An idea for more immersive combat

[BFG99]

This idea is based upon a post I saw in another forum.

 

Are there any mods out there that give combat penalties based on how "experienced" the player or NPC is with combat?

For example, less experienced fighters really ought to go into shock if they're hurt badly - get distracted, stunned or disoriented momentarily, occasionally drop their weapon or shield involuntarily from pain, etc. More seasoned fighters would not suffer the same effects nearly as often, since they are more used to the horrors of combat. I'm thinking that a mod could be built (if it hasn't been already) that increases the likelihood of the player or NPC to have these effects applied, based on some combination of their level, combat skills, Luck, number of NPCs/enemies already slain, etc.

 

Similarly, perhaps reputation could play a role. For example, shouldn't bandits be at least A LITTLE more afraid of my character, since she's closed 60 Oblivion Gates and is very famous, than if she had just popped out of the sewer and was an unknown? I'd love to see combat abilities, or the tendency to fight or flee, vary based on reputation.

[Ferryt]

I think that a lot of things should be taken into consideration that the Vanilla game totally ignores. Yes, wounds need to have real effect in-game, not only for NPCs and creatures, but also for PCs. Hit location would be nice, but I doubt the game engine can even handle that. A blow to the head should certainly have a chance of knocking a character out, where that same blow to the chest might just knock the character back. How about I just aim at an opponent's legs and try to drop him to the ground without killing him? We can't do that in the game. There are mods that attempt to simulate sickness and fatigue with graphic effects like dimming the display or creating tunnel vision, making combat harder under such circumstances and those help to create immersion. I just wish there was a way to simulate the effects of wounds in a realistic manner.

 

A character's "presentation" should affect reactions of NPCs, but I know of very few instances (all scripted, I imagine, rather than depending upon hard-coded routines in the game engine) that do this. Why would a highwayman even bother trying to rob me if I'm dressed in tattered clothes like a beggar? Why would he approach me in his fur armor if I'm strolling down the road carrying an enormous steel battle axe and decked out in my finest (cheat-modded, perhaps) Ebony armor? On the other hand, if I have on my upper-class finery, shouldn't he be asking for more money than he does? It's little things like this that break immersion for me because it makes NPCs look downright stupid. Sure, fame should affect things, too. As the Champion of Cyrodiil I should be able to avoid fights, just because I've already proven I can kick any bandit's butt, and that goes doubly once word gets around that I'm the Arena Grand Champion. Criminals are evil -- they aren't necessarily dumb. On the other hand, where are the people seeking me out to challenge me to a fight just because I'm famous? That happens in real life too, you know.

 

As a mage, my staff runs out of charges. Now, why can't I just hit the guy with my staff? Staves are excellent weapons. I know how to use them like that IRL, and I can even use a staff to disarm someone who is wielding a sword. Bethesda, in a fit of idiocy chose to leave options like this, mounted combat, kicking, crossbows, and many other things out of this game ... even poking fun at us (through M'aiq) about our complaints regarding some of these omissions. How about dual wielding, using a short blade in the offhand defensively -- something like a shield? That's real life stuff, there. It makes sense. It's not in the game. Why, at least at low levels, can't I just fight to disable/disarm my opponent? Is it because the game developers have no real life knowledge of how combat actually works, and don't know that disabling/disarming techniques are actually taught quite early in most combat training? Why can't I just pick something up and throw it? I'm deadly accurate with a thrown rock at fifteen yards IRL, and there are lots of havoc-enabled objects in Oblivion that could, rationally, be used as weapons. Shouldn't fatigue issues cause a combatant to have a higher chance of stumbling, or even falling down, especially during any "power maneuver"? It's like that in real life, so let's have it in the game.

 

I could go on, I suppose, but that's probably enough peeves to show you that I'm on the same side of the isle that you are.