Suggestion: Battle Screen

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I think a new battle screen might enhance the gameplay.

When a battle is initiated, the screen should change into one similar to many 
8-bit and 16-bit RPGs I have played in the past. Instead of being in the same 
overhead view that you navigate the map in, it should change into a 
behind-the-hero view. You see the back of your character, and ion front of him 
is a more detailed image of the monster you are attacking. When you are hit, 
your character flashes red once. When you do damage it can be done in the same 
manner on the monster, or depending on weapon type it can either show a red 
line slashing across the monster or down and an angle from top right to bottom 
left, etc.  Along the left side of the screen can be the same battle log text 
that we see across the top of the screen now.

I am not a coder, so I don't know how difficult something like this would be, 
but I think it would really enhance the gameplay and engage a wider audience.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by joeybea...@gmail.com on 18 Jan 2011 at 9:15

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I like the idea of blicking [color] upon hit, but this is more a like turn 
based game with graphics. Blicking is more suited for a realtime game.

Do you have any pictures of the battle screen(s) you suggested ?
It would really help with something visual.

Original comment by kims...@gmail.com on 18 Jan 2011 at 9:36

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Here's a pic of one from Phantasy Star 2:

http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/852/852956/phantasy-star-ii-virtual-co
nsole-20080218014621432-000.jpg

The battle screen shows character stats on the bottom, with the back of the 
character above it. The monster(s) front and center with their stats above.  A 
left-side pane could have the scrolling battle log as well.

Original comment by joeybea...@gmail.com on 18 Jan 2011 at 9:41

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That actually would look a lot better. It looks simple enough to do but really 
adds a lot.

Original comment by Captain8...@gmail.com on 18 Jan 2011 at 9:49

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The current flee system does not mesh well with this battle system however 
since you would have to switch views to attempt to flee in a direction then 
switch back if you failed to flee. This system does however work great with 
random encounters. If at some point this transitions to random encounters then 
I believe this would be an excellent suggestion.

Original comment by divilsp...@gmail.com on 18 Jan 2011 at 9:58

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If you do institute this suggestion PLEASE make it switchable with the original 
battle interface. For players like me a battle screen would completly detract 
from the game to the point that I would probably stop playing altogether. 
Battle screens are the bain of my game playing existance!

Original comment by Atru...@gmail.com on 19 Jan 2011 at 12:05

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So a battle would trigger a screen like the one shown above but it would still 
be a static battle, take that screen shot above for example.

The way a battle looks in this form isn't much different than what we see 
already. Everything is a static picture, and the world is tile based, so 
everything jumps from space to space.

 For example say we take the first guy on the left, RUDO, and we wanted him to attack the WOLFANG. Well what it would look like is our pal RUDO would move straight up 10-15 pixels, WOLFANG flashes if the attack is a hit or doesn't if it is a miss.  The exact same thing happens if one of the monsters were to attack you, their picture flashes forward 10-15 pixels, your picture flashes if you get hit or doesn't if you don't. (The floating red numbers showing damage optional). As far as the battle log goes it could fit in a few lines either on the top or bottom of the screen.

I could go on but I think everyone gets the idea.

 That is a very basic battle screen yes, but there is a very important ratio that developers have to decide and that is:

Is project X worth Y amount of effort at this time?

In this case, is setting up this type of battle screen worth the amount of work 
it would take when there are many other things that could be worked on? Such as 
stats, races/classes, skills, content, etc.

While I think this is an excellent suggestion and should be worked on in some 
fashion or another I think that it would be better if it were left until some 
of the more basic elements and functions are worked out because by the time 
those are done there could be major changes that make a different solution the 
better one.

Original comment by sdeva...@gmail.com on 19 Jan 2011 at 12:38

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Original comment by sdeva...@gmail.com on 10 Feb 2011 at 3:15

• Added labels: Priority-Low, Type-Enhancement
• Removed labels: Priority-Medium, Type-Defect