nrage
Supporter
I'm a digital? backer so I have only just gotten access to Exanima and have been playing for the last couple days (a total of ~2 hours perhaps) and I have some feedback and 2 bugs to report.
Sorry in advance for the long post.. tl;dr .. loving it so far, stabby stabby stabby
I have a very small amount of experience with medieval re-enactment (did it for a year or so) and through that I learned a little about how weapons actually work[ed], some of which is surprising. So, some of my suggestions are a result of things I learned there.. which may/may not be totally historically accurate etc so take them with a grain of salt.
First lets get the bugs out the way..
1) I was in the arena, dying and repeating, and dying and repeating etc. When, all of a sudden entering the arena did not load correctly. I got a screen with some walls - can't recall if they were the correct walls/configuration, another texture stretched across it, a stationary figure (me) in the middle, and I could hear the sound effects as if the battle had been started with my opponent attacking me but nothing was animating. I was using the arena menu to restart, so I tried going right back to the main menu but it was still broken. I had to restart the game entirely.
2) In the character creation screen if you select the long conan style hair and then rapidly move the fatness slider you get some really odd hair effects/glitches. I can see how it's reacting to the force of the flubber, but then it clips badly or something.
Feedback..
Loving the game, it's great fun and a nice challenge. I found myself getting frustrated last night, but realised that I was rushing things and just needed to find some patience. Part of my frustration however was that I was trying to get somewhere with sword and shield, and just not managing it. Two handed sword seems much easier and I think I know why..
Reach. Reach is king in this game ATM I feel. Maybe I need more practice, maybe there is something technique I am missing but it seems that the longer and faster the weapon is, the better it is.
This is not actually wrong as such, it's totally realistic, but then realistically to compensate for a lack of reach you would use a sword and shield and using the shield get inside the reach, block, and at the same time attack. But, with the current behaviour it seems that clicking LMB prevents the shield from doing it's thing.
I think the shield should more or less block independently of the attack button/sword. Meaning that if there is an attack incoming and the sword is attacking, the shield will still do it's best to get in the way. I don't think the shield arm should pull the body around in the same way as the sword arm does, rather it will do it's best given the position/motion of the body.
Likewise we really need thrusting, which I realise is already on it's way. When we get thrusting we will really need to be able to step inside the reach of a long spear, perhaps deflecting it with a shield slightly to do so, and at the same time swing an attack.
Also, while a long weapon is good, it's only good if you have space to use it. In cramped quarters it should be a lot worse, for example I know the sword will clatter into the wall, but will it embed in a nearby crate. I think there should be some delay pulling it back out, based on the weight of the strike and the quality of the blade etc.
Is there any mechanic for counter attacks, as in lets imagine you've just blocked an attack, if you click the attack button within a certain window then if the weapon is in an advantageous position it might immediately swing. For example, right-handed, blocked an attack on the left with a sword, positioned tip down, hand high. One possible counter attack here is to immediately swing it over and left to right (aiming for their right collar bone/neck).
More suggestions..
Stances.
Some weapons, like a Two handed sword and spears are actually very versatile.
You can grip the blade of a two handed sword with a mailed gauntlet and then use the large cross guard to knock/pull your opponents weapon or shield around, or slide the mailed hand closer to the tip and use it a bit like a spear.
Spears can be held in the familiar way, or with the back hand high in a more defensive stance, or even held/used like a staff.
These more versatile weapons will make weapon choice more interesting.
Shields for attacking. We should be able to bash/push and charge with a shield. To stun or stumble or even knock down an opponent. A full on head down charge is not that realistic however, you should see novices running headlong into walls when their opponent has side-stepped, hilarious. RMB would make sense here, I don't think it's currently use in combat is all that useful, others may disagree.
Belt knife/parrying dagger. A backup weapon which can be switched/swapped to if your primary is too long to be effective, like if you get backed into a corner and the guy is right on you. You drop the primary and draw the dagger from you belt (stashed round the back typically) and stabby stabby stabby stabby stabby
Generally having a weapon in your inventory which is somehow indicated to be a backup weapon would be nice, with a button to (literally) drop and swap. I can already see people carrying a torch with a weapon marked as backup to make that whole business easier.
The trip. You can use your front foot to tap/trip an opponent or as a distraction. When in close you can use it in conjunction with a shield to great effect. Anything like this would be awesome.
Using the environment. I am not sure to what extent you can force an opponent backwards and have them trip on debris/steps/etc. I think there should be some chance that when moving backwards over rough terrain a stumble occurs - for the player too, though obviously they will be expecting it. A more advanced AI will avoid being placed in that sort of position but the easier enemies or the brainless ones will be easier to catch out.
