06/05/2024: Melee and Ranged Auto-Aiming

This week I worked on some of the settings for the Control Schemes, particularly the melee and ranged auto aim.

The most common piece of feedback I got on the first Combat Prototype was the clunkiness of the controls, especially in aiming ranged weapons. For those who didn't play it, it was controlled with just a keyboard, no mouse. As a console gamer, the idea of using a mouse just never occurred to me until some of the playtesters proposed it to me. And I'm glad they did! The game feels much better to control now.

However, not everyone has a computer mouse (and a trackpad is really not ideal for this game). This, alongside a desire for accessibility, got me to think about different control schemes. The game will have four default control schemes--Keyboard-Mouse, Keyboard-Only, One-Hand Left, and One-Hand Right--as well as five customizable control schemes with the aforementioned melee and ranged aim presets. You can change them during gameplay at any time.

To fix the problem of aiming without a mouse, I looked towards one of this game's biggest inspirations, Dragalia Lost. That game made ranged weapons feel good with just a touch screen, as the developers implemented an auto-aim feature that would have you aim at the closest target in front of you. Additionally, in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, to help with the transition to 3D, the game would adjust your ranged attacks to home in on enemies to a certain degree. I combined these two systems to act as a customizable aim assist.

• Melee Aim (Manual/Auto)
  • Manual: Attack straight ahead when using melee weapons
  • Auto: Automatically face the closest target when using melee weapons
• Ranged Aim (Manual/Assisted/Auto)
  • Manual: Aim where the cursor is (Mouse Click) or straight ahead (Keyboard Click) when using ranged attacks
  • Assisted: Adjusts the manual aim to get closer to a target within your field of view
    • Levels: 1-9 (will adjust a shot up to [level] x 10° in either direction)
  • Auto: Automatically aims projectiles at the nearest target

The default control schemes have the following presets:

• The Keyboard-Mouse control scheme has Manual Melee Aim and Manual Ranged Aim.
• The Keyboard-Only control scheme has Auto Melee Aim and Assisted Ranged Aim at level 5
• The One-Handed Left and One-Handed Right control schemes have Auto Melee Aim and Auto Ranged Aim