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Astral Chain |OT| Anime, anime, ANIME COPS!

Meesh

Member
Anime, anime, ANIME... Jean-Claude Van Daminame.... what the fack did I just say? Lol
The action, the art, the everything!
 
Hmm, you mind elaborating on the pistol not operating in the manner you'd like?

Oh about the muscle memory part, it took me a long time but I'm happy to say that it's mostly quite developed now and I can do most of what I want without concentrating too hard on what my fingers are doing.

I'm considering writing more posts discussing the combat stuff that the game doesn't teach you. The help section is surprisingly comprehensive but the game also has quite a few things you can perform which are either hidden or unintentional.

And actually, I think W101 seems closer to Bayo in terms of how the dodge feels and how you can hold it down to transform into the ball. I feel that AC deliberately tries to not hew too closely to the Bayo blueprint and in a way I'm glad it's that way.

Edit: Yea the silent protagonist thing is a really bad decision (especially when you reach the end) but apparently that's how Japan likes it. I think Taura said it is meant to be easier for the player to self-insert. Hopefully FF7 Remake will buck this 'tradition'.

I feel like there's a certain fluidness I usually expect from PlatinumGames' gameplay, but I don't feel it with the pistol...you're locked in place basically, and dance around as you're shooting it...I use the pistol in a lot of situations, but to me it just doesn't feel like something PlatinumGames made...if you told me they outsourced the pistol gameplay to a different developer, I'd believe it.

The Wonderful 101's dodge is fundamentally different than Bayo's dodging in that it's tied to a meter. To all those who bitch about Bayo being "dodge to win", TW101 goes like "nope, you can't do that or you run out of meter!" which I recall makes you stop being able to dodge or make Unite Morphs until it recharges 3 batteries in the meter, encouraging more strategic use of dodging and switching/making larger versions of the current Unite Morph.

Lol never understood the whole "self insert" thing in video games. Especially when a game is in third person. I personally like to play as someone else, with a different personality and motives to someone like myself.
 
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I feel like there's a certain fluidness I usually expect from PlatinumGames' gameplay, but I don't feel it with the pistol...you're locked in place basically, and dance around as you're shooting it...I use the pistol in a lot of situations, but to me it just doesn't feel like something PlatinumGames made...if you told me they outsourced the pistol gameplay to a different developer, I'd believe it.

The Wonderful 101's dodge is fundamentally different than Bayo's dodging in that it's tied to a meter. To all those who bitch about Bayo being "dodge to win", TW101 goes like "nope, you can't do that or you run out of meter!" which I recall makes you stop being able to dodge or make Unite Morphs until it recharges 3 batteries in the meter, encouraging more strategic use of dodging and switching/making larger versions of the current Unite Morph.

Lol never understood the whole "self insert" thing in video games. Especially when a game is in third person. I personally like to play as someone else, with a different personality and motives to someone like myself.

For me it's the 'dancing' while shooting that makes it unmistakably Platinum. The way I see, it they always have a combat system that you can dig into fairly deep and tons of flashiness, be it via animations, choreography or particle and special effects.

I assume you were expecting something more like how Bayonetta/Dante (or more accurately, Nero) can strut around while shooting at enemies.

Oh in my mind, W101 has a nice parabolic arc when you dodge which feels similar to Bayo's whilst your dodge in AC is rather...'human' if you get what I mean.

I'm not very well versed in the mechanics of W101 sadly; never took the time to lab it properly. Would certainly welcome a port with better overall framerate (especially in the Vorkken fights, gosh).

Regardless, you aren't given as much leeway to chain dodges in AC as smoothly as in the other two games.

Yea I never understood the self insert thing, it's like when you're a kid you imagine yourself being one of those superheroes, shout their catch phrases and repeat their corny dialogue anyway, so why are video games different. Taura please!
 
For me it's the 'dancing' while shooting that makes it unmistakably Platinum. The way I see, it they always have a combat system that you can dig into fairly deep and tons of flashiness, be it via animations, choreography or particle and special effects.

