Hey Everyone!
I have returned with another Dev Diary. Vance is a close quarters brawler. In the last DD we looked at how Vance can reduce incoming damage via a block/guard ability. This time we will take a look at Vance's offensive methods.
The Design
Above is a basic breakdown of the attack structure and options. For the sake of simplicity I will make reference to a typical PlayStation controller layout.
BASIC ATTACKS
Using the Square Button Vance will execute a basic attack. If hit repeatedly this will lead into his standard basic combo. The damage of these attacks are driven by your offensive core stats, (in Vance's case STR>DEX) these stats increase throughout the game. As you defeat enemies exp is awarded and stats are increased.
HEAVY ATTACKS
Using the Triangle Button Vance will execute a heavy attack. These attacks are far more powerful. But end the basic combo, essentially acting as finishers. The damage of these attacks are driven by the same stats, but are multiplied by at an increasing value throughout the game. Additionally these attacks have guard-break properties and will be useful in effective take downs of armored or protected enemies.
SPECIAL ATTACKS
As the name implies these attacks are unique to each character. Vance's core skill, is his Charge Punch. When the Right Trigger is held Vance will enter his charge stance (animations are proxy atm). During this stance he will cycle between lv1>lv2>lv3>release. The Right Trigger can be released at anytime during the stance to select the desired outcome. However, if the player waits too long after the lv3 prompt they will overcharge and the damage will be that of a basic attack.
The Technical
The events for hit impacts are driven by collision overlaps.
When the collisions overlap with an enemy body, it triggers our Damage Event and spawns our v/sfx. It should be noted that these collisions are only enabled during the attack animations. If those checks weren't in place Vance could end up causing Damage Events while running, jumping, or even talking/interacting with non hostile actors.
Below is a video of all of these things tied together. For fun, and to make debugging easier I created a small attack post. So that we can get live feedback of Vances attacks and damage attributes.
Please remember some of the animations you will see are proxy and will are planned on being replaced.
