Smash brothers, but that's a console game that has no lag.
Dunno if this has been suggested yet but has anyone considered keeping this really simple just like the OP? DragonballZ fistfights seemed to help address a difference in power levels since even far weaker people could put a hurting on someone if they got some hits in and physically seemed to revolve around 3 basic things:
1. Using someone's face to remodel the landscape
2. Exchanging or giving lots of blows really quickly with little movement
3. Knocking someone a shorter distance away to set up for doing it again or #1/#2 or an energy attack.
I think we're all overthinking this by a pretty big margin and the best/most dynamic but least ping/fps dependant melee would be a really simple system that primarily revolves around rearranging physical positions or dealing with massive differences in power levels rather than ALWAYS undercutting the use of energy attacks. Think of it like a firstperson and 3d version of smash brothers. Some things have priority over others, excepting throws players have some control over how quickly they recover and their direction/distance of knockback, and some things counter others.
That in mind and considering the last few pages of discussion methinks seperating melee into mouse aimed throws for sending people REALLY far or burying them into the landscape to set up for an energy attack, strong single hits for sending someone just far enough that if they didn't block it to mitigate the hit and recover faster you can keep going or charge up a weaker energy attack (or get behind via teleport for a throw?), and sticking in someone's face to do combo hits.
Organized wall of text (sorry):
Basic
Aimed by angling just like it can now
Sends someone progressively longer distances away, they recover faster (but keep flying away) if they hit block after being hit
Two meeting Basics knocks both back but with less damage and fast recovery
A blocked basic can turn into a mutual combo otherwise the blocked player bounces back some, the blocking player bounces back farther but can stop any time
Basic meeting a combo turns into a combo
No lag time TO blocking from holding the mouse, some when coming back
Builds the SAM the slowest
Can be done on someone in a PS but attacker takes "feedback" damage
Throw
Can only be done on recovering opponents or when dominating a combo
Aimed with the mouse
Sends someone much farther, buries them in landscape longer than any Basic
Throws comboed into energy attacks build the SAM faster than basics
Throws as part of a combo from basics or combos build the SAM faster still
Can't be done on someone in a PS or behind a beam attack
Combo
Isn't aimed
Works like a tossup between current pre-melee and a powerstruggle
Clean hits give the comboing player a certain time of free attacking
Drains health and ki from players taking hits, some ki from attacker
Meeting combos work like a powerstruggle, higher PL takes dominance over time but still loses decent HP
If blocked the blocking player block-struggles it, higher PL takes dominance slower but loses more ki than HP
Builds SAM the fastest
Dominating player can switch to basic or throw the dominated player
Doing it like ^^that would maintain the higher PL player's advantage while still giving lower PL players a way of attacking to gain PL and the like without being totally curbstomped every time. It would also give all players at least 3 choices as to whether to continue meleeing, set up an energy attack as a combo, or get the hell out of there somehow.