I assume you were expecting something more like how Bayonetta/Dante (or more accurately, Nero) can strut around while shooting at enemies.

Oh in my mind, W101 has a nice parabolic arc when you dodge which feels similar to Bayo's whilst your dodge in AC is rather...'human' if you get what I mean.

I'm not very well versed in the mechanics of W101 sadly; never took the time to lab it properly. Would certainly welcome a port with better overall framerate (especially in the Vorkken fights, gosh).

Regardless, you aren't given as much leeway to chain dodges in AC as smoothly as in the other two games.

Yea I never understood the self insert thing, it's like when you're a kid you imagine yourself being one of those superheroes, shout their catch phrases and repeat their corny dialogue anyway, so why are video games different. Taura please!

Now that you mention it...yea that dancing while shooting does give it a Platinum feel.

Lol those Vorken fights must have at least 200 real-time models on the screen at the same time...cut em some slack there for the framerate being low there :p That actually gave the game to me this "next gen" feeling in that it was pushing the hardware to it's limits....but yea I think a hyptothetical Switch port of the game (please happen!) would have a smoother framerate overall

I think that's it. The dodge in AC was definitely more grounded.

I see re: the self insert thing. It's just odd to me I guess coming from PlatinumGames, who have a great reputation making interesting main characters in their previous games, but not every Platinum game needs to be a clone of the previous one...in time I think AC will grow on me more.
 
Now that you mention it...yea that dancing while shooting does give it a Platinum feel.

Lol those Vorken fights must have at least 200 real-time models on the screen at the same time...cut em some slack there for the framerate being low there :p That actually gave the game to me this "next gen" feeling in that it was pushing the hardware to it's limits....but yea I think a hyptothetical Switch port of the game (please happen!) would have a smoother framerate overall

I think that's it. The dodge in AC was definitely more grounded.

I see re: the self insert thing. It's just odd to me I guess coming from PlatinumGames, who have a great reputation making interesting main characters in their previous games, but not every Platinum game needs to be a clone of the previous one...in time I think AC will grow on me more.

"It ain't PlatinumGames' if it ain't dropping frames."

Gotta say I'm fairly curious as to how they go about developing. Even in AC you will experience framerate dips where it's 'baked in' to the experience; it's not due to me causing a lot of particles or destruction to show up, first two sections of File 8 is an easy example.

Maybe they do share your view of it being a sign of pushing the hardware haha!

Yea AC's dodge is very grounded, though there's a more advanced way of dodging that involves the Arm Legion.

I don't think having an MC that talks would in anyway mean it becomes a clone of their past games haha.

But yes, the one thing that is evident in AC (and Taura has said it in interviews) is that AC is a game made to his vision and preferences. That's why it has those Nier-esque influences in terms of slotting abilities (like chips) and he seems to like the silent protagonist route. And if that's the price to pay for him bringing us this new system of fighting, I'd say it was a good trade :D

I said it's a bad decision cause I think it does hurt the game's chances in countries where the silent protagonist thing isn't as ingrained.

Btw, in an earlier reply you brought up being penalised for destroying background objects...

It's not the most helpful tip but you can get away with doing so as long as you're not directly involved. if you send your Legion forth to break stuff, it's fine. Wearing Arm or riding Beast to wreak havoc will penalise you.

It's a bit corny cause even though regular folks can't see the Legion being responsible, Akira can and yet he/she won't say a word XD
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
What I discovered recently there is Parry system that just like Bayonetta its ability you need to equip and works same as Bayonetta that you need to use left analog stick towards enemy when they about to attack you.
 
What I discovered recently there is Parry system that just like Bayonetta its ability you need to equip and works same as Bayonetta that you need to use left analog stick towards enemy when they about to attack you.

Yea it's similar but unlike Bayo I don't think you can trigger something like Witch Time and you gotta equip it for each Legion you want it on.

BTW, pushing forward to parry an attack is a system that was first introduced in Street Fighter III as far as I know.

I haven't really labbed the Parry ability that much, though I remember it doesn't maintain dodge offset status.
 
