Member
Marik
Grizzlybeard<Snipped quote by Jotunn Draugr>
Engaging and realistic are two different compass, that only sometimes reference the same direction. Realistic, with me paraphrasing a western martial arts instructor, would be rolling a d8 every time you do any attack. On an 8, the defender simply didn't react in time and is hit. More directly, the words of the instructor were along the lines of, if you put a complete novice with a sword against a master, and the master is on the defensive, one in eight times, the novice's strike will land, simply because of luck and the speed of the blade.
Engaging is usually the direct result of sustained exchanges, rather than both fighters exchanging one strike, then backing off. Imagine a lightsaber duel where Luke Skywalker steps forward, swings once, then backs off. Then, Vader steps forward, thrusts once, then backs off. That would be boring as all get out. It would look like an old turn based RPG combat. I would much rather our duels look like this:
Than this:
Notice how, in the For Honor trailer, almost every fight that is interesting to watch, not a main character just annihilating a scrub in one swing, involves a sustained series of blows and positional maneuvering, gaining upper hands on each other. 0:53 is an excellent example of what I'm talking about. Each move flows into each other. 1:22 as well.
TL/DR: It may just be my opinion, but the only way to make the fight engaging and realistic is to have continued exchanges and "play chess" as you put it. The other realistic option* is to have two fighters poke at each other from behind their defenses, until one gets lucky from the other guy just not reacting in time. Currently, we are doing the latter, and I do not find it engaging, though admittedly realistic.
*also featured in the For Honor trailer by randoms scrubs more focused on surviving than winning the fight.
**secondary clarification, there's certainly room for backing off and both fighters taking a breather, but if you do it every time after every strike, it makes the fight stilted in my opinion.
***Realism note, yes, For Honor has some stupid spins, some points where it's like, "Did that guy seriously not have armor where he just got hit? Because that attack shouldn't have gone through armor.", and some improper shield use, but all in all is a fairly good example for media.
Alright fair enough. Maybe a balance can be naturally struck as we keep going, because their is a slight difference in subjective enjoyment between the two of us. Of course, I'm still learning, and am up for sticking more to your style.
Sorry for the wait on continuing the fight. Lotta New Years stuff in the way. Might have to wait until the new year before I can really get back to this.
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