Short Lightsabers/Shotos

[Vecte]

I imagine this has probably been brought up before, but I'd like to see some hilts with shorter blades. They don't need to have different stats or anything of the sort, just a shorter blade graphic. Something like 3/4 the length of the standard blade length. The Grey Helix Lightsaber has a longer than standard blade graphic, so I figure the reverse could be made possible.

[Guardian_Scott]

I was kind of surprised this wasn't an offhand weapon at the release of TOR. They had them in KOTOR 2 didn't they?

[Nempo]

I was kind of surprised this wasn't an offhand weapon at the release of TOR. They had them in KOTOR 2 didn't they?

 

Had them in both KOTOR games.

 

The reason you don't see them is due tot he animations. Remember that lightsabers have specific contact points (that is not the full length of the blade in terms of the game's animations) and the blocks used ont he defensive block higher up the blade thana shoto would reach. Meaning new animations for a shoto would be needed for attacks and defending.

A shoto also opens up different attack options (stabbing with a shoto would be infinitly more viable than with a saber for example) meaning new animations for various skills...and again, defense animations against these skills.

 

Otherwise you end up with the absurd animations one gets with those axes (nothign about how the axes animate makes any sense).

[Vecte]

Had them in both KOTOR games.

 

The reason you don't see them is due tot he animations. Remember that lightsabers have specific contact points (that is not the full length of the blade in terms of the game's animations) and the blocks used ont he defensive block higher up the blade thana shoto would reach. Meaning new animations for a shoto would be needed for attacks and defending.

A shoto also opens up different attack options (stabbing with a shoto would be infinitly more viable than with a saber for example) meaning new animations for various skills...and again, defense animations against these skills.

 

Otherwise you end up with the absurd animations one gets with those axes (nothign about how the axes animate makes any sense).

 

Way over-thinking it my friend. What I am proposing would require little to no change. I'm talking a simple graphical change, not an animation change. You forget, melee range is up to four meters, and many times sabers do not appear to be hitting anything at all, when in fact they are.

[Nempo]

Way over-thinking it my friend. What I am proposing would require little to no change. I'm talking a simple graphical change, not an animation change. You forget, melee range is up to four meters, and many times sabers do not appear to be hitting anything at all, when in fact they are.

 

You are under thinking it however, even if you aren't right at someone, they still do the defensive move. The animations (that people do not look at nearly enough) sync right up, every attack has a corresponding defensive move to block it including animations of failed block attempts.

 

Simply throwing in something (like those axes) that destroys those animations is horrid. It quickly makes the combat look less impressive and simply become like every other MMO where you have generic attack and "hit" animations that don't sync up remotely.

 

Seeing as I know how to use real weapons, seeing a shoto swing like a normal saber would be cringe worthy for me as that is NOT how you use such a weapon...at all.