LE Battle Staff fighting: Martial arts project

[LucidGhost]

Hi

 

I've been a big fan of this site for a long time. I've always wanted to get into what you guys do because I think its pretty amazing. The way you can alter how a game is played or change it completely seems like such an awesome way to express your creativity. I'm just a novice with computers but just grasping a few things about what you guys do has helped to expand my knowledge of how computers work dramatically. I first just wanted to say to anyone who has submitted a mod, thank you so much.

 

I was hoping to maybe inspire a project to overhaul the combat system in Skyrim. I'm a martial artist and I have always wanted a game that could basically do for martial artists what guitar hero did for guitarists. I specialize in staff fighting and I was a bit disappointed to see that they treat the battle staff like an axe in Skyrim. The swings with all the weapons just seem so clunky and slow. I had hoped that there would be ways of implementing more legit martial arts and possibly stagger effects that focus on what direction the character got hit from into the game.

 

Battle Staff

I think this project should start out small and just be for the battle staff for now. That is if it's possible to narrow it down and make it it's own weapon class kind of like the difference between one handed and two handed weapons. I know that each attack is represented by an animation with a start and stop point but would there be a way to chain together attacks into combos until something solid is hit? My fighting style focuses on gathering momentum to put into the next strike with a figure 8 as my root move to build it from. The figure 8 can branch off to many other moves and can have many variations that are determined by stance.

 

Stance

50% of any martial art is stance and I always thought it would be cool if there were a way to go from a front stance to a back stance, to a long stance, etc. in a way that would be smooth and precise for whatever kind of maneuver the player needed at the time (Maybe a selection wheel of some kind). Different stances would provide different opportunities to try out the varieties of moves assigned to the particular stance making the combat more versatile. I would suggest that stances should be made into walking animations limited to a certain speed (just shy of a run) while in combat mode. This would give the player some level of control of whether the right foot or left foot is back which should have a factor on the moves.

 

Art of the swing

I was always taught to make big circles with the staff. I can surround myself with constant motion (samurai could block arrows with a staff) and if timed correctly, I can perry an attack to follow up with an attack of my own during a stance change. When spinning a staff (or any other weapon) there is a balancing point. It is a center of gravity in the spin. This is the part that can be manipulated to control the spin to be sent into any direction with all of the momentum on the other side of where your holding it. Momentum feeds this point in the staff and it can easily turn every strike into a power strike if the momentum can be kept. I can submit a video to demonstrate what I'm talking about if none of that made sense.

 

There should also be a way to switch between left hand, right hand and double grip during the spin but something tells me that would make it too complicated.

 

Weapon clash

When sparring, your staff is like your constant shield because there is very little differentiation between a block and a strike. The same kind of force is put into either. That's why I think that attacks should be able to have the same effect as blocks do for both characters whenever two attacks meet. Or if timed right, one character can disarm the other who attacked too soon or too late.

 

Combat reactions

It would also be nice if it didn't seem like everyone was so immovable and nonreactive to force. I always hated how there was no reaction whenever someone got hit besides maybe a little stumble back on their left foot. Nothing to indicate what direction they where hit from to make them stumble in that direction or any hint they could be knocked off balance. Just a simple animation. I know that the physics in Skyrim cant do the same stuff as the physics in Grand Theft Auto but it would be cool if there was some way to make the characters reactive to where on their body they were hit and according to how much force was put into the hit. Maybe something that could be based on locational damage.

 

Anyway, this is my idea. I would love to make it myself but I'm still just not that knowledgeable with computers even though I do own lightwave. I wouldn't have a clue where to start though. I would be more than happy to provide videos of staff techniques and stances if anyone thinks it would be helpful.

[Govilku]

Wassup! Im a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu dude I totally get what you mean with the disappointing Combat. I'm currently working on my own Race Mod but I totally think I can try some of your ideas.

[LucidGhost]

Bad ass man. I cant wait to see what you come out with.

 

I'm not sure exactly if this can be made to look seamless but I think that, for most variations of moves, you can have a stance change animation on the weapon. I can see how this can work if each attack animation has the same position for their start and stop point. For that I think you have to reference the stance as the beginning point of a combo attack and a point on a figure 8 to continue the animation. Then you can have attacks that branch off and start from a figure 8 and end with the same point of the figure 8. If that made any sense, lol, I'm only pretending like I know anything about how the combat system works. I think that would be the best way to make it appear that the momentum never stops between attacks to look like a combo though. It would make button mashing and moving in different directions more beneficial for when you want to attack.

 

I also think it is very important to limit the speed of movement when in combat mode because basically I'm suggesting you turn combat mode into stance mode. If people want to run they can just put their weapon away. A dodge mod would also go good with this idea.

Edited May 14, 2016 by LucidGhost

[LucidGhost]

Here is a little demo I made really quick I'm showing 3 stances and some basic staff rotations from those stances, straight spin, figure 8, reverse figure 8, left and right single hand reverse figure 8 and the last one is my version of a triquetra. After that I'm demonstrating staff manipulation. If you watch how I carry the momentum, I'm actually manipulating the center of gravity to move the staff and maintain a constant spin until I want it to stop.

 

There are still more stances and variations of the figure 8 but this is just so you can get an idea. I'll gladly submit more videos if you would like.

 

 

I can also show you an endless combo if you think you might get some ideas from that.

Edited May 15, 2016 by LucidGhost

[Shiroryoo]

Its the same for lances in skyrim as well and for most other weapons that get stuck under greatsword or sword animations which swinging a lance downwards like greatswords isnt very immersive be nice if there could be just some added animations for the weapons putting them in there own category