Yesterday I quietly released the Taketori Katana. It is available in my main shop at Anhalt Hill (first place in my profile Picks) as well as SL Exchange :
So far I’ve gotten mostly good feedback, though there’s at least one person out there who apparently hates it (I think his exact words were "The handling on this thing sucks"). I admit that it’s a little different, and may required getting used to (there’s no auto-combo ability in this sword, for instance), but most people seem to be reporting that it’s pretty smooth for them.
The most important thing to remember about the Taketori Katana handling is that it is specifically designed to not require rapid-fire button mashing or perfect timing. It is designed such that it should be easy to move smoothly from one attack to the next, or attack to block, etc. As an example, if you pressed W for a forward slash, you can press and hold D at any point while the W slash is executing to move right into the D slash when the W slash is finished, you do not need to wait for the W to finish. Same with block and kick. The number one priority for the Taketori was the ability to smoothly transition from one thing to the next, almost like a rolling motion from one key to the next.
Some people have reported that the Taketori is faster, some have reported that it is slower, and there are people I trust completely on both sides of that argument. Who is right? Well, technically speaking, I did in fact slow down the Taketori a little due to feedback from some of the best fighters I could find, but a great deal of testing has not shown the weapon to actually be slow. Most testers have reported that it is fairly well balanced.
Only time and widespread usage will really reveal what the overall consensus is, and while I feel that the speed is pretty good "as-is", I think exactly the right decision was made : It’s possible to release an update that is faster, if required, but if I release a "too-fast" weapon and try to put out an update that is slower to try to balance it, then many people will simply choose not to use the update.
Beta testers may wonder "what happened to the rolls?", to which I can only say that although I still intend to incorporate the rolls in a future update, I never considered them an essential feature, and making them work properly and consistently despite SL’s quirks and the greediness (in terms of aggressive polling time and insistence on overriding literally everything) of most animation overrides was just more work than I was willing to do if it meant putting off the release by a couple more weeks.
I also plan on creating a unique special attack for this weapon. :) It’s another one of those features that, although it would be quite nice to have a unique special, was just not a showstopper.
I hope to do a postmortem article soon, but as it is I just picked up a new contract at my RL job and need to return to gritty reality 
Please feel free to leave any feedback you have on the new weapon, I would very much like to hear what people have to say!!!
Popularity: 49% [?]
By the way, if anyone is wondering why the only in-world location where the Taketori is available is my main store, there are three basic reasons:
1 - Laziness
2 - I wanted a slow and quiet rollout, just in case someone found a showstopper bug that had not been spotted before. This would provide better “damage control”.
3 - My store could use a traffic bump
I fully intend to put vendors in all of my current in-world locations as well as a few new ones (Kafka’s place and Ayame’s place).
There’s something I noticed in the beta that looks like it’s also in the release version. You may already be aware of it. I sent you an IM once but I’m not sure if it went through. Sometimes a w slash will be triggered when I kick or block as part of or when following a combo. I don’t have the timing to repro it perfectly.
Looks great, Robby! I loved the beta versions, and can’t wait to pick up the final (for now^^) version from your store when I get home from school =D
@Malachi -
Hmmm… Okay, I’ll check on that again after work.
I like to call things like this “pathological problems”, because they seem to be an inherent part of the fact that we are trying to develop a combat system on a platform that isn’t intended for it, and which itself suffers from systemic problems regarding performance and consistency.
The problem is that if someone like you doesn’t “have the timing to repro it”, then it’s not going to be consistently reproducible for me either. “Timing issues”, or issues that only crop up when a given set of circumstances occur with a particular timing, are generally considered one of the tougher classes of problems in software development
Nevertheless, I will see what I can do! Perhaps I’ll be able to find a place in the code that doesn’t protect against such things adequately, and it will be easier than I thought. In any case, I’ll try to fix it.
I can probably repro it, just not consistently. I can usually trigger it in at least 1 in 5 attempts and sometimes more.
Really? I’ll try to get in touch with you later, and I’ll see if you can teach me to repro it
If so, it will help tremendously.
I begged him, I pleaded with him, I think I even *cried* to him one night to but the auto-combo back in… Now, since I have been using it, I don’t miss it. The transition is smooth between attack annimations and in the version I beta tested, I could press the W key and as the animation started, press it again to get it to autocombo with two different animations. Pretty kool stuff. I’m going to miss the forward roll and I would have loved to have seen a backward roll also, but maybe on the new weapon? The jump-slash works for me and I don’t have to be so aware of my timing, however this could be a Havac4 issue but its nice not to sweat the jump-slash and wonder how long I’ll be open for.
Well, I have another class to go to (boring fluid mechanics) and then rush home and buy the final version.
See you on the Mats, JulieAnne
Hehe, funny, I don’t remember the crying :p
Auto-Combo is very popular, and I’m still looking to find a way to integrate it with this sword’s code without breaking it. Every time I tried to “put it back in” I broke something, which is the only reason it’s not in there now.
