spectre
Arcane
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2008
- Messages
- 5,419
I, for one, felt a bit like writing something for you to rip apart, so here goes:
Let's take a look at the two recent Codex favorites. Not just fps, but from the perspective of other genres as well.
I am of the opinion that no feature is inherently bad, it can only be badly implemented or not balanced enough.
So, without further ado...
Beating a Dead Horse: RegHealth and Covers.
The first culprit is the cover system. The tough cookie is actually pinpointing what's so very wrong about it. In theory, it's all fine and dandy, you need to implement cover to have any kind of semi-realistic combat mechanics including gunpowder, as cover has traditionally been the best way to reduce the effects of bullets, shrapnel and explosions.
A well implemented cover system would result in an added layer of strategy, in which positioning becomes crucial to the success. So far, this is all good, and to be honest, I find it hard to imagine why a game in a modern setting, regardless of genre, would drop such an element. It obviously works well with any game that has pretences to being 'tactical', a condition that seems to be coveted by many contemporary fps, strategies and rpgs.
It becomes a bit trickier when we discuss the role of cover in fantasy-themed settings. Obviously firearms go out of the picture, and if they don't they are often reduced to the role of slower firing, more powerful crossbows with added hazard.
However, that does not say cover won't play any role on a fantasy battlefield. We still have the heavy artillery in the form of mages and fireballs, and the good old brick wall still protects well against arrows and bolts. The system is naturally more melee oriented, but potential is still there, especially if we shift a bit away from D&D in the general direction of Warhammer.
So what happens when the cover system goes bad?
First, we lose realism instead of actually gaining it, if the cover mechanics are, in a nutshell, step here and press a key to become invulnerable. This is obviously bad, but what adds insult to injury is when the AI does not play by the same rules, and the same boni from being in cover does not apply to the enemies. What we get is the well known (and hated) shooting gallery gameplay.
The ideal system should avoid any of those pitfalls. I think a fair system should incorporate the following:
(o) Being in cover noticeably reduces the chance of injury from projectiles, explosive blast and concussion. The actual effect depends on cover quality.
(o) You lose all the benefits of cover if the enemy moves in close enough for melee, flanks, or gains a height advantage.
(o) Cover has different 'grades': full cover, light cover, soft and hard. This is used to calculate overall effectiveness when stopping incoming fire. Soft cover does not stop incoming fire completely, but greatly reduces chance to be seen. Light cover can only be used when prone.
The second culprit I wanted to tackle is the regenerating health system we know from many fps games, but it is not limited to the genre.
First things first, I have to say that in my opinion regenerating health is and always will be a simplification of rules, dumbing down if you will. It essentially takes away a bit of the resource management from the player, no matter if it is medikits like in Doom, medikits plus limb HP from Deus Ex, or magical potions of healing.
All it takes is a few moments o rest to magic away the hurt. While it can be argued what strains suspension of disbelief more, instant use medikits or a few seconds of rest, the main problem lies in that a bit of gameplay is gone: will there be a lifesaving +100 kit round the corner.
Nostalgia aside, I can see the reason for this specific design feature. First of all, it is way easier to balance fights this way, as you can assume that the player enters each one with full health. Next, it obscures the flow of narrative less, cause instead of hunting for kits, the player simply waits a bit and is ready to rumble once more.
You could also say that picking up instant-heal medic bags ruins 'immershun', especially for games that have pretences to realism (like the XX-XXI century war fpss).
That said, I think this mechanics can use a bit of an improvement. It has some good sides, but I am not entirely happy with letting go of the madikit mangement aspect.
And there is something beautiful about the situation when you're down to your last 10% of health, fighting your way cautiously to a medikit equivalent down the alley.
So again, what an ideal system would look like for regenerating health?
I think the main pitfall to avoid is going to the extremes = either making it regenerate too slow or too fast, first one makes it pointless, the second to easy.
The second pitfall is: regenerating heath does not mean medikits and field medics are now useless. It all needs to click into place.
With all these assumptions in place, I would say that an optimal arrangement would be something akin to Republic Commando – you have a regenerating shield that absorbs hits, once it's down, you lose chunks of health (that do not regenerate unless healed), and when 'dead'; you need a sqadmate for a respawn.
This still has problems: can feel too easy at times, if healing is too plentiful, losing it feels inconsequential.
And the other – it works for sci-fi only.
I would amend it thus:
Divide total health into chunks (say, 5 equal 20% total health). If your health is above the threshold (80%, 60%, 40% 20%), you can regenerate a full chunk quickly. So you can go from 17% to 20%, 90% to 100%, but not from 30% to 80%. For that you need serous first aid (drugs, medic, healing stations, med-bots, whatever).
Now, add stuff for added flavor/difficulty: hitpoints for different hit locations, critical hits that permanently knock off one health level, and damage levels that give penalties to stats, and we're set.
