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(Dev Team) Why did you choose tab targeting?
ArchivedUser
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I'm curious about the design philosophy that drove the dev team to choose tab targeting in an MMORPG market that has many, MANY, well established games with almost perfected tab targeting systems already.
Of the 2 primary combat systems you see nowadays, I prefer tab targeting over action combat. Tab targeting enables precise mechanics design as well as clearly defined roles with the opportunity to develop and execute complex strategies. As a former top 50 World of Warcraft raider, I prefer this to the chaos that is action combat.
But that's me, what drove you, the dev team, to choose tab targeting over action combat? Can we expect to see hit competitive level raiding the like of world of warcraft in AoC?
Of the 2 primary combat systems you see nowadays, I prefer tab targeting over action combat. Tab targeting enables precise mechanics design as well as clearly defined roles with the opportunity to develop and execute complex strategies. As a former top 50 World of Warcraft raider, I prefer this to the chaos that is action combat.
But that's me, what drove you, the dev team, to choose tab targeting over action combat? Can we expect to see hit competitive level raiding the like of world of warcraft in AoC?
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Lock-On Target,
Click To Move
Free Aiming
Developers will discuss tab targeting in months to come I think.
A lot of people consider "tab-target" quite an outdated form of combat, and that a fluid action-based combat is a better direction for games to go in. What're your thoughts on the current combat system?
<em>In regards to tab targeting, while our combat system is not completely fleshed out, I can say that our tab-targeting will involve positioning and mobility and that we will have more in-depth blogs on this system as our development progresses.</em>
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^this
2. It's usually way more balanced because of the fact that almost every single MMO that has action combat is pure AoE spam with 1-2 actual "skill-shots" per class whitch usually leads to the problem that range classes are way to strong. The only way to counter this is to give melee classes ridiculous amount of movement and dodge abilities whitch at the end makes some classes complete cancer like Stamina Melee Sorc in ESO / Berserker in Tera or the worst of them all Blader in BDO.
3. 80% of the MMO playerbase are casual players just like in every single other genre and tab-target makes the game playable for everyone in both PvE and PvP not just the most hardcore or best players. One of the main reasons why WoW is still as popular because everyone is able to play 90% of the content.
I feel like all those action combat, hack'n'shlash, skillshot heavy games always make the game more stressfull. Often instead of 1-2 targets you encounter like walls of enemies and you rarely have to use any strategie to kill these mobs.
The way the targeting system/combat system works the way of encountering enemies depends on it. Especially in a PvE/PvP environment tap targeting feels way smoother.
Also a tap targeting system is easier to master then a targetless system - this aint some sort of eport (I'm looking at you moba).
Seriously said: No matter what the aiming system will be, I play the game mainly for it's content. A wrong kind of targetting mode will never ruin an otherwise decently built game.
2. It’s usually way more balanced because of the fact that almost every single MMO that has action combat is pure AoE spam with 1-2 actual “skill-shots” per class whitch usually leads to the problem that range classes are way to strong. The only way to counter this is to give melee classes ridiculous amount of movement and dodge abilities whitch at the end makes some classes complete cancer like Stamina Melee Sorc in ESO / Berserker in Tera or the worst of them all Blader in BDO.
3. 80% of the MMO playerbase are casual players just like in every single other genre and tab-target makes the game playable for everyone in both PvE and PvP not just the most hardcore or best players. One of the main reasons why WoW is still as popular because everyone is able to play 90% of the content.
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1. Not necessarily. It might be easier to program a free aim system because they are starting UE4 which is made for that kind of combat.
2. balance has nothing to do with whether it's tab target or free aiming.
3. Just because people are casual doesn't mean they can't learn to aim. With how well shooters sell, it's not hard to imagine that most players who play MMOs also have experience with aiming systems.
The biggest problem with this argument is the assumptions that if it was not tab target it would have to be like *insert action game here* and ran by players with the best twitch skills which is not true. You could turn any tab target game into a free aim system.
