Why is damage delt in percentages?!

[otter]

This is something that has bothered me since the original Smash. The damage is the Smash Bros. series would make sense if it weren't for that little % sign. This is a concept that would make more sense in a traditional fighter. In Street fighter, for instance, instead of losing a quarter of your life bar from a combo, you could simply go from 0% to 25%. When you reached 100% your character would collapse.

When you reach 100% in Smash it has no relevance.

What is each point supposed to represent, if not 1% of your stamina?

 

[DeliciousCake]

Not being limited by a set amount of health allows skilled players to last longer, or kill their opponents quicker, which is a lot better imo.

 

[The-Judge]

... Lol. Who cares.
Smash Bros is original, and originality never comes in a perfect package.

 

[Fatmanonice]

To annoy and baffle you specifically, why else?

 

[:034:]

I always thought they represented how much chance of killing your opponent you had when using a Smash attack.

..Of course, the fact that one can live at 100% when hit by a Smash attack sort of negates it.

 

[iron blade]

Because Smash is unique and to bother people like you.

 

[otter]

To annoy and baffle you specifically, why else?

I KNEW IT!!!!!!

 

[Indignant]

Maybe it is a "Percentage" of normal knockback. I know a lot of characters break this...but maybe it's just for a specific move.

 

[Fatmanonice]

I KNEW IT!!!!!!

*tries to contain a laugh but can't*

 

[Storm Eagle]

I think that damage should be counted in Landmasters.

 

[otter]

Maybe it is a "Percentage" of normal knockback. I know a lot of characters break this...but maybe it's just for a specific move.

This isn't a bad guess.

By the way, I'm totally not saying that Smash isn't a real fighter or anything. I think it's cool to see a game try something else.

I just wish it made sense.

 

[Dreiko]

It's not health the % represents , it's only knockback , all chars in ssb are immortal...cause this game was originally meant for kids so they thought death was too much or somethign along those lines.

 

[The-Judge]

This might be my last message... The percents just rocks, so they dont have to make sense.
Goodbye, Smash Boards. Online Hitler will now give me the death blow!

 

[~N9NE~]

Sakurai failed at maths.

 

[-Linko-]

This might be my last message... The percents just rocks, so they dont have to make sense.
Goodbye, Smash Boards. Online Hitler will now give me the death blow!

Quoted b4 teh ban and/or post delete.

Oh, and it is a percentage because in the first game, most smash attacks killed around 100%. Nowadays, you must reach higher percentages in order to kill, but it remains as % as a nostalgic little thing because of the game that started it all.

Ps: Calling "Hitler" a Mod that is doing his job is just crazy insanity.

 

[DeuceBlade]

This might be my last message...
Goodbye, Smash Boards. Online Hitler will now give me the death blow!

Great call!

ontopic: Isn't just to calculate how farther you go.

 

[DraginHikari]

It's not health the % represents , it's only knockback , all chars in ssb are immortal...cause this game was originally meant for kids so they thought death was too much or somethign along those lines.

A game where you kill or maim Mario, Link, Pikachu, etc like in Mortal Kombat probably would have gone over pretty badly XD

Oh god I could see the Media extegration now.

 

[Lyoncet]

This might be my last message... The percents just rocks, so they dont have to make sense.
Goodbye, Smash Boards. Online Hitler will now give me the death blow!

You are a terrible person for repeatedly suggesting that the slaughter of millions of innocent people is the moral equivalent of taking out the garbage on an online community.

You will not be missed.

 

[otter]

What the hell is this nonsense that is hijacking my thread?

....

 

[Chaosblade77]

Since Smash Bros is not a traditional fighter with a health bar, what do you suggest that the number be measured in? Percent is just simple.

I mean, it makes a lot more sense than putting a symbol of currency beside it. Or an &... or @... or something.

 

[UltiMario]

To be different.
If you want to play with HP, go into Stamina mode and set it at 100.
Or play Street Fighter
I'd go with the first.

 

[fr0st2k]

Maybe it is a "Percentage" of normal knockback. I know a lot of characters break this...but maybe it's just for a specific move.

wow ... so many idiots in this community

The quoted text above IS the correct answer. The % is a representation of how far you will get knocked back in relation to a normal attack.

If bowser gets smashed by mario, he will fly 10 feet. If hes at 100%, he will fly back 20 feet.

This is OBVIOUSLY not the correct algorithm, but the percentage is used in the math when figuring out how far they will fly.

 

[otter]

Since Smash Bros is not a traditional fighter with a health bar, what do you suggest that the number be measured in? Percent is just simple.

I mean, it makes a lot more sense than putting a symbol of currency beside it. Or an &... or @... or something.

Or....no symbol?




If the % is a way to measure knockback, does this mean that you are invulnerable to all moves at 0%? Nope.

 

[INs4niTY-]

It is done as the game has not got stamina except for stamina mode. It is like this as you need to smash them out so hp/stamina will not be relevant. The % sign is less confusing than just a number imo

 

[Chiroz]

Or....no symbol?




If the % is a way to measure knockback, does this mean that you are invulnerable to all moves at 0%? Nope.

