Hi, PVKII dev team here. We've been rather silent for quite a while but now we have some scrumptious balance changes for those whove stuck around! This update introduces a revamped Combo System with an additional focus on special rebalance. As always, well be monitoring these changes and will make adjustments as necessary, so feedback is greatly appreciated. This update is also a precursor necessary for other things to come, like Buccaneer and Alternative Weapons! So that stuff will be right around the corner, how about that.

Changelog:

Disclaimer: Due to some of the contents of this update, certain workshop mods will be rendered obsolete. These include player model changes and model / animation changes to the Skirmishers Flintlock. You will need to disable them, so please accept our sincerest apologies in the form of these many changes to the game instead!

General Changes:

Thirdperson is no longer enabled on the classic ruleset by default
Bunnyhopping added under mp_allow_bunnyhop
Added third person animations for weapons with holstered/broken shields
Explosions now gib based on a few calculations as opposed to only damage
Removed Ninjabrine

Balance Changes:

Blocking

The 30% slow down when blocking with a weapon now occurs after a 0.35 second delay
The 20% slow down when blocking with a shield now occurs after a 0.225 second delay

A quality of life change to prevent attack canceling from immediately lowering move speed.

Perfect Parry

Changed the flat move speed bonus granted by performing a perfect parry to a range of 30-50 H/U; faster classes receive less bonus move speed, slower classes receive more
Stuns now slow you down by a flat 50 H/U

Melee Attacks

Removed the momentum damage modifier

This was an often unknown or misunderstood mechanic that led only to inconsistencies in damage calculation. The system would increase your damage based on moving in the direction of your swing. However, all directions aside from thrusts generally suffered due to a conflict of practicality, so we just removed it entirely.

Combo system overhaul

General

The Combo System used to only apply a minor damage buff to consecutive attacks, but this update overhauls the Combo System to be more impactful and interesting. The primary goal in this overhaul is to give players a partial solution to combating the Full Charge Meta, wherein players forgo using uncharged/partial charged attacks to fully charge every attack they unleash. This new Combo System runs parallel to full charging and offers an alternative combat style that can be utilized at opportune moments.

Increased Combo damage modifier from x1.02 to x1.0875 per combo, up to x1.3 at 4+ Combo
Combo now increases attack speed by x1.0875 per combo, up to x1.3 at 4+ Combo
Combo is now gained when attacking someone parrying with a mismatched parry
Combo is now gained when attacking someone parrying with a lower weapon weight
Combo begins to decay quickly after 2 seconds of not landing attacks
Attacking someone blocking with a shield refreshes the Combo decay timer
Missing an attack or being perfect parried reduces Combo decay timer by 0.75 seconds
Landing or missing a fully charged attack ends the Combo

By racking up a Combo, one can unleash a flurry of strong attacks. But keep in mind that careless attack spamming is risky as missing repeatedly is a quick way to lose the Combo entirely, and it also leaves one vulnerable to perfect parries. A Combo is finished when a fully charged attack is performed, regardless of whether or not it lands its mark. A fully charged, high Combo attack is quite powerful, but risky to achieve and perform.

Base Class Balance

Specials

Specials in general have been too effective relative to their ease of use and lack of risk or counterplay. In more extreme cases, classes with very strong specials are almost dependent on them to be effective, leaving their base kits lacking. This patch alters many of the specials to require more skillful play on the part of the user and to reward skillful counterplay on the part of the victim.

All melee specials now only stun after a specific quota of hits (ticks) has been met per player

The immediate stuns applied by specials like the Gestirs or Skirmishers made them instantly effective and debilitating. Now, players will have to be a bit more accurate and follow through with some specials in order to incapacitate their targets.

The extra damage from headshots, crits, or backstabs no longer counts towards special gain

At their core, the whole purpose of specials is to level the playing field, so rewarding highly skilled players by rapidly and repeatedly granting them specials was counter to their inclusion.

Increased the cost of many specials

Specials in general were too easy to get, with many requiring less damage than needed to kill even an Archer.

Skirmisher

Special: Due to the sheer immediacy of his special, the Skirmisher is far more reliant on it than other characters are to theirs. To address this, his special has been reduced in immediate strength and risklessness, but the Skirmisher as a whole has been buffed to compensate.

