This past month I have been focusing on the melee combat, something that also Will Smith seems to be focused on right now.
The main focus this month was to get the melee combat feeling good in the game. I first decided to copy the melee combat from the prototype builds of Akuto: Showdown, a game mechanic that always got praised during previews and reviews. Once I did that, I had to slow it down to make it fit with the gameplay of TACTICAL BANDITS. Even though the game is fast when it is not in slow-motion mode, it is still not as fast as the gameplay of Akuto.
Once I tweaked the speed of the swing, I added more force to each swing to create a more physics-based hit. By this I mean that physics forces are applied depending on where a character gets hit. This makes characters turning into ragdolls look much more satisfying. This created more satisfying hits and looked much better than the swings in Akuto. In defense of Akuto, the melee combat in that game was not focused on physics and good-looking hits, but purely on gameplay.
I also decided to bring in bullet deflection from Akuto, because they created another layer on top of the core gameplay. And giving players more choice on how to fight the enemies is always a good thing.
Next month I am going to focus on creating a solid vertical slice of the game, as most of the core gameplay is nearly created. I am also going to start creating more promotional material so that I can show-off the game better. A GIF is much better than static screenshots.
Lastly, some bad news. I decided to put the long way on hold. As much as I believe in the game, there is too much gameplay that needs to be created for a vertical slice. This would be fine if I was not working on it in my spare time. Because of this, the long way has been put on hold and I will be primarily focusing on TACTICAL BANDITS.