tight tangle
VERSION: 0.1.2
An experimental melee combat system, which uses kinematics to drive movement.
The weapon itself is the anchor point to which the hands are targeted to, and unlike traditional or 'normal' melee games, where you are limited to a single attack direction (with varying animations), or 4/5 attack directions like what you'd find in Mount & Blade or For Honor, this system gives you 360 degrees to rotate your weapon, so you can execute your swing at any angle. Similarly, if an enemy (see the last segment of the video for combat demo) attacks you, you can rotate your weapon to be perpendicular to theirs, which will allow you to parry that attack.
You also have control over the panning of your weapon, constrained within a bounding box. You can for instance, perform, a downward cut, but do it to the left of the center. This also ties in with how you can parry. For example, the enemy could feint high, raising their weapon for a potential strike, making you pan your weapon upwards but then swing low, which you have now left exposed.
The overall premise is that these movements are all entirely procedural. There is not a specific position to place your weapon or a specific range of rotations to rotate your weapon to. You have full control over your blade, thus your effectiveness in combat is measured by the precision of your swings and your ability to spot openings, rather than having a weapon with higher stats.
hollow mesa
