Hey so I got the EA of Exanima and I was really pleased with it, I haven't played much of the 'campaign' but I've beaten novice and expert arena mode.
I have some thoughts, questions, and comments on the combat, mostly centering around one mechanic that strikes me as odd.
That mechanic is as follows: Whenever someone is hit by a weapon, or their weapon hits a shield/shaft of another weapon, their attack is consumed and their weapon will no longer deal damaged even if it strikes a weak point during the course of the same swing. This makes some sense for gameplay purposes to me -- literlaly trading blows, both harming eachother on one impact may seem harsh to new players -- but it doesn't really make sense to me within the aesthetic of your game or in the context of the other gameplay elements. Historically the threat and power of simultaneously striking and being struck by your opponent dictated the vast majority of combat training, as is clearly illustrated by medieval fighting manuasl where interrupting a strike _in a way that protected you from it_ was the central focus of most slashing/striking techniques. Additionally it is a major factor in why many historical weapons are so dangerous -- weapons which at present, in exanima, are very weak precisely because they lose their force if 'interrupted' by a light strike or failed block.
Realism, of course, should not be prioritized above playability, but _consistency_ within your own physics system strikes me as very valuble. This mechanic isn't consistent with the image of physics and the speed of swings dictating damage, because it means a light tap to an enemy's foot can prevent a hard overhead hammer swing that connects square with your head from doing any damage.
I'd like to illustrate a few situations that I feel are weird and are a consequence of this 'consumption of attacks'.
1- Striking the lead (weapon side) leg of an opponent as they come to attack you was a common historical tactic by nature of the anatomy -- it's usually the easiest place to reach with your weapon when your opponent is stepping forawrd to swing. In Exanima it's also a great tactic -- but it's absurdly powerful. As long as you have similar or greater speed and range as your opponent, nearly any strike can be flawlessly prevented by stepping forawrd and striking their leg as they swing -- regardless of the fact that this usually puts you squarely in the path of their attack. There's no risk, because even very slight damage dealing contact with their knee or thigh or hip consumes their slash, and it clatters harmlessly off your shoulders.
2- Shields have a lot of oddness related to this. They are phenomenally good at blocking polearms because shield contact with the shaft of the polearm or axe will often happen milleseconds before the head of the weapon touches down on the shieldbearer's head or shoulders. Virtually no energy is taken away from the blow, because the shield touches so near the fulcrum, and yet all damage is instantly dispelled.
3- Very similarly, the sword -> polearm matchup is strange because of this. A dead on close range sword blow to an opponent's torso or neck can be stifled because the hilt of the sword tapped the pole on the way in -- which in a 'real' fight would actually be desirable.
4- Lastly this makes heavy armor an awful lot less intimidating than I think perhaps it ought to be. Sure, you can 'trade' blows with armor in so far as that you can take a hit and then hit back afterwards, but even the weakest weapon striking your armor as you swing takes the damage out of your attack. So a fighter in full plate armor can bring his two handed sword downwards on me and I can effectively counter it by lightly bopping him on the chest with my club. I can do this indefinitely until he eventually dies. Again, historically plate armor was so scary precisely because a weak weapon wouldn't stop an aromoroed opponent -- I admire how fast and flexible armored characters are in your game, but they lack all of the sense of weight and intimidation that real plate armor would bring to a physical fight. There is nothing to prevent a knight in armor from taking a hit from an unarmored opponent, knowing their plate will deflect it, in order to land a clean blow of themselves. Why isn't this how it works in Exanima?
I understand that you're splitting a lot of the comabt off into a Skill system -- I'd love to hear that you intend the ultra-powerful interruption and cancelling of attacks to be a skill, with most warriors having only perhaps weaker or removed versions of its effects.
One other bit of feedback and a question: Are there plans for any kind of wrestling, trips, or at least shoves? Again, historically warriors were trained very heavily in wrestling, judging by surviving manuals of medieval combat. It was either so effective or so common an obstacle that almost every kind of man at arms practiced it heavily, and exanima's physics based combat makes it rather obvious why; the best defense to a strike is very often to step in and become tangled up with an opponent. I'd love to see a shove or simple trip you could use to disengage or take advantage of a situation where your weapons end up tangled on eachother.