I *am* very relieved to hear you say that it’s not a deal-breaker issue, though!!! I’ll keep working on that, as well as the rolls
Hrm…that sounds like a *really* interesting technique! *grins* Waitaminute! Nofair! Giving away all my super secret hyperkitty techniques! LOL
But yah, awesome work! I looove the Taketori and the new sounds made me swoon. It’s really cool to play with beta after beta and like see the final blade slowly take shape with all of our input. Getting to play with shiny new toys is cool and all but it’s really satisfying to know that we all helped out forging it in one way or another.
So kick back and relax…well as much as you can relax with this new RL project you got. ^_^
Aimee Congrejo’s latest blog post is : VWR-6256 Meta-issue: Bugs that effect C:SI Combat Samurai Island
Now just hold on a sec! Why do you think I mumble? goshdarncarnsarn Rock!
And I’m not giving away all of your secrets :p I’m sure I don’t even know the majority of them. As it is, you should probably be feeling like “Wow, the Taketori was made just for how I fight”, lol.
So there :p
Shhh…see by making it look like I’m *complaining* about you giving away my secrets I’m masking the fact that you *actually* made the Taketori *just* for me! *grins* xD
Taketori Katana: Hyperkitty Aimee Edition
*chases tail*
Aimee Congrejo’s latest blog post is : VWR-6256 Meta-issue: Bugs that effect C:SI Combat Samurai Island
I was using the last Taketori beta this morning…the one that is probably most like the release version. I had forgotten that that the last beta I received did not have auto-combo and tried to WAD a few times in spars. However, once figuring that out..again…I simply did as Julie did, timed the repeat-W better. And this was not hard at all since the single slashes are so responsive. Definitely NOT a deal breaker Robby. Will go to Anhalt and empty my coffers toute suite! BTW I heard talk about making the rolls in an update be activated by block+double-tap-direction. I think that’s a wonderful compromise. My concern from an early early beta was that I was getting an inordinate amount of rolls when I wanted to counter slash off the block. This block-double-tap idea seems to be a great solution to a consequence of the SL platform. Can’t wait to see how the Taketori continues develop.
Yes, I think that using a double-tap while blocking will allow rolls to be implemented without as many “misfires”. That’s one of the things I intend to do in the very near future.
Question… Is it just me, or is anyone else seeing this? I cannot click on the sword to change the colors. I could yesterday, but cannot now. It’s like Second Life just ignores it, I click the sword and my mouse cursor jumps off somewhere else entirely
The following is only my opinion of course, but…
1. I think the sword handles very well. They all handle pretty similarly really, but with the Taketori I do not get as many “no fires”, even compared to the Musashi Rose or Eternal, which has been my main sword for over a year.
2. The Taketori will now be my main sword =D
3. The autocombo thing really should not be a big deal because there is no issue easing into the next strike. It might even break bad habits since committing to a strike (with an auto combo) before you know if its going to benefit you or not is usually not a good idea and only works from luck (even with anticipation, since that always involves some luck).
4. The hidden second strike in the block-strike-block-strike situation is still there a lot of the time, but that is the only issue I’ve had with it.
5. I’m beginning to feel that if its not exactly the same speed as an arch or musashi, its at least so close that I can’t totally say for sure what I think, lol. Which is good enough for me at least.
6. I don’t get a color change menu either, but since its black I’m a happy camper anyway =D
I really think you have made the most appealing C:SI sword to date with the Taketori, both how it handles and how it looks, the build and animations.
PS… Just tped into Anhalt Hill and got all nostalgic, hehe
Actually robby, I had that problem with trying to change the colors from the beginning. Wasn’t able to bring up the menu yesterday, or today.
That sucks
I know for a fact I could do it before, I must have tested every color trying to make sure that the textures I used were colorizable enough.
Sigh.
Okay, I will look into it!
I do too, sometimes
I really should change that store, update it or something, it’s quite dated and obviously not our best work, but…. I have some really damned good memories of the time when that store was built
And I remember sharing one of my early swords with you there, and you didn’t seem all that impressed, lol. You don’t know how good it makes me feel to see that change
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: Stoopid color change broken crappy stuff
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: It is simply not even detecting clicks now
Aimee Congrejo: Oh ask Zero I think he said something last nite about not being able to change colors
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: I can’t either, now
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: I absolutely definitely could before, though
Aimee Congrejo: Woah…resetting mouse cursor to center when you click?
Aimee Congrejo: I’ve had ctrl-alt-mousecam-click do that sometimes but yah now clicking the blade resets mouse cursor to centerscreen too
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: OMFG!!! I just figured it out!!!
Aimee Congrejo: Oh?
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: Guh!!! Stoopid error on my part, I think
Aimee Congrejo: LOL
Aimee Congrejo: u=fail XD
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: hey!
RobbyRacoon Olmstead !== fail
Aimee Congrejo: [ $robby -eq fail ] && stabstabstab.sh;
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: Actually, turns out to be your fault, too
Aimee Congrejo: o.O
Aimee Congrejo: Myfault? *cry*
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: yupyup
Aimee Congrejo: Yeek! How?
