Lemuripest93
commented
2 years ago I think what makes the melee combat in Dying Light so fun is that they use an "active ragdoll" type of system that helps along that feeling of catharsis you get when you land a final punch on a zombie, or when you do a drop-kick on one and send them flying backwards.
GameGuru Max is very far away from implementing a system like that, but i do agree that melee needs some extra work, it's still early days, we're not in version 1 yet.. but we'll most likely see major improvements to the combat behavior both player wise and AI wise a lot further down the line, not just for melee, but combat overall.
Edit: OP fixed YT link.
davetgc
fearlesswee
Right now the "melee attack" character behavior is a basic "beeline towards the target and spam attacks until either they die, or we die". Which, is "functional" but not exactly very engaging (they feel like just a faster version of a zombie). I've played a few games with melee combat versus human enemies, such as Dying Light or Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and they handle melee characters a lot better.
Melee characters should try to hold a set distance (tweakable via a slider perhaps) away from their target to appear more cautious; if you approach them they backpedal to keep their distance and try to avoid getting hit (maybe even play a sidestep/dodge animation?), and if you back away they'll follow you to maintain that set distance. When they decide to attack, they'll rush forward and swipe at the player, which is your moment to strike if you manage to avoid their hit. Once they finish their attack animation, they'll return back into hanging at that set distance until they attack again.
Maybe to take it one step further, if the player has a gun or otherwise damages them from range, they'll decide to just rush the player like they do currently, so they aren't just hanging back and getting mowed down.
Some brief Dying Light combat breakdown/discussion for reference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk_Dm5JKYY0