xVladx

As always, I'm finding that some of my favorite games are the ones that are a little bit different from the usual stuff. My big addiction these days is Toribash.

First, the obligatory trailer:

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So basically, the game is set up so that each match has a set number of frames, typically anywhere from as low as 100 to as high as 1000. Each player controls a ragdoll-like fighter consisting of various joints (elbows, knees, abs, hips, neck, ankles, etc). Each joint can be in one of four possible states: relaxed, held, contracting, or expanding. Both players set the various joints to various states, the game advances a certain amount of frames, then everything pauses while the players adjust the joints to make their characters do something new. The object of the game is to either damage the other player enough to win by points by the end of the round, or to disqualify your opponent by making certain parts of their body (in most game modes, it's anything but their hands or feet) touch the ground.

There's a ton of customizability when it comes to the fights. Some servers focus more on quick strikes, while others end up being longer, grappling-focused matches, and others run mods that give the matches an entirely different feel and layer of strategy.

Also, if you tried the game a while ago, it's worth it to check it out again. The game was recently made 100% free, while before it was a somewhat limited demo. Now, free users can do pretty much anything that paying users could do before. You can play around with mods, customize the single-player (practice) match settings, play on any server, customize your online player, get ranks and belts, and (my favorite) save your replays.

Just a warning, though, the game does have a bit of a steep learning curve. It takes a bit of time to really get a feel for controlling your character. I've put in a LOT of time just messing around with the practice mode, just got my 500-matches-played Brown Belt online, and while I stand more of a fighting chance than I did when I started, there's still plenty of players who pretty much completely tear me to pieces whenever I play against them. Still, once you really get a feel for it, the game become pretty damn fun. Even before that, though, it's still a blast to mess around in the practice mode and see what kind of damage you can do to the training dummy.

The Bus

Awesome!

I love physics-based games, even if they are "physics" based. I bought Armadillo Run and I'm a big fan of Porrasturvat.

mr.snowmizer

I just got a kick out of watching that trailer. Totally unexpected dismemberment, for the win.

xVladx

Yeah, the dismemberment plays a pretty interesting role in the game. Different game modes have different dismemberment thresholds. Some servers have higher ones, making the game focus more on grappling and slamming the other guy to the ground, while servers with lower thresholds end up with the two players tearing each other to shreds (or, in my case, I end up getting torn to shreds while the other guy ends up in one piece).

The thing to keep in mind about that trailer is that while some of those clips seem to be taken from actual matches, a lot of them look like they came from the single-player practice mode. In that mode, you can control both characters, change motions every single frame (allowing for greater fludity), and even go back and edit previous matches at any point to change the outcome while still keeping the first part. Most "real" matches don't have situations like one character tearing his own head off, juggling it around, then punting it at the other guy.

Funny thing about that, there's actually a mod that comes with the game where both players fight while tumbling down a flight of stairs. It's pretty much a matter of "controlled chaos", as it's often a fight to get the other person to hit the bottom first (disqualifying them), it's still pretty fun, and usually ends up being rather messy.

SuckaMC

I hate you vlad. No I'm hooked

Supermallet

I'm playing this as soon as I get home. This looks awesome!

metalhead212

I don't think I understand how it works. Do you and your opponent fight frame by frame or something? Like you each move your guys a little close to each other and then the game takes over the fighting or do you control the whole thing, and with that being said, how long does one game take? I would imagine that one game going frame by frame would take forever to play.

xVladx

Yeah, it's kind of tough to imagine, as it's pretty different from anything else out there, aside from the general concept of "two characters fighting".

Basically, a multiplayer match works like this:

1) Each player starts out with their character standing there, usually within striking distance from the other person's character (this can be changed by the server).

2) Both players set up what their character is going to do (more on how this works down below). There's a timer running while the players are doing this, usually 15 seconds or so.

3) Once the timer's up (or both players have finalized their character's action by pressing the space bar), the game then advances a certain amount of frames. The number of frames advanced depends on the server. Some game modes have ten frame turns, while I've others are as high as 70 frames. The game can even be set to a variable number of frames per turn (one game mode has the first two turns at ten frames, the next few at 15, then 25, then 50).