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: You made me change it so that you could wear a Wave and Taketori at the same time, and that means that I hadda change all of the scripts that interact with the sheath. I did that at the last minute, and forgot to synchronize the channel between the color script and the sheath :p
Aimee Congrejo: OMG Nuuuuuuuuuu!
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: Okay, 85% Aimee, %15 Robby == stoopid
Aimee Congrejo: ROFL
Aimee Congrejo: I’ll take more responsibility XD
Aimee Congrejo: So like…at least 93% Aimee!
RobbyRacoon Olmstead: Okay! Can I quote you?
Aimee Congrejo: Ha…yesh…*hangs head*
Ah ha! Proofz! I knewz it :O
Putting together an update right now! It’s gonna take a bit, ’cause you gotta go slow and check, double-check, sanity-check, and *really* check stuff, but it’s coming
That’s right! I don’t remember what you said but I remember you being really humble and polite and thinking “this guy is so nice”! And I wasn’t totally unimpressed, I just had C:SI snobbishness so didn’t give it a ton of attention. I thought it was pretty cool actually, just wasn’t C:SI, hehe
I think I understand that… It’s a large part of why I wanted to join C:SI, in fact. There are other swords, and other systems, but they just aren’t the same quality bar.
And C:SI wasn’t interested in me at that point either, lol
Which is good, because it was a spur to improve!
GUH!!!!! I PUT THE WRONG SHEATH IN THE V1.0.1 BOX!!!!
Had a lot of fun using the Taketori this morning. Fast, smooth and responsive sword. One thing though, I did notice the same issue that Malachi mentioned, but I have found it very hard to reproduce. Good job though.
Lol D: I forgive you!
*cry* You all can blame me. XD
Aimee Congrejo’s latest blog post is : VWR-6256 Meta-issue: Bugs that effect C:SI Combat Samurai Island
Durnit… Putting out an update to the update, I really hope this works this time!
I feel like an idiot, lol.
Do you have to force the update or will the sword update if I pull it from the box?
I am very pleased you like it!
Malachi sent me a notecard with repro steps, and I will be working on a fix. I don’t think I’ll be sending any more updates tonight though, lol.
I think I can do the bug Malachi and Judo are talking about. It comes when you start stacking attacks too close together, and only when at least some keys are spammed. If I do W, then a bunch of As or Ds, and then block, my block doesn’t come when I think it should, one extra attack will get added before I can block again. The extra attack comes when the other swords would normally stop attacking after having been spammed.
Below are the commands and what happens are in parentheses… So on a Musashi:
1 second - 2 seconds - 3 second WW (attack) AA (attack) DD (attack) C-held (Block)Taketori:
1 second - 2 seconds - 3 second WW (attack) AA (attack) DD (attack) C held (Attack-Block)The Taketori doesn’t do it when I do this:
Oh feck… my spacing got all messed up and my comment doesn’t make sense now… and I didn’t notice your comment that you already got the steps to fix it, oops
I think I’ll be able to figure it out. If not, I hope I can ask for clarification?
In any case, your repro steps are more detailed (and may be different, I have yet to compare), so it may be that they are complementary to Malachi’s
@ Malachi, Judo, and Kasumi -
I’m working on a fix for the issue you reported, and am wondering if you’d be willing to test it for me when I think I’ve got it figured out.
Would that be something you are interested in?
Happy to test. Keen and I were sparring with it this morning, and we both noticed that instead of jump kicks, we sometimes got jump slashes.
I’d be glad to help you test it out.
Okay, I just sent some beta versions to Judo, Malachi, and Kasumi that I hope work a little better. This should also resolve the “attack-block-attack” problem where the second attack anim is hidden.
Please let me know if this is any better!
Just in addition to what Judo said, jump kick turning into jump slash is the easiest way to reproduce the issue.
I experimented with the new copy you sent me. It’s harder to repro the way I was doing it previously but it can still be done. A more consistent repro on the new version is to tap s then rapidly tap and hold d. When triggered the anims that will play are: first kick, second slash with d, third kick. However, using this combo I’ve also triggered another combination where it will kick twice and then trigger the third slash with d.
Just tried the new copy, still the same issue on jump kicks
Frankly, I blame Cody for everything! Including the crappy mark I got on my dispersion analysis project of slowness vs frequency. DAMN YOU CODY!
Umm… Yeah… Me too!
Received my new Taketori yesterday, love the sword, will probly become my main kat, i love the responsiveness. the two issues ive noticed so far are 1-white dosent look like white it looks medium grey, as a matter of fact all the colors seem muted,possibly besause of the “grain” of the sheath, but stil white should e closer to white, lol. (that was when i could get into the color selection, havent tried coloring the new updated version. and 2- I noticed i get a freeze now and then when i first start a spar, i try to block and the ave dosent move, i have to get out of mouselook and hit the esc key, then back in and she then rocks.
Julianna, I guess you are right, white is not very white. Yeah, the pattern of the textures does mute white a bit. I’ll see what I can do about that in the near future.
As for the freeze, that’s kind of worrisome. I’m not seeing that, so it’s kind of hard to diagnose. How often does it happen? Has anyone else reported that, like you sparring partners? I’ll see what I can find out, but any more information you could give would be great.