Beta 4.3 - Combat Update: Monster AI
Beta 4.3 includes a rather large update to the way monsters choose to attack. The net result is that monsters will attack a bit more often, especially when they are the only monster left. While I don't want to make combat super difficult, the old AI would often fail to attack at all before you killed it or only attack once.
This update also fixes a bug that sometimes caused the monster to play their attack sound, but not attack if you moved away at the right moment. This was because the monster was getting two commands in that case, one to attack and the other to run in. The run animation took priority so the attack was delayed. Monsters will now always attack once they play their attack sound, even you dodge or move away.
This is the first of three updates I want to make to combat. Next up will be removing the block timer and the special attack cooldown and tying everything to stamina. This will simplify the system while still requiring some thought as to when to use special attacks, blocks, and dodges.
The last change will be related to the normal attack. Allowing a single click to create an attack rather than forcing you to hold the mouse button down. I actually did this first last night, but didn't like the way it looked so I reverted it and worked on the monsters this evening instead.
This update also fixes a bug that sometimes caused the monster to play their attack sound, but not attack if you moved away at the right moment. This was because the monster was getting two commands in that case, one to attack and the other to run in. The run animation took priority so the attack was delayed. Monsters will now always attack once they play their attack sound, even you dodge or move away.
This is the first of three updates I want to make to combat. Next up will be removing the block timer and the special attack cooldown and tying everything to stamina. This will simplify the system while still requiring some thought as to when to use special attacks, blocks, and dodges.
The last change will be related to the normal attack. Allowing a single click to create an attack rather than forcing you to hold the mouse button down. I actually did this first last night, but didn't like the way it looked so I reverted it and worked on the monsters this evening instead.