Messages

16

Game Balance Discussion / Re: [STATS] Make Ashwood Pike Better (Sheathable, Knockdown, Speed)

« on: October 11, 2011, 02:23:38 pm »

NO to useable with a shield.
I use it as my cheap deadly 2H pike option (support mainly, less anti cav). When I pull out my 1H+shield it auto drops to the ground and I am ready to fight. If you make it useable with a shield, then to use it 2H I will have to hang the shield - when I pull out the 1H to duel I will have to manually pull out the shield, which means too much time to be an effective "drop and go melee". Hoplites should use spears. The 150 reach ones are excellent.

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Game Balance Discussion / Re: [STATS] Fix the 1h sweetspot

« on: October 11, 2011, 02:15:43 pm »

Here I copy my post from the other thread for those who are too lazy to go over there and read it:
 

It has to do with the animation and the way the collision point is calculated.

The engine measures the distance from the right fist to the collision point. This is somehow then compared with the weapon reach stat. When you have a long weapon, this ratio of distance and reach changes slowly in terms of absolute distance along the blade. With a very short weapon, every cm makes a huge difference. Since collision detection is not perfect and works in discrete intervals, with short weapons you will get more extreme readings and very often effective "0" distance hits. The damage modification will also be more like full damage or min damage.

The animation between different styles (1H,2H, poles) also has an effect. Animations that extend the hand forward can in principle have the hand inside the target when it hits, while a different animation will hit farther away from the grip even though you face the opponent from the same distance. I do not know if 1H is more prone to this, but I rarely glance with 2H even if I am close enough to lick the nose of the other guy. Not thecase with 1H and 2H-poles.

Short weapons should have had in creased minimum damage, so daggers would almost ignore this distance vs. weapon reach damage modification mechanism. It was not introduced with daggers in mind.

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Game Balance Discussion / Re: [STATS] Light Armour Loom benefits

« on: October 11, 2011, 01:57:44 pm »

The way armor works, +2 is more significant on a 40 armor than on a 20 armor. Light armors can have the same benefit as heavy armors without a balance problem.

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Game Balance Discussion / Re: Most pikes are questionable in 1v1, why not ingame?

« on: September 07, 2011, 01:47:08 pm »

Repeating this sentiment. A pikeman shouldn't have a pole axe on his back.

That is why ALL these polearms need the "cannot sheath" flag (poleaxes, bardiches, Bec... I am looking at you). Making them 3 slot items just means that anyone that will want to carry a proper melee weapon will be limited to 1H without a shield. In turn it means very few people with pikes and a cavalry heaven. You will not even be able to pick one up from the ground because it will drop all your other melee weapons.

Polearms need the "cannot sheath" flag.

20

Game Balance Discussion / Re: Buff the Ashwood Pike

« on: August 24, 2011, 02:37:23 pm »

The ashwood is 1 cm longer (negligible), 2 less thrust damage (still a very good 31p) and 2 less speed (borderline significant). It costs half as much, which means I can carry another weapon, or wear better armor in the same budget. The 4 swing directions and the ability to sheath on a 160+ reach weapon should not be, even though this is the case with the awlpike. Can you explain why the Swiss halberd has no swings?

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Game Balance Discussion / Re: Buff the Ashwood Pike

« on: August 23, 2011, 01:29:43 pm »

Who suggested to nerf everything? I did not propose any stats change to any weapon. The only thing I suggested was to make the awlpike a "cannot sheath" weapon like all the others at it size. The ashwood is a great weapon for its cost. Some guy wants make it his main weapon so he found another which costs twice as much and wants to make their stats equal. It would mean that the cost will have to go up, or the next cry would be that it is unfair that the awlpike is so expensive  - look! there is this ashwood pike here that is just as good and costs half as much...

Stop making everything top end weapon. We need a mid range that is cheap enough to be brought as a secondary and tossed away when you need to draw your main weapon. The awlpike just break the polearm logic by being sheathable. This is why so many people use it over other polearms, much more than its pure stats. Making it unsheable will not affect anyone who use it as their primary weapon. The unsheathable is the balance card for polearms which are powerful weapons with a dreaded stun. You want one? carry it in your hands!

For the record:
My main is a pole/1H hybrid. Yes I toss away my swiss/bill/ashwood when I draw my 1H to stand in a shield wall or duel somone.

22

Game Balance Discussion / Re: Langes Messer + Grosser Messer --> X becomes Polearm, rather then Two Handed

« on: August 23, 2011, 01:15:32 pm »

The Langemesser is too short to be swung like a polearm. The half-sword stabbing does look a bit like the polearm anymation and this is why it is used. It is a zero-range attack where the shortness of the weapon is actually an advantage. Note that in the video they do not swing in half-sword grip. The real 2H swords (bigger than the long sword) were probably used much more as a polearm in the half sword grip, rather then swung from the hilt - the roles of primary and secondary modes were reversed with "normal" sword grip being the alternative. The longsword is at near the limit of how long a blade can get and still be effective for fast sword play in a normal sword grip. For the Langesmesser the halfsword grip for the thrust is just a way to get a lot of power out of a very short thrust without any momentum or lunge.

