Sacred82
Self-Ejected
So I recently started a replay of Ultima VII. When I played it 20 years ago I didn't mind the combat much, except for a certain randomness that could have you dying against a wolf while having slaughtered a group of swordsmen just moments before.
Going in now I was pretty sure I would have a horrible time, since I had actually bashed its combat system before (on theoretical grounds). Suffice to say I didn't mind the combat at all. In contrast to later RTwP titles, you can only micromanage so much during pause, that is you can set a different AI behaviour but you can't directly issue orders. And compared to a turn based title like Ultima VI, the real time combat really seems to contribute to the simulation - more than in modern RTwP titles, and assumably because of the low level of control.
Still the combat felt boring and shallow quickly, and probably due to the lack of options you have, overall. Enter a game I've played about 2 years ago on the PSP, Valhalla Knights 2. In VK2 (I've never played 1), battles are over so quickly, you can't micromanage much even though you'd theoretically have the option to do so. This is different to how battles work in VK3 btw, so I don't know how much of it was intentional. Anyway, in VK2, most combat work is done outside of combat, as you have plenty of options of character and party buildung and behaviour customization. Success in combat mostly depends on how you set up your party beforehand, and not on input during combat. I feel this is the best, if not only, way RTwP combat really comes into its own and be on par with TB. It's not intrusive, it's comfy, and yet it gives the player things to do and think about.
On a final note, I realize that from IE onwards, scripting does a lot of what I just said. But I think RTwP games that have optional scripting aren't ideal. Combat resolution still takes a lot of time and the player will still want to watch the action closely, while not actually taking action most of the time. Also it takes quite a bit of time until you have a feeling for the game and can come up with scripts that don't take a lot of babysitting.
Going in now I was pretty sure I would have a horrible time, since I had actually bashed its combat system before (on theoretical grounds). Suffice to say I didn't mind the combat at all. In contrast to later RTwP titles, you can only micromanage so much during pause, that is you can set a different AI behaviour but you can't directly issue orders. And compared to a turn based title like Ultima VI, the real time combat really seems to contribute to the simulation - more than in modern RTwP titles, and assumably because of the low level of control.
Still the combat felt boring and shallow quickly, and probably due to the lack of options you have, overall. Enter a game I've played about 2 years ago on the PSP, Valhalla Knights 2. In VK2 (I've never played 1), battles are over so quickly, you can't micromanage much even though you'd theoretically have the option to do so. This is different to how battles work in VK3 btw, so I don't know how much of it was intentional. Anyway, in VK2, most combat work is done outside of combat, as you have plenty of options of character and party buildung and behaviour customization. Success in combat mostly depends on how you set up your party beforehand, and not on input during combat. I feel this is the best, if not only, way RTwP combat really comes into its own and be on par with TB. It's not intrusive, it's comfy, and yet it gives the player things to do and think about.
On a final note, I realize that from IE onwards, scripting does a lot of what I just said. But I think RTwP games that have optional scripting aren't ideal. Combat resolution still takes a lot of time and the player will still want to watch the action closely, while not actually taking action most of the time. Also it takes quite a bit of time until you have a feeling for the game and can come up with scripts that don't take a lot of babysitting.