No because 0% is actually 100% knockback (meaning exact knockback of the move). While 100% is actually 200% (meaning double the knockback)


Edit: Although I don't think those numbers are correct, but I do believe % is all about knockback

 

[fuzzy4]

Maybe it is a "Percentage" of normal knockback. I know a lot of characters break this...but maybe it's just for a specific move.

This is what I always assumed. It makes more sense to look at it like a reflection of how easily they can be knocked back, rather than to think of it as health. It's as if to say they are handicapped the more they are hit. Unlike normal fighter games, street fighter and techan, characters actually suffer in their abilities from being hit. In a normal fighter, u kick the crap out of each other until you kill someone. In smash, you kick the crap out of someone in order to be able to kill someone. It's really quite intriguing, because technically speaking you could be beating on each other for eternity. You just need a way to keep from going off the edge.

 

[killbeast301]

Oh, and it is a percentage because in the first game, most smash attacks killed around 100%. Nowadays, you must reach higher percentages in order to kill, but it remains as % as a nostalgic little thing because of the game that started it all.

I'll believe this for now, but 1 question, why doesn't Sakurai just recalibrate the numbers so that it still fits?
(vaguely hopes Sakurai himself sees this so he can answer it)

 

[fr0st2k]

I'll believe this for now, but 1 question, why doesn't Sakurai just recalibrate the numbers so that it still fits?
(vaguely hopes Sakurai himself sees this so he can answer it)

no no no ! that is SO wrong

 

[PanzerOceania]

This is something that has bothered me since the original Smash. The damage is the Smash Bros. series would make sense if it weren't for that little % sign. This is a concept that would make more sense in a traditional fighter. In Street fighter, for instance, instead of losing a quarter of your life bar from a combo, you could simply go from 0% to 25%. When you reached 100% your character would collapse.

When you reach 100% in Smash it has no relevance.

What is each point supposed to represent, if not 1% of your stamina?

my viewpoint was always that 100% was a good landmark to start trying to knock people off the stage. You build their damage up to that point and than use your heavy knockback moves then

this theory is considered for the general audience, if a person is not that great at the game they will be worse at recoveries and so this isn't too far off as far as a number where you can really start getting K.O.s easily.

I dunno, shrugs, just what I always thought.

 

[Lynkx]

I think it's because 100% is meant to be the standard KO percentage. If you go beyond the standard amount, I suppose that makes you a "better player", or shows that your character can withstand a lot of damage, and if you get KO'd under the standard percentage, it portrays you or your character's weakness, again depending on which character you use.

But from the looks of it, Brawl completely ignored that concept...

That's not the official reason, btw, I'm just guessing that's why we have the percentages.

 

[RedMage8BT]

Your knockback is increased by the factor of your percent. doubled at 100%, tripled at 200%, about 11 times at 999%

 

[fr0st2k]

Your knockback is increased by the factor of your percent. doubled at 100%, tripled at 200%, about 11 times at 999%

god thank you, i said this an hour ago .. yet no one seems to care for the real answer

 

[Azzizaz]

It's percentages because this isn't your ordinary fighter. If you don't like it, don't play Smash Bros.

 

[Unknownlight]

I think of it like this:

If you were at 0% then an attack will do normal knockback. At 10% the attack will do normal knockback plus 10 percent of that attack's knockback. At 100% the attack will do normal knockback plus 100 percent of it's knockback (pretty much meaning it will do double knockback), and so on.

For the people who don't understand what I'm saying, think of it like this. Let's say attack X regularly does 10 knockback.

At 0%: Attack X does 10 knockback.
At 10%: Attack X does 10 knockback + 10% of Attack X's knockback power, which is 1. 10+1=11.
At 50%: Attack X does 10 knockback + 50% of Attack X's knockback power, which is 5. 10+5=15.
At 100%: Attack X does 10 knockback + 100% of Attack X's knockback power, which is 10. 10+10=20.

That's how I've always thought of it.

 

[brawlmaniac]

Because having percentages like that make Smash a fighter different from all the others.

 

[RedMage8BT]

Good lord, you don't get it. He's not complaining that it's percentages as opposed to "health bars", he's simply asking why damage is gauged in percentages as opposed to just a plain number. Stop being so pretentious.

 

[worm]

It seems to me that when someone reaches 100%, they are ripe for death. So if you die before you reach 100%, either somebody whooped you or you screwed up. But if you live beyond 100%, then you are on borrowed time and playing well.

A good analogy I think would be average life expectancy. In the US for men, it's about 76 years. So when someone is 38 years old, they are at 50%. And when someone dies at 50% (38 years), you have a sense that they should've lived longer. Wait...that got a lot more morbid that I had wanted.

 

[AustiniusRex]

It's part of the reason why the game is so good. I rated this thread 1 star, i'm sorry I couldn't give it less.

 

[Rhubarbo]

The percentage is how much more you will go flying I think.

 

[Azzizaz]

Good lord, you don't get it. He's not complaining that it's percentages as opposed to "health bars", he's simply asking why damage is gauged in percentages as opposed to just a plain number. Stop being so pretentious.

What fun is a plain old number without the two little circles and line between them?