Diagonal movement

[NyaChan]

I would like something along these lines since, as stated above, people don't just move in four main directions. While diagonal movement still wouldn't cover all the directions a real person could move it, it would make things a little bit more realistic.

I prefer the grid

There would still be a grid. Movement would be similar to Mystery Dungeon.

And diagonal movement would not work on a grid system because A) as I already pointed out, it's difficult and uncomfortable to press two directions on the D Pad, and B) each diagonal "step" would be significantly larger than each horizontal or vertical one, which would make the animation look incredibly awkward, and could also mess up some of the functions based on step-counting by allowing players to move one "step" in what would normally take two (I'm not sure how all of them are calculated, so I could be wrong - but it would certainly make things more complicated that Game Freak may just want to leave simple).

On A: Difficult and awkward? Really? I can think of MANY grid-based games (Heck, like I mentioned above: MYSTERY DUNGEON SERIES) that allow diagonal movement and it is in no way difficult. You'd have to have some really tiny hands for it to be difficult. No one's going to force you to use the diagonal movement.

On B: Once again, MYSTERY DUNGEON. It would not break the flow of the animation if done properly. And I'm pretty sure the steps are counted by the grid squares stepped on or something similar, so it wouldn't really effect that. Plus the step counter was ONLY in DPPt, and because of the pokétech. Though I'm sure if they choose to bring it back, it would not be difficult to alter how it calculates the steps taking into account diagonal movements how they choose.

 

[Battaman]

^Step counter has been here since GCS, it's used to hatch eggs.

 

[KedaseDerragar]

I have big hands, but I find it uncomfortable if I have to hold down two of the buttons at once for any length of time. I haven't played the Mystery Dungeon games, so I can't speak for those. But just because a game has been made with a certain control scheme doesn't mean that control scheme is good.

 

[Ratchet]

I wouldn't object to it, but it just doesn't seem very pokémon to me.

 

[NyaChan]

^Step counter has been here since GCS, it's used to hatch eggs.

oh right, duh. Either way, I doubt it would be difficult to make the diagonal movements count as 1 or 2 steps depending how they want it to work.

 

[TTEchidna]

^Step counter has been here since GCS, it's used to hatch eggs.

SAFARI ZONE. It was there in RBY.

Also, Colo/XD have a step counter, there's a Daycare there. All they gotta do is take a count of how many frames you're walking and add to the counter based on that.

However I hate the idea of diagonal movement, ESPECIALLY WITH THE TOUCH SCREEN. SM64DS used that system AND IT SUCKED. Thankfully they kept the normal controls...

 

[KedaseDerragar]

Okay, I just went and watched some videos of PMD. To me, frankly, the diagonal movement does look awkward and sped-up, and while it does somewhat work for a bounding, bouncing Pokémon, such suddenly sped movement would look really strange for a human avatar.

SAFARI ZONE. It was there in RBY.

Thanks, I knew I was missing something where being able to cut corners would make a difference. Being able to walk diagonally around corners would shave more than a few steps off your time.

They could just decide to not put one in (though they seem to like the concept), or determine your time limit in a different way, but doing so would be more complicated, and they may not want to bother.

And let me reiterate: I would probably be fine with free, non-grid-based movement if it utilized the stylus; it works for Zelda, and it would work for Pokémon. It's when you allow diagonal or free movement with the D Pad that you run into problems: it's the control system that Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days had to use because of the two-handed scheme it needed (meaning no stylus), and while it kind of worked, the game suffered for it, and it was a lot easier to just move horizontally and vertically with the pad while adjusting the camera for finer movements.

 

[manathief]

I think it would be a nice touch. It would really expand the possibilities for the designs of routes, towns, etc.
Besides, after the Distortion World...we've seen some of the possibilities of different ways of getting around in the games...I wouldn't be surprised to see further implementation of that sort of thing. I suppose diagonal movement might be a feasible next step, although I can certainly imagine it would take some getting used to.

Actually, it would be wonderful to have touch screen-controlled movement.

 

[Ararararagi-san]

eh, i think the games should just stay the way it's been. why make things more complicated? what would moving diagonally really help? It could be like the mystery dungeon series, but the touchscreen controls (at least in the first game) kind of annoyed me; I always used the d-pad.

 

[RudolphMilotic]

Also, Colo/XD have a step counter, there's a Daycare there. All they gotta do is take a count of how many frames you're walking and add to the counter based on that.

That would be pretty difficult to keep track of, as the framerate would be not consistent with how many steps you make and the player would be incapable of control at will things like where you want the egg to be hatched or the amount of 'time' you can spend in the Safari Zone (unless they use actual time units like seconds and not the number of steps). I guess that it was one of the reasons of why the Day Care in Colosseum and XD lacked the possibility of creating eggs, as the hatch process would be pretty random to control it.

