HammerHelm News

Today's build includes the addition of stamina and the floating damage numbers to the new combat system!

With these in place, the core system is completed. I probably won't bother adding death or the Dash attack to the test map and will integrate those into the new combat system when I put it in the main game.

There's still more I want to add to the new combat system, such as more monster special attacks, but those can be added later. I'll also need to hook up the Spellcasters and the Skeletons in the Orc Quest to the new system too.

I'm going to spend some time testing for bugs and polishing some animations, but I'm really happy with how the new system plays on the the test map and I'm looking forward to getting it integrated into the real game!

Tonight's build includes a big addition to the new combat system...monster counter attacks. This took a bit longer than I expected to get in as it required some changes to the core system to get working. I'm really happy with it though.

As you can see in the gif above, the monster dodges back and then immediately attacks. For now the system is set up so about half the time they counter-attack and the other half they just run back into the fight. Once implemented for real, certain monsters will be more likely to counter-attack than others. As well as monsters having different likelihoods for dodging back in the first place.

I have this set up so that you have time to block this counter-attack, but not a lot. If you're caught off guard, you're probably going to get hit! :) For now, counter-attacks do double damage, but I might make them do something else in the final version of the new combat system.

This build also includes some tweaks and fixes to the combat system.

• Decreased the amount of time you have to wait after doing a Kick Attack before you can block or dodge - this was mostly to give you a chance to block a counter-attack after a monster dodged your kick.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused monsters to always strafe to the left first when getting close to you.
  
• Updated the monster knock back system to be more predictable. Prior to this, sometimes a kick would knock a monster back a short distance (as expected) and other times it would knock them back really far. The updates to the system fix this so kicks and shield bashes always knock monsters back the correct amount.

With the addition of monster counter-attacks the majority of the code is in place for the new combat system. I still have to hook it all up to the stamina system but that will mostly use the current system. Once that is in place, the test map will pretty much be indicative of how the system will work once placed in the main game. I'll be focusing on testing and refining it at that point.

Thank you again everyone for the feedback, it's been super helpful and I really appreciate it...I can't wait to get this into the game for real! :)


https://steamcommunity.com/games/664000/announcements/detail/2546143431186116760

discord.gg/8326Jef

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

A quick update that adds monster dodging. The ratmen will now sometimes dodge away from your attacks. When they do this, they will run back into the fight and sometimes attack immediately upon getting in range. It's a bit rough because this is simulating a counter-attack which will eventually be a jump forward and attack animation all in one.

Also fixed a couple of bugs:

• Kicking when there are no monsters left will no longer get you stuck infinitely kicking the air.
  
• Fixed a bug related to monsters getting knocked back.

Next up I'm going to add the better monster counter-attack after dodging as well as the system that determines what monsters do once they dodge. Sometimes they will do the counter-attack, other times they might pause for a bit, and sometimes they'll run back into the fight.

In addition, I'm going to refine the monster knockback and knockdown part of the system as sometimes when you hit a Ratman with the normal attacks, it gets knocked back too far and your next attack misses. This shouldn't happen.

After that, I'll be adding stamina, the dash attack, and the rest of the system.

Once everything is in, I'll be doing a polish pass to make the animation transitions smoother and the whole experience feel tighter. My goal for now is to get everything in and then refine and adjust as needed.

Thank you again everyone for the feedback!


https://steamcommunity.com/games/664000/announcements/detail/2546143431186116760

discord.gg/8326Jef

-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
[email protected]

A bunch of updates and fixes for the new combat system in tonight's build.

• You can no longer change targets once you start an attack until that attack finishes.
  
• Added a check to make sure you are facing your target when checking to see if an attack hits.
  
• Turned off the stamina part of the UI since that's not in yet.
  
• Added basic monster attack and damage (you can't die tho)
  
• Added sound effect and short camera shake when you take a hit. Eventually I'll add the floating numbers too.
  
• Changed the Kick and Shield Bash to use the same key (R).
  
  • Pressing R will perform a Shield Bash if you successfully blocked an enemy attack.
    
  • Pressing R will perform a Kick if you haven't blocked an attack.
    
  • You'll have a short timer (about 3 seconds) to do the Shield Bash before pressing R will return to performing a Kick.
    
• Removed the Shield + Stun attack as it was redundant. The Smash Attack will eventually have a stun effect added to it.

Note the monster attack is very basic and I haven't updated the overhead test text to say they are attacking. Once I add more advanced monster attacks I'll add to the test text and also have the text change color so it's easier to determine what the monster is doing.

I just finished adding the basic monster attack so it may have some bugs, but I wanted to get this build out to you all for feedback. I'll also be testing the monster attack and will fix any bugs I find.

Thank you for the feedback and the support everyone! If you'd like to post feedback on the system, you can write on the forum post or in Discord!

Edit: Just released Beta 2.6.2 which has some fixes based on more feedback!

• Fixed a couple of bugs that were caused by holding right mouse button and holding left mouse button the same time.
  
• Holding right click after the shield timer drains will now correctly result in your getting hit.
  
• Fixed a couple of bugs that caused the character to get in a stuck state - mostly from spamming attack buttons.
  
• The camera shake will no longer occur if you successfully block. This should only happen if you take a hit.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/664000/announcements/detail/2546143431186116760

discord.gg/8326Jef

Before I get into the combat test map info, I want to mention that this update also includes a fix for the hammer cursor. The focus point for clicking was a little off, so it should work much better now.


It's finally here! The combat test map is set up and ready for testing and feedback. This version of combat only includes the player's attacks, special attacks, and blocking. You can get to the test map by using the "New Combat Button" in the main title screen.



Monsters also move, strafe, and can get knocked down and stunned. Monster attacks and dodging will be in a future updates along with stamina use and weapon variation.

For now though, I'd love to get your feedback on how attacking and using special attacks feels. I also removed the slow-motion after getting some really good feedback that it looked more like frame-hitching or lag. I might come back to it, but for now I think it looks better without it. The jump smash attack still has some slow-motion in it.

You can also check out the new blocking system even though monsters don't attack. Let me know if the UI for it makes sense.

Would love to hear your feedback so I created a thread for the new combat system. Very excited to hear what you all think!


https://steamcommunity.com/app/664000/discussions/0/3185654583883795176/