Pouring over the <a href="http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/info/info01.html" target="_blank">15 Second Movie Presentation</a> from the DOJO, I stared to notice some things that were not as apparent to me previously. It may be Havok, or it may simply be the new way Sakurai is designing Smash. Either way, it’s worth taking note of.
In Melee, when you were hit by an explosion, you typically flew away in the same way every time. No matter what part of the explosion hit you, you would fly up and out at about a 45 degree angle. This doesn’t make much sense. If an explosion is a force expanding in all directions, then depending and how it hits you, you should be able to fly in all directions. Brawl has fixed this. Check out this first example.
<ol>
<li>Fox’s first shot mostly hits the ground. The explosion moves out from there and clip Bowser in the jaw. Bowser flies up diagonally. But because the blast wasn’t a direct hit and Bowser is quite heavy, he only flies up a little bit.</li>
<li>Fox hits him directly in the stomach. This is a much stronger hit, and Bowser flies off at a correct angle to the explosion.</li>
<li>Link gets blasted right at his feet. Guess where he flies? That’s right! Straight up!</li>
</ol>
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok1.gif" title="havok1.gif"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok1.gif" alt="havok1.gif" /><!--more--></a></p>
In this second example you can see how the same explosion can send players in various directions.
<ol>
<li> All three characters are near the bomb.</li>
<li>Samus is furthest away taking a weaker shockwave of the blast. Kirby and Zelda take the blast at full force.</li>
<li>Samus is merely knocked out of the air and skids to a stop. Kirby is blasted out at an angle that’s more parallel to the ground while flying much faster than Samus. Because Zelda is below Kirby and the bomb, she is blasted down, colliding with the side of Eldin Bridge, and rebounds in the opposite direction.</li>
</ol>
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok2.gif" title="havok2.gif"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok2.gif" alt="havok2.gif" /></a></p>
In this example, Pikachu uses his final smash, Volt Tackle, to ram DK and Mario. Notice that Mario and DK fly at the same angle that Pikachu attacks at. The preservation of angles and momentum is exactly what I’ve been saying Smash needs.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok3.gif" title="havok3.gif"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok3.gif" alt="havok3.gif" /></a></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="left">It’s all so clear to me now. I hope my arrows will help you see all of these subtle changes happening as you watch the video in real time.</p>
In Melee, when you were hit by an explosion, you typically flew away in the same way every time. No matter what part of the explosion hit you, you would fly up and out at about a 45 degree angle. This doesn’t make much sense. If an explosion is a force expanding in all directions, then depending and how it hits you, you should be able to fly in all directions. Brawl has fixed this. Check out this first example.
<ol>
<li>Fox’s first shot mostly hits the ground. The explosion moves out from there and clip Bowser in the jaw. Bowser flies up diagonally. But because the blast wasn’t a direct hit and Bowser is quite heavy, he only flies up a little bit.</li>
<li>Fox hits him directly in the stomach. This is a much stronger hit, and Bowser flies off at a correct angle to the explosion.</li>
<li>Link gets blasted right at his feet. Guess where he flies? That’s right! Straight up!</li>
</ol>
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok1.gif" title="havok1.gif"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok1.gif" alt="havok1.gif" /><!--more--></a></p>
In this second example you can see how the same explosion can send players in various directions.
<ol>
<li> All three characters are near the bomb.</li>
<li>Samus is furthest away taking a weaker shockwave of the blast. Kirby and Zelda take the blast at full force.</li>
<li>Samus is merely knocked out of the air and skids to a stop. Kirby is blasted out at an angle that’s more parallel to the ground while flying much faster than Samus. Because Zelda is below Kirby and the bomb, she is blasted down, colliding with the side of Eldin Bridge, and rebounds in the opposite direction.</li>
</ol>
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok2.gif" title="havok2.gif"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok2.gif" alt="havok2.gif" /></a></p>
In this example, Pikachu uses his final smash, Volt Tackle, to ram DK and Mario. Notice that Mario and DK fly at the same angle that Pikachu attacks at. The preservation of angles and momentum is exactly what I’ve been saying Smash needs.
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok3.gif" title="havok3.gif"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/havok3.gif" alt="havok3.gif" /></a></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="left">It’s all so clear to me now. I hope my arrows will help you see all of these subtle changes happening as you watch the video in real time.</p>
I’d have to wait for the attack to end to make my next move. Although the Up-B function seems viable though. Still, it’s a way for them to force me to use it early.