2013-04-01, 03:33 PM
Dont mean to derail things but some input is better than none.
"What worries me is the player doesn't know if their weapon is having any effect."
Usually a monsters hit animation indicates this, you could have 3 animations depending on how you hit... First one would be a short wince, second would be a wince with a step back, third would be as devastating as you want and could stagger the opponent back thus giving you the option of rushing or retreating.
THEN you could remove all the damage numbers from the players view in the inventory 
and replace the damage numbers with 'sharp' to 'dull' for blades and 'solid' or 'rickety' for maces. Examples.
For a decent cutting sword it could read
Slash : Good - depending on metal and craftsmanship
Stab: Poor - depending on sword class, rapiers would be different
Smash : Average - depending on weight and swing type, swords can break bones with impact on armour
Durability : Broken through to excellent.
Then you could have the same for armour defences. Remove the numbers and replace it with something slightly more mysterious.
"What worries me is the player doesn't know if their weapon is having any effect."
Usually a monsters hit animation indicates this, you could have 3 animations depending on how you hit... First one would be a short wince, second would be a wince with a step back, third would be as devastating as you want and could stagger the opponent back thus giving you the option of rushing or retreating.
THEN you could remove all the damage numbers from the players view in the inventory
and replace the damage numbers with 'sharp' to 'dull' for blades and 'solid' or 'rickety' for maces. Examples.For a decent cutting sword it could read
Slash : Good - depending on metal and craftsmanship
Stab: Poor - depending on sword class, rapiers would be different
Smash : Average - depending on weight and swing type, swords can break bones with impact on armour
Durability : Broken through to excellent.
Then you could have the same for armour defences. Remove the numbers and replace it with something slightly more mysterious.