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Tab Targeting why the hate?
eccoton
Member UncommonPosts: 1,340
It seems I am one of the few who still prefers tab targeting. Let me get this out of the way whether you believe me or not. I am really good at action combat in mmos like Tera! I am extremely fast and accurate with action combat and FPSers so that is not an issue. I am proficient in both keyboards and controllers. I do enjoy combat action but not in my big open world mmos.
What I find is that I will at times put long sessions into mmos. I will play for hours at a time. I will admit I have put 8 to 12 hours into sessions without much of a break accept for bio breaks. on an occasion I enjoy doing that and getting lost in the game world. I really appreciate good action combat. I think Tera is one of the best, C9 does it really well, and I give credit to Vindictus. These game do give a visceral feel to combat that is satisfying.
What I hear in the game reporting world is tab targeting should be dead and that no mmo should have it any more. That tab targeting is antiquated and the tone is those of us who like it just don't get it. The main reason I prefer tab targeting in mmos is the sheer amount of time I can put in a session. The wear and tear of even 4+ hours of action combat can cause real issues with hands and arms. I was starting to develop carpal tunnel syndrome while playing Tera. I recently was playing Black Desert Online and the carpal tunnel began to return. So while I hope action combat is a choice and gets better I also hope developers of future big scale open world mmos (if there will be anymore) will consider a tab targeting or a hybrid combat system over a pure action combat. My muscles and joints can not take it and I hope to be playing mmos for the rest of my life. While I still got the moves my joints and muscle just can not take it during a long play session with action combat.
What I find is that I will at times put long sessions into mmos. I will play for hours at a time. I will admit I have put 8 to 12 hours into sessions without much of a break accept for bio breaks. on an occasion I enjoy doing that and getting lost in the game world. I really appreciate good action combat. I think Tera is one of the best, C9 does it really well, and I give credit to Vindictus. These game do give a visceral feel to combat that is satisfying.
What I hear in the game reporting world is tab targeting should be dead and that no mmo should have it any more. That tab targeting is antiquated and the tone is those of us who like it just don't get it. The main reason I prefer tab targeting in mmos is the sheer amount of time I can put in a session. The wear and tear of even 4+ hours of action combat can cause real issues with hands and arms. I was starting to develop carpal tunnel syndrome while playing Tera. I recently was playing Black Desert Online and the carpal tunnel began to return. So while I hope action combat is a choice and gets better I also hope developers of future big scale open world mmos (if there will be anymore) will consider a tab targeting or a hybrid combat system over a pure action combat. My muscles and joints can not take it and I hope to be playing mmos for the rest of my life. While I still got the moves my joints and muscle just can not take it during a long play session with action combat.
Comments
why the hate?
Wow used it.Boring
Gives huge advantage to those who use Scripts like in wow for example
That's because of why it originally came about, which I believe was due to the limited bandwidth available to the average user in the mid-late 90s. Dial-up was still a thing back then, and you couldn't realistically expect a truly dynamic movement and combat system to sync between client and server with that kind of technology, especially not when all players need to be updated when in close proximity.
Now, with that said - I don't see a reason that tab targeting couldn't work if it's combined with an interesting combat system. It all depends on what kind of game you're trying to make - and especially if you intend to focus on immersive, visceral combat or tactical, cerebral combat. Anything in between could also be the case, of course.
To me, it's like that other ancient discussion of real-time versus turn-based combat. I don't know why some people must have one over the other.
In my world, it's all about implementation.
I play WoW and Rift currently as my main mmos both tab targeting. Rift throws in a bit of needed avoidance movement to spice tab targeting up a bit but hardly action combat. I really enjoy watching the particle effects in both games during combat. In a raid on a high end system it can be quite a light show which I do not find boring. Visually I can enjoy the combat more with tab targeting but I lose out on the visceral nature of action combat so it is a trade off. For the sake of my stamina for long play sessions I prefer the visual feat of a great light show over the feel of action combat. Now this is predicated on great art style to offer me the visual feast so the tab targeting does not get "boring". Well I will admit I also enjoy great old school JRPGs.
I want to be able to run up to a group of enemies and start using my sword and never have to tab target if I don't want to.
I want to be able to tab to a target to find out special information about what the target's health is, who he's targeting... ect, but I don't want it to be a condition of being able to attack that target.
Pretty damn simple really. With this system, you make both groups happy.
Rift is a bit like that.
It makes you feel like you are fighting because you can control their movement at will. In tab targeted games it's much simpler. You just have a bunch of abilities to choose from and the game automatically locks on the target. I don't feel as engaged as say fighting a boss in tera or dark souls for example.
Obviously this is my opinion.
I took a look at Rift a couple of years ago, but then a few people told me that there were so many abilities for each class that scripting/macroing was a necessity. I really didn't feel like getting that involved at the time, so I didn't download it.
However, the skills tend to overlap - and while there are quite a few of them, a lot of them are minor variations on the same theme.
Overall, I consider Rift one of the weaker WoW clones out there - but to each his own.
I want to turn and attack, I want to change my targets quickly if needed.
I don't want to cycle through my enemies, possibly overshooting and then cycling back.
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Really it is a question of having a system that best fit the game systems, in this case the combat abilities, spells etc.
If a game only has ray targeted (line of sight) and area targeted abilities, then a "tab target" would usually be a less optimal solution, especially if it is fast paced combat.
But as soon as you need to use abilities to target specific elements, and elements that are not always in line of sight, then a tab target system is usually more suitable.
Preferring one or the other is more a question of taste in game style, where speakers against tab targeting prefer a more action oriented combat game, and those for prefer a more tactical combat game.
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I've yet to play a good PVE group focused MMO without tab target. I suppose those features are as "antiquated" as tab target though. I'm rolling my eyes as i type.
However i do agree action target is much better for PVP.
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Doesn't make much sense, either
I like the hybrid system in ESO where it's not needed most of the time but it's available to lock on to a target as long as you keep it in your FOV.
I see it as just another aid to try to simulate RL perception in a computer game screen. Same reason over the shoulder view works better than first person for simulating spatial awareness.
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Clicking mouse buttons and tapping keyboard keys is so antiquated, lets get rid of them and use console controllers, they're so new and fresh, right? Wait, wasn't I using a joystick on my Atari 2600 long before a keyboard and mouse? If you are going to use that silly argument against tab targeting and or avatar based combat, you're going to have to give up action combat too which has been around just as long and is just as antiquated.
I enjoy tab target, slower paced, stat/avatar based combat. Not because I'm old or slow or coordination challenged, but rather because I enjoy it more than action.
Yeah, there have been minor additions or changes but nothing truly revolutionary.
Its also a poor medium for interaction with the game world. Everyone is always clamoring for "immersion" yet there really isnt anything immersive about clicking a hotkey and waiting for a dice roll to determine if my giant axe actually hit them or not. If my giant axe's attack passes through you then it should hit, not "Miss".