DBD's Biggest Gameplay Flaw
I'll cut right to the meat of this:
Dead by Daylight is a game that suffers from one of the biggest and most obnoxious game design flaws that I've dubbed "The Visual Lie."
What is the visual lie, you ask? It's simple, and I'll explain it to you. In a game, your brain is always calculating odds - when to drop a pallet, when to swing, what tiles to link, and which vaults to take. Playing survivor or killer, you're doing this near constantly, and while mistakes can and do happen naturally (mind games, outplays, etc), there are times where a hit or a miss happens that leaves both players thinking "I guess so."
These two primary examples, while not the only ones, are the biggest culprits of the most non-sensical gameplay through deception (not inherent to their power or natural killer gameplay). Dedicated server issues are being taken into account, but it's safe to say they merely compound upon the issues below. Certain developers will defend the game's poor hitboxes to the death and attribute most of the game's "unfairness" to dedicated servers, chalking everything up to lag and calling it a day. However, anyone that has ever tested the width of a hitbox with friends in a KYF lobby knows how stupidly huge they are. Neither killer used in the examples below is overpowered, they're merely unfun to play against due to their visuals not lining up with their attack/power.
- Freddy's Lunge: But Frosty, Freddy has the exact same lunge as all the other killers, he's fine! Technically speaking, you're correct. Freddy's lunge isn't any better or worse than the other killers, so why is it so difficult to deal with? That's simple. You see, your brain makes calculations based on what it can see - to you, Freddy is a manlet with a clawed glove that shouldn't have as much reach as half of the other weapons in the game. When running from Freddy, you make all of your guesses based on the distance he is from you, like most other killers. However, when he attacks, his little glove has just as much reach as an axe, machete, chainsaw, etc. which throws off even some of the best survivors at times. Since you cannot see the killer's "attack cone", your brain will always associate possible distance with the weapon used by the killer, even if they all operate the same. What this leads to is deceptive gameplay that is generally unhealthy, as it's not a natural part of Freddy's kit that you can reasonably prepare for. Even knowing that his lunge is the same as the other killers won't overwrite your brains decision making process, as again, you make your decisions based on the most sensible factors - killer distance, weapon used, and possible bloodlust gained.
- Huntress' Hatchets: Not much needs to be said about these, but all the same arguments made above for Freddy apply here as well. Again, you adopt tactics based on the weapon being used, however, even knowing the ridiculous size of the huntress hatchet hitboxes, that doesn't remedy the situation. Most hits occur completely around solid cover, and shouldn't be possible in the slightest based on the angle. The "Shockwave Technique" used by most huntress mains demonstrates a core flaw with the gameplay of this killer, who would otherwise be fine if her hitboxes were sane. Aiming "around" the survivor is typically how most experienced huntress players will utilize her power, since they know the hitboxes of survivors are huge and so are those of her hatchets - this leads to hits that feel cheap or generally unfair, as there was nothing that could be done even behind solid cover, which should be a reasonable counter to the killer power. A killer, regardless of their power or attack, should -never- be rewarded for hits that are "close enough" which is the case with all lunges (will likely happen at least once or twice a game) and the huntress, whose power is currently used in such a fashion.
So how do we fix these problems? Well, there are several ways these issues could be fixed or at the very least made less insufferable, but none of them are easy or cheap.
- Better servers would cut down on the number of dedicated hits/misses that can occur. Supposedly they're working on a validation system so we'll see how that turns out.
- Remove "hit cones" and make hitboxes that match the killer attack/power, meaning every killer would be unique. But Frosty! This would present a balancing nightmare, as the killers with the longest weapons would then have an unfair advantage. That is completely true, unless other changes were made to compensate - yes, a killer could have naturally longer weapon reach which makes sense (thus mitigating the deception that occurs during attacks), but due to this, killer's with smaller weapons could be buffed elsewhere to make up for this difference. This would result in hits/misses that look right visually, thereby removing any doubt on either side as to whether or not the result was legitimate or due to factors that could not be accurately predicted. The end result is a hit that makes sense to both sides - a weapon/object collides with your model, and it doesn't feel terrible. Gone will be the days of DBZ shockwaves being shot from weapon strikes and causing your character to double over in agony.
- But Frosty! BVHR already struggles to balance the game as it is, wouldn't this add another layer of complication to a game that barely holds itself together? Short answer - yes, yes it would. This would not only require a ton of work, but would be playing into one of BVHR's many weaknesses as a studio (of which they have many); balance.
Ultimately, there is no decision here that would make both sides completely happy, but I've suspected for some time that the core issue at the heart of DBD's toxicity isn't general maliciousness. Sometimes, when people feel they've been cheated or bamboozled out of a hit/clean dodge, they act out in anger, which is understandable - disconnecting, early hook suicides, afk, etc. There is no worse feeling in a game than making the right choices with what you have, but being punished for it anyway. At the end of the day, the most prevalent feeling that DBD thrusts upon its players is the feeling of being 'cheated' for no reason. Whether you're a killer or survivor, you've felt the sting of being punished for making the right play, whether that be a result of dedicated servers, wonky hitboxes, etc. So really, I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you reduce the number of cheap hits/misses that occur in the game, I'm willing to bet the toxicity will go down by a substantial amount. If the game is overall healthier as a result, then that's a huge bonus I think we're all willing to take.
Give me your thoughts/comments below, if you even get this far. Good luck, folks!
TLDR: Reading is good for you.
Comments
I completely agree, I love the scientific approach and everything. The part of the lunge adjustments could be tricky cuz the new perk that comes with the twins makes your lunge huge. Also I wouldn't mind a nerf on freddy by all means, but hag and demogorgon shouldn't get the same treatment imo. Good idea I like it a lot
(Also the tldr message? Just excellent)
I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that if the game became more 'sensible', the toxicity would drop. Nobody is asking for a realistic simulation, but a bit more realism than what is present in the game's basic interactions would be nice. That's all.
For some reason, I think this thread deserves a necro. The state of the game at the moment really makes me want to repeat this entire post.
I mean, I'm happier having seen this thread--I'd talk more, but I'm going to go pass out instead. Still, I agree with what you're laying out!
I agree that it's frustrating when what happens in the game is different from what you would expect to happen in real life -- hits registering from really far away; cover not providing cover; when your camera turns and you hit a barrel instead of the survivor you're chasing. It breaks the immersion and it can feel like you're being randomly punished when what you did should have worked.
I think there's realistically always going to be some kind of gap between how things look to humans and how they look to a computer and, unfortunately, the way the game works is based on how it looks to a computer. I would prefer that the devs focus on making it harder for players to exploit that gap in order to grief people vs trying to make the gap disappear so that everything always behaves how it looks like it will.
A shame that taking time to fix the fundamentals of the game is not high on the dev's priority list. If it's even on there.
The wacky hitboxes that each killer shares, despite their wildly differently sized weapons, only serve to make the game more frustrating to play. But I can tell you now that they're not going to get fixed... :/