes down to finger timing.

BTW Summoner's a good game. too arcady in style. not great, but still underappreciated.