Since Trello covers most of the (new) melee mechanics, this post pretty much an extension of the things listed in that site, and yes it supports the idea of these new features
Melee Mechanic Changes
As considered, they’ll be much more advanced in the new 4.0 game (Or different) compared to 2.0 and 3.0 where both have pretty simple melee mechanics
Power Attacks
Now must be held down/released instead of using Mouse 2 (Right click by default).
While being more powerful, it will also perform different animations for both holding and attacking (e.g. Backstab for knives)
Hitpath
Replaces hitscan
Melee weapons with slashing/swinging animations have a hitpath allowing multiple hits at once.
This might change if you’re using a power attack, some might stab instead (Unless piercing is a thing?)
New Melee Mechanics
Here are some new mechanics that are considered to be implemented
Blocking
You can now block melee attacks with Mouse 2 (Right Click)
Idea 1: Blocking nullifies melee damage, but at the cost of energy per block and it will take a second before the block takes in effect again (Improved by skill)
Idea 2: Blocking reduces melee damage by a certain amount indefinitely. Damage resistance depends on the weapon (e.g. Long weapons have better damage resistance than smaller weapons)
Melee types
Melee weapons are now categorized; Sharp and Blunt
Sharp weapons inflict bleed against players, but could barely stun zombies so it relies on fast swinging and high damage
Blunt weapons can inflict stun against zombies (Maybe higher flinching against players?). Not much to say, maybe less chance of bleed (Unless very high damage?)
Fuel
Weapons like chainsaw, blowtorch and flashlight rely on fuel and batteries to have certain functions work properly.
Chainsaw and Blowtorch needs gas to be used to their full extend. When out of fuel, you instead bash with it at the cost of high durability loss at about 1% per hit and cannot cut wood/repair vehicles respectively (Using it with fuel loses little durability, like 0.05%)
Flashlight needs batteries to be able to emit light. Otherwise it’s a weak melee
Other things
Some ideas to make some melee weapons more interesting, maybe new things if considered
New functions
Crowbar - Can be used to force open doors and crates. Useful for silent base raiding or just locked doors/hatches in PvE
Hammer - Can repair wooden structures or barricades. Maybe a required tool for recipes involving nails and wood
Socketwrench - Can open certain things involving nuts and bolts
Campaxe/Fireaxe/Chainsaw - Able to damage wooden structures and barricades.
Sledgehammer - Able to damage brick structures/barricades (If it returns), or maybe metal structures/barricades (if it also returns)
New melee weapons (Unneeded, but just for consideration)
Tomahawk - New military melee weapon. Sharp. Weak wood chopping appliance, but higher player/zombie damage than other axes. Slightly shorter reach too
Taser - New police melee weapon. Blunt. Requires batteries to use shock. Does weak continuous damage, but extremely high flinching against players. When out of power, it functions like an ordinary melee weapon but wears off quickly
Makeshift Shiv - New makeshift weapon. Sharp. Crafted with/scrapped for scrap metal. Does what an ordinary knife does.
Rolling Pin - Joke weapon found in kitchens/restaurants. Blunt. Weak melee that can be scrapped for wood
These are some good ideas to give a general gist as to what we can expect regarding 4.x melee mechanics.
A mechanic that I’d love to see is
Throwing:
I think we should also be able to throw our equipped melee weapon at the tap of a button or click of the mouse(preferably middle click).
Holding the key/middle click down and releasing shall result in a stronger, more damage inflicting throw.
Throwing sharp weapons, for example a knife/katana, should result in very high damage(maybe even an instakill if a knife is thrown at the head of an unarmored opponent) and definitely cause bleeding. Armor, in case of sharp throwables should be very effective in blocking the damage as compared with the blunt weapons up next.
Throwing blunt weapons, for example a hammer/baseball bat, should result in high damage to the armor(if any) the opponent is wearing(deals major dmg to armor,minor to player) and extremely high damage if the throw is charged up, it should definitely fracture the opponent,breaking their bones and causing heavy flinching, stunning zombies, and maybe even players(can cause them to fall down).
This could also be implemented for guns in later development stages.
