Combat works in MMA Simulator by weighing multiple variables, then rolling on those to see if they are successful. The basic gist of it is:
Different skills factor in different characteristics, and the subskill (or attack) level is factored in on top of that.
Let’s start from the beginning: Hitpoints are calculated by a combination of fighter stamina and strength (based on ratios, not exactly)
Energy is calculated by a combination of stamina and and to a lesser degree, strength (ratios)
Each strike’s damage is calculated factoring in fighter strength and coordination – some strikes require more coordination, so if a fighter has high coordination they will hit harder with that attack. This goes for every strike in the game with the exception of jiu jitsu skills.
Clinch
If a fight enters the clinch, the fighters will be locked and only able to use clinch skills until they separate on the feet or go to the ground.
Ground game
Ground game uses a high amount of coordination and works in phases – a fighter that is focused more on grappling will advance position and rain powerful strikes to the opponent in bottom position. However, if the opponent has high coordination and jiu jitsu, they will be able to defend and even attempt submissions.
If the attacker with top position has a high level of jiu jitsu, they will advance position and use whichever submission is available to them in a position. Each submission has a different number of phases to complete in which the opposing fighter can fight for, and even reverse position if they are skilled enough. Not all submissions are made equal!
How does a fighter choose what to do?
A fighter automatically gravitates to using skills they are good at, which is further enhanced by their fight IQ. A fighter with 70 boxing is almost always going to favor that over 15 kicking. This goes for every attack in the game, down to the sub-skills that they choose to use.
How do TKOs and KOs occur?
When a fighter attacks and they roll significantly higher than their opponent, they will ‘hurt’ them – this hurt status that lasts a few turns depending on the opposing fighter’s stamina. When a fighter is hurt, they are in survival mode and their rolls are significantly diminished – when this happens a KO is likely unless they recover in time.
Their recovery time is dependent on their conditioning and will vary from fighter to fighter (3-5 turns, usually)
TKOs occur when a fighter runs out of energy and gets swarmed by the other fighter (HP goes to 0)