The Phantom Lab - Episode 1 The mysterious Phantom Axe.

[BunnyBunny]

Hello to all the camarades from the brigade. I hope you all have a fantastic day defending the country land from that mysterious invader !

I'm here because I wanted to invite you to the first episode of The Phantom Lab where we try to figure why things are happening and understand better this fantastic game ! And for that, what is better than the SCIENTIFIC METHOD which is roughly resumed by observe, theorize and proof by application.

SO today, I want you to watch a brief video and tell me :

1 - what you see.
2 - what you can conclude from what you see.
3 - how you can prove your theory otherwise.

I will edit this post to list all your theories and we will all discuss what is wrong and what is right.

The video in question is my own gameplay where I wanted to prove that the red ribbon was completely unreliable and that the blue line was a more precise indicator for melee attack. I was messing with the targeting system, hovering the target multiple times until a found a location where the red ribbon wasn't in contact with the target but the blue line was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWg9ynGLxDk

The target indicator was clearly showing that I wasn't going to hit. But when I launched the sequence, surprise ! The viking protector still hit !

So the question is why did it hit the target and what we can conclude from that ? Did i just prove the red ribbon is not a good indicator ? Is the blue line better ?

I'll keep my own thoughts for me for now and explain later why this video proved nothing for my theory but give us a lot of information about the game. Also I already have another funny strange case for episode 2 if you like to lab, theorize and uncover mystery !

Good luck, camarades !

[RTBear]

Pretty sure it's the blade of your melee weapon that matters which is why the red ribbon exists even if it doesn't match the animation. The ui is a "helpful" guide. You can see the blade swung around to the left side and hit at the end of the swing. With enough experience on how the animation works you can start to imagine where the blade will be along the attack time and know if it will hit or not. This is how I do it and i haven't missed yet. The only use of the blue line for me was to help me determine where the mech+blade will be in the animation.

[xyzapip]

Originally posted by RTBear:

The ui is a "helpful" guide.

As helpful as if your office application would either ignore your save file button clicks or delete your file occasionally between random successful saves :)

[roy2x]

IS something wrong with your game? Why does your melee circle have no grey area(I assume this is when mech swings)? The grey area is where the target should be and as long as the swing indicator hits the mech while in the gray area. At least from my experience I have not missed my melee attacks since.

[BunnyBunny]

Originally posted by RTBear:

Pretty sure it's the blade of your melee weapon that matters which is why the red ribbon exists even if it doesn't match the animation.

Wrong or not totally true. You can damage target that is not visually in contact with your blade. This video at 4:23 clearly shows it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE3kPPN5PyI

The hitting order, determined by the sparks, is Mech, little tank and big tank. The Mech is never close to the blade and the blade is clearly swung few meters top of the little tank. Visually only the big tank is hit by the end of the swing.

[BunnyBunny]

Originally posted by roy2x:

The grey area is where the target should be and as long as the swing indicator hits the mech while in the gray area.

Totally wrong. you can hit before the grey area. I have multiple footage (eg : the mecha samurai video) where I hit at point blank under the first circle.

[RTBear]

Originally posted by BunnyBunny:

Wrong or not totally true.

I'm saying the blade matters because there is a stat for its width and the hitbox is on the blade. Though the hitbox of the blade might be bigger than the visuals, it still follows the blade, which is why you hit the tank in your first video.

I watched a replay where I was too close to an enemy mech and the handle of my axe passed through them but the blade did not and so it looked like I just clipped through them without hurting them.

In your second video I suspect the small tank and the mech just collided with your mech as you moved through them and that damaged them. The mech might be a heavier class but had parts destroyed which might have brought down its mass enough.

[roy2x]

Originally posted by BunnyBunny:

Originally posted by roy2x:

The grey area is where the target should be and as long as the swing indicator hits the mech while in the gray area.

Totally wrong. you can hit before the grey area. I have multiple footage (eg : the mecha samurai video) where I hit at point blank under the first circle.

Totally wrong? So targets should be out in front of your mech? Before the grey circle? So nothing in grey circle hits? Man I guess all those mechs I hit were just sad I missed and damaged themselves for me.

[BunnyBunny]

Originally posted by roy2x:

Totally wrong? So targets should be out in front of your mech? Before the grey circle? So nothing in grey circle hits? Man I guess all those mechs I hit were just sad I missed and damaged themselves for me.

Yes, your theory (target must be in grey area) behind your method is wrong. But it doesn't mean your method doesn't let you have 100% hit.

The problem is since the theory is wrong, the method limit the player to a restrained use case. Ok, in a battle you hit 4 times in 4 attempts and have 100% success rate. But I'm pretty sure with a more risky approach you can hit 6 times in 10 attempt and have 60% success rate.

I'm not saying one is better than another. But I just want to make the player more aware.

[roy2x]

I dunno. Ever since I stuck to that method I have never missed. Also what do you even mean risky approach? Are you telling me my mech will miss his swing if he is getting shot at?

[BunnyBunny]

Originally posted by roy2x:

I dunno. Ever since I stuck to that method I have never missed. Also what do you even mean risky approach? Are you telling me my mech will miss his swing if he is getting shot at?

Trying to close in and attempt risky multi hit... Risk and reward !

[roy2x]

If the opportunity arises yes I have hit multiple targets at once. Especially if they were close together in the grey circle :P