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(Wanted to give this a more in-depth response that my initial reply.)

Thank you for giving my game a read and I see where you're coming from now. I see the level of depth you're looking for in a simulation of 2D fighting combat, it's a little too focused in scope for my design goals here. As mentioned before, I aim to approximate, not simulate. I want my games to be strategic but quick; simple, but deep. What you describe is far more in-depth round to round than I'm looking for.  Further, such a system I feel would be too focused on one-v-one combat. While that sort of combat will be present in FoF, the game is more designed around a fighting game/wuxia setting. Adventuring across the globe, and regularly group/team combat will be just as prominent parts of the system. Something as in-depth as yo simulate split second footsies decisions would slow group combat significantly. 

To address the movement in the system as is, you bring up the Grappler v Zoner example with them both at 1 MR. You are correct. In that situation, the Grappler would be very hard pressed Twin that fight unless he could come up with something clever to even the playing field; however, this example excludes the asynchronicity and openness of character creation/advancement. Not all fighters will be on even playing fields. Players are not bound to a single archetype as they construct a custom fighting styles. In this example. That Grappler might have also taken levels in the Zoner or Juggernaut archetypes, either of which have longer ranges, which the fighter could switch to during combat. Or if they didn't, and they loss, that same player could spend their experience points to pick up a level in a ranged archetype, or learn a technique to improve their movement or a ranged attack.

Please do not misunderstand. Even though I feel like my current design goals clash with other fighting systems you enjoy, I am still very grateful for your feedback. I was already in the process of tweaking the combat system to better approximate that chess at 100 miles an hour you're looking for. I will definitely check out Heaven/Hell and see what inspiration I can take from it, but fundamentally Festival of Fighters was not being designed to be a game like that. I understand that with your preference against turned based systems that the final system may not be to your taste. I hope that the book can still make for a fun read for you in the end in that case.

Regardless, thank you very much for the comment and the enlightening conversation.

Interesting notion. So you arent a proponent for turn-based movement because it feels artificial and can result in too high of an emphasis on moving on your turn in place of other strategic decisions? Is that correct?

While I won't contest the artificiality of turn-based movement, I also will note that my goal for the vibe system was not simulation. Instead I design around approximation. What mechanic can thematically represent the action needed while accomplishing the task quickly and easily. This methodology is used with the intent of creating a mechanical feel that is appropriate without building on the cognitive load asked of the player for the sake of immersive accuracy.

I am curious to hear you clarification on your concerns as I am having difficulty seeing the distinction you're making between movement in 2D fighters. For me half of the strategic decisions I see made in a 2D fighter match is moving into the appropriate position to make your desired attack or drawing your opponent into range to punish them with a desired attack. As for characters of varying speeds I don't see how this differs from the standard slow grappler vs speedy zoner concern. Part of the challenge for the grappler vs a zoner is to figure out how to get up close, while the zoner wants to keep their distance so they dont get pummeled.

I'd like to understand the difference you're seeing. Please do expand on your comments.

A fair question, thank you for asking. Yes, positioning is very important in fighting games and so too here. First, I should address that the vibe system has no mechanic equivalent to an attack of opportunity like in d20. If a target passes with range of an attack or withdraws there are no free attacks. (Say for in Beneath Twisted Earth which features the Overwatch action, or arguably if the GM wishes to use the Delay action to set up a conditional trigger similar to d20.) Otherwise the only way to gain attacks not on your turn is to use a Reaction such as Parry or Collateral Attack.

As for maintaining your desired distance when you can move, but your opponent can move on there turn, players in Festival of Fighters would be encouraged to pay close attention to their Stances' Effective Range and the traits they gain from Archetype Levels during Fighting Style Construction. Many of these traits grant free moves or improved movement when certain conditions are met. For example, it a fighter with the Level 1 of Zoner Archetype moves away from their designated target, their Movement Rate increases by one, allowing them to quickly with draw to a preferred distance. Similar traits can be found under different conditions. The use of these archetype traits can assist with a fighter's positioning during combat.

If your question was concerned with the more basic leve of movement, a large part of it depends on the combatant's movement rate. A combatant who is slow is unlikely to be able to control their positioning well without help from allies or abilities, while fast opponents may race across the battlefield after one another. Clever play would certainly be encouraged under these scenarios to use your traits or ability to hinder your opponents movement.

Did this satisfactorily answer your question, or was there something specific you wanted to dig into?

Thank you for the encouragement and the follow! I admit I am much in the same boat having had a cool idea, wanting to follow it to completion, and choosing to fund it out of pocket rather than crowd funding so I related pretty hard with your update. I also wrestled with some of these feelings during past playtests, especially with harsh criticism because my system wasn't more like others. While it is important to know your audience, it is also just as important to keep true to the vision. That said, I suppose that is much harder to do for our contemporaries who have to work with investors. One of the benefits of going the route we chose is we can experiment and design for the project over profit.

Here-here! From one indie dev working on a passion project to another, I'm glad to hear you're making the game you want to make rather than trying to make it fit an audience that might never like it. Those who do enjoy the game will appreciate it all the more!

To be honest, I hadn't thought of it, but I'll look into it! (I'll post a devlog about it soon.)