Battle Size

fluffydino2000 · Dec 2, 2012

How large can we expect to see the battles in this game? Will be seeing M&B sized sieges with 200 people or will we see smaller skirmishes with no more than 20 combatants, or will it be somewhere in between? Obviously the average battle won't have the max enemies in, but will the max be?

Also, I doubt highly that this will be granted but is there any chance of a video demonstration of a large scale battle?

Scarecrow · Dec 2, 2012

Ah yes, i would love seeing some large scale battles in the game. Of course, large scale battles wouldn't occur all the time, most likely a quite rare thing, but it would be thrilling to participate in one. With how the combat works in Sui Generis, my mouth would start to water from just looking at a video demonstration of this.

200 people in one battle? Unfortunatly, i doubt we will see that. 20-60 on the other hand is more realistic.

fluffydino2000 · Dec 2, 2012

I felt optimistic writing it haha. 20-60 still sounds great though.

Mimel · Dec 2, 2012

I think it all depends on the decisions we make. Perhaps we can become a leader of a band of mercenaries, or a warlord of a keep or just rallying the villagers to fight against the local bandits. However, I assume the true reason behind the question, is if the AI can handle it.

But I'm all for it. It is an open-world after all.

Tony · Dec 3, 2012

If I recall correctly Madoc said there won't be a ton of people fighting simultaneously because the AI/physics would start to bog the game down. I would guess no more than 20 people fighting at once.

AlphaChris · Dec 3, 2012

Maybe It's just me, but it doesn't seem likely that battles will be very large. If I remember correctly, It was stated that combat would be infrequent, and that each encounter would be a challenge in and of itself. This seems to me that any battle between the character and more than one opponent will likely lead to death. And since anyone in the game can be killed and will not instantly respawn, large battles probably won't take place. Not to mention the Isometric point of view would make this physics based combat engine fairly difficult with very many combatants.

AlphaChris · Dec 3, 2012

Tony said:
If I recall correctly Madoc said there won't be a ton of people fighting simultaneously because the AI/physics would start to bog the game down. I would guess no more than 20 people fighting at once.

Damn, you kinda sorta beat me to it

calithlin · Dec 3, 2012

I imagine a lot of one-on-one fights for the most part. Maybe 3-on-3 max every now and then. I really doubt we'll ever see something more than what you'd find in a typical battle in, say, Neverwinter Nights, which was usually just a handful of monsters in each room.
You really don't need many monsters to make a compelling game either. In Morrowind most caves had one or two monsters in each room, and if there were more (at least when you were lower level) you had to take care.

Octo · Dec 7, 2012

Madocs quote on this is;

"200 vs 200 people in a battle is completely impossible with these physics, the physics require thousands of times more processing than characters using precanned animations. This isn't just an alternative animation system, it's physics, lots of physics. A single apple would require more processing power and bandwidth than a character in many MMOs."

I'm wondering if the physics accuracy is scalable...so when 10+ characters are on screen, the physics are scaled back, at least on characters that doesn't interact with the player or his immediate surroundings.
I wouldn't care too much if there was some mild intersecting geometry on side characters in a big battle if it meant that it made it possible to do at all.

I'd just love to see stuff like this:

and this:

Rod_Lightning · Dec 7, 2012

@ dude who posted lotr battle. There are games out there that do that like Mount and Blade or one of the Total War games. A battle on such a scale is just impossible for for this kinda game.

the0thMonkey · Dec 7, 2012

@Octo

Even if this was possible (by reducing physics etc), I still don't think it should be implemented. As Rod_Lightning said, if you want this size of battle, play M&B. I think for most people, naturally occurring skirmishes of 20 or so people will be enough.

Also, it may be possible to mod this in after the game is released.

calithlin · Dec 7, 2012

Asking for physics to be scaled down in larger battles is sort of like asking for gunpowder to stop working in large battles in a modern warfare game. It just doesn't make sense given the way combat works and would hamper your ability to do damage significantly. You only do damage based on physical collisions and their force, so how do you expect to A: do damage the same way, and B: continue using all the strategies that require physics, especially thaumaturgic powers?