Kailyn
02-24-2006, 02:45 PM
Already linked the article, but finally hit the more interesting bits and I think it shoudl be here:
For instance, let's suppose you have a chain of complementary attacks that runs like so: Starting Attack, Attack Two, Attack Three, and Finishing Move. During a battle, you'll use Starting Attack by clicking on it in your taskbar. Assuming it succeeds, Attack Two will pop up in the chain window with a little timer bar to designate how long you have to take advantage of the opportunity. You simply click the chain window or its hotkey before the timer expires to continue on to Attack Two. If it succeeds, Attack Three will pop up in the chain window. And if it succeeds, Finishing Move comes up. All without having to use four slots on your task bar.
This is handy enough, but the real point is that there are three other windows presenting you with similar opportunities. One of these is the counter window, which displays a counter whenever an enemy is using an ability you can interrupt. So if you're a warrior in the middle of your chain of attacks, you might be presented with the choice of continuing or instead countering an incoming fireball spell with a Kick (the basic melee counter). Countering enemies involves being perceptive enough to know what they're doing. Whenever an enemy starts an ability, your character makes an automatic check against his perception skill. If you succeed, you'll be presented with the option to counter.
The other two icon windows along the bottom are used for rescues and sympathies. Rescues are opportunities to heal other characters or maybe intercept attacks. In addition to having an offensive target, you can also designate a defensive target, which specifies who will benefit from your rescues. So in the case of our hypothetical warrior working on his chain and faced with the dilemma of countering an incoming fireball, you can throw in that he might sometimes have to protect the party's sorcerer from any melee attacks.
Finally, there are sympathies, which are class specific interactions similar to Everquest II's "heroic opportunities." For example, a sorcerer casts Lens of Power. When it's finished, if the psionicist in the party has Mind Blast, a spell boosted by Lens of Power, its icon will pop up in the psionicist's sympathy window. Does he cast it? Or does he try to finish some chain he's working on? Or does he buff his defensive target? These windows are Vanguard's way of telling you what your options are and making them available without you having to cram a set of task bars to capacity.
McQuaid compares the combat to Magic the Gathering. "In Magic, it's not just about the cards you have. You have to deal with what your opponent is doing. So our mandate is that you need to pay attention to what's happening in front of you. And the idea is that many different decisions then pop up."
For instance, let's suppose you have a chain of complementary attacks that runs like so: Starting Attack, Attack Two, Attack Three, and Finishing Move. During a battle, you'll use Starting Attack by clicking on it in your taskbar. Assuming it succeeds, Attack Two will pop up in the chain window with a little timer bar to designate how long you have to take advantage of the opportunity. You simply click the chain window or its hotkey before the timer expires to continue on to Attack Two. If it succeeds, Attack Three will pop up in the chain window. And if it succeeds, Finishing Move comes up. All without having to use four slots on your task bar.
This is handy enough, but the real point is that there are three other windows presenting you with similar opportunities. One of these is the counter window, which displays a counter whenever an enemy is using an ability you can interrupt. So if you're a warrior in the middle of your chain of attacks, you might be presented with the choice of continuing or instead countering an incoming fireball spell with a Kick (the basic melee counter). Countering enemies involves being perceptive enough to know what they're doing. Whenever an enemy starts an ability, your character makes an automatic check against his perception skill. If you succeed, you'll be presented with the option to counter.
The other two icon windows along the bottom are used for rescues and sympathies. Rescues are opportunities to heal other characters or maybe intercept attacks. In addition to having an offensive target, you can also designate a defensive target, which specifies who will benefit from your rescues. So in the case of our hypothetical warrior working on his chain and faced with the dilemma of countering an incoming fireball, you can throw in that he might sometimes have to protect the party's sorcerer from any melee attacks.
Finally, there are sympathies, which are class specific interactions similar to Everquest II's "heroic opportunities." For example, a sorcerer casts Lens of Power. When it's finished, if the psionicist in the party has Mind Blast, a spell boosted by Lens of Power, its icon will pop up in the psionicist's sympathy window. Does he cast it? Or does he try to finish some chain he's working on? Or does he buff his defensive target? These windows are Vanguard's way of telling you what your options are and making them available without you having to cram a set of task bars to capacity.
McQuaid compares the combat to Magic the Gathering. "In Magic, it's not just about the cards you have. You have to deal with what your opponent is doing. So our mandate is that you need to pay attention to what's happening in front of you. And the idea is that many different decisions then pop up."