4) After the frames have run and the characters have moved according to what the players have told them to do, step 1 is repeated and they can give the characters new movement commands. This sequence is repeated until one of two things happens: the timer runs out and the player with the highest score (most damage inflicted) wins, or one player is disqualified by one of their body parts that isn't a hand or foot hitting the ground (some game modes have a square on the ground where even hands and feet outside of it will disqualify, and the object is to shove the other guy out).

Multiplayer games are set up in a queue, so if you enter a server with four players in it, two will be fighting, and two (plus you) will be waiting in line. Once the match is finished, the winning player will fight the next person in line (or if there's a draw, both players fight each other again). The length of a match depends on the game mode. Game mode with ten-frame turns do tend to have fairly long matches (maybe 5-7 minutes each or so... I've never timed them, though). Personally, I tend to play on game modes with longer turns (Judo's 70 frames or Wushu's 50) or variable turn frames (Sambo's like this). Also, I tend to avoid servers with too many people in them. If there's more than four or so, I find I get bored waiting for my turn. However, once you get used to the sound effects from the game, you can tell when it's your turn by listening if you want to just leave the game running and browse the web in the meantime.

Ok, so now for what's probably the biggest point of confusion, the movement. The most recent version of the game actually includes a rather helpful tutorial for movement, but here's how it works:

As I mentioned in my first post, a character consists of multiple (20, to be exact) joints: two wrists, two elbows, two shoulders, two pectorals, neck, chest, lumbar, abs, two glutes, two hips, two knees, and two ankles. Each joint can only move like a hinge (only rotation along one axis, so no ball/socket-type joints like a real-life shoulder or hip). During the movement-setting portion of a match, each player can set any joint to one of four states:

Relaxed: This is the default state. In this state, the joint is (oddly enough) relaxed, and will move freely with whatever force is applied to it (gravity, blows from your opponent, etc). If you leave all your joints as relaxed, the character will just sort of slump over.

Holding: The opposite of Relaxed. A Holding joint will remain fixed in its current position to the best of its ability. It is still possible for a held joint to be moved if enough force is applied to it, though.

Contracting/Extending: These final two states are pretty much the same thing, but different directions. Each of these states will move a given joint one way or the other (remember, each joint can only rotate along a single axis). For example, contracting an elbow joint will make it bend, while extending it will straighten it back out.

Finally, the hands. Clicking on your characters hands (or hitting L with the mouse cursor over a wrist) will toggle them between normal and "grabby" modes. A "grabby" hand will stick to whatever body part it hits (only one part at a time, though), either your opponent's (good) or your own (usually bad). A hand that's grabbed onto something will hold on until you toggle it back to normal. Some game modes (like Wushu) have grabbing disabled, though.

While you're setting up your joints' actions, you'll see a translucent "ghost" of your character that will act out whatever the current state will do for about the next 50 frames or so, if nothing interferes with it. Needless to say, you can't always rely on the ghost for multiplayer matches, as something will almost always be interfering with you during those.

So, given that, you can see that there aren't really set "moves" that you input, like in other fighting games. It's not a matter of "punch" or "jump kick". Instead, if you want to try and punch the other guy with something like a right cross, you'll have to contract the right pectoral, extend the left one (helps get the whole upper body swinging the correct direction, rotate the chest to the right (really helps get everything swinging), and maybe contract the elbow to get a little extra speed on the punch. However, the best piece of advice I can give someone just learning this game is that attempting specific moves is the worst thing you can try and do in a multiplayer match. The game just isn't that "clean". Starting a match by thinking: "Ok, I'm going to do a backflip towards him, kick him in half, then jump back up and tear his arms off" is just the wrong mindset. While it's possible to do (and fun!) against the training dummy in single-player, you just can't plan ahead in Toribash. It's not like Chess, where you can predict what the other person is going to do. The game is more about improvising and having a good enough feel for how to move your character in order to adapt to the current situation you find yourself in.

So as I said, it's definitely my current addiction . Hopefully that clears things up a bit. I'm sure it all sounds a bit intimidating, and there is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get a feel for it, it's pretty damn fun.