Sync damage output with animation (Optional)

[Eyrilona]

What issues does it have?

Simplified, the way the server and net code are written, any lag on the line between client and server (both ways) adds up with the 500ms server tick, which makes it entirely possible to be a full second out of sync between what you client shows you and what the server thinks the situation is. That doesn't sound like much until you realize how much movement and action happens in a busy fight in a full second. Try it with you and a friend on a high latency connection both recording your screen, just try to run exactly next to each other. To have the server see you as running right next to each other, you will have to be running well ahead of your friend on your own screen, and your friend will at the same time see themselves as being well ahead of you on theirs.

That also happens to be basically how most of those situations happen where you are screaming because during a spread mechanic, someone is chasing you with their target marker, while that someone is behind their own computer also screaming because on their screen, you are chasing them with your target marker. Since both of you see yourself as the one in front and the other as the one chasing, you will both decide the thing you must do is sprint ahead harder and hope for the other to turn around. Since you both do that, the silly circus continues until the computer applies the mechanic and lets you know you killed each other. Seconds after which you will see the other person catch up to your location as the server's latest updates on everyone's position come in (now that you are both dead and no longer moving) and you will lie happily tanking the floor side by side.

But anyway.

To kind of make this look less jarring, they decoupled snapshotting (this determines who the attack is about to hit), animating the attack happening, and having damage applied (after the server does its calculations), into three separate events so that you don't have to feel like you are fighting in stop-motion cinematography. But the result of this is that depending on length of animation, connection ping, and your timing relative to the server tick, the timing of when damage numbers are shown can drift from the animation associated with it.

Which, I will admit, is not at all what OP posted about but I misread that as that there were supposed to be three damage numbers and only one of them was showing while the animation was happening. On second reading it does look more like they mean that the damage from the three hit animation is processed as a single attack and therefore returns only a single damage number. That last one is an easier problem to solve, but since the monk triple punch is still just a single attack in the code, I guess they could make it pop (1/3 damage) three times?

[Tunda]

Which, I will admit, is not at all what OP posted about but I misread that as that there were supposed to be three damage numbers and only one of them was showing while the animation was happening. On second reading it does look more like they mean that the damage from the three hit animation is processed as a single attack and therefore returns only a single damage number. That last one is an easier problem to solve, but since the monk triple punch is still just a single attack in the code, I guess they could make it pop (1/3 damage) three times?

I will try my best to solve a problem that I mentioned..

since we have Monk doing 3 punches which is do for example 30,000 damage.

split this 30,000 into 3 which each punch will do 10,000 (without crit/direct hit, let's assume it is not under bootshine crit buff)

each 10,000 will be calculated differently in backend.. for example:
first 10,000 will crit to be 20,000,
second 10,000 will direct hit to be 15,000
third 10,000 will be as it is with no direct hit or crit.

in the animation it will sync the animation first punch with 20,000 second 15,000 and third 10,000 then it will sum them to 45,000 after third punch animation is done.

As for my knowledge of learning python this could be possible but how will it affect the server communication Idk

[Eyrilona]

I will try my best to solve a problem that I mentioned..

since we have Monk doing 3 punches which is do for example 30,000 damage.

split this 30,000 into 3 which each punch will do 10,000 (without crit/direct hit, let's assume it is not under bootshine crit buff)

each 10,000 will be calculated differently in backend.. for example:
first 10,000 will crit to be 20,000,
second 10,000 will direct hit to be 15,000
third 10,000 will be as it is with no direct hit or crit.

in the animation it will sync the animation first punch with 20,000 second 15,000 and third 10,000 then it will sum them to 45,000 after third punch animation is done.

As for my knowledge of learning python this could be possible but how will it affect the server communication Idk

For each punch to have its own crit/direct hit checks, it would have to stop being a single attack in the server code. Nothing else in FFXIV works that way, I am not sure if it would even support doing that without also making it into having to press an action three times. I think it would be far easier to just change things in how it is displayed. If you absolutely do not want to just have three times the same number, you could just introduce RNG to split the total damage in different ways across the numbers displayed for first, second, and third strike, while always having them add up to the single damage number the server returned. That way the client can handle it, and you should not put extra workload on the server side just for what amounts to a display effect cosmetic, right?

[Cyrtip]

For each punch to have its own crit/direct hit checks, it would have to stop being a single attack in the server code. Nothing else in FFXIV works that way, I am not sure if it would even support doing that without also making it into having to press an action three times.

Dream within a Dream(hits 3 times from one cast) and Matra Magic (hits eight times from one cast) work that way, you can even see the difference between cast count and hit count on the forbidden logs site, and that if one of the multiple hits from a single cast is a crit or direct hit, the others aren't guaranteed to be.

[Eyrilona]

Dream within a Dream(hits 3 times from one cast) and Matra Magic (hits eight times from one cast) work that way, you can even see the difference between cast count and hit count on the forbidden logs site, and that if one of the multiple hits from a single cast is a crit or direct hit, the others aren't guaranteed to be.

Interesting!

[Tunda]

Dream within a Dream(hits 3 times from one cast) and Matra Magic (hits eight times from one cast) work that way, you can even see the difference between cast count and hit count on the forbidden logs site, and that if one of the multiple hits from a single cast is a crit or direct hit, the others aren't guaranteed to be.

You are actually right!
check this video:
https://youtu.be/4laRViybyMw?si=EzD-UllGAXmiZrTy&t=31

[Tunda]

For each punch to have its own crit/direct hit checks, it would have to stop being a single attack in the server code. Nothing else in FFXIV works that way, I am not sure if it would even support doing that without also making it into having to press an action three times. I think it would be far easier to just change things in how it is displayed. If you absolutely do not want to just have three times the same number, you could just introduce RNG to split the total damage in different ways across the numbers displayed for first, second, and third strike, while always having them add up to the single damage number the server returned. That way the client can handle it, and you should not put extra workload on the server side just for what amounts to a display effect cosmetic, right?

keeping in mind how player will receive it,
if player is hitting an action for 3 times it will not be that satisfying because the reason is make the player has less load on pressing buttons and satisfying to play a fast based job that can have multiple hits.
0.7s for each GCD will not solve the problem.

it is just all been calculated in backend after pressing 1 button.. and sends a message of 1 action that include 3 attacks with sum of it.

skill_x_damage(*args) as a function.

calling the function:
skill_x_damage(20000,15000,10000,45000,3)

3 is the number of hits.

it can be multiple of hit and the client will adjust based on the animation that coded in a time sequence.

instead of having it as:

skill_x_damage(30000)

but I think this will require adding new function with the ability to be flexible based on the number of hits.. this can be done in python but Idk about C++ which the is designed with.