 

[cowboy dan]

I don't really see the point of diagonal movement. It complicates a perfectly good system imo.

 

[Quagbert]

Warning: this post contains fair bit of mathematical jargon.

Game Freak could always use the [wp]Pythagorean theorem[/wp], aka A² + B² = C², to calculate the number of steps when moving diagonally.

Assuming they take the Mystery Dungeon route (keep the current grid-based system and just add four new directions), A and B would be the same, so the actual distance traveled, C, would equal the number of diagonal steps multiplied by the square root of 2, or about 1.414. For example, taking 4 steps diagonally would be equivalent to 5.656 horizontal or vertical steps.

Now, with the square root of 2 being an irrational number, it'd be easier in terms of game code to count the diagonal steps separately from the horizontal and vertical steps, multiply them by 1.4142..., then add the horizontal/vertical steps back in to get the total number of steps. In short, they would use this formula:

Total steps = horizonal and vertical steps + (diagonal steps x √2)

Under this system, you would be able to hatch a Bulbasaur egg (which would take 5,355 horizontal or vertical steps to hatch) by walking 3,787 steps diagonally. Diagonal Cycling Road, anyone?

 

[The Outrage]

Warning: this post contains fair bit of mathematical jargon.

Game Freak could always use the [wp]Pythagorean theorem[/wp], aka A² + B² = C², to calculate the number of steps when moving diagonally.

Assuming they take the Mystery Dungeon route (keep the current grid-based system and just add four new directions), A and B would be the same, so the actual distance traveled, C, would equal the number of diagonal steps multiplied by the square root of 2, or about 1.414. For example, taking 4 steps diagonally would be equivalent to 5.656 horizontal or vertical steps.

Now, with the square root of 2 being an irrational number, it'd be easier in terms of game code to count the diagonal steps separately from the horizontal and vertical steps, multiply them by 1.4142..., then add the horizontal/vertical steps back in to get the total number of steps. In short, they would use this formula:

Total steps = horizonal and vertical steps + (diagonal steps x √2)

Under this system, you would be able to hatch a Bulbasaur egg (which would take 5,355 horizontal or vertical steps to hatch) by walking 3,787 steps diagonally. Diagonal Cycling Road, anyone?

Or they could literally just make it done by steps, as in one step diagonally equals one step toward the egg count.

 

[Falconwing]

Or they could literally just make it done by steps, as in one step diagonally equals one step toward the egg count.

which would be easiest.

 

[Lazyboy0337]

God no! Not only are they unnapeeling without 3D, there is no use becides watching a TAS runthrough abuse it

 

[Our Wasted Years]

I don't see why this is needed because there is no issues with navigating in the games at all...unless I completely missed something in the last 13 years.

 

[GreatLiver]

No, leave it the same, give it no excuse to become full 3D, because it by no means needs to become that. Leave diagonal movement for side games, keep the GF games pure.

 

[Dogasu]

I am shocked that so many of you are against this.

Restricting movement to four directions is unnecessary, clunky, and extremely archaic. Diagonal movement has been around since the NES days and has been a standard feature in RPG games since the Playstation One era. I'm trying to think of an RPG series that still restricts you to four directions, but I honestly can't think of any.

Arguing that "pushing two buttons at the same time is annoying" is dumb because players have been doing that for DECADES without any problem. Also, LOL at the people who seem to think that diagonal movement = 3D.

You know how Ruby and Sapphire introduced running to the series? And how, when you go back and play one of the Generation I or Generation II games, you instinctively press the B button because you wish you could run in those older games? Well, playing a Pokemon game that doesn't let you move diagonally feels just as awkward and clunky as playing a Pokemon game where you can't run.

It's freaking 2010, people. Get with the times.

 

[Falconwing]

Dogasu, thank you. That's exactly what I'm saying.

Pokemon has to stay current guys. We may be a loyal fanbase, but we aren't the vast majority of the market. And new people aren't going to join the franchise if it feels primitive.

 

[The Outrage]

Arguing that "pushing two buttons at the same time is annoying" is dumb because players have been doing that for DECADES without any problem. Also, LOL at the people who seem to think that diagonal movement = 3D.

Being on the DS, option of the touch screen control makes it easier.

I don't understand what people are saying though that you can't use your stylus and hold with two hands. I do it.

You know how Ruby and Sapphire introduced running to the series? And how, when you go back and play one of the Generation I or Generation II games, you instinctively press the B button because you wish you could run in those older games? Well, playing a Pokemon game that doesn't let you move diagonally feels just as awkward and clunky as playing a Pokemon game where you can't run.

I think this quote counters this one:

Leave diagonal movement for side games, keep the GF games pure.

Honestly, what qualifies as "leaving the game pure"?

They changed the IV system added moves that didn't use to exist, retcons within the remakes...