Increased special cost from 165 to 210
Decreased damage per tick from 25 to 18 (max damage remains unchanged)
Now only stuns an enemy after landing at least 4 ticks
After the special ends, the Skirmisher is slowed by 75% and recovers over 0.35 seconds

Cutlass:

Reduced draw and holster times

Flintlock Pistols: The random spread of Skirmishers pistols led only to confusion and frustration, and was not a mechanic that rewarded skillful play. Now, the difference between a hit and miss is always down to aim and dodging. To offset this, pistols now deal increasingly less damage as distance increases. Additionally, the Skirmisher can now aim down sights to trade move speed for increased effective range.

Updated first person animations (Remove any Flintlock remodels / animation mods, they will break!)
No longer has random bullet spread (except while airborne)
Removed damage ramp-up
Now has damage fall-off
Can now aim down sights by pressing Secondary Attack
Aiming down sights reduces the damage fall-off penalty
Changed the crosshair from a ring to a dot
Reload can be canceled by tapping Secondary Attack

Captain

Special:

Increased special cost from 190 to 210
Pressing the Special Key with another weapon equipped will auto swap to the Blunderbuss to load it
Increased projectile speed and gravity

Blunderbuss:

Spread reduced from 30 degrees to 25
Reduced draw time

Sharpshooter

Special: With a rifle that cant be fired repeatedly, a pistol with built-in unreliability, and a worthless melee weapon, its no wonder Sharpshooter was so reliant on his special. To reduce his dependency, his weapons have been adjusted to be more reliable, and the powderhorn has been reworked to no longer explode on impact with the environment. Now it explodes only after the fuse expires or if it collides with an enemy, thus requiring a great deal more planning and timing to use appropriately.

Increased special cost from 165 to 210
Now explodes only after the fuse expires or on direct contact with an enemy
Updated fuse sound effect
Updated first person animations

Artisan Flintlock: Much like the Skirmishers pistols, the Sharpshooters pistol has been changed to prioritize skill through the removal of random spread. This change also reinforces Sharpshooters role as the Pirate ranged specialist, as before he would struggle to maintain pressure at the distance favored by Archers and Bondis, neither of whom suffered from spread.

No longer has random bullet spread (except while airborne)
Now has damage fall-off
Aiming down sights removes the damage fall-off penalty entirely
Updated first person animations

Long Rifle: Despite its high damage output and long reload time, the Long Rifles knockback was inferior to the Archers crossbow. The knockback has been increased to more or less match the Crossbow.

Increased knockback by 50%

Fancy Dagger: The Fancy Dagger has always been unnecessarily awful. Thanks to a few tweaks and the Combo System rework, it has become a competent accessory in the Sharpshooters kit and a properly lethal defensive option in cases when one achieves a parry or high Combo.

Reduced draw time
Increased range from 45 to 47
Increased swing speed slightly
Increased counterattack speed and damage by 33%
Missing an attack reduces Combo decay timer by 0.35 seconds, rather than 0.75
The 30% slow down when blocking now occurs after a 1 second delay

Berserker

Special: The Berserkers special essentially does nothing but double down on all of Berserkers strengths without requiring any consideration. On top of this, his special is often used to retreat rather than engage, a shameful act for such a proud warrior. To address these issues, Berserkers special has been given a wind-up period that renders him more vulnerable, and most of the specials power has been integrated into the new Combo System so that players have to engage in battle in order to benefit from it.

Increased special cost from 190 to 240
Buffs now apply after a 1 second delay, during which the Berserker is slowed by 25%
HP buff now decays over the course of the special rather than all at once when the special ends
Now buffs max Combo from 4 to 5 while active, allowing for a higher Combo multiplier
Removed intrinsic damage buff in favor of the higher Combo damage buff
Reduced attack speed multiplier from 1.25 to 1.1, as max Combo increases speed greatly

Big Axe:

Combo begins to decay after not landing attacks for 2.5 seconds, rather than 2

Sword & Axe: The Sword & Axe has generally been regarded as the worst melee weapon in the game due to its lack of effectiveness, reliability, and overall practicality compared to the Big Axe. The Combo System rework has given us an opportunity to finally redesign the Sword & Axe and give it a reason to exist.

Left and Right attacks now have diagonal traces instead of vertical traces
Back attack now has doubled X-shaped traces instead of horizontal traces

These changes increase the Sword & Axes general consistency, and the doubled traces of the back attack give it the potential to deal double damage.

