Delay between button press and sword swing feels bad. Even just a windup animation would help.
Crossbow/poison kiting feels much easier and less risky than trying to melee
Shield doesn't raise after swinging if you press and hold the shield button during swing
Auto sprint after dodging leads to accidentally running out of stamina during fights
"Delay between button press and sword swing feels bad. Even just a windup animation would help." Something more obvious than what I already have? Legitimate question. I've been told it feels slow as well, so I'm not sure. Maybe more wind up, quicker swing?
"Crossbow/poison kiting feels much easier and less risky than trying to melee" Absolutely right about that. I'm still thinking about how I might improve that. Maybe I could make the crossbow keep the player from running and dodging when it's being reloaded? To me, that would make it feel too sluggish I think. I may also implement an ammo counter.
"Shield doesn't raise after swinging if you press and hold the shield button during swing" Yup. That's actually top priority for me to fix once I'm back to devving.
"Auto sprint after dodging leads to accidentally running out of stamina during fights" It's sounding like people want more control over that. Right now I'm thinking about making it a hold rather than just something that happens after a dodge.
Thanks for playing, and thanks for sticking around so long through my stream!
I forgot about the windup animation, on review I think the windup animation is fine. Just popped into dark souls to compare and found a few ideas that could make it feel better:
Less delay between button press and damage dealt, more recovery time after. I'd rather land the hit and risk getting hit back than be unable to land a hit.
A small lunge forward during windup, to give the illusion of still being in control of your character (since you're probably running forwards when swinging anyway).
Starter enemies that are less likely to step back or move out of the way.
The improved shield control will also help the sword feel better.