I think most people who've spent a fair amount of time playing Astral Chain either know about Dodge Offset from PlatinumGames' previous offerings or accidentally performed (and perhaps realized) it since it can activate if you're just mashing attack and dodge.

Or maybe they were simply studious enough to go through the Help section where it's called "Continuing Combos".

For the first two weeks or so I'd been labbing AC's Dodge Offset and was disappointed to realize that your attack string gets reset when you perform a Perfect Dodge.

It felt like I was being punished for timing my dodges right; sure you get useful followups after the Perfect Dodge but restarting the attack string felt bad, especially if I was 1-2 attacks away from the big payoff.

Some people have already discovered that using Perfect Call allows you to keep the offset and yes, I'd found that out while labbing as well, but it wasn't anywhere near the solution I wanted.

I wanted something like Bayonetta, where you could offset your attack into Panther form, run to another enemy and unleash the fury, to not be tied down offsetting against whoever was within attack range.

Well after much trying, I found a 'prototypical' version of it and here it is in action:


Upon knowing that there is indeed a way to make it happen, I continued to lab and found the method to pull off "Legion Offset":


At the moment I'd say Arm, Axe and Beast have the most useful Legion Offset capabilities, mainly because they provide mobility and/or defense. That said, Arrow and Sword are fantastic for styling with in the right situations.

I'll make a mini tutorial in my next post on how to execute the move.
 
Edit: This tutorial is outdated and incorrect. Please go here for the updated version: Post #435

How to Legion Offset (default button mappings shown):

I recommend trying this with Arm then Axe Legion to get the general technique down. I'll break the whole thing down into steps.

1. Get used to instant evasion with Legion Action. Do this by pressing L and B almost simultaneously, make sure L comes before B:


2. Press and hold both the ZL and L buttons, then press B. You will notice that you automatically detach from the Legion after a set period of evasion.


3. Repeat step 2 but this time keep B held down until the Arm Legion starts boosting.


If you don't hold down B for the whole duration you will end up with something like this:


4. Repeat step 3 but press L again right after you pressed B. This enables you to maintain your attack string and enter Legion Action. Inputs will look like ZL+L+B > holding B > L.
 
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I wonder if IGA thought of the chain as a whip haha.

Now to wait and see where Yoko Taro places it in his list and more importantly, what words he has for AC.
Edit 2: Imagine if IGA made a spiritual successor to 3Dvania with the help of PlatinumGames.
 
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Katsura

Member
Apologies if already posted somewhere but Astral Chain has sold 1 million copies already. That's very good for a new IP in a niche genre

aJ5qmBi.png


Source
 

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
I hope that's sarcasm because it sold more in 4 months than Bayonetta did in several years
Of course it's not sarcasm. Just look at how other games sold relative to Astral Chain. I mean, idk, maybe 100+K is good enough for Platinum to consider making a sequel.
 

Katsura

Member
Of course it's not sarcasm. Just look at how other games sold relative to Astral Chain. I mean, idk, maybe 100+K is good enough for Platinum to consider making a sequel.
It's 1 million for a new IP in a niche genre. DMC V has sold 2.7 million and that's a well established IP. You're not making any sense at all
 
1 million for a third party game on a Nintendo system isn’t poor sales figures
Man, you guys need to cut him some slack, I'm sure he misread the number as seen in this message:
I mean, idk, maybe 100+K is good enough for Platinum to consider making a sequel.
But yea in comparison to Bayonetta which sold a similar number over a longer period on PS360 (I think that million included discounted copies too), I'd say Astral Chain succeeded in appealing to more people from an aesthetic point of view.

Still, 2Butt is probably the most appealing character PG has been involved with, I suspect a million copies of Nier:A were sold by her presence alone.
 
Yeah true.
BTW, though I only replied to your message, it was also addressed in general to the previous replies (hence "you guys") as well, I just came by at the time when your message was the latest.

I think he didn't defend himself very well with his replies and that one message I quoted got lost in the understandable rush to celebrate AC's million milestone.
 

