Close range - Fast range

Hi, I’ve been busy with some new actions.

From the very beginning I wanted to add a close-range attack option, to add more variety to the decision making – whether the player wants to attack long-range or close range. Mainly for the sake of keeping the controls easy, close-range attack option is chosen automatically when the other player is in range. Initially I wanted to differentiate close-range attack by making it faster but also decrease opponent’s stamina by smaller amount. But:

I’m not sure if decreasing the attack’s stamina depletion is fair, since the player can’t always choose which attack he wants to make because it depends on the distance to the other player. So for now I try to collect feedback on how it works as it is.

A problem I faced with the increased speed of close-range attacks was its interaction with the advantages I described in the previous devlog. Say, the player blocks his opponent’s attack with a perfect timing, and so gains an advantage for the speed of his own attack. But then the player is in close range of the opponent, and makes a close-range attack. Should this attack be even faster? Should there be a certain limit? For now, I decided to go with the easiest to technically implement version – all timing advantages stack. Another reason for this decision was that I didn’t want to take away the rewards for successful defense in close range.

I also thought that players might enjoy some additional options to control their opponent’s behavior, and while analyzing pommel strike mechanic in Sclash decided to add something similar. While in Sclash the pommel strike is basically the core element of the game, and mastering it rewards the player with many benefits, I guess in Parry-Strike it’s going to play a more minor role. I try to keep everything as simple as possible, so I made the block action act as a push in close range when no attack is incoming. I was inspired by seeing how sometimes people doing medieval combat push each other with their shields. Basically it allows the player to have some control over the opponent’s position, and it also can interrupt their attack charging. And the push also drains a bit of opponent’s stamina. Push itself can be blocked, but the timing is much harder than with attacks. I guess it makes close range much more dangerous and motivates players to keep the distance.

Oh, and I worked with a freelance artist to make some proper character art, and I finally have it done. I started the process of importing it into the game engine and replacing my placeholder sprite with it. Hopefully I will also improve character animations, because player feedback here is crucial and everything should be as clear as possible.