The damage indicator


(Loffy) #1

(the damage indicator is that thing that tells you from what direction the bullets are coming, when an enemy is shooting at you.)

OK, my initial, gut reaction was that the damage indicator works well. Gj.

I.e. when I am surprised-attacked from, for example, the left, rear side, I immideately understand that the attacker is on that side. (And I can turn around for some ‘payback’.)

i am not sure exactly why the damage indicator works so well for me, but I thought I’d let you guys know this.

On the same topic: is there a way to help the player quickly understand that the attacker is shooting from higher ground? (Just a general question.) When an enemy shoots at me from an upstairs balcony/window, it takes an extra 5-10 ms for me to understand that, and I get confused, and take a lot of hurt. A way to help me understand that the enemy is not just behind, to the left, but also one floor up, would be great (if possible). Well, this is the same for all shooters I guess. Just thinknig out loud.


(Anti) #2

It’s in interesting thought.

I’m not sure how we’d make that clear on the HUD itself, it’s quite a difficult concept to visualise in a 2D space like this and still have it be intuitive and unobtrusive. There might be some way we could exaggerate muzzle flashes on the attacking player’s weapon just for the victim though, to make spotting them at a glance a touch easier. Nothing wild, just a subtle change.

I’ll add it to the list of stuff to investigate :slight_smile:


(iwound) #3

i hadnt even noticed the hit indicator. i need to pay attention more.


(tokamak) #4

The width of the indicator could signify of how much of an even footing you are with your besieger. That would still leave it up to you to figure out if that’s below or above you but in this game it’s usually only one possibility anyway.


(LyndonL) #5

Different colours for above, below and same level?

On second thought that probably sounds tacky.


(Humate) #6

The sound should pretty much let you know if its below or above.


(SockDog) #7

Notch/Arrow arrow on top to show attacker above, Notch/Arrow on bottom to show attacker below. No Notch/Arrow, attack level.

I’d say there would need to be some fuzziness for the level attack to account for jumping and small object mounting.

Do we really want all these super sophisticated indicators and additional tips in the game though? I’d personally prefer to see a killcam or death snapshot of the person who killed me. That way I get punished for my poor situational awareness but also I have an opportunity to learn from that mistake.


(tokamak) #8

I think that only the difference from horizon matters. Players can work for themselves out if that deviation means below or above, after all, how many instances are there really where there’s a possible shooter from both above and below? Actually, how many instances are there where there’s a shooter you aren’t aware of below you at all?

Most of the time all you need to know is whether the player is on the same level or above you. That means that all the indicator needs to do is show the deviation from the horizon. This is important here because it would greatly simplify the indicator compared to having to show both sides of the axis.


(SockDog) #9

I’d say it would be about 50/50 what with the fact that if someone is shooting a person below them, then the person below them could be shooting up. :slight_smile:


(tokamak) #10

Granted. But the player knows what the map allows. He’s simply never in a position where the opponent could be both below or above him. At least I have yet to come across a situation like that in this game. The verticality of the maps simply doesn’t extend so far. So if the indicator shows that he’s not being shot from floor level then the player already knows what that means in regards to whether it’s above or below him.


(stealth6) #11

I agree with tokamak, it’s not really needed.


(SockDog) #12

I wasn’t really arguing for it just put a suggestion if it was going to be done. I’m more interestined in a killcam or killshot so you can learn a bit from your kill. I have to admit I’ve had a few games where I’ve died and not had a clue who or where it came from. That’s fine I suppose, l2p and all that, but it also means you’re raising a learning curve and/or player frustration.


(zenstar) #13

Agree with up/down not being an issue. I can quickly scan up/down with my eyes while turning as long as I know the compass position it came from easily.
If they’re out of the screen then I must be against a wall in which case I’ll know to look up (or whatever similar situation) and just a focus from my body to my killer (camera turns and tracks killer from my death point until I move the mouse) would teach me any odd spots quickly.

I don’t think a kill-cam would work with the whole medic revive thing. And if there’s demo recording then you can always watch that to clear up any issues.


(SockDog) #14

Yes, didn’t think about the killcam and medic, good point. Someone else suggested snapping the camera to the shooter on death.


(zenstar) #15

Yeah. I like snapping to the shooter. It’s a nice little “BTW: you were killed from here” thing without getting in the way of other mechanics (and meaning campers need to continually move as people learn where they’re hiding).


(DarkangelUK) #16

I want the camera to snap to a medic… I keep careering towards a down team mate just for him to tap out as I get there :confused:


(zenstar) #17

I don’t think the camera should snap to the medic, but I think the medic icon should be nice and noticeable so that it’s easy to see "ah. there are 2 medics. 1 is back at the spawn and far away and 1 is just around the corner and moving this way, while you’re lying down deciding whether or not to respawn.

I think a noticeable icon (size changes based on distance) and a small distance counter should be enough for that. If the medic is offscreen then the icon should be at the edge of the screen with an arrow. Ofc the screen should drain of colour except for the medic icon. That way you can focus the player on where the medic is.

I haven’t medic’ed much in DB, but can you take revive missions like you could in Brink? It would be useful to be able to have a message saying “medic en-route” or “medic nearby” but I’m not sure how you’d do that.