Mista

Banned
BTW, though I only replied to your message, it was also addressed in general to the previous replies (hence "you guys") as well, I just came by at the time when your message was the latest.

I think he didn't defend himself very well with his replies and that one message I quoted got lost in the understandable rush to celebrate AC's million milestone.
And I wasn't attacking him :)
 

Aldric

Member
How to Legion Offset (default button mappings shown): (...)

Man, that's awesome. This game's combat system sometimes gets a bad rap online for being shallow but I think it's very shortsighted. There's definitely potential for some impressive tech and I'm glad to see things like that starting to surface. Keep up the good work.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Man, that's awesome. This game's combat system sometimes gets a bad rap online for being shallow but I think it's very shortsighted. There's definitely potential for some impressive tech and I'm glad to see things like that starting to surface. Keep up the good work.
Astral Chain’s combat system is much more tactical compare to Bayonetta, it’s less about pulling off long combo and more about using tools you have to deal with different type of enemies. Akira’s Dodge is much more “human”, you can’t really abuse it same way you can with Bayonetta and Automata.
 

Aldric

Member
Astral Chain’s combat system is much more tactical compare to Bayonetta, it’s less about pulling off long combo and more about using tools you have to deal with different type of enemies. Akira’s Dodge is much more “human”, you can’t really abuse it same way you can with Bayonetta and Automata.

Yeah, I feel like some people try to play it like another Bayo style game like Transformers Devastation and then are upset when it obviously doesn't work. You've got more than half a dozen defensive options in Astral Chain, that's unlike any other Platinum game and it definitely expects you to take advantage of this variety of tools.
 
Man, that's awesome. This game's combat system sometimes gets a bad rap online for being shallow but I think it's very shortsighted. There's definitely potential for some impressive tech and I'm glad to see things like that starting to surface. Keep up the good work.
You can check my Twitter timeline to go down the rabbit hole. It's literally all AC clips (mostly techniques with a few dumb clips) and replies to the few people who are actually interested in learning the stuff on display.

Was hoping to get some discussion on GAF but so far it's been deafening silence until you said something today, so thanks for the encouragement; it means a lot more than reactions.
 
Important update: thanks to a very dedicated labber on Twitter (@Drayzher), I've come to realize that my original tutorial is incorrect.

I'll attempt to incorporate the new and correct information in italics into this tutorial here. Below it I will add more visual examples with text explanations.

How to Legion Offset (default button mappings shown):

I recommend trying this with Arm then Axe Legion to get the general technique down. I'll break the whole thing down into steps.

1. Get used to instant evasion with Legion Action. Do this by pressing L and B almost simultaneously, make sure L comes before B.
In this clip I am holding forward on the left stick while evading (without inputting a direction, pressing B will result in a backwards evade):


2. Press and hold both the ZL and L buttons, then press B.
You must input and hold a direction with the left analog stick in order for this technique to work.
Notice that you automatically detach from the Legion after a set period of evasion.


3. Repeat Step 2 but this time keep B held down until the Arm Legion starts boosting.
Update: Holding B simply adds the boost sound with the Arm Legion; it is not necessary to perform Legion Offset.


If you don't input and hold a direction with the left stick, you will end up with something like this (yes the caption is outdated but the result is the same):


4. Perform Instant Evasion but press L again right after you pressed B. This enables you to maintain your attack string and enter Legion Action. Inputs will look like ZL+L+B > holding B > L.


New examples featuring Beast Legion:

1. Instant Evasion with forward input not held, this results in a visual glitch which means the offset is unsuccessful. I started with attack 1, got off and start at attack 1 again:


2. Instant Evasion with forward input held, this lets you detach from the Legion smoothly and resume your attack string before the evade:


3. Instant Evasion with forward input held and pressing the L bumper (Legion Action) before the evasion has finished. This turns your evasion into a Legion Action but also keeps your offset on:


However, if you perform a manual evasion without an attack in this mode, it counts as a second evasion like you'd normally do and thus revokes the offset. I'll detail this in a future post...

If there are any questions, please feel free to ask.
 
Here's a fun new trick that I found weeks ago.

