Jump to content

Request: Pause when Character 'turn' starts


vril

Recommended Posts

In Project Eternity Update #12: Reddit Q&A with Tim Cain, Tim mentioned that there would be an option that would auto-pause when a character had a new ability or action they can do, basically when the characters next 'turn' starts.  Currently we have a lot of pause options but there isn't really one equivalent to this one, which I think would be the most useful one there is.  I am just throwing it out there because I don't want it to be missed as I find it extremely important.

 

For reference at about 5:25 seconds : http://youtu.be/1Uyzap5FcgI?t=5m25s

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Project Eternity Update #12: Reddit Q&A with Tim Cain, Tim mentioned that there would be an option that would auto-pause when a character had a new ability or action they can do, basically when the characters next 'turn' starts.  Currently we have a lot of pause options but there isn't really one equivalent to this one, which I think would be the most useful one there is.  I am just throwing it out there because I don't want it to be missed as I find it extremely important.

 

For reference at about 5:25 seconds : http://youtu.be/1Uyzap5FcgI?t=5m25s

I second this idea whole heartedly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right now, combat is a mess for me. I have zero idea when my characters are ready to do 'new' stuff or sometimes when they used an ability.

A pause for each characters "turn" would certainly help a little with that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO the need to rely on auto-pause a lot is symptomatic of something else wrong with the combat UI. Autopausing after every action is cleared could get extremely stuttery, with six characters performing actions with different times/recoveries. Not sure it'd be workable in practice.

 

I'd rather they drastically improved the feedback as per Sensuki's suggestion #008. Then if it still feels unmanageable, add more auto-pause options.

  • Like 3

I have a project. It's a tabletop RPG. It's free. It's a work in progress. Find it here: www.brikoleur.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO the need to rely on auto-pause a lot is symptomatic of something else wrong with the combat UI. Autopausing after every action is cleared could get extremely stuttery, with six characters performing actions with different times/recoveries. Not sure it'd be workable in practice.

 

I'd rather they drastically improved the feedback as per Sensuki's suggestion #008. Then if it still feels unmanageable, add more auto-pause options.

Or symptomatic of a player who finds quasi-turn based combat much easier to manage than anything in real time/a player who just plain has trouble keeping track of what's going on with six characters without it?

 

For my part, it's especially important because I have ADHD; real-time combat with a single character can be hard to keep up with sometimes.  Start adding more and it's hopeless; I have to have most of the characters auto-attacking while I try to manually manage one or maybe two.  Comprehensive autopause settings give me the ability to play games like this, especially if I want to use any actual tactics or more than one or two abilities on my people.

 

 

eta: Yeah, I'm sure it'd make combat quite slow and choppy.  That's fine; people who don't like it don't have to use it!

Edited by sparklecat
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

IMO the need to rely on auto-pause a lot is symptomatic of something else wrong with the combat UI. Autopausing after every action is cleared could get extremely stuttery, with six characters performing actions with different times/recoveries. Not sure it'd be workable in practice.

 

I'd rather they drastically improved the feedback as per Sensuki's suggestion #008. Then if it still feels unmanageable, add more auto-pause options.

Or symptomatic of a player who finds quasi-turn based combat much easier to manage than anything in real time/a player who just plain has trouble keeping track of what's going on with six characters without it?

 

For my part, it's especially important because I have ADHD; real-time combat with a single character can be hard to keep up with sometimes.  Start adding more and it's hopeless; I have to have most of the characters auto-attacking while I try to manually manage one or maybe two.  Comprehensive autopause settings give me the ability to play games like this, especially if I want to use any actual tactics or more than one or two abilities on my people.

 

 

eta: Yeah, I'm sure it'd make combat quite slow and choppy.  That's fine; people who don't like it don't have to use it!

 

 

An obvious solution would be to make this 'turn end' pause per-character, then? Of course, it'd need an elegant UI solution for that, but surely that should be doable. Personally, I feel that pause is a crucial part of the gameplay, so it deserves more special treatment than things like anisotropic texture filtering or showing tips on load. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

For my part, it's especially important because I have ADHD; real-time combat with a single character can be hard to keep up with sometimes.  Start adding more and it's hopeless; I have to have most of the characters auto-attacking while I try to manually manage one or maybe two.  Comprehensive autopause settings give me the ability to play games like this, especially if I want to use any actual tactics or more than one or two abilities on my people.

 

 

eta: Yeah, I'm sure it'd make combat quite slow and choppy.  That's fine; people who don't like it don't have to use it!

 

 

I would like both included in the game - improved feedback is really needed, but auto pause for turns would also be good. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right now, combat is a mess for me. I have zero idea when my characters are ready to do 'new' stuff or sometimes when they used an ability.

look at the UI elements above their heads, I think if the circle is empty he's ready to go (at least that much I gathered from seeing how combat plays out)

Walsingham said:

I was struggling to understand ths until I noticed you are from Finland. And having been educated solely by mkreku in this respect I am convinced that Finland essentially IS the wh40k universe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Turn-based Pillars of Eternity.

