The "Umph" of Combat

[ArmedZealot]

Watch the trailer

Notice anything missing? Notice how something just feels off? Something that should just happen in a shooter game that is so integral these days that you might not even notice that is gone. Something missing that leaves you with this weird taste like milk you don't know is spoiled or not yet?

Here watch these. (not all the way, just for 30 seconds or so, skip around a bit, wadsworth constant, music etc.)






Still don't see it?

Despite all the gunfire and shooting happening in the first trailer, no one is getting shot. No one is shooting anyone, not even getting shot themselves. They are just shooting. Even in the scene with the Magrider zoomed in the shot goes above. Makes sense that they avoid showing it when you look at Planetside.


Let's face it, Planetside combat felt stale really. And it's not really hard to say why. Everything about it is as ancient as Doom. Killing someone just plays a death animation. This obnoxious cone of fire thing appears on the screen when you get a hit and is the only thing letting you know that you connected. Compare it to the original halo which released 2 years before it.

Halo, when you get a hit the enemy is knocked back, the shields flicker in the direction of ricochet, and liberal amounts of blood let you know that you are doing damage.You knew you got a hit even without the u.i telling you. Combat in Halo was satisfying and felt solid. You felt good when you hit the enemy.

Counter strike and Tribes have other elements that were satisfying as well. Things that let you know that you are an advanced player when you do them often, such as headshots and blueplates. Things that make you go



I'm interested in how Planetside 2 will make itself into a modern shooter by making it feel solid. If I melee someone will it stagger them? Will they be knocked in the direction of the blow? if I shoot them with a shotgun will they be staggered by it? What visual cues excluding the user interface will tell me the tactical information of an opponent?

I realize the game is in it's infancy, but the feedback of doing damage and taking it is the most integral part of a shooter there is. I'd really like to emphasize that if you have good mechanics for both, you will have an enjoyable game even including balance issues and such, because these mechanics determine how FUN a shooter is. It's infancy is where these need to nurtured and polished.