Bug Mechanics: Normal Attack Overrides Skill Inputs

## Summary

In some situations, an intended skill input may be replaced by a normal attack, which is extreme during the game play. This bug happened on all players because none of them never pressed **Attack/Select** key. This bug is a bit complicated and caused by multiple reasons.

## Key Terminologies

### Action vs Free State

In this context, the terms **action** and **free state** describe opposite states of a character:

- A character is in a **free state** if a skill input at the current frame will start the corresponding animation on the next frame.

- A character is in an **action** if a skill input at the current frame won't start the corresponding animation on the next frame.

### Buffering

Buffering allows skills to be queued slightly before the end of an action, so that they activate immediately when the current action ends.

- A **buffer window** is a fixed number of frames at the end of an action where skill inputs are stored.

- A **buffer skill** is one that is input during this buffer window.

Buffer windows are designed to make it easier to perform frame-perfect actions without needing to time inputs precisely. They give players a window of opportunity to enter an input, and the game will automatically execute the action on the first available frame.

## Normal Attack Activation in Free State

- Normal attacks can be activated when the *Attack/Select* key changes its press/release state within **24 frames**.

This means both **press -> release** and **release -> press** can activate normal attack.

### Attack/Select Key (Press -> Release) with Arrow Key

- The arrow key can be pressed either before or after pressing the *Attack/Select* key. As long as the interval between presses is short enough, the corresponding skill will be activated correctly.

### Attack/Select Key (Release -> Press) with Arrow Key

If the time interval between pressing two keys is short enough, it depends on which key is pressed first.

- If *Attack/Select* key is pressed first, the normal attack will be activated immediately, so the arrow key has no effect.
- If *Arrow* key is pressed first, the inputs sometimes activate the corresponding skill, but **sometimes activate the normal attack**. This behavior seems to be random and not tied to game mechanics, due to the *Select* function also works.

## Buffer Skill Activation

### Buffer Skill Registration

- If the Attack/Select key is pressed within the last **24 frames** of an action, the skill inputs are registered as a buffer skill.
- Pressing the Attack/Select key again during this period overwrites the previous buffer skill.

The skill buffer window is obviously **24 frames**, and only the skill decided by the last press of the Attack/Select key will be registered.

### Specific Activation Windows

Even if a buffer skill is registered, it won't always **correctly** activate unless the *Attack/Select* key is pressed within a tighter frame window.

- For one-arrow-key skills, a buffer skill will be correctly activated only if the Attack/Select key is pressed within the last **12 frames** of the action.
- For two-arrow-key skills, the above **12 frames** changes to **18 frames**.
- Except for these situations, all buffer skills will be changed into normal attacks.

Frame Data - Player

## Abbreviations

- **S**tart-Up 発生.
- **A**ctive 持続.
- **R**ecovery 硬直.
- **A1**, **A2**, **A3**,... different steps of **Active**.
- **Min:Max** interval from minimum to maximum.
- **Reg** Regular/Normal.

## Special Mechanics

The following three events occur in different but consecutive frames:

- A skill hits enemy.
- The skill damages enemy. (number pops out)
- The skill knockbacks enemy and interrupts enemy's attack.

The **Active** frames begin at the frame when *A skill hits enemy*.

There is still one frame which uses the sprite of controllable state, but the character in fact isn't controllable after **Recovery**. All **Recovery** frames below don't contain this frame.

The **Recovery** frames for *Knockback* are 20 for all combat units, including enemies.

## Frame Data - Arche

Skills with similar sprites or similar Japanese names are grouped into a same category.

### 斬り・後ろ斬り Slash • Snap Slash

```
S 	A1	A2  	R
6 	6 	12  	12	Reg
6 	6 	1:32	12	Air
12	6 	12  	12	Back
```

### 斬上・真空斬上 Arcing Slash • Twirling Slash

```
S	A1	A2	A3	A4	A5	R
8	4 	16	- 	- 	- 	8
8	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	10
```

### 回転斬り・飛び回転斬り Wide Slash • Leaping Slash

```
S 	A1	A2	R
12	6 	12	12	Reg
10	5 	10	15	Leap
```

### 突き・後ろ突き・騎槍突き Thrust • Snap Thrust • Knight's Thrust

```
S	A 	R
8	12	6 	Front
8	14	5 	Back
8	16	12	Dash
```

### 二段斬上・二段回転斬り Combo Slash • Combo Wide Slash

```
S	A  	R
12	18	8	Up
18	20	8	Front
```

### 下突き Down Stab

```
S	A1 	A2	R
10	1:∞	20	8
```

### ジャンプキック Jump Kick

```
S1	S2	A   	R
8 	4 	12  	1:12	Pass
8 	1:4	0:12	1:24	Block
```

If it's blocked in **Start-up** step 2 there are no **Active** frames.

### 車輪斬り Wheel Slash

```
S 	A1	A2	A3	R
8	4  	4 	4 	9
```

### 円月斬 The Full Moon

```
S 	A1	A2	A3	A4	R
4	4  	4 	4 	8 	0
```

### 飛び込み前転・バック転 Roll • Cartwheel

```
R
24	Front
30	Back
```

## Frame Data - Sana & Stella

### 杖 Smack

```
S 	A 	R
16	18	12	Reg
14	12	12	Back
```

### ウォーターシュート Water Shoot

If Sana is interrupted, the projectile won't disappear, so Sana doesn't have **Active** frames. The **Projectile Start-up** begins when Sana's **Start-up** ends (so the first frame of **PS** is the first frame of **R**).

```
S 	R   	PS	PA
9 	51  	9	10	Up
16	52  	10	12	Short
16	60  	15	17	Long
12	1:17	12	13	Down
```

### 短剣 Stab

```
S 	A	R
11	16	4	Reg
17	12	8	Back
```

### ファイアーハンドリング Fire Handling

```
S 	A 	R
8	32	6	Up
12	28	4	Down
16	32	0	Front
```

### バックステップ Leap Back

```
R
13:47
```

Name	Author
Bug Mechanics: Normal Attack Overrides Skill Inputs	FuibaFuyu 1 year ago
Frame Data - Player	FuibaFuyu 1 year ago