and countless more... it was neat. It's good to have the option ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
No, it's not.
There's a thing called being "overchoiced".
The phenomenon of overchoice occurs when many equivalent choices are available.
[3] Making a decision becomes overwhelming due to the many potential outcomes and risks that may result from making the wrong choice. Having too many approximately equally good options is mentally draining because each option must be weighed against alternatives to select the best one. The satisfaction of choices by number of options available can be described by an inverted "U" model.
[4] In this model, having no choice results in very low satisfaction. Initially more choices lead to more satisfaction, but as the number of choices increases it then peaks and people tend to feel more pressure, confusion, and potentially dissatisfaction with their choice. Although larger choice sets can be initially appealing, smaller choice sets lead to increased satisfaction and reduced regret. Another component of overchoice is the perception of time. Extensive choice sets can seem even more difficult with a limited time constraint.
[5]
This is what I hate about DOA5 and DOA5's online mode. Yes, they gave people so many options because they were trying to appease everyone. But it's overwhelming, particularly for newer players. They don't know what anything is. Decide on a standard ruleset and make it permanent, no options, and balance the game around that. I just want to play the game. Set the rules, Team Ninja, you're the dungeon master.
In the arcade, the options were hidden from the player and you could just jump into a game. I hate how many menus and options I have to jump through before I'm actually in a match. Remember in the arcade when you put in your money, hit the button, picked your character, and you were playing instantly?
Now it's menu > choices > menu > choices > menu > choices> menu > choices > menu > menu > choices > wait in lobby with 6 people while we spectate 2 (as if we only had one machine to share between the 8 of us)... I've spent infinitely more time in menus, lobbies, and option screens than actually playing the game... I kind of went off on a tangent.
Glade to have the option.
The problem with a 4 point hold, is that I found it very difficult to distinguish between a high and mid attack.
It looks like a mid but it is actually a high.
It looks like a high but it is actually a mid.
So responding to that for a hold feels like luck or memory (after you study your opponent character)
Then the problem for a 3 point hold is that the hold for high and mid are so easy that players don't want to throw a punch so easily.
I wish there were somewhere in between, or make a high and low look disgustingly different.
This is why I feel they should go back to 2-point (
and
) like in DOA1
but change it so counters use gauge. Counters in stun take
even more gauge (how much exactly I'm not certain).
Maybe even 1-point hold ( ) if the gauge sacrifice is sufficient. But this eliminates the problem of both new and experienced players who cannot differentiate between HIGH and MID attacks for holds. High/Low is much simpler, plus the hold cannot be spammed since it now requires meter. This is the perfect solution in my opinion.
Now if I build up a full gauge, the new "
super hold"is also easy to understand. (why isn't it "
special hold" if I'm using the
special button?? or rename it the "
super gauge")
Now they can change "special/super hold" to be an super elaborate animation with fancy graphical effects.
Kind of like how the "super blow" animation does this. For example, move Hayabusa's Izuna counter to
"super hold" status and
give it some of the "ki" effects from the trailer for extra flash.
Defensive and stronger options being tied to a bar, in order to prevent spamming, is a common theme among many games. So this is an easy concept for players coming from other games, not just fighting games, to understand. Much simpler than explaining difference between high hold, mid-punch hold, and mid-kick hold. Please show the DOA5 hold tutorial to a brand new player and see what happens. Every time I try to teach a new player to hold, the first time they manage to do the input it is always the wrong level and frustrates the player.
A 2-way or 1-way hold system that uses gauge is the way to go, I feel. Most players, even myself, do not want to memorize every character's string hit levels - this is complex and it changes every game and from patch-to-patch anyway. Some moves that hit mid in DOA2 now hit high in DOA5LR - but I have 18 years of muscle memory so I can't stop doing the wrong hold. It's a small frustrating balance change that didn't actually fix anything. Make holds simple to execute but shift the focus to be about timing and meter management and most players will easily understand.
Also, the way to make things easy to learn is to use familiar concepts. Use familiar terms. Standardization makes things easier for everyone to understand. The game doesn't need to be "dumbed down", things just need to be explained clearly in plain English. I'm sure things like "Break Gauge" and "Break Blow" and "Fatal Rush" etc all sound 'cool' to Japanese people but it's confusing on top of an already difficult genre. As a brand new player, would you think "Break Blows" and the
"Special Button" are related at all? Probably not. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell a "Break Blow" is... Is it just a "Super Move"? And it needs "super/special meter?" Then fucking call it that, please. Christ. That eliminates so much frustration.
Honestly.To this day I still don't really understand Power Blows, Crushes and... I can't even remember what the all the names of all the weird techniques from DOA5 are... much less have them figured out enough to use. Sometimes I go for that stun that shakes the screen but I cannot for the life of me remember what it is called. I can read frame data though. Because frame data is the same across all the fucking games. See how that works? I'm not even joking. I am so not joking. I hope to god they read this.
Like, I am all aboard the "gauge" train and think
it could possibly be the best thing to ever happen to DOA, if it's balanced correctly by launch.
Take "Super Moves" from other fighting games, who cares if it's copying. It's not shameful to adopt popular standards. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. DOA started out as a VF clone, right? Just take all the best parts and put them together in a way that makes sense.
Probably because unlilke the S button, the 3 "Way" Hold actually changes how the game is played.
We need more than one string off of the
-button. Make them flashy but give players more strings. They can go based off of old DOA1 inputs for some starter ideas. You know how certain strings in DOA1 and VF use
? Those tend to be stronger strings and moves.
