WarCry Choice Posts: 1146 Joined: 5 Jan 2007 | QotW #13: Melee vs. Ranged
Question: Melee vs. Ranged?
I guess there will be lots of sniper guys in game. So, I want to ask if there will be good balance between range and melee fighters? For example, if someone has a huge rifle will he be a difficult enemy to defeat if you are not near him? Will it be possible to stealth and sneak to him and chop him fast with surprising attacks? I'm planning to make a rogue character specialized in melee and stealth, so I want to know how effective will it be.
People have asked several questions about the relation between melee, ranged combat, and stealth so hopefully we can hit a little bit of everything this week.
Basically our combat system is balanced with the following goals in mind:
1. If a guy with a rifle attacks someone a decent ways out (10+ meters or so) the rifle guy wins.
2. If a melee guy attacks someone with a rifle who is close by (10 meters or less) the melee guy wins. Rifle users suffer a penalty to their Evade skill when attacked in melee, meaning melee combatants can really chew up rifle users if they get in close.
3. Pistols can be used in both ranged and melee combat. They are sort of the middle range, doing the least damage overall but having the most flexibility in their use.
We tried to create a combat system that favors certain types of combat in different environments, and to provide enough of these different environment so each combat skill gets its fair share of being effective. For example, on the open areas of the Plateau a good crossbow (which falls under Rifle skill) will trump most other weapons since it's pretty easy to see your enemies a good ways off. In the depths of Kaibab Forest or one of the many caves that dot the Grand Canyon Province, melee weapons will be more useful since fights will be more up close and personal. Pistols again are useful in both situations, but are not as powerful. So essentially, for a melee character to beat a rifle character on open ground, he has to get close to the rifle character without being hit. This is where the Stealth skill comes into play.
Our stealth system is not like that of some other MMOs where you are effectively invisible when using stealth. If you walk in front of someone, they can see you as well as they can see you, so if you're trying to sneak up on a sniper belly crawling through the tall grass is a viable plan. Also, if you move in front of an NPC they will see you and react accordingly. Instead of making you invisible, the Stealth skill decreases the noise you make. Each piece of equipment you carry and each weapon you use generates a certain amount of noise, and each step you take or attack you make increases your noise total. Your Stealth skill mitigates this noise generation, so a character with a lot of Stealth can get away with being quiet in more armor than folks who don't put any points in Stealth. Even with this advantage, most Stealth oriented characters will want to stick to light armor, small melee weapons, and silenced firearms if they really hope to remain undetected.
Other characters check their surroundings to see if they hear any noise using their Perception attribute. Thus characters with a high Perception will detect noise at a lower threshold than characters with a low Perception. If you're in a character's line of sight they'll see you, but they may not detect you if you are behind them.
So you will be able to sneak up on someone with a rifle and take them out, but it won't be easy. It will probably involve lots of circling around, running from cover to cover, and crawling. On the other hand, if a melee character catches someone in a building or cave with a rifle the rifle character will most likely go down hard.
The Stealth skill has a number of other abilities associated with it as well, such as special attacks against unwary opponents or the ability to duck out of fights if they turn against you. One of the most important facets of the Stealth skill is the ability to disguise yourself as a member of other factions temporarily, though higher level Stealth skills also allow such disguises to be penetrated and revealed to those nearby. So if you go sneaking into an enemy faction camp you better hope there's no one in there who can blow your cover.
Have fun with it, and as Shakira would say "No fighting!" Well...until you get in the game. ;p
~Acropolis
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WarCry Choice Posts: 3 Joined: 19 Apr 2007 | Thats pretty close to real life i would say. I assume there wont be standard radar in the corner somewhere on which you would show up as a fat red dot while trying to sneak up. Therefore it sounds as a very exciting system to try. |
QotW #13: Melee vs. Ranged
Question: Melee vs. Ranged?
I guess there will be lots of sniper guys in game. So, I want to ask if there will be good balance between range and melee fighters? For example, if someone has a huge rifle will he be a difficult enemy to defeat if you are not near him? Will it be possible to stealth and sneak to him and chop him fast with surprising attacks? I'm planning to make a rogue character specialized in melee and stealth, so I want to know how effective will it be.
People have asked several questions about the relation between melee, ranged combat, and stealth so hopefully we can hit a little bit of everything this week.
Basically our combat system is balanced with the following goals in mind:
1. If a guy with a rifle attacks someone a decent ways out (10+ meters or so) the rifle guy wins.
2. If a melee guy attacks someone with a rifle who is close by (10 meters or less) the melee guy wins. Rifle users suffer a penalty to their Evade skill when attacked in melee, meaning melee combatants can really chew up rifle users if they get in close.
3. Pistols can be used in both ranged and melee combat. They are sort of the middle range, doing the least damage overall but having the most flexibility in their use.
We tried to create a combat system that favors certain types of combat in different environments, and to provide enough of these different environment so each combat skill gets its fair share of being effective. For example, on the open areas of the Plateau a good crossbow (which falls under Rifle skill) will trump most other weapons since it's pretty easy to see your enemies a good ways off. In the depths of Kaibab Forest or one of the many caves that dot the Grand Canyon Province, melee weapons will be more useful since fights will be more up close and personal. Pistols again are useful in both situations, but are not as powerful. So essentially, for a melee character to beat a rifle character on open ground, he has to get close to the rifle character without being hit. This is where the Stealth skill comes into play.
Our stealth system is not like that of some other MMOs where you are effectively invisible when using stealth. If you walk in front of someone, they can see you as well as they can see you, so if you're trying to sneak up on a sniper belly crawling through the tall grass is a viable plan. Also, if you move in front of an NPC they will see you and react accordingly. Instead of making you invisible, the Stealth skill decreases the noise you make. Each piece of equipment you carry and each weapon you use generates a certain amount of noise, and each step you take or attack you make increases your noise total. Your Stealth skill mitigates this noise generation, so a character with a lot of Stealth can get away with being quiet in more armor than folks who don't put any points in Stealth. Even with this advantage, most Stealth oriented characters will want to stick to light armor, small melee weapons, and silenced firearms if they really hope to remain undetected.
Other characters check their surroundings to see if they hear any noise using their Perception attribute. Thus characters with a high Perception will detect noise at a lower threshold than characters with a low Perception. If you're in a character's line of sight they'll see you, but they may not detect you if you are behind them.
So you will be able to sneak up on someone with a rifle and take them out, but it won't be easy. It will probably involve lots of circling around, running from cover to cover, and crawling. On the other hand, if a melee character catches someone in a building or cave with a rifle the rifle character will most likely go down hard.
The Stealth skill has a number of other abilities associated with it as well, such as special attacks against unwary opponents or the ability to duck out of fights if they turn against you. One of the most important facets of the Stealth skill is the ability to disguise yourself as a member of other factions temporarily, though higher level Stealth skills also allow such disguises to be penetrated and revealed to those nearby. So if you go sneaking into an enemy faction camp you better hope there's no one in there who can blow your cover.
Have fun with it, and as Shakira would say "No fighting!" Well...until you get in the game. ;p
~Acropolis
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