Yes, content is important but in a MMO, players are a portion of that content. This a competitive game so players will (probably) want a good system to compete in and express skill. The combat system very much matters in this game.
Until then I will leave my personal opinion like in the other 20 threads about this, it's just tab targeting, the opposite to free aim, there is nothing more to it, tab to target. What really makes the game is the combat system.
It does not exclude action combat at all, that's just false information.
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Vin I do agree with you that MMORPGs are not Casual affairs. Yea they should be fun and have a casual feel about them but they should not be made for the weekend warrior like WOW is today. Now that does not mean that Action Combat will bring in a Dedicated playerbase or that Action Combat requires more skills. This is not true at all. Tab Taget if done right can be a very skilled game, problem is you look at WOW and how streamlining everything to the most inept person. Tab Target what it truly does is make it easier to transition in from another game and easier to learn than Action Combat. Action Combat can also become very spammy vs Tab Target if Tab Target is done right.
I think they are going in the right direction with action tab target.
PvE became a pure Diablo clone aka. pull everything and buttom mash 1 2 3.
<em>"""i actually miss the days where you had to be carefull to not pull more than 2-3 mobs at the same time"""</em>
Mass PvP is basically just a question of who has more AoE CC classes.
If done right it can be a very good system but so far instead of improving true action combat it went more and more into the braindead AoE spam direction in both PvP and PvE.
On top of that server quality is usually so bad it's not even funny because of all the massive AoE fights the servers cant even handle.
Best example is actually Tera.. people where in love with the combat system and then once Nexus got released it became a massive slideshow once 100 people started to spam there AoE's all over the place.
Since then almost every action combat MMO had more and more AoE focus and more and more effects while at the same time Desync and lagg got even worse.
Having a definitive answer would be appreciated.
Age of Wushu, is a good example of a tab target combat mmo. Mind you, they didn't really have super ranged classes.
So long as everyone has mobility and you do not have 1 class that is able to either a) Close gaps insanely/ run away insanely, or b) auto aim you from range until you're dead with no possible chance of escape.
I look forward to what this game will become, and am excited to watch it develop.
~CB
There has to be mobility, dodging etc. to make combat more dynamic and action packed. There are games that made good tab target/action hybrids (No, I am not talking about games with 3 combat types to choose what you prefer, but literally games that managed to merge tab target with action combat), so I am quite sure that IntrepidStudios won't go for an outdated tab targeting variant in a brand new game.
Although there are many way to achieve this complexity. Rather then having a bunch of abilities that don't correlate to each other and your just pressing them randomly. Although for PvP I prefer action combat because it seems static to me that if you cant avoid an attack in pvp on tab targeting games, because to me, pvp is more about improvising to the situation, and trying to whats best at the time, and less mastering your abilities to do the most you can do. Although i still like having the complexity in PVP. So I think there is a middle ground, where you can dodge attacks and whatnot, not having your attacks feel delayed. But still being able to target something, while having complexity. Although I would prefer them not going down the roots of some MMOs and trying to have both, but in practice neither of them work out very well.
Better implement something that worked well in the past and improve on it than going out and trying to promise the stars and deliver nothing close to it.
But that's simply my stance on this one given the fact that I played more tab-target mmos than action combat ones.
As a gamer for most of my life lets say 10 years i had seen a lot of games and played even more and the games that used the tab targeting system always had the same problem that its the one i already said in the biggining and for me its not a deal braker but lets say that the use Free Aiming system he can jump pass that problem and make the game more interactive more skill of the player like , but theres ppl that find this system hard or unbalance in classes like archer and etc... but the game should be less smach the butons and more skill in my opinion , so why dont use both or smach them together.
If its used skills that dont direct hit the target and make a chance to the player evade iven if its hard to evade for me it would be perfeit.
Main Combat thread no need for a new thread</a>