next »

[McMutton]

 So I'm experiencing a bit of a hang-up. I'm working on a Metroidvania wherein one of the items you find is a boomerang. One of its features is the ability to target up to three targets to go for in quick succession.

 What I'm having problems with, however, is exactly HOW the player chooses targets. Using the mouse to select them could be a good option but nothing else actually uses the mouse; it could possibly feel out of place or be a bit confusing. I could have them cycle through available targets and pick the ones they want, but that sounds like it'd be too time-consuming.

 What do you guys think?

[Theophilus]

I'd say let the user configure it.

Options being...

-Use the mouse
-Use a button
---When pressed, cycle through all on screen from top to bottom
---When pressed, cycle through all on screen based on distance

You can never go wrong with letting the player choose.

[Slimebeast]

If your main character can already aim things (like selecting ONE enemy to target and shoot) then what you can do is have another key besides "fire" select a target you're aiming at, up to three, then pressing the "fire" key releases the boomerang.

If you can't target enemies like that, then I would suggest pressing the "fire" key locks player movement, and a crosshair cursor appears on the screen. Your movement keys now guide that cursor. Move it over enemeies, select them, and fire to release the boomerang.

With the second option, it may be necessary to induce a time limit on the targetting process and possibly freeze the entire screen as if the game has been paused while the player selects.

If none of those grab you - just have the boomerang auto-select the closes three targets and attempt to go for them.

[noah!]

Answer me this: Does the player frequently encounter more than three enemies (that pose serious danger) at a time? If not, I would HIGHLY push for auto lock-on, either by selecting the closest three targets or selecting the target within the cone that the player is aiming (if the game allows 8-way aiming, of course, otherwise it'd be super-unintuitive).

Of course, then the problem is how to deliver sufficient firepower using that means...the "one at a time until he's dead" method would cause serious headaches if its first choice isn't what the player wants. On the other hand, the "select a unique target each shot" method would be very difficult to balance, as if you made it powerful enough to one-shot enemies (which is pretty much necessary using this method), it would probably be totally broken against bosses...

With that in mind, here's my humble suggestion: Make the boomerang auto-select. Tap fire to shoot one to a unique target. Hold fire to keep launching boomerangs at the same target (think Quick Boomerang).

Sorry if my suggestion isn't much help; I'm just thinking of how to integrate it given your situation. Otherwise, I'd vouch for doompuppet's second suggestion, except maybe making the movement keys cycle between targets instead of guiding the cursor around. I think that could be pretty nifty...

[Hangedman]

If you wanted to go really fancy but prevent it from feeling like the game stops dead...

Slow down the game's timedelta temporarily and make the arrow keys just jump between all available targets, and the second three have been selected, or, say, they double-tap on one, or the player gets hit by something, speed up time to normal again, and have the boomerang do its thing.

Bonus if you have rigged vector calc to determine the best possible arc through the three targets.

[BorisTheBrave]

If the user taps the fire key, just send out the boomerang asap in the right direction or autotargetting.
If they hold the fire key, start showing a targeting reticule that is moved with the regular movement keys (the character being stationary in the meantime). The reticule moves very fast, and the first three things swept over are considered targeted (they show a target over them). Then releasing sends the boomerang out vs those targets.

This is basically how the boomerang works in 3d zeldas, iirc. Taps are for combat, while holding is either for puzzles or a group of enemies you can quickly select at once.

[Ego_Shiner]

imo auto-targeting would work best for a fast paced action scenario. if combat has a bit less focus, you may want to go with the zelda option.

[shig]

What control scheme are you using?
You could always cook up something crazy like WASD for movement + directional keys for targeting and space bar and control for action, jumping etc...

[McMutton]

The control scheme I'm using is:
WASD for movement
J for primary attack
K for secondary attack
L for blocking
I for use
But it'll be completely customizable.

The boomerang's primary attack would be just throwing it forward/up/down (Depending on what the player is pressing). It's going to be the secondary attack that uses the targeting.

I'm not quite sure if it'd be that useful normally (The mook density would be about on par with Symphony of the Night), but it may be necessary for the more puzzle-based boss fights, which is why I was worried about the speed and efficiency of its execution.

I think I'm leaning towards the secondary key locking movement and making the directional keys cycle through targets, locking targets with the primary key, and pressing secondary again to launch it. Perhaps having jump cancel it as well. I guess I'd have to have the gameplay down before deciding if a bit of bullet time(Boomerang Time?) would be necessary.

How's that sound?

[baconman]

1. Focus this in level design.

Arrange some enemy sets in formations that allows for a natural boomerang motion/attack. You could also have it cleave enemies for multiple hits to and from.

2. Make it a geometric weapon.

Similar to Yoshi's Eggs or the Mega Ball, have this simply be a weapon that bounces around/off the walls. This would be especially key for wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted enemies, or taking advantage of landscapes.

3. Press/Release to Aim/Fire.

You can press the fire button to bring up an adjustable (or bouncing) cursor, then release it to determine your trajectory. Or you can use a set variable of one, and then have the player aim it the same way as whatever else - by moving accordingly. Perhaps you could also consider a "double boomerang," for an overhand/underhand dual/intersecting arc.

All of which are probably MORE FUN design-wise than mouse aiming or auto-aiming (which is more important, right?).

[bart_the_13th]

If I may suggest, do baconman's way.
Hold fire button and while the player has not release the button yet, let him choose which enemy to attack or the boomerang direction/path.

[Relix]

Since you've two buttons for the 'rang:
Quick button press just launches the 'rang.
Holding it will allows you to use the lock-on. At this point, I'd copy Yoshi's Island and have a target cursor that automaticlly goes up and down, scrolling "rows" or something, and locks on the target when the player presses the lock-on button. You could make it so that if there's more than one target on the lock-on "row", it auto-scrolls them from left to right if the player's facing right and vice versa, or scrolls them if you hold the lock-on button, idk.

Interesting problem tho.