Shield wall. If/when we get co-op and you have multiple players in melee, being able to form a defensive structure like a shield wall is very beneficial, especially if you also have a 2nd rank with spears.
Sorry in advance for the long post.. tl;dr .. loving it so far, stabby stabby stabby
I have a very small amount of experience with medieval re-enactment (did it for a year or so) and through that I learned a little about how weapons actually work[ed], some of which is surprising. So, some of my suggestions are a result of things I learned there.. which may/may not be totally historically accurate etc so take them with a grain of salt.
First lets get the bugs out the way..
1) I was in the arena, dying and repeating, and dying and repeating etc. When, all of a sudden entering the arena did not load correctly. I got a screen with some walls - can't recall if they were the correct walls/configuration, another texture stretched across it, a stationary figure (me) in the middle, and I could hear the sound effects as if the battle had been started with my opponent attacking me but nothing was animating. I was using the arena menu to restart, so I tried going right back to the main menu but it was still broken. I had to restart the game entirely.
2) In the character creation screen if you select the long conan style hair and then rapidly move the fatness slider you get some really odd hair effects/glitches. I can see how it's reacting to the force of the flubber, but then it clips badly or something.
Feedback..
Loving the game, it's great fun and a nice challenge. I found myself getting frustrated last night, but realised that I was rushing things and just needed to find some patience. Part of my frustration however was that I was trying to get somewhere with sword and shield, and just not managing it. Two handed sword seems much easier and I think I know why..
Reach. Reach is king in this game ATM I feel. Maybe I need more practice, maybe there is something technique I am missing but it seems that the longer and faster the weapon is, the better it is.
This is not actually wrong as such, it's totally realistic, but then realistically to compensate for a lack of reach you would use a sword and shield and using the shield get inside the reach, block, and at the same time attack. But, with the current behaviour it seems that clicking LMB prevents the shield from doing it's thing.
I think the shield should more or less block independently of the attack button/sword. Meaning that if there is an attack incoming and the sword is attacking, the shield will still do it's best to get in the way. I don't think the shield arm should pull the body around in the same way as the sword arm does, rather it will do it's best given the position/motion of the body.
Likewise we really need thrusting, which I realise is already on it's way. When we get thrusting we will really need to be able to step inside the reach of a long spear, perhaps deflecting it with a shield slightly to do so, and at the same time swing an attack.
Also, while a long weapon is good, it's only good if you have space to use it. In cramped quarters it should be a lot worse, for example I know the sword will clatter into the wall, but will it embed in a nearby crate. I think there should be some delay pulling it back out, based on the weight of the strike and the quality of the blade etc.
Is there any mechanic for counter attacks, as in lets imagine you've just blocked an attack, if you click the attack button within a certain window then if the weapon is in an advantageous position it might immediately swing. For example, right-handed, blocked an attack on the left with a sword, positioned tip down, hand high. One possible counter attack here is to immediately swing it over and left to right (aiming for their right collar bone/neck).
More suggestions..
Stances.
Some weapons, like a Two handed sword and spears are actually very versatile.
You can grip the blade of a two handed sword with a mailed gauntlet and then use the large cross guard to knock/pull your opponents weapon or shield around, or slide the mailed hand closer to the tip and use it a bit like a spear.
Spears can be held in the familiar way, or with the back hand high in a more defensive stance, or even held/used like a staff.
These more versatile weapons will make weapon choice more interesting.
Shields for attacking. We should be able to bash/push and charge with a shield. To stun or stumble or even knock down an opponent. A full on head down charge is not that realistic however, you should see novices running headlong into walls when their opponent has side-stepped, hilarious. RMB would make sense here, I don't think it's currently use in combat is all that useful, others may disagree.
Belt knife/parrying dagger. A backup weapon which can be switched/swapped to if your primary is too long to be effective, like if you get backed into a corner and the guy is right on you. You drop the primary and draw the dagger from you belt (stashed round the back typically) and stabby stabby stabby stabby stabby
Generally having a weapon in your inventory which is somehow indicated to be a backup weapon would be nice, with a button to (literally) drop and swap. I can already see people carrying a torch with a weapon marked as backup to make that whole business easier.
The trip. You can use your front foot to tap/trip an opponent or as a distraction. When in close you can use it in conjunction with a shield to great effect. Anything like this would be awesome.
Using the environment. I am not sure to what extent you can force an opponent backwards and have them trip on debris/steps/etc. I think there should be some chance that when moving backwards over rough terrain a stumble occurs - for the player too, though obviously they will be expecting it. A more advanced AI will avoid being placed in that sort of position but the easier enemies or the brainless ones will be easier to catch out.
Shield wall. If/when we get co-op and you have multiple players in melee, being able to form a defensive structure like a shield wall is very beneficial, especially if you also have a 2nd rank with spears.
