Underwater Graphical Update

[Rekh]

Huge mistake not introducing underwater breathing mechanics and combat IMO. Is it a hassle in other games? Kind of, that’s the whole point. It was a different sort of challenge. What did SEs solution do for underwater play? Nothing, and guess what… no one does anything with it.

I think spear fishing may be the only thing, and to date I have never encountered anyone else underwater either.

I wish SE stopped taking gaming features and implementing a gutted version of it that barely serves a purpose. Like dungeons. They were supposed to be the more exciting parts of a game, and here, they are the least.

Square enix and some simpleton players have a fear of underwater combat when in reality you don't need to actually swim to fight; Link has shown us this reality in the Zelda games. Sea floor would be where all the enemies are; anything above it would be like the "flying" section of the underwater zone.

Let us fight in environments like this


I state it again; you don't need to create swimming battle animations; just ground player characters and enemies to the seafloor, that's it. Just create enough environment around the ground floor.

[Iscah]

I state it again; you don't need to create swimming battle animations; just ground player characters and enemies to the seafloor, that's it. Just create enough environment around the ground floor.

So, the Tempest then. They've already done it and it's not any more or less exciting than any other type of environment, just a different decor theme.

Sure, some prettied-up coral reefs would be nice, but functionally it's not something they've failed to contemplate.

If all the involved story characters had the ability to breathe infinitely underwater then maybe we would get a zone with water currently present.

[Jojoya]

I'm sure it will look prettier to cruise around underwater.

It's not going to change what happens underwater. We're still a long way off from true 3D combat (whether underwater or in sky/space) becoming popular with players. As good as 3D graphics are getting, the brain gets confused when trying to judge distance without that underlying surface between the person and the target giving a clear perspective.

Square enix and some simpleton players have a fear of underwater combat when in reality you don't need to actually swim to fight; Link has shown us this reality in the Zelda games. Sea floor would be where all the enemies are; anything above it would be like the "flying" section of the underwater zone.



I state it again; you don't need to create swimming battle animations; just ground player characters and enemies to the seafloor, that's it. Just create enough environment around the ground floor.

So what's supposed to make the underwater combat unique and interesting if we're still using what the brain interprets as a 2D surface for reference points?

All I can think of in my mind is that combat underwater is usually represented as slower in action and movement so it would end up like doing old school Toto-Rak with a 4 second GCD.

Does that sound like fun to you? It doesn't sound like fun to me.

[Rekh]

I'm sure it will look prettier to cruise around underwater.

It's not going to change what happens underwater. We're still a long way off from true 3D combat (whether underwater or in sky/space) becoming popular with players. As good as 3D graphics are getting, the brain gets confused when trying to judge distance without that underlying surface between the person and the target giving a clear perspective.


So what's supposed to make the underwater combat unique and interesting if we're still using what the brain interprets as a 2D surface for reference points?

All I can think of in my mind is that combat underwater is usually represented as slower in action and movement so it would end up like doing old school Toto-Rak with a 4 second GCD.

Does that sound like fun to you? It doesn't sound like fun to me.

No need to slow down the combat, the appeal would be being truly underwater; not this fake bubble like in tempest. No different than a snow zone, the appeal is the aesthetic.