The other point of keeping the left hand on the back of the blade with one edge swords is that it is very useful if the swords are in a bind. In that case you can deliver a very strong push with all your weight behind it - it will easily overpower an opponent who grips the sword by the hilt and push his own blade into his body/face, followed by the sharp side of yours. It also protects the left hand if you want to keep it infront for a grip attempt. Notice that a lot of the moves are aimed at chopping hands and the combatants keep the left hand behind their back to protect it if it is not on the back of their blade.

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Game Balance Discussion / Re: Buff the Ashwood Pike

« on: August 19, 2011, 04:58:46 pm »

Ashwood is fine. It is an excellent cheap support polearms that I use often (1H/pole hybrid).

The awlpike is the more problematic one and its great added value comes from the ability to sheath it - which is stupid. All other polearms at lengths of 160+ are unsheathable. It should be flagged "cannot sheath" and then it becomes a more expensive and slightly upgraded version of the ashwood.

CANNOT SHEATH I SAY!

C A N N O T  S H E A T H

c
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s
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Suggestions Corner / Re: Can't Sheath? One Slot!

« on: August 02, 2011, 05:54:07 pm »

2 slot polearms are in place to stop (in part) archers wielding elegant poleaxes.

Cos that's pretty silly.

The silly part is that it can be sheathed at all. If it is unsheathable, it could be 0 slot for all I care.

If the archer is willing to drop it to the ground every time he pulls the bow - be my guest! This is possible in real life as well. I highly doubt more than a handful of archers will do this because it means that the have to stop shooting and pick it up early when enemy is in the vicinity. It is also annoying as hell unless you camp one spot. The pickup mechanics are clumsy and this is not something you'd want to try infront of an enemy with a GLA coming at you. They also run the risk that a passing friendly decides to grab this masterwork elegant poleaxe that is just seem to be lying there on the ground - I know I will.

An unsheathable weapon means that it has to be used as primary. Engaging in melee first and shooting later defeats the point of being an archer.

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Suggestions Corner / Re: Can't Sheath? One Slot!

« on: August 02, 2011, 10:07:52 am »

I am all for it, but it should also mean that a lot more weapons get the "cannot sheath" flag.
This includes nearly the polearms and a few of the 2H weapons which are not bastard. Enough with the poleaxe Velcro attached the back and amazingly it also helps a lot with balance.

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Suggestions Corner / Re: Hiding Polearms While Arching

« on: August 01, 2011, 03:56:46 pm »

I think it would be fair if archers with polearms on their backs could actually see where they're shooting. A while ago, in the duel server, whenever you drew your bow it would automatically go in this weird first-person-looking mode. Would it be possible to automatically hide a polearm or weapon on your back when you left click to shoot? Other people would be able to see it on your back, but you couldn't for however long you held your left click.

Polearms should not be sheathable. Problem solved together with a bunch of other balancing issues.

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Suggestions Corner / Re: "morale" Items giving stat bonus to surrounding teammates. (Like flags or horns)

« on: July 28, 2011, 09:53:45 am »

No buffs please.

What kind of gameplay will a "buffer" have? hold the flag and follow the crowd, while hiding behind terrain objects so not to be the first to get sniped? I am all for getting flags and horn and vuvuzela and whatever, but the only thing they will make is a sound - for the heck of it and nothing more.

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Game Balance Discussion / Re: Perhaps were looking at shields the wrong way?

« on: July 26, 2011, 11:43:04 am »

I suggested directional shield blocks in warband beta. Taleworlds did not like it.
I doubt that what the OP suggests can be implemented within the module system.

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Suggestions Corner / Re: Make wooden weapons breakable

« on: July 26, 2011, 11:33:03 am »

Just an added comment:
Zweihanders, like longbows are a stuff of myth more than reality. These were not secret weapons nor of unique technology. The simple fact that they were used by few armies and never got a widespread use should make one careful when considering their true effectiveness. People were not that dumb back then - if they saw an effective weapon and could, they would adopt it.

Care to guess why nobody adopted the Goedendag even though the Flems got good mileage out of it?

30

Suggestions Corner / Re: Make wooden weapons breakable

« on: July 26, 2011, 11:26:41 am »

It is debatable whether the zweihanders were actually used in chopping pikes or merely used to push them aside and make way through them. If this was even remotely possible is because the very long pikes had the lightest poles of the polearms - you simply cannot hold forward a 4-5 meter pole if it is heavy. The torque will tire you in minutes if not less. Spears, halberds and long axes had a much thicker pole made of heavier, much harder, treated wood. Even if braced and hit perfectly with an axe these will still be a real challenge to chop in one go. This is not like splitting firewood, it goes against the fibers.

Extended damage did slowly chip away and weaken the wooden poles and it is very likely that they were replaced after the battle way before being in any danger of snapping. On top of everything, many polearms had extended metal bracers to the head that protected the wood from being damaged at all, thus saving the trouble of replacing them after battle.