Momentum-based movement - Feedback thread

Conan Exiles General Discussion
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I voted dislike on the momentum-based movement.

Relieved to know I’m not the only one who has those, and yes this sums up my sentiments quite nicely!

Here are the specific pain points I have:

  • The initial starting speed feels like I’m standing in tar.
  • Even when I’m nearly at a standstill, it’s still night impossible to jump off an edge and latch onto it again — something that I feel is as much Conan Exile’s signature move as double-tap dodges are for the Unreal Tournament series or strafe-jumping for Quake.
  • The build-up speed to a full sprint is far too lengthy. Even out-of-shape, middle-aged me can reach top speed with more finesse than my well-toned, cat-falling character can.
  • Glancing collisions remove too much momentum. This is particularly evident when trying to move around in your own crafting and living areas. Even when I’ve had too much to drink IRL I’m not as hampered by furniture as my character is.
  • Farming resources is now pure pain, and not merely because of the sluggish delay when trying to move from node to node. Why? Because not only has an option to disable screen shake not been implemented yet (that’s 7 links, FYI), but with the delay between each swing it’s actually more pronounced as my eyes have a chance to refocus again during the 1/4 second pause that’s been introduced between the backswing and the next forward swing. I can only hope that this was a bug because the delay is completely unrealistic and makes the least enjoyable aspect of the game truly excruciating.
  • From a purely subjective gaming standpoint, I much prefer crisp, precise movement like in UT (and CE before this patch) to the slippery momentum-based games like Quake (and CE post-patch).

That said, I do think there could be a happy medium. My advice would be:

  • Nearly instant start & stop for our base movement speed from pre-patch (i.e. where you’re holding forward, but not holding either sprint or walk).
  • Shorter ramp-up between base speed and running when we press & hold sprint.
  • Increase air-control somewhat so we can once again grab onto cliffs within 3-4 foundations height if we leap off at a walk, or 5-6 if sprinting.

Some additions I’d love to see that I think would make combat & movement more dynamic:

  • When sprinting, make the forward roll execute a sort of diving tumble.
  • When sprinting, make crouch put you into a slide that has a chance for a knockdown vs. a human-sized opponent, or a stagger if they have sufficient agility to resist the knockdown.
  • If sprinting and a player presses walk, the character should dig in their heels to come to a stop.
  • Add double-tap dodges similar to what heavy armor used to be. They should use less stamina than a roll, but include no I-frames, and have a shorter settle. (If I can make such a hop when I see a bike headed for me on a walking path, my character should be able to as well.)
  • If when crouching or holding walk at the top edge of a cliff, add an animation for the character slipping over and entering the climbing pose (for crouch) or hopping off and being an ideal distance to latch-on with walk.

As for the new dodge (which I realize this poll is not about), I’d have preferred to stick with the old one, but it did keep me alive thru the terrifying and exciting new Cimmerian Berserker purge last night, so its not all bad. Still feel a bit slow (at 20 AGI) for a video game though.

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