Hellloooooooo Everyone!
UPDATE: 11-11-2016 ---- Videos further down the chain
First, thank you EPIC for this incredible engine. I believe I might finally be able to take these ideas all the way…
So I’m this one guy that is sorta a jack of all trades type. I don’t excel in programming, modeling, etc. but I’m decent enough I’d say across the board. I have bothered my boss enough that he has let me borrow the DK2 (I dont make video games for a living but we did a sorta vr job for a minute) on weekends to work on my ideas. I have 2 ideas which both hinge on these combat mechanics I’m working on. You see I want to set myself and my games apart from the majority (at least from what I have seen) of melee combat themed games by attempting to really take advantage of what the devices like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift can do with their motion controllers. More on this in a sec…
Gladiator Combat - I’ve always thought it would be cool, amazing, etc. to fight in the Roman Coliseum and it’s lesser variations as they did in history as well as how it was portrayed in the series Spartacus. Years ago when the movie “Troy” came out I was blown away by the 1 v 1 Achilles and Hector had and thought if that kind of pure skill with movement, countering, blocking, striking, etc could ever be captured and used in a game that it would be insane. Theoretically if bunches of people get mocap suits such as that neuron one, I’d guess you could get advanced with moving legs to avoid low attacks and such. The reality though I think has most people purchasing Vives or Rifts. This allows for the upper body combat which is plenty. If I cannot achieve a high level of depth with my combat mechanics, I do not want to attempt this game as I would probably just be another clone which I dont want to be. If I can nail the combat, I’ll go forward with assets, story, and all the trimmings.
Dungeon Crawler - Keeping with the advanced melee combat, could you imagine trying to sword and board your way through a dungeon in VR? Not quite as toned down as some of those awesome examples that are currently out on Steam and what not (not saying they arent incredible whatsoever) but think of trying to TANK (ala insert MMORPG here) and hold the threat of the baddies through motions of attacks, you ACTUALLY swinging your sword and blocking with your shield while your archer and healer/mage archtypes help you from behind. Move on further to fight that boss which is soooo much bigger and badder and crazier in VR. Wipe the sweat off of your brow after you take your headset off because it was a battle literally hard fought this time and not some lame (in comparison) key pressing rotation.
Ok I’ve blabbed long enough. Here is my first video showing a little bit of what I am aiming for…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-F3U6j5f-o
As you can see…the enemy will counter your attacks (once I get the kinks worked out) for 10 angles that you can swing from. I have plans for thrusting towards head and chest/stomach but have not moved forward with it yet. He was triggered to attack purely on the A.I. logic working out the direction of your attack and choosing the correct counter. Right now I have 1 for each angle of attack but plan to include other variations and things like ducking and randomize it and use percentages to choose which is the best block/counter depending upon enemy intelligence level and also the morale of the enemy. High morale = more aggression, low morale = less aggression or maybe retreating. More on this later.
While not in this video (but will be in the next)…I do have it broadcasting the position of the player’s shield and the A.I. will choose from a pool of attacks that have a success rate towards your unguarded areas. Morale will play a part here also as far as the enemy just doing 1 shots or attempting combos, etc. Once I’m happy with the mechanics behind enemy attacking, and blocking/countering, I plan to of course combine the two for a solid combat mechanic with what I’d like to think is advanced A.I. melee combat. Personally I am the type who likes to go for the hardest mode of play first…and then tweaking or taking away things to make it easier for the player. Now I know not everyone is up for a workout at the same time they are trying to play/enjoy a game but I think VR is PERFECT for this type of stuff.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1EiONWv2qUQ
Here is the second video showing a bit more of what it could be like pending this working out. If I keep my shield to my left side or low, he will attack from a pool of attacks (3 currently for success as the others need cleanup) Once I move my shield to the center or right he will no longer attack. Blending of the anims is bad I know and I will work that out as I have a new guard idle I will implement that matches up better. Collision is also off for now as I work mechanics out and I plan to include physical animation to make things more real. Hope you guys can begin to see where I’m going. Until next update…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-wSAzynqVA
Video 3 where I have gotten blocks via shield or sword going…sounds are there but vlc messed the sync up. Once I nail the combat I will move onto art. Next video will be 1 v 2 combat which is more difficult then I thought it would be. It works but **** is it hard to block all those attacks…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MRb24r_0FFE
Video 4 I thought this was a sweet update…took me all weekend to kinda sorta comprehend the IK system…enough that its worth this update :)!
I will update with progress as I go, but I am just one person (40 hr a week job booo, and a wife w/ 3 young kids yay) and if I missed anything I will do the best I can the answer if (and hopefully) people are interested.
NOTES:
My developer environment is a PC that barely meets the requirements of VR with a 970 as my gfx card. The DK2 I’m using is on it’s way out as I’ve already had to route a second HDMI cable in order to use it. I’m simulating a Vive by way of software called PSMoveService. Basically I use 2 PS Move controllers and 2 or 3 PS Eyes and it…sorta works. I say this because for one you get a max of 1 meter square area I think (I’m no expert…google it to find out more) and for me it only does decent in the dark at night. I’ve tried multiple calibration/alignments and just no luck for me. This setup is also why you see the hands jerking around a bit and jumping some. It makes tracking outside of the “sweet spot” difficult which is why the enemy doesnt react to some of my attack angles. I plan on submitting for dev grant just for a Vive if I’m lucky. No doubt the money should go to others but this is sorta tough to achieve without the proper hardware. Anyhow I really hope everyone is excited for this!
I’m gonna do my best to get something made and out there and at some point I will need some testers because I dont have a vive myself and this is where I will be looking 