 

I would have preferred this as I preferred combat in Temple of Elemental Evil to Infinity engine games but I think that ship has sailed a long time ago.

 

ToEE combat is the best turn based rpg combat ever

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what I understood, there are no "rounds" per se and everything is based around an animation delay for a given action (swing, cast spell x, etc) and once that animation loop (which I'm guessing is based duration * armor % mod and other factors, which shorten or lengthen the animation itself) a new one begins depending on what was queued up.

 

That means if you have a "one done animation" auto-pause (which is what is implied I think by the OP), you'd have your ultra mega fast rogue pausing your game CONSTANTLY (probably every half seconds at higher level with gear and whatnot) while your defensive warrior in full plate wielding a 2t hammer will auto-pause every 10 seconds.

 

That also makes the game VERY twitchy compared to a standard "turn based" (even falsely turn based as in the BG series, since it was a simulation of real time, but turns still existed, therefore you could pause properly each beginning of turns) because you risk losing VERY precious moments if you're not careful.

 

It also means that if you miss-click with your 10 second delay fighter, you're really, REALLY screwed because there is then nothing you can do about it for 10 seconds THEN must be ready for it RIGHT when that animation's done with (or hope the queue works) because otherwise, it'll loop again.

 

Another major problem is that spells are not cast when you ask them to be cast, but at the end of their proper animations, which are not indicated anywhere. So for every single spell, you'll need to memorize the precise seconds needed (and do the math from the modifiers you might have) and hope there is no interruption (which basically reset your entire animation loop) or it'll land seconds after you actually needed it.

 

So all in all, sure they could make a "on action done" auto pause, but unless they make it "per character" (ie: I don't need to pause on my rogue actions, but the other characters are important), it's totally unpractical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Project Eternity Update #12: Reddit Q&A with Tim Cain, Tim mentioned that there would be an option that would auto-pause when a character had a new ability or action they can do, basically when the characters next 'turn' starts.  Currently we have a lot of pause options but there isn't really one equivalent to this one, which I think would be the most useful one there is.  I am just throwing it out there because I don't want it to be missed as I find it extremely important.

 

For reference at about 5:25 seconds : http://youtu.be/1Uyzap5FcgI?t=5m25s

Hmmm, Arcanum.......

Pillars of Eternity Josh Sawyer's Quest: The Quest for Quests - an isometric fantasy stealth RPG with optional combat and no pesky XP rewards for combat, skill usage or exploration.


PoE is supposed to be a spiritual successor to Baldur's GateJosh Sawyer doesn't like the Baldur's Gate series (more) - PoE is supposed to reward us for our achievements


~~~~~~~~~~~


"Josh Sawyer created an RPG where always avoiding combat and never picking locks makes you a powerful warrior and a master lockpicker." -Helm, very critcal and super awesome RPG fan


"I like XP for things other than just objectives. When there is no rewards for combat or other activities, I think it lessens the reward for being successful at them." -Feargus Urquhart, OE CEO


"Didn’t like the fact that I don’t get XP for combat [...] the lack of rewards for killing creatures [in PoE] makes me want to avoid combat (the core activity of the game)" -George Ziets, Game Dev.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So all in all, sure they could make a "on action done" auto pause, but unless they make it "per character" (ie: I don't need to pause on my rogue actions, but the other characters are important), it's totally unpractical.

 

Maybe it can even be per action? For instance, if you hold ctrl while clicking on the target, it'll auto-pause once the action is finished.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

So all in all, sure they could make a "on action done" auto pause, but unless they make it "per character" (ie: I don't need to pause on my rogue actions, but the other characters are important), it's totally unpractical.

 

Maybe it can even be per action? For instance, if you hold ctrl while clicking on the target, it'll auto-pause once the action is finished.

 

 

Maybe a mix of both, or heck, even a full auto-pause setting PER character instead of globally (ala character scripts we had in BG series) that you can change on the fly. For example, when fighting random mobs, you don't really need the precise auto-pause but when you're fighting dangerous caster mobs, you might want very finely detailed auto-pause and whatnot.

 

Overall, still makes the game twitchier than usual, bit like a DOTA game really (all animation based I think as well).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Turn-based Pillars of Eternity.

 

I would have preferred this as I preferred combat in Temple of Elemental Evil to Infinity engine games but I think that ship has sailed a long time ago.

 

ToEE combat is the best turn based rpg combat ever

 

 

I shared this opinion for the longest time, until I played D:OS.

 

Pillars of Divinity?...

Edited by cilantroll
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...