Combat

From Shadowrun: Awakened

Combat in Shadowrun Awakened is never a first course of action, but often becomes the only available course of action. SRA hopes to balance rewarding player skill while honoring character capabilities, make a turn-based system that flows, and try to make an MMO combat system that doesn't feel too much like it's on auto-pilot.

Game Rules Description

Combat in Shadowrun is distinguished by several aspects:

• Some characters act faster and more often than others
• Most characters engage at range, making dodging and cover vital
• Combat is lethal

Balanced against these aspects is that the expectation that none of the Shadowrun mechanics will detract from making a playable video game. The combat system must try to honor Shadowrun, but it cannot violate basic concepts of playability and enjoyment video gamers expect, including smooth and responsive character action.

Character Actions

Preservation of characters having varying frequency of action means implementing, at least behind-the-scenes, a resolution system that honors an initiative-based sequence of player actions. Ideally, this would mean taking the entire combat turn, during which each player has up to 4 actions, and dividing slices up to each player according to their initiative. So, we could have a 4 second turn during which a character with 4 phases would act every second or someone with 2 phases would act ever 2 seconds, etc. Characters would then execute actions in according to their initiatives, some characters acting many times while some characters acting only a few times. In the case where characters received similar initiatives, it may appear that they act simultaneously, but in the back-end actions would still be processed in a single order.

In order to accept player input into this initiative-based resolution system, character actions will most likely need to be queued ahead of time so they can be consumed during resolution. This means players will need to evaluate the situation and determine a course of action as a tactical gambit without necessarily reacting to every motion of their opponent. This is intended to put a lot of emphasis on the character's skill while still honoring player action. The shorter the length of the queue, the bigger emphasis on player skill we create. Thus, players will be able to queue as many actions for their character as the character receives passes in a turn (EG if they have max 2 passes, they can only queue 2 actions).

Actions in Shadowrun also have varying durations. Some actions, such as firing a single round, require only a "Simple Action" while others, such as firing a hail of bullets, are a "Complex Action". Still others, such as dropping to the ground, are "free actions". It is our intention that free actions be largely ignored by the players. For instance, changing the fire-mode of your weapon will be an intrinsic part of selecting the "burst-fire" attack for a machine gun after using its "full-auto" mode. Simple and complex actions as presented in Shadowrun will be our template for them in the game, causing the same player decision and tradeoff as found in SR4. The player's action queue will present the simple vs. complex dichotomy to the player, enabling them to clearly see the difference.

Suggested actions list for 1.0:

• Simple Actions
  • Fire Weapon (SS,SA,BF) - Fire a single round or short burst (narrow/wide) from a gun
  • Reload Smartgun (Eject Smartgun Clip + insert clip) - Put a fresh clip into a gun with an active smartlink
  • Pick Up/Put Down Object - Either pick up something from the ground or drop it
  • Quick Draw - Make a reaction test to draw and fire a weapon simultaneously (SS/SA/BF weapons only)
  • Ready Weapon - Draw a weapon and ready it for use
  • Stand Up - Stand up from prone (drop-prone will be a form of movement, likely synchronized with actions just like taking cover).
  • Take Aim - Gain a bonus on their next attack, up to a limit related to their skill
  • Throw Weapon - attack with a throwing knife, grenade, etc
• Complex Actions
  • Fire Automatic Weapon (FA) - Fire a long burst (narrow/wide) or full burst (narrow/wide)
  • Fire Mounted or Vehicle Weapons - Fire a large fun that's mounted
  • Full Defense - Spend a phase dodging all incoming attacks
  • Melee Attack - Attack unarmed or with a melee weapon.
  • Reload (Remove Clip + Insert Clip) - Reload a weapon that does not have a smartlink OR is a weapon that does not use a clip.
  • Use Object/Skill - Perform an action that requires a skill and/or object, such as interacting with a keypad.

NOTE: Most skills will have special rules concerning how many complex actions are required, if even possible in combat. For instance, Fire Aid requires one complex action for each box being healed.