Typically I think knifes,tomahawks(if implemented) and other single handed melee weapons should be able to be thrown… But practically speaking it would be logical for double handed weapons to be thrown too, like baseball bats,iron pipes etc. The throw physics and the way the weapon would rotate when thrown etc. really needs to be considered and thoroughly worked upon.
Kind of a necropost but I guess this can also add more depth to the mechanics you already have mentioned. Since it would be redundant to make a new post.
Offensive Actions:
Attacking while the enemy is about to perform an attack will cancel it.
As such, knives can be more rewarding but also risky since it cannot block as well, favoring the offense.
Blocking:
Takes .7 to . 5 seconds to be effective as you cannot block instantly and it’ll be k. (More explained below.)
Can be used to cancel your attacks to a more favorable time.
Blocking will not entirely nullify the damage, but will decrease it by a great percentage, 60-80% depending on skills and weapon.
Instead of that why not: Every subsequent blocks will instead have decreased damage negation and greater stamina cost, and when the energy is not sufficient to block an attack, only then it will be broken and enter a cool down before taking in effect again.
Shoving / Bashing:
Pressing the attack button while blocking will execute a shove, which will push away nearby enemies and cancel their actions.
Costs stamina but slightly less than a block would have.
Holding or charging the shove will increase the distance and stagger duration.
Gives you breathing space from too many enemies and perform a proper attack.
Shoving an enemy who is currently blocking will break his defense.
Parrying and Ripostes:
Blocking at the right time and contact of attack will execute a parry, fully negating the damage and making enemies stagger and be vulnerable to ripostes, which are more damaging than normal attacks.
To prevent spamming of blocks to fish for a parry, you will enter a delay after exiting a blocking stance before being able to block again.
Blocking too soon will still make you take full damage as there will be a delay before blocking will be effective and the same punishment can be said for blocking too late.
Lunge/Sprinting Attacks:
Power attacking while moving forward executes this, useful for closing gaps.
The damage for sprinting attacks are based on your speed and distance after sprinting.
Executes:
Just satisfying animations for killing the last enemy that is engaged in combat with you.
Nothing too flashy or long just quick ones that will only take 1-3 seconds.
Examples include :
A final thrust at a standing zombie with a knife before pulling it out, then resume to gameplay.
A powerful blow to a crawler’s head then pulling it out.
I really don’t want to make a new posts as this and the OP’s will overlap and be repetitive and this was more of one that complements or fits the one that he has already started and I just have this idea that can bring more depth and strategy on the mechanics he had already provided.
I apologize if necroposting is kind of frowned upon, especially this one that is kind of months old now, but I searched for other mechanics similar to this one and found none so but I want it to be voiced out and implemented to 4.x.
It can be kind of difficult for games to tell when players are or aren’t in combat. It doesn’t really seem worthwhile, if it’s just to decide whether or not you do some fancy finishing move.
Well it can only be done on the zombies. Basically the game can check if it’s the last zombie targeting you on the immediate vicinity, i.e within a hundred meters or so.
Sledgehammer - Able to damage brick structures/barricades (If it returns), or maybe metal structures/barricades (if it also returns)
Gonna have to say no on that one my friend.
Damage barricades definitely, but not structured builds.
Also, with hitpaths I would like to see turncaps implemented during active frames.
This is to prevent people trying to become bayblades when their attack frames are active.
(Spinning like a maniac when attacking)
Would set a base turn cap for all melee attacks, then allow for that value to change based on an ability stat value for Attack Turn Speed. This way, people can beyblade with “lighter” melees, and basically not at all with far heavier ones.
Doing a riposite with my zewihander or better yet my frying pan sounds awesome!
But for real, I whould love unturned to have a in depth melle system, and maybe a melee move could be to knock aside long guns (temporarily) so once someone gets really close, a shotgun might not save the day, and it will be a for real melee battle.
Perhaps something like shoving the enemy currently using guns can result in that enemy being unable to aim properly for some precious moments.
Lmao for that one with the frying pan, perhaps, if maybe, a frying pan can block BOOLETS~ if facing in that direction - Better yet, ricochet bullets back if you time your attacks while someone is firing at you. Best frying pan hidden buff.
