ID:1951807
 

Poll: Should casting prevent movement entirely?

Yes 18% (2)
No 81% (9)

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While working on my project, I noticed how active the game play was becoming as far as mobility is concerned. Then, I took a look at how my ability casting works. Anything with a charge time currently prevents any and all movement, which means the player can't interact (defend/avoid) any projectiles that may come their way. Along with that, for moving, they're penalized by canceling the ability.

This means that while someone is casting (and therefore defenseless), someone else can use move displacement to force cancel the ability.

What are your thoughts on the topic?
You should have more choices in your poll! :)

It really is all about concept and design. There are plenty of examples of games that do either or. Some based on lore, some based on mechanics, etc. Honestly, in my perspective it depends on the skill (magic) itself. If it is one where you must concentrate, I would make it prevent movement but if it is something such as a small ki blast in DBZ, movement would still be allowed.

It all depends on the concept behind the magic itself, I'd say. Third option: Either or (Dependant upon spell/cast).

You can also take an example from games that simply interrupt a cast when the caster moves (for example, to avoid a projectile).
Basic skills shouldn't halt your movement but if they're advanced they should.
I think it should depend on the skill. Right now you have some options:
* Lock movement (no canceling, you're basically trapped)
* Cancel on caster input (not when moved by someone else)
* Cancel on movement (including when someone else moves the caster)
* Slow movement (no canceling)
* Movement affects output (i.e. running towards someone while using a melee skill increases damage compared to standing still).
* Movement allowed (no effect on output)
In response to AERProductions
AERProductions wrote:
You should have more choices in your poll! :)

I just couldn't think of much to have. Sorry!

AERProductions wrote:
You can also take an example from games that simply interrupt a cast when the caster moves (for example, to avoid a projectile).

Presently, all movement is inhibited entirely. I can definitely look into allowing the caster to move and prevent the cast, though.
In response to Kaiochao
Edit Nero wrote:
Basic skills shouldn't halt your movement but if they're advanced they should.

They don't! I was referring to skills that required charging.


Kaiochao wrote:
I think it should depend on the skill. Right now you have some options:
* Lock movement (no canceling, you're basically trapped)
* Cancel on caster input (not when moved by someone else)
* Cancel on movement (including when someone else moves the caster)
* Slow movement (no canceling)
* Movement affects output (i.e. running towards someone while using a melee skill increases damage compared to standing still).
* Movement allowed (no effect on output)

Those are a lot of choices that hadn't even occurred to me!
In response to Kaiochao
In the .gif posted above, you can see a brief example of how the charge system is presented. Should, at the very least, movement be allowed during the charge?
In response to Bl4ck Adam
Maybe only with certain mechanics?
Perhaps if the wielders ki level is twice as much as the move costs, they can slightly move toward target during the very initial section of the charge and movement restricted upon firing. Implying that you must be stronger than the move to move, hehe.
In response to Bl4ck Adam
You should move very slowly if any.
Some skills should and some skills shouldn't. Generally missile spells shouldn't and summoning/teleporting skills should.
Depends on targeting too, will moving help to make you hit a moving target? I've seen a lot of scenarios where you're left standing like a dummy charging when the other guy's ran off. But also the reverse where you've been able to chase after them, but because you could only fire in a straight line it still made it next to impossible unless they ran into it or you hit them point blank.
You have to look at the damage and the ease of landing a hit. You also have to take into account all other abilities the players might have access to. If you have a charged attack that's very hard to hit, players are naturally going to be looking for any kind of CC to help it land. Look at the list of available movement inpairing CC options and determine from there whether or not to allow movement in charged attacks. Remember that you can always compromise by allowing movement, but at a slower pace while charging.
It's okay for casting an ability to prohibit movement. You just need to make sure the risk of sitting in one spot casting the ability while you take a beating to the face is worth the reward, otherwise there'll be no reason for the ability to exist. Also, you have to take into account what the ability or class is meant to do.

For example, thieves in most RPGs in PvP situations are meant to run around finishing off low health targets or 1v1ing squishies who aren't with any teammates. This class should pretty much never have some long, drawn out spell that requires them to sit in one spot - assassins need to be mobile all the time.

Mages, on the other hand, usually sacrifice mobility for crowd control and burst damage from a range. They're not meant to jump and skip around the battlefield, but rather find a place where they can safely pew pew or heal from a range. This means mages are forced to do two things to get the most out of their class:

- Always land CC before using the ability with a long casting time as Furry pointed out
- Always fighting alongside teammates in 2v2, 3v3 etc. skirmishes where they can rely on another player to keep their target occupied while they cast their ability

So let's say the Mage and the Thief run into each other in a 1v1 situation, and the Mage immediately starts casting, let's say Meteor for example ( usually any meteor or other ability that involves a massive ball of damage crashing down onto the target has a long cast time ) and then the Thief bursts down the Mage with ease. Now, the Mage can whine and say "WTF, how come he gets to run circles around me doing tons of damage without having to channel anything while I do?"

Well, the point is, the Thief in this situation is playing to the strengths of his class while the Mage is 1v1ing - something he should never do since Mages are usually AoE oriented classes and should be always dealing with multiple targets instead of a single enemy. So this wouldn't be a balance issue or design flaw, but rather a player not understanding their role.

Now, I'm not exactly sure what type of game you're making, but just consider:

- What is the ability intended to do ( AoE, single target ? )
- Who is going to be using the ability ( is the class/character meant to be mobile? )
- How much reward is there for using the ability ( if the ability is a large ass meteor dealing AoE damage and applying a DoT, it's a high-reward ability, and should come at a high risk i.e. standing in one spot for a few seconds )