LE Melee combat system improvements (dodge, deflect, counter, etc)

[ToiletbowlMartini]

I have never been a fan of the Elder Scrolls combat system which is why I could never get into Oblivion. I prefer Fallout, although I feel those games could use some improvements, too (I think Borderlands did a better job as far as the combat system goes.) One of the reasons I don't care for how the combat feels is if you're up against more than one enemy you're pretty much screwed. I think the Batman Arkham games got their combat system perfect, but I'm not sure how the "freeflow combat" would fit in with Skyrim, though. I would love the ability to deflect, dodge, and counter attacks, especially because I like to dual wield weapons and these abilities would actually make the melee aspect of the game more fun, at least for me. Also, I would love unarmed combat to be more useful, I'm thinking of stuff like some kind of martial arts, or disarming the enemy, etc. I'm not expecting much before the creation kit is released, but would something like this be possible even with it? I also don't know how well something like this would work with a game that let's you play in 1st or 3rd person like Elder Scrolls. Is there anybody else out there that has a problem with the combat system?

[sajuukkhar9000]

well shields and such do block weapons, and with a perk they can deflect arrows.

[NorthWolf]

This is the kind of thing I rant about to RL friends who play Skyrim. Honestly, couldn't Bethesda have been bothered to make a real melee combat system since Morrowind? Pretty sure the engine still treats swords as guns that shoot really, really short distances, pretty much... which I wouldn't really mind, if they weren't treated in game as pretty much the exact same thing. Anyway, Fallout is more fun because there's more gunplay, which can take strategy and, if nothing else, aim, and at least the violence is over the top and wacky so it's more amusing to bludgeon someone to death with a sledgehammer.

 

That being said, I do agree that a system of counters would be infinitely beneficial to the game. The block mechanic already essentially has a deflect, where a last minute block staggers your opponent reliably, but this isn't really enough to make the combat interesting. I'd love to see something take some cues from Assassin's Creed/Arkham Asylum and implement a working combat system that doesn't just involve mashing the LMB.

 

However, to my knowledge, this would be tricky because Bethesda would have to allow you to significantly alter the gameplay on a low level with the Creation Kit, or someone would have to do a very spiffy hack in SKSE or Script Dragon to make this possible. Even then I don't even know how many slots Bethesda are going to allow for additional animations, to my knowledge they've been limited in previous games (not an animator, could be tooootally wrong). Not to mention you would need a good scripter and a good animator.

 

If it's possible, though, I'm more than happy to lend a hand in the whole affair as a scripter.

Edited January 17, 2012 by NorthWolf

[ToiletbowlMartini]

Thanks sajuukkhar, but I'm talking about melee combat, not arrows. If I had any kind of experience with anything I would gladly contribute something.