GB Feature: Hellgate: London Coverage
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GB: How are you balancing ranged combat and melee combat so that one is not more powerful than the other? Also, can you give us a better understanding of how dual wielding is being implemented?
Max: Ranged combat and melee combat will be balanced in a manner similar to conventional fantasy RPGs. Melee characters will be subject to more damage, and thus will have both natural toughness and resiliance and equipment that enhances that characteristic. Ranged players will emphasize movement, speed and accuracy. Balancing these two mechanics is a process that goes on throughout develpment. Because there are so many ways of dealing both melee and ranged damage, there are not set equations or theroies that cover everything. A lot of it is trial and error. We play our game constantly, and make adjustments on the fly, and will for the duration of development and beyond.
Dual wielding is actually fairly simple. Anything that is one-handed can be duel-wielded. Players can set their mouse buttons to either fire/swing both weapons together, or use them individually. It's really fun in practice!
