Combat changes on test center.

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Derrick
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Combat changes on test center.

Post by Derrick »

I think we're finally in the final stages of the weapon swing changes, so i encourage everyone interested in this topic to take a look at what we currently have on test center.

You can connect to test center by entering "test.uosecondage.com" as the server in razor. Same port, 2593.

These changes have been under discussion for quite some time. The initial decompilation of the OSI combat system by Batlin was done over 7 months ago which gave us the first glimpses of how the weapons on OSI worked. Since that time we have adapted a pre-T2A weapon system (actually encompassing some other systems as well) and shaped from that system a combat system that is believed to be accurate to the T2A era, post Feb 1999.

The test center combat has been going through constant revision over the last few weeks as we've refined our concept of what changes OSI made to weapons between mid 1998 and late Feb 1999. So if you were on test two weeks ago and were grossed out by what you saw, I encourage you to take another look. It's been a difficult process.

What is now on test center is the pre-T2A combat system straight from OSI code, with the addition of the following known mechanical changes:
11/10/98 - Patch
New Weapon Scale Changes

01/05/99 - Patch
Only items that you first pick up can be equipped.

02/02/99 - Patch
Mace weapons now cause stamina loss and extra damage to armor when they hit an opponent.
Your swing rate or firing rate with all weapons is now dependent on your current stamina, instead of your dexterity.
Damage for your blow is now assessed on your opponent on the start of the swing, instead of at the end. This change makes a fast connection less of an advantage in melee combat. This will apply to wrestling and attacks made by monsters as well.
Equipping a weapon now causes a short "prep time" before you can start swinging.
Being good at anatomy will give a bonus to the damage you do in combat.

02/26/99 - Patch
An exploit for getting slow weapons to hit faster has been fixed.
The patch of the most interest is of course the February 1999 "Insta-Hit" patch. There has been quite a bit of interpretation as to what "assessed at the start of the swing" and "prep-time" meant and much of the smashing our head against the wall related to these questions. The stated goal of this OSI patch was to balance combat towards those with slower connections, and i think the theory's we have enacted meet these goals. The overall changes to the OSI code were minimal (about 5 lines of code), and the changes are compatible with the changes made later to adapt the system to UO:R combat which was an important design consideration. Much testing was also done on current EA servers, to verify that some aspects of the pre-T2a combat code is still present in UO even 12 years later, especially with respect to the movement of items resetting swings, which was a point of much contention during development.

Overall, for the average player, the changes will not elicit much surprise, the combat for the average guy is pretty much the same with the most noticeable changes being present in archery. Archery mechanics did not change between mid 1998 and into 1999, so we are very confident that the way archery works on test center is absolutely authentic.

In addition to the swing changes, the proposed spell casting changes are active as well, notably:

No disturb on Equip/Use. This was added Jan 24, 2000 and should not be present here:
http://wiki.uosecondage.com/?title=Ultima_Online:_The_Second_Age_Patch_Notes_for_01/24/2000 wrote: "The bug involving the ability to “pre-cast” spells and then use or take items will be fixed."
Message on target while equipped fizzle
Removal of attack and tab throttles
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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by Roser »

I've spent a lot of time dueling/pvping with all different types of templates, using all different types of weps.

This to me is the biggest patch UOSA has ever seen, and its definitely one of the best to date.

Long story short.... It feels like OSI during the T2A period... I can even execute a double hally hit.

5 out of 5 stars! This IMO is going to be the best thing to happen to UOSA.

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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by ClowN »

i have not had a chance to hop on test yet this morning, but this is wonderful news. been waiting a while for this patch. thanks for all your hard work. i can only imagine what a nightmare this has been.

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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by goldendog »

RoseRIP wrote: 5 out of 5 stars!
I concur. Feels like oldschool UO, great patch.

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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by Guerrilla »

good works son, :D

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Derrick
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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by Derrick »

Thanks.

If all goes well we should be publishing this Monday morning.
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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by SVrider »

Sounds great. once i have some money in this hand, i'll be more concerned with what the other hand is doing

AND thank you!@ for all you guys do

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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by Lupos »

Excellent work! I look forward to seeing how my macer tank stacks up in this patch!

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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by platy »

Maybe not biggest PVP patch to date, but by far the best.
Very much like T2A, slightly slower PVP with less "mechanics" involved. I love the new damages as well.
Very nice work I'll be on as much as I can be.

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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by Derrick »

Thanks guys. I'm really glad we finally got this together, and it really was a ton of work by all involved. I understand the initial apprehension, the changes were big, but in the end the sense I'm getting (especially from era players) is that we finally nailed this one. Thanks for sticking it out, I know the weeks prior to this publish were difficult.
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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by tangar »

very nice changes :) it will improve balance on server (hope there are will be more true warriors and fewer mages with halberds - if you will see PvP Tournament Ranks 1vs1, there are 50 people, only 2 warriors)..

btw, its nice to ressurect archer class too.. its really useless now...

best balance in 1vs1 imho:

70% what warrior in fullplate kill archer in leather
70% what archer in leather kill mage
70% what mage kill warrior in fullplate

so its circle :)


may be its not era accuracy, but its nice to see more templates in Tournament Ranks, not only classical (Evaluating Intelligence/Magery/Resisting Spells/Meditation/Wrestling/Tactics/Swordsmanship). If all playing one template - its imbalance :)

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Re: Combat changes on test center.

Post by Fender »

Lupos wrote:Excellent work! I look forward to seeing how my macer tank stacks up in this patch!
I have a med warrior with maces and this is good news to me.

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