Real-time Pagan/Diablo combat

[dangquan09]

Greetings, (sorry for typos in advance, I am using my phone and hit neighboring letters bow and then and overlook them often.)

I brought this up in a previous post that was full of other topics, and I can't help but to continue to think about it.

There are times in Ultima VII where characters, creatures, and even objects can suffer damage from explosions, spells, and stray bolts and what not.

How difficult would it be to create a mod, or add as an option, the ability to add an attack key, or even just a mouse click, that would cause the avatar to swing his/her weapon without targeting anything, but that if something that can be damaged is within the arc of the swing, then damage is calculated normally?

One of the chief complaints of Ultima VII is that Origin dropped the ball with the combat mechanics. I feel that by giving the player control over the attacks, it would create a more comfortable playing experience. With that said, the combat is somewhat realistic, because in a chaotic battle situation, you really aren't able to order your party to attack specific targets.

The other question relates to the tactical combat that someone was working on a while back.

How difficult would it be to add code that auto-paused combat after each combatant took a swing? For example, the avatar os travelling with Triolo, Shamuru, and Dokray. They are attacked by four smilodin populators and an dinosaur. The game immediately pauses. The player then selects each party member and clicks on the desired targets. Unpaused, each character takes a swing, including the creatures, and then pauses again.

The idea is to add option that differ from the automatic chaos that drives many players away. I personally wouldn't mind a Pagan/Diablo style clickfest, because in those games, I at least felt like I had more control. In the Savage Empire remake, I plan on having tall grass and vines blocking things, and a machete-wielding avatar swinging the blase to clear paths. Nasty things will be lurking in the brush, and could be smacked by being in the machete's arc, while the avatar clears a path.

This would also allow guns to be fired once, instead of clicking in an enemy and the avatar blasts off all of the ammo.

Or better yet, add a formula based on dexterity (and if two or more characters have the same dex, then dex+combat, and if the same, dex+combat+int, and so on,) causes that character/creature to swing first, then the next low value and so on.

[agentorangeguy]

If there is some way to detect keyboard input and make it do something, I'm sure it could be done.

[Dale]

Totally non-value-added but I love that despite the warning, there were basically no typos and then BAM "Triolo, Shamuru, and Dokray." Much laughter out loud.
If someone wanted to make a REAL winner of a mod, it would just be changing their names to this. Forever.

[Scythifuge]

Someone copied my post and reposted it, which is strange, though I appreciate the idea being brought back up.

I think that adding optional features such as alternative combat models (if possible) would be quality of life features and may expand interest in Exult/Exult Studio. Retro gaming has made a comeback, and someone made a mod that allows one to play Underworld in full screen with other features.

As far as work on my stuff, it has been slow. Chronic pain from my accident that is usually less of an issue in the warm season has been worse (mostly my nack from breaking two vertebrae,) which has been making it difficult to draw from either my XP Pen, or with a mouse and keyboard. Sometimes, working with the 45 degree angle is difficult to get things the way I want, and sometimes I am spending time thinking of how to work around engine limitations, or looking at other engines.

I still hope for some tutorials to be made, also. A walk through on firing up Exult Studio and then writing scripts and making a simple quest with dialogue would be good. I think I saw some basic tutorials somewhere, but I couldn't understand them at the time.

[Dominus]

Huh, didn't realize it was a copy spam poster...