Action Combat System: Fresh or Fluff?

by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

We've all been in an MMO watching our group members perform in combat. Whether it's the powerful swings of a large two handed weapon, the swift stabs of a rogue's blade, or the arcane motions of a powerful wizard combat animations are noticed. What is Gods and Heroes doing about their combat animations? A unique set of animations called the "Action Combat System" (ACS) will be in the game. The real question is, are these additional animations worthwhile?

First about the ACS itself. Using information released by Perpetual they state the ACS is:

"The Action Combat System is a system that allows players to engage various enemies in a realistic manner. In many MMOs, when you attack, the damage is dealt and the animation that is played is a generic one. For example, in other MMOs, if you do a low attack sweep-kick, the enemy you're fighting will usually recoil and then play a generic sound. Damage is calculated and you keep fighting. With ACS, when you do a sweep-kick, the damage is calculated as your enemy is actually knocked down and reacts appropriately to your attack."

Combat animations in themselves are a vital part of the immersion of the game. Nobody wants to watch their characters just stand around doing nothing, any more than they want to watch a monster do the same. There needs to be more than just the exchange of virtual damage between groups. I'm sure everyone would agree monster animations give us a feeling we really are being assaulted by magic and melee alike, but what role do character animations really play?

I have to be honest, even playing a healer in EverQuest 2, and having to be mindful of my party I'm more focused on their position and current status than what their characters are doing. I mean yes, I would take notice if a groupmate morphs into something unusual like a golem or a tiger, but having a ton of animations sounds a little extraneous. Will I be carefully standing behind the fighter, only to have him grapple and throw an enemy at me? As entertaining as a game of "Hit your friend with an enemy" sounds (that isn't sarcasm I really would enjoy it) I have to question the extra development time an effort to add this.

On the flip side? Maybe this will be one of those things that seperates Gods and Heroes from other MMO's. We all know as technology advances, people expect more realism in their games (have you played Call of Duty?), and maybe this is the next level of progression. In a market that is stifled by the dominance of World of Warcraft, innovative features may be what makes or breaks a buying decision in the mind of a consumer. This seems like a big gamble to me personally, but the development team has a lot more experience than I do and probably know what they are doing. I sincerely hope it pays off for them, and the ACS provides a unusual aspect to this unique MMO.