Changed attack weight class to small, but retains medium parry weight

Without this change, the Sword & Axe would stun enemies with a mismatched medium parry, rendering it almost impossible to counter for the majority of the roster. This also means the Assassin and Sharpshooter can now perfect parry the Sword & Axe.

Combo begins to decay after not landing attacks for 1.5 seconds, rather than 2
Missing an attack reduces Combo decay timer by 0.35 seconds, rather than 0.75
Being stunned ends the Combo outright

The Sword & Axe is an outlier in the reworked Combo System, as it is designed to suffer heavy penalties for thoughtless usage. Combo is lost faster with inactivity, and lost entirely simply from being parried or bashed. Without these risks, the Sword & Axe would be ridiculously powerful and forgiving, while also less interesting.

Huscarl

Special:

Increased special cost from 200 to 210
Increased horizontal knockback by 50%
Decreased vertical knockback by 25%
Added a 0.25 second wind-up
Now only stuns an enemy after landing at least 2 ticks

Two-Handed Axe:

Combo begins to decay after not landing attacks for 2.5 seconds, rather than 2

Throwing Axes:

Can now begin charging while airborne

Gestir

Special: Gestirs special is at times both frustrating and confusing. Its silence makes it difficult to anticipate and adapt to, and the quickly reached damage cap leads to situations where enemies are harmlessly tossed about and pinned to walls. Both of these issues have been amended.

Decreased damage per tick from 25 to 10 (max damage remains unchanged)
Now only stuns an enemy after landing at least 4 ticks
Added charging voicelines
Now plays a stun voiceline when the special ends prematurely

Bondi

Bondi has struggled a bit with having a defined identity beyond just Viking Archer. To that end, weve adjusted him in several ways to push him into the more distinct style of a mobile and adaptive fighter. Bondi can now swap to each of his weapons more quickly, his Atlatl has been redesigned to no longer run counter to his role as a mid-range marksman, and his special has been reworked to be more accessible. This is all on top of him already having a competent melee weapon and him not being slowed as much while using his Flatbow. Special: Bondis special was both the weakest and strongest special simultaneously, balanced only because its insane killing potential was offset by its unreasonable difficulty to use effectively. His special has since been reworked to be much less lethal and much more practical by making his arrows explode.

Arrows now explode in a small area on contact
Direct arrow hits deal 15 damage
Explosions deal 65 max damage with linear damage fall off
Removed Combo integration
Now consumes 5 arrows instead of 1
Reduced fire rate slightly

Flatbow:

Reduced draw time

Atlatl: The Atlatl was overly strong and weird. The zoom and intense slow while readying the Atlatl would heavily punish Bondi for using it in his preferred range, and the rapid reload rendered it one of the highest DPS weapons in the game. Instead of removing the option to use the Atlatl at long range, weve given it an alternative free-moving firing method reminiscent of Gestirs Javelins.

Reduced draw time
Can now be charged with Primary Attack, this takes longer but does not zoom or slow Bondi down
Increased reload time

Seax:

Reduced draw time

Heavy Knight

Special:

Now only stuns an enemy after landing at least 4 ticks

Unlike other classes who had their specials changed to inflict the stun after a tick quota is reached, Heavy Knight can actually benefit from a delayed stun since it takes longer for his special to push enemies away. Of course, this also gives enemies more time to react as well. Two-Handed Sword:

Combo begins to decay after not landing attacks for 2.5 seconds, rather than 2

Archer

Special: The Archers special was unnecessarily impactful and riskless on an already powerful class. This rework requires more dedication, patience, and aim on the Archers part to achieve the same effectiveness as before. Now the Archer has to charge his special to reduce its spread so that he can deal max damage on a single target. Quick use of the special is still practical as a last resort or when shooting into a crowd, but it is no longer easy burst damage.

Increased special cost from 165 to 210
Increased max arrow spread from 4 degrees to 6.5 degrees
Can now be charged with Primary Attack to reduce arrow spread, down to a fixed point
Reduced the damage of each arrow from 120 to 40
Enemies can now take damage from more than one arrow
Now fires when Primary Attack is released rather than when the Special Key is released
Now consumes 3 arrows instead of 1

Man-at-Arms

Halberd:

Combo begins to decay after not landing attack for 2.5 seconds, rather than 2

Assassin

Special: Assassins weak and bizarre special has been reworked. Instead of doing nothing more than making her fast and invisible for the duration, she now has access to a strong single-target attack on top of the speed boost and invisibility. Performing this attack cancels her cloak, adding much needed risk and reward to the special. Her target, assuming theyre aware of her presence, can bait and dodge the attack like they can other specials.

