2x2 strafing undermines character building [edited]

[Darklord]

Guys, please be nice.

Daniel.

[BlueSpace]

1) The strafing is part of the game mechanic and the game is balanced around this. Tanking stats are important since the game forces you from time to time to fight enemies in confined spaces where you cannot effectively 2x2 kite. Furthermore you will mess up from time to time and take damage. Again this is intended, taking too much damage from encounters which you can kite forces you to rest which in turn reduces your food reserves. Mess up too often and you have a very hard time.

2) Implementing enemies that are not kiteable is from a game design point of view the same as dropping you in a 2x1 space with an enemy. The game already does that.

3) Removing the kiting and making the game more stat based will lead to slightly different genres.
Squares/stat based no kiting: Bard's tale, Wizardry 1-7
Open movement/ reduced kiting/ stat based: Ultima Underworld I/II, Wizardry 8, Daggerfall

As you can notice stat based RPGs have survived in the form of the elder scroll series (Skyrim) and most J-RPGs. Making this game more stat based and removing the kiting mechanic will just push it out of the beautiful niche that it fills right now.
Everything that people here suggest has been implemented and done over the course of the last two decades. Instead of trying to change grimrock, I would suggest to spam Skyrim forums over the lack of puzzles in that game. And that is meant seriously. Maybe developers will get a clue that we don't appreciate the fact, that RPGs nowadays are just dumb.

Once again thx to almost human for reminding us that there was a time when puzzles and RPGs belonged together.

[HoustonDragon]

You don't HAVE to strafe in the game to win. Personally, with a pair of well equipped meat shields, I tended to stand there and bash stuff in the face with large swords and axes, while my ranger and mage pew pew pewed them down. Positioning IS an important issue, simply to prevent being flanked by other enemies, but as long as you tuck into a nice corner, it's pretty rare that you get overwhelmed (AoE and poison attacking mobs are a concern), but again, strategic retreat even into an area that you can close a door to block them... there's plenty of ways other than the dance-dance method.

[Ixnatifual]

I thought the game was pretty difficult on Normal even with grid dancing. I died lots of times.

[Darklord]

I thought the game was pretty difficult on Normal even with grid dancing. I died lots of times.

Me to.

Daniel.

[Isaac]

You don't HAVE to strafe in the game to win.

But why wouldn't you want to?
(Yes this is a serious question )

The entire genre of games that Grimrock is deliberately part of work this way ~it's expected to work like that. It'd be odd if it didn't.
The game is not a simulation. Foremost, it's a game; and one with a heritage (or at least with roots).

Edit:
It is worth mentioning though... Stone Prophet had step based movement, but that was an option, it could run with free movement; purely aesthetic though.

[oodyboo]

You don't HAVE to strafe in the game to win.

But why wouldn't you want to?
(Yes this is a serious question )

It appears that some people would prefer combat to be determined by character skill rather than player skill, hence this thread...

[dnk]

+ 1
i also found at least half of the fights pretty boring. just strafing in circles in a 2x2 places. i could win them even without any skills or weapons. bad things is, that such fights are then more routine than fun. and sure, you don't have to fight that way, but you just do, while it's the most effective way. not sure what can be done about it. maybe better AI ?

the other half of fights were much much more fun. the ones where you couldn't kill enemies one by one, or at places witout 2x2 or more space,...there you really needed to have some strategy and use your skills. much more interesting than walking in a circle.

[huldu]

The problem in the game is the backstab it *requires* you to be behind a monster to even perform. Fix the way backstab works and you can disable strafing in combat entirely. But for now strafing is the only way to perform a backstab(since you have to get behind the mob to use it).

[Spathi]

Again another page of straw man arguments. This suggestion of

Removing the kiting

only comes from those needing to ignore what has been suggested to create an argument against an imaginary position that nobody holds.

This thread does something like this over and over...
The timing on these traffic lights is slightly wrong they should tune the way they operate to allow the other road to flow better.
OMG! I can get to work and the other cars move sometimes, and you want to remove the traffic lights and have chaos.