I have some thoughts, questions, and comments on the combat, mostly centering around one mechanic that strikes me as odd.
That mechanic is as follows: Whenever someone is hit by a weapon, or their weapon hits a shield/shaft of another weapon, their attack is consumed and their weapon will no longer deal damaged even if it strikes a weak point during the course of the same swing. This makes some sense for gameplay purposes to me -- literlaly trading blows, both harming eachother on one impact may seem harsh to new players -- but it doesn't really make sense to me within the aesthetic of your game or in the context of the other gameplay elements. Historically the threat and power of simultaneously striking and being struck by your opponent dictated the vast majority of combat training, as is clearly illustrated by medieval fighting manuasl where interrupting a strike _in a way that protected you from it_ was the central focus of most slashing/striking techniques. Additionally it is a major factor in why many historical weapons are so dangerous -- weapons which at present, in exanima, are very weak precisely because they lose their force if 'interrupted' by a light strike or failed block.
Realism, of course, should not be prioritized above playability, but _consistency_ within your own physics system strikes me as very valuble. This mechanic isn't consistent with the image of physics and the speed of swings dictating damage, because it means a light tap to an enemy's foot can prevent a hard overhead hammer swing that connects square with your head from doing any damage.
I'd like to illustrate a few situations that I feel are weird and are a consequence of this 'consumption of attacks'.
1- Striking the lead (weapon side) leg of an opponent as they come to attack you was a common historical tactic by nature of the anatomy -- it's usually the easiest place to reach with your weapon when your opponent is stepping forawrd to swing. In Exanima it's also a great tactic -- but it's absurdly powerful. As long as you have similar or greater speed and range as your opponent, nearly any strike can be flawlessly prevented by stepping forawrd and striking their leg as they swing -- regardless of the fact that this usually puts you squarely in the path of their attack. There's no risk, because even very slight damage dealing contact with their knee or thigh or hip consumes their slash, and it clatters harmlessly off your shoulders.
2- Shields have a lot of oddness related to this. They are phenomenally good at blocking polearms because shield contact with the shaft of the polearm or axe will often happen milleseconds before the head of the weapon touches down on the shieldbearer's head or shoulders. Virtually no energy is taken away from the blow, because the shield touches so near the fulcrum, and yet all damage is instantly dispelled.
3- Very similarly, the sword -> polearm matchup is strange because of this. A dead on close range sword blow to an opponent's torso or neck can be stifled because the hilt of the sword tapped the pole on the way in -- which in a 'real' fight would actually be desirable.
4- Lastly this makes heavy armor an awful lot less intimidating than I think perhaps it ought to be. Sure, you can 'trade' blows with armor in so far as that you can take a hit and then hit back afterwards, but even the weakest weapon striking your armor as you swing takes the damage out of your attack. So a fighter in full plate armor can bring his two handed sword downwards on me and I can effectively counter it by lightly bopping him on the chest with my club. I can do this indefinitely until he eventually dies. Again, historically plate armor was so scary precisely because a weak weapon wouldn't stop an aromoroed opponent -- I admire how fast and flexible armored characters are in your game, but they lack all of the sense of weight and intimidation that real plate armor would bring to a physical fight. There is nothing to prevent a knight in armor from taking a hit from an unarmored opponent, knowing their plate will deflect it, in order to land a clean blow of themselves. Why isn't this how it works in Exanima?
I understand that you're splitting a lot of the comabt off into a Skill system -- I'd love to hear that you intend the ultra-powerful interruption and cancelling of attacks to be a skill, with most warriors having only perhaps weaker or removed versions of its effects.
One other bit of feedback and a question: Are there plans for any kind of wrestling, trips, or at least shoves? Again, historically warriors were trained very heavily in wrestling, judging by surviving manuals of medieval combat. It was either so effective or so common an obstacle that almost every kind of man at arms practiced it heavily, and exanima's physics based combat makes it rather obvious why; the best defense to a strike is very often to step in and become tangled up with an opponent. I'd love to see a shove or simple trip you could use to disengage or take advantage of a situation where your weapons end up tangled on eachother.