Increased special cost from 165 to 210
Quickened cloak bomb draw and throw animations
Cloaking now forces the Assassin to equip the Stiletto and only the Stiletto
Replaces Primary Attack with an attack that has an X-shaped trace and deals a flat 105 damage
Performing the attack ends the cloak prematurely

Stiletto:

Finally fixed the super serious facestab bug that made us mad!

Crossbow Pistol:

Reduced reload time from 2 seconds to 1.75

Caltrops:

Damage per caltrop lowered from 5 to 3
Caltrops now have a lifetime of 60 seconds (Sorry, this was long overdue)

Hud Changes:

New HUD advanced options menu
New HUD ConVars: - hud_draw_ammo - hud_draw_chat - hud_draw_blockindicator - hud_draw_chargemeter - hud_draw_deathnotice - hud_draw_damagedisplay - hud_draw_gamehud - hud_draw_gamemodehud

Misc. Code Changes:

Engine has been updated with recent security fixes and misc. performance enhancements
Fixed not being able to click on certain UI buttons under Linux
Fixed SourceTV being counted as a bot for hiding servers
Fixed a crash that happened when model quality was set to low

Feel free to ask us devs for clarifications on the Combo System directly, a comprehensive video demonstration will be released in time. You can contact us in the PVKII Discord! https://discord.gg/pvkii Stay tuned! Bigger, better things will come soon!

[ 2022-10-20 02:31:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Pirates, Vikings, and Knights II
Octoshark Studios

Developer

Octoshark Studios

Publisher

2010-02-12

Release

Action Indie F2P

Features & Accolades

Three teams with 9 unique player classes
Fun, skill-based combat
Swords, axes, guns, and explosives
Unique voice acting for every character
A variety of gorgeous levels
Whimsical and challenging achievements
Command-able attack parrots
100% FREE!

Pirates

Skirmisher: A light-footed scallywag who can blow enemies away with his gunpowder-packed keg.
Captain: Brandishes a peg-leg, hook, and an attack parrot, which will seek out enemies and peck them to death!
Sharpshooter: A Spanish sweet-talker who snipes his enemies from a safe distance, or cuts them to pieces with his butter knife.

Vikings

Berserker: A shirtless and battle-crazed warrior capable of mowing enemies down with his dual-wielded weapons and giant axe.
Huscarl: Throwing axes, a two-handed battle axe, and sword/shield combo allow this warrior to take on the toughest enemies.
Gestir: A well-seasoned master of the spear and javelins who has no problem skewering his enemies either up close or from a distance.

Knights

Heavy Knights: Wearing a full suit of armor, this battle tank can cut his foes in half with his great sword.
Archer: There is no match for a skilled archer with a quiver full of arrows. He sometimes reigns fire down upon his enemies.
Man-at-Arms: A Frenchman with a sense of humor. He brandishes a halberd, mace & buckler, and his fart special will leave enemies dazed and confused.

Game Modes

Booty

Booty is a unique version of Capture the Flag. Players fight each other for treasure chests filled with gold and jewels. Bring chests back to your base and hold onto them to win the game.

Territory

Territory is a king of the hill style game mode, where teams fight for territories throughout the map. Hold onto the territories for as long as you can to win the game.

Trinket Wars

Trinket Wars is the caffeinated version of Team Deathmatch. Teams must gain control of their trinkets, and then use the power of their trinket to destroy their enemies.

Last Team Standing

Last Team Standing is exactly what the name suggests - all three teams square off, fighting to the death. The last team alive wins the round.

Objective Push

This game mode can range from a simple break-in and destroy your opponents' bases, to a more advanced sequence of map-specific objectives. The only limit is the mapper's imagination!

Team Deathmatch

Team Deathmatch is a fight for dominance. Teams square off against one another to see who can rack up the most kills. Like the other game modes, you should stick together to achieve victory!

MINIMAL SETUPOS: Ubuntu 12.04
Processor: Dual core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHzMemory: 1 GB RAM
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 8600/9600GT. ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600 (Graphic Drivers: nVidia 310. AMD 12.11). OpenGL 2.1Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 10 GB available space

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