Activating a skill while offset is activated will repeat the last move in an attack string that you performed.

Eg. If you perform attacks 1 > 2 > evade > 3 > skill and continue your attack immediately, you will resume at attack 3, not 4.

This seemed fairly mundane until I found that you could use it to repeat the last move in a string even after you've synced it (sadly, this is not applicable to Baton which loses offset upon syncing almost anything):

Attacks 1 > 2 > evade > 3 > 4 > 5 > sync attack > skill > 5 > sync attack > skill > 5 > LET'S GET CRAZY!

And then I found out that you can trigger this property without the skill being fully cast; as long as it has started up, the property (of repeating the previous offset attack) takes effect.

So I ended up with this:


In there I'm using Arm Offset to cancel the skill casting (it's Speed Star if you're curious) meaning it's not used up and is therefore not on cooldown, so basically I can do this forever until I make a mistake.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
NICE!!! You went crazy deep dive in to the combat system, I put 90 hours in to the game and seeing your footage I feel like I haven't fully mastered the combat yet.
 
NICE!!! You went crazy deep dive in to the combat system, I put 90 hours in to the game and seeing your footage I feel like I haven't fully mastered the combat yet.
Well, what I've shown is mostly unintended by PlatinumGames and I'd assume most of you play the game as Taura envisioned it.

I'm fairly certain Legion Offset is unintended but IMO learning it opens up the combat a lot more, though it's not technically the most efficient approach.

I kept labbing for a technique like it because I wasn't fully satisfied with the default combat system to begin with 😅

Also, I think once you learn it, Arm Legion suddenly becomes a lot more desirable!

Edit: Also, this is probably the easiest and most practical secret technique (I say secret because it's not in the Help section) I've found:
 
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I think I should also briefly talk about how to apply Legion Offset practically.

Here, I am using Arm Offset (without pressing the L bumper a second time) to reposition and continue the attack string.


This has the downside of being considered as a regular evade, meaning that if you perform it and trigger a Sync Flash, you lose the offset:


In order to maintain the offset, you need the evasion to be the combined version (which doesn't have a Sync Flash, just a slow motion effect) :


The cool part is you can follow up a Perfect Evade in this combined mode with a sync attack and it'll maintain the offset because the system treats this differently from a regular Perfect Evade:


What this means is, you need to be fairly familiar with enemy attacks and decide if you should press L one more time or just keep the pace going.
 

Drayzher YT

Neo Member
Hey Drayzher, welcome to Neogaf!

Thanks for joining up. I look forward to seeing your clips and stuff 😁
My English provided by the Google translator is so horrible, that although I have something important to say, probably nobody will understand it haha.

But hey, I wanted to leave here two techniques that I really like. The first is a discovery of " Hawks Eclipse Hawks Eclipse " in which it is possible to introduce the bullet time of the actions combined with the Legion Sword, at the same time that the sequence of the "Perfect Call" occurs. It only works with the Legion Sword for its special features (I didn't try Arrow yet, but I doubt it can be done). I don't know if this combination has a name yet:


The second technique I like is a discovery of mine. I've named it "YO-YO SWORD" for the similarity, it's about interrupting the Legion Espada counterattack after a perfect evasion by being in the combined action mode. The Legion should only be deactivated before the fourth attack, that is, after the first launch, the second or the third, and then continue pressing the hit button as usual. The Legion will appear again only with this. It can be repeated as many times as we want in a cycle:


And well, here comes the interesting part, since both techniques can cross the state of the "Legion Offset" technique of " Hawks Eclipse Hawks Eclipse ", it should only be mentioned that it will only work with the "Blaster" and "Gladius" weapons. In the "Perfect Call" the synchronized attack that occurs when cutting the power lines must not be carried out, since this breaks the continuity of the offset. I also recommend adding an evasion at the end of the chaining attacks since when you "deactivate" the Legion, the residual animation takes a long time, and it is better to fill the space with an evasion animation and then keep hitting. With the "YO-YO SWORD" it is not necessary to evade at the end of the attack, since just having previously pressed the "Deactivation" for the correct execution of the ability, we will already be out of the combined attack state beforehand. So just by continuing to press the hit button, they will continue the continuity without problem:
 

