Best Lightsaber Combat in a Video Game - Game Brain Feature

[AnonMC]

 

 

[the_raven]

I didn't play enough Jedi themed games to be able to tell, sadly.

JO\JA had good fighting, but let's be honest, even it was somewhat limited, and some aspects were badly executed - enemy is on ground, you cut instead of stabbing them?

[General Howard]

 

 

 

Why are you posting this? There was already a thread, made on the forum about this. Please use the 'search' feature before creating duplicate threads.

[AnonMC]

Why are you posting this? There was already a thread, made on the forum about this. Please use the 'search' feature before creating duplicate threads.

I did search. Nothing showed up. If it was posted, it was really badly tagged/labeled.

[Noodle]

I did search. Nothing showed up. If it was posted, it was really badly tagged/labeled.

 

Search functions always work like dogshit, I'm glad you shared this since I hadn't seen those videos. I'm wondering if there was a way Star Wars Kinect saber system could have ever worked well, it just seems that motion controls for melee combat are a bad idea, no matter how cool it might seem in one's head.

[the_raven]

Search functions always work like dogshit, I'm glad you shared this since I hadn't seen those videos. I'm wondering if there was a way Star Wars Kinect saber system could have ever worked well, it just seems that motion controls for melee combat are a bad idea, no matter how cool it might seem in one's head.

Well, maybe it will work, sometime in the future, when we invent something similar to Star Trek holodecks

[Grumpy]

Great to see a thread like this. I had seen those videos previously and I believe the author pretty much hits the nail on its head. I've mentioned it in my introduction thread: I'm continuously looking for that Holy Grail myself and I love to share ideas with others having a similar objective.

 

We cannot truly define the best lightsaber combat as it's predominantly subjective. You would have to interview each player/gamer to extract their ideas and conceptions of good before you can narrow it down to the best. That's a significant obstacle, unfortunately. Evidenced by the comments on those videos, you can observe how some people enjoy base JKA's fast-paced and movement oriented combat, while others like LEGO's or Jedi Power Battles, etc.

 

Before embarking on such an impressive quest, you'd first have to understand the gamer's mindset: what do they enjoy the most?

 

Lightsaber settings loyal to the universe of Star Wars?

Then you would go with an unforgiving skill-based combat, where a single hit can be the decisive blow to the enemy. A game such as Bushido Blade adopts those mechanics, for example.

 

Personal opinion:

As true as it would be for the SW universe, it would mean that the average duration of a fight would be very fast unless stalling occurs (two opponents staring each other down, waiting for the moment), which can detract enjoyment from the game. Frustration can mount up for new players due to the steep learning curve as veterans might know the handraising movements and act more quicklyagainst them.

 

Settings to allow longer stand-offs between players?

Then the unique characteristics of the lightsaber will have to be tuned down. Instead of one hit kills, you'd have to opt for more forgiving mechanics, where a lateral slash through the abdomen of the opponent does not end the fight, but deducts a set amount of healthpoints from them. This is for example base JKA without any configurations changed.

 

Personal opinion:

It gets dull fast for me as it does not truly adopt the lightsaber characteristics. Base JKA is too fast and too movement based, which breaks my immersion a little bit.

 

Settings with mouse based directional combat in mind?

Think about Mount & Blade or For Honor, but with more freedom. I would love such mechanics, but unfortunately, current technology is not fully accessible to the common customer or simply does not exist yet to permit a fully immersive and free lightsaber combat. You will have to be happy with a limited amount of moves or restricted animations for this to work.

 

Personal opinion:

The restrictions become too heavy to allow for fun. The mechanics will also favour 1 v 1 combat which in turn will be detrimental for Power Duel situations. It narrows the skill of the player down.

 

Another problem is the movement-camera-directional combat issue: if you use the mouse for directional combat, you impose 2 restriction onto the player.

First - Mouse movement. You cannot perform depth moves as your mouse only accept two dimensional inputs. The mechanics will have to accommodate that.

Second - Camera movement. If the decision is made to attack/defend with the mouse, then your camera will have to be locked down as long as you're attacking/defending. If you map the directional combat unto keys to free the mouse (such as base JKA),then you restrict movment. A remedy to these would be Virtual Reality: keys for movement, mouse for directional combat and VR goggles for camera/view, though that would cost a fortune many people cannot afford to spend.

 

Virtual Reality Combat

Such as the Kinect games and more... Your moves will be rendered more realistically and you'll feel more immersion.

 

Personal opinion:

With the current mechanics, gameplay would be too clunky. You would need to render the player completely to reflect proper hitboxes, accept all sorts of movement inputs, etc. for it to be fun. Then again with proper implementation, the player will have to be in shape, need keen reflexes and stamina, turning the game physically too demanding to enjoy it. Additionally, you would need a great amount of space for free movement, not to mention the budget this would cost.

However, this might arguably become a fun Saturday evening work out session!

 

There are many more specifications, but eventually, everything boils down to a compromise. You will have to accept restrictions to tweak the gameplay for more enjoyment. I would also throw resource/skill management into the mix to ensure players have to pay attention to more things than only lightsaber moves and manage them properly (force points, blocking points, stamina points, ultimate move points, health points, etc.). This will allow them to make comebacks or tank multiple opponents simultaneously, keeping them constantly on edge and ultimately leading to a more fun combat experience. Add some unique abilities to lightsaber forms -think of "Gear Sets" in The Division- for variable or enhanced gameplay and you're ready to go.

[Teancum]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, but for attacking hordes of enemies I've always loved the original Battlefront II. I love that force speed is about taking longer strides instead of multiplying the number of steps per second. I love that the moves were built to slice down enemies and keep moving.

 

For one on one combat I always loved the Revenge of the Sith game. As much as I adore JO and JA, it always felt more comfortable to me to not have the camera behind the jedi in force duels. I always loved the versus combat, whether against the computer or another player. What JO/JA has going for it is a nuanced setup -- it matters when and how you strike. What it lacks, and what Revenge of the Sith has, is fluidity in animation. I may not be quite as much in control, but my character truly looks like a jedi instead of someone flailing a sword around. I still wish there were a quality fighting-only game that starred all Star Wars characters. Like Soul Calibur-level quality, but only Star Wars characters. And no, Masters of Teras Kasi doesn't count.