Yeah, it’s basically this, when it feels like the game breaks its own rules in order to fake difficulty. Especially with those cheap spin moves.
If an enemy wasn’t animated to telegraph and execute a move that spins 360 degrees - you feel betrayed by the game.
Each attack has to have a telegraph long enough for a human to react, whether it’s a snap reaction attack or a slow one. The heavier hitting the attack is - the more obvious the telegraph needs to be, while also giving you time to recover if it induces a knockdown or stagger. (if they can keep hitting you after a stagger, it’s basically a one-shot, which is just a no-no)
That’s why animations are half of the work required to fix the AI, and the actual code is the other 50%. It has to be shown on the screen and timed properly, and tested by QA over and over again.
Edit:
P.S. This lack of AI and animations also leads to those situations where NPC archers shoot at you through their own backs with their arms bent like a pretzel.
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