Drayzher YT

Neo Member
Forget adding an example to the previous post about "YO-YO SWORD", you can also interrupt it in half with a "Perfect Call" if you think it's appropriate. If you executed the Legion Offset well before, you will not lose continuity. Here it was not necessary to evade at the end, it was a bad habit:
 

Drayzher YT

Neo Member
I saw a very good player, one of those who make "Combo mad" videos and I was struck by a technique that I use, but I did not get it, so I assumed that it had happened by chance wanting to do another type of tactic . However, open as I am striking and I incorporate it into the video: (min 02:54)


So I started studying all their applications so they can see them. It is worth mentioning that the technique cannot go through a normal "combo offset", the continuity is destroyed. The only way that offset assimilates it, is by performing it as a secondary weapon action to the main combo. And then upon returning, they will maintain continuity smoothly. It is also possible to interrupt it with a "Perfect Call" without breaking the offset, but remember to do it with the change of weapon. It can also be done at the end of knockouts by reincorporating it with the launch of some "Skill" to preserve the offset:
 
I saw a very good player, one of those who make "Combo mad" videos and I was struck by a technique that I use, but I did not get it, so I assumed that it had happened by chance wanting to do another type of tactic . However, open as I am striking and I incorporate it into the video: (min 02:54)


So I started studying all their applications so they can see them. It is worth mentioning that the technique cannot go through a normal "combo offset", the continuity is destroyed. The only way that offset assimilates it, is by performing it as a secondary weapon action to the main combo. And then upon returning, they will maintain continuity smoothly. It is also possible to interrupt it with a "Perfect Call" without breaking the offset, but remember to do it with the change of weapon. It can also be done at the end of knockouts by reincorporating it with the launch of some "Skill" to preserve the offset:

That repeated sword thing is new for me, and his combo video is really nice, so thanks for sharing it here!

Anyway, I won't be experimenting in Astral Chain for some time so it'll be up to you to continue the adventure :D
 

Drayzher YT

Neo Member
That repeated sword thing is new for me, and his combo video is really nice, so thanks for sharing it here!

Anyway, I won't be experimenting in Astral Chain for some time so it'll be up to you to continue the adventure :D
Yes, in that video you see exactly all the things that I can never do. My hands don't work when it comes to improvising so much haha. Uh it's a shame that you can't go too often, in case I was feeling a bit adrift with all this, since not many people comment or understand it :(
 
Yes, in that video you see exactly all the things that I can never do. My hands don't work when it comes to improvising so much haha. Uh it's a shame that you can't go too often, in case I was feeling a bit adrift with all this, since not many people comment or understand it :(
I'm sure you can do the combos if you spend a bit of time practising.

Sometimes improvisation is about putting together a series of things that you're already familiar with.

It's like when you write a sentence, you aren't improvising every single letter; you already have phrases and words that you are familiar with. Then you combine them to form sentences and paragraphs :D
 

Drayzher YT

Neo Member
I uploaded more examples of "Legion Offset", incorporating the own "Dodge" that each one has in that special state. " Hawks Eclipse Hawks Eclipse " had already shown examples of this, but I wanted to bring more examples anyway.

One thing to consider is that every time they dodge, the offset breaks for a moment, if they were to hit back right after the evasion, the combo would break. So the way to put it back together is to launch an attack again.

Do not record it in this video, but the most powerful shot of the Legion Arrow also breaks the Legion Offset, but if immediately after the loaded shot they launch a normal shot, the offset is restored again.

How always two consecutive evasions will also break the offset, and this cannot be restored again, this runs for any type of evasion
 

Drayzher YT

Neo Member
I share more examples of "Legion Offset" across different Legions:




Another very important thing that we have not yet given examples, is how the synchronized attack restarts of the normal offset are incorporated. So here are some examples. Both Grace Strikes from the A button, as well as Stun attacks can pass between these applications:



 
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