I like the Over the Shoulder view the best for a few reasons. Although camera angles might be a problem, it opens up a few more possibilities. Platforming is a bit better if you're moving in a 3-Dimensional world, not a 2-Dimensional World. Plus, you can introduce air-combat for more of an action-rpg game, just to give combat more possibilities for it's low amount of controls. To get around the whole camera issue, players could probably get Universal Controllers and use that as an easier way to press buttons while being able to control the camera.
As a suggestion, (although this would be difficult to animate) people can pick out their fighting style. For example, at level 1 they will be given a basic combo starter. At level 4 or so, another combo is opened up that may be added to that player's combat style. Also, completing certain quests and such could give you abilities that you could add to combos. Hotkeys could also help out this situation. Just hit 3 for a defensive style, or 2 for a full-frontal attack.
I enjoy being able to move around freely in a full, 3-Dimensional world, and Over the Shoulder is the best for getting the full experience.
Yeah, that's why I haven't gotten rid of it.
I plan to do the combat so that the numpad gives you access to everything. So, weapon changing, attacking, that sort of thing. It would be like this. The top row (7, 8, and 9) would be the high attacks. Like a downwards vertical or a high kick. 8 would be straight down, and 7 and 9 would be left and right, respectively. So you would have 3 high attacks there. The same concept would be applied to the middle and lower rows. I'm working on a system where I can make every attack can flow into the next, making for 9 button endless combos. Woot. Blocking would follow the same system, except while blocking you hold the 0 button on the bottom of the numpad, then press the direction that you wanna block. I have fleshed this out a bit, but that's for a different discussion.
However, this system only accounts for melee combat, not firing a bow or shooting a gun. Over the shoulder, the only way for a gun to make sense would be to use the mouse to aim. I dunno if it really makes sense to have to switch between the numpad and the mouse. Topdown, you can merely rotate your character in the general direction of the thing you want to die, and a lock on system can take it from there.
Ideas?
EDIT: Nah, I'm kinda moving away from the Smash idea. Side scroller doesn't really allow any of the deep combos to happen. I'm hoping this will be kinda like Zombie Revenge, or Gauntlet: Dark Legacy.
Poll