So, trannies and gentlemen, this text has no pretences to being complete. Further, it does not ask your mercy, so treat it accordingly.
Let's take a look at the two recent Codex favorites. Not just fps, but from the perspective of other genres as well.
I am of the opinion that no feature is inherently bad, it can only be badly implemented or not balanced enough.
So, without further ado...
Beating a Dead Horse: RegHealth and Covers.
The first culprit is the cover system. The tough cookie is actually pinpointing what's so very wrong about it. In theory, it's all fine and dandy, you need to implement cover to have any kind of semi-realistic combat mechanics including gunpowder, as cover has traditionally been the best way to reduce the effects of bullets, shrapnel and explosions.
A well implemented cover system would result in an added layer of strategy, in which positioning becomes crucial to the success. So far, this is all good, and to be honest, I find it hard to imagine why a game in a modern setting, regardless of genre, would drop such an element. It obviously works well with any game that has pretences to being 'tactical', a condition that seems to be coveted by many contemporary fps, strategies and rpgs.
It becomes a bit trickier when we discuss the role of cover in fantasy-themed settings. Obviously firearms go out of the picture, and if they don't they are often reduced to the role of slower firing, more powerful crossbows with added hazard.
However, that does not say cover won't play any role on a fantasy battlefield. We still have the heavy artillery in the form of mages and fireballs, and the good old brick wall still protects well against arrows and bolts. The system is naturally more melee oriented, but potential is still there, especially if we shift a bit away from D&D in the general direction of Warhammer.
So what happens when the cover system goes bad?
First, we lose realism instead of actually gaining it, if the cover mechanics are, in a nutshell, step here and press a key to become invulnerable. This is obviously bad, but what adds insult to injury is when the AI does not play by the same rules, and the same boni from being in cover does not apply to the enemies. What we get is the well known (and hated) shooting gallery gameplay.
The ideal system should avoid any of those pitfalls. I think a fair system should incorporate the following:
(o) Being in cover noticeably reduces the chance of injury from projectiles, explosive blast and concussion. The actual effect depends on cover quality.
(o) You lose all the benefits of cover if the enemy moves in close enough for melee, flanks, or gains a height advantage.
(o) Cover has different 'grades': full cover, light cover, soft and hard. This is used to calculate overall effectiveness when stopping incoming fire. Soft cover does not stop incoming fire completely, but greatly reduces chance to be seen. Light cover can only be used when prone.
The second culprit I wanted to tackle is the regenerating health system we know from many fps games, but it is not limited to the genre.
First things first, I have to say that in my opinion regenerating health is and always will be a simplification of rules, dumbing down if you will. It essentially takes away a bit of the resource management from the player, no matter if it is medikits like in Doom, medikits plus limb HP from Deus Ex, or magical potions of healing.
All it takes is a few moments o rest to magic away the hurt. While it can be argued what strains suspension of disbelief more, instant use medikits or a few seconds of rest, the main problem lies in that a bit of gameplay is gone: will there be a lifesaving +100 kit round the corner.
Nostalgia aside, I can see the reason for this specific design feature. First of all, it is way easier to balance fights this way, as you can assume that the player enters each one with full health. Next, it obscures the flow of narrative less, cause instead of hunting for kits, the player simply waits a bit and is ready to rumble once more.
You could also say that picking up instant-heal medic bags ruins 'immershun', especially for games that have pretences to realism (like the XX-XXI century war fpss).
That said, I think this mechanics can use a bit of an improvement. It has some good sides, but I am not entirely happy with letting go of the madikit mangement aspect.
And there is something beautiful about the situation when you're down to your last 10% of health, fighting your way cautiously to a medikit equivalent down the alley.
So again, what an ideal system would look like for regenerating health?
I think the main pitfall to avoid is going to the extremes = either making it regenerate too slow or too fast, first one makes it pointless, the second to easy.
The second pitfall is: regenerating heath does not mean medikits and field medics are now useless. It all needs to click into place.
With all these assumptions in place, I would say that an optimal arrangement would be something akin to Republic Commando – you have a regenerating shield that absorbs hits, once it's down, you lose chunks of health (that do not regenerate unless healed), and when 'dead'; you need a sqadmate for a respawn.
This still has problems: can feel too easy at times, if healing is too plentiful, losing it feels inconsequential.
And the other – it works for sci-fi only.
I would amend it thus:
Divide total health into chunks (say, 5 equal 20% total health). If your health is above the threshold (80%, 60%, 40% 20%), you can regenerate a full chunk quickly. So you can go from 17% to 20%, 90% to 100%, but not from 30% to 80%. For that you need serous first aid (drugs, medic, healing stations, med-bots, whatever).
Now, add stuff for added flavor/difficulty: hitpoints for different hit locations, critical hits that permanently knock off one health level, and damage levels that give penalties to stats, and we're set.
So, trannies and gentlemen, this text has no pretences to being complete. Further, it does not ask your mercy, so treat it accordingly.
.