Movement in Combat

Unfortunately, even in a pseudo-turn-based system, the characters would still need to move in real-time. This is because dividing up character movement amongst their respective terms would cause some characters to move at different velocities and times. This would cause combat to look like the game was stuttering. Given the inclusion of cover and dodging, that means real-time movement will still be broken up with discrete moments where players must specify whether their character is walking, running, claiming cover, or evading an enemy.

Characters in Shadowrun can stand completely still, walk, or run during combat. Each carries advantages and disadvantages while attacking and defending. Current thinking is that the mode of character's movement will change only during their action. This will force players to think tactically about running from cover-to-cover or staying still and sighting in on a target.

At all times, characters will be able to dodge passively, roll their reaction to in the opposed range check, or use "full defense" to dodge actively. Active dodging must be done in lieu of an attack action, thus there is a limit in the number of times it can be done. Early impressions on active dodge is that it will be available as a queued action or a twitch-based command. Thus a character can choose to be "full defense" at all times and forgo attacking completely OR attack normally and reflexively do something to cause their character to immediately forgo their next action in order to actively dodge. Reflexive active dodging is intended to be a nod to player-skill.

Cover will include things like hiding behind a corner or other obstruction. Characters are capable of attacking from cover, albeit with a small penalty. Characters will be able to move into and out of cover at the same time as their actions, meaning characters who act more often will be able to move in and out of cover more often as well. Current thinking is that the concept of "total cover" will not be part of the cover system, rather a side-effect of the character standing behind an obstruction large enough to simply eliminate any possibility of receiving attack.

Resolution in Combat

Combat in Shadowrun, as all things, builds on the skill system. Most things in combat will require a test of (Attribute + Skill) to perform and may be opposed by a target's appropriate attributes and/or skills. The back-end details of the resolution system will attempt to be as true to SR4 as possible.

Key Intended Differences from SR4

There are a handful of known compromises and changes from SR4 we plan on including:

• The use of Edge to gain an additional combat phase is currently planned to be superseded. The intended Death mechanic's interaction with Edge is intended to replace this functionality. It is possible that Edge could be use as a "luck" statistic during some situations uncovered during development.
• The concept of using "Sprint" as an action in combat is likely to be replaced or supplemented with the running skill simply adding a speed bonus based on rating.

SR4 Combat Features Intended for Later Implementation

These features are not specifically excluded, as entries in the list above, but are currently thought of as details that should be left for the future. Exactly which milestone they fit within is debatable.

• Delayed Actions - The ability to skip your phase in order to act later, basically altering your initiative, can be done later.
• Blast in Confined Spaces - The special damage causing by explosions in closed areas is a bit complicated for very little enhanced gameplay.
• Variable Shotgun Spread - The ability to customize the spread of shotguns seems unnecessary for the first iteration. Consider just locking the spread at medium.
• Timed Explosions - The ability to set an arbitrary time on grenades and explosives is a bit troublesome. On first iteration, we are thinking a set time (perhaps one initiative pass, etc) would be agreeable, with arbitrary time to come later.
• Subduing Combat - Having melee attacks that involve grappling an opponent into a hold seems like an unnecessary assets burden, as easy as it might be to program. When assets is ready to produce wrestling animations, etc, then we can go for it.

Technical Implementation

Combat will require a real-time movement system that respects realistic line-of-sight with respect to cover. Also, it will need to having a timing-based aspect concerning when characters take non-movement actions (shooting, reloading, casting, etc). This will have to be wrapped into a presentation that emphasizes character configuration while rewarding player skill, plus doesn't cause the timing-based aspects to look like lag.

Other Notes

Combat is a very experimental aspect of the game. All of the information and remarks made above are assumptions and designs made without a working model of the game to play. Once implementation begins and things start to take shape, the team will responsible tune the mechanics for maximum enjoyment. We are not committed to the details of this implementation as much as we are to making sure combat is very fun.