<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Oblivion? Immersive combat? uuh, oblivion combat is ######. Play Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
as for the right click, i think leap sounds like a logical idea. considering the new players comming into the game i believe leap for the right click would be something appropriate for them aswell.
for gameplay purposes aswell, it seems so much faster to have leap as a right click.
otherwise id consider not so much an attack but a stalkerish attribute to help the skulk get possibly abit closer to its target with out it knowing. not so much like team fortress 2 the spy camouflage but along those lines...
The grapple idea isn't that bad, but like the devour ability in NS1, it would be just annoying for the marine if he has no way to evade it.
But something that can be cool is that, once a marine is taken by a skulk, instead of lying on the ground, he stays on his feet and turns to a 3rd person perspective. Then his goal is to knock the skulk(s) by throwing himself on the walls. If the skulk has also a 3rd view when he's on someone, he could be able to change position on the marine body, making it harder for the marine to get rid of it. That idea would make the grapple thing more funny and skill based than when the skulk and the marine are just on the ground, waiting for seconds for the marine to die. I must admit that's something that could be hard to code, but it would add a cool mini game.
No more parasite !? I really don't agree with that. A parasited marine is so easier to ambush. It must be replaced by some ability for the alien commander to make marines appear like when they are parasited, maybe when he's looking at them or something like that.
Another idea concerning the bite : skulks could eat dead bodies as well as other aliens structures and players to heal themselves in spite of the automatic and slow healing. It could add some strategy as you have choices to do to heal yourself.
Finally, i hope there will be some BH or some movement trick as it was one of the things that kept me playing NS1 for years. And there must be some air control for the leap. It's not realistic but it adds a lot of depth to the gameplay.
Im one for having the bitecam view. Ive tried thinking up many other ways of having a first person view for the skulk and bitecam is the only logical way. I mean if its down-the-nose view, how are you going to time your bite if you cant see your mouth going?
<!--quoteo(post=1721206:date=Aug 7 2009, 04:23 AM:name=CoolCookieCooks)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CoolCookieCooks @ Aug 7 2009, 04:23 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721206"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Im one for having the bitecam view. Ive tried thinking up many other ways of having a first person view for the skulk and bitecam is the only logical way. I mean if its down-the-nose view, how are you going to time your bite if you cant see your mouth going?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Defending something that is bad because you don't have the wit to imagine an alternative.
Are you by any chance religious?
The skulk has a slight underbite, large lower fangs and teeth could be positioned to give visual cues.There are a myriad of ways to do it. Bitecam is BAD. That's why so many people turned it off before that feature was removed by the devs.
Do you REALLY need a split second of complete blindness in order to know that you are biting?
<!--quoteo(post=1721207:date=Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721207"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Defending something that is bad because you don't have the wit to imagine an alternative.
Are you by any chance religious?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Excuse me? there was no need for that at all.
<!--quoteo(post=1721207:date=Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721207"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The skulk has a slight underbite, large lower fangs and teeth could be positioned to give visual cues.There are a myriad of ways to do it. Bitecam is BAD.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Positioned where exactly?
<!--quoteo(post=1721207:date=Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721207"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Bitecam is BAD. That's why so many people turned it off before that feature was removed by the devs.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I believe the 'feature' as you call it was turned off so everybody has the same handicap. Why do you think in other games such as unreal with the redeemer the gun takes up half the screen? I know it wasnt because they got bored with the scale tool.
lets not forget that skulks breath the oxygen from the freshly spilt blood of marines, and that the entire chest cavity is there to breed new parasites.
secondary attack bite is lick blood, a small health boost mopping blood splatters off the wall like a licker from resident evil, or chewing down on that freshly killed marine.
me though I have always liked the tackle grapple bite idea, it stops marines from soloing, when you need another marine to shoot the skulk off your back. with a damage over time, and slowing movement down to a walking pace, even the best marines who always keep their backs to a wall with lots of range, are going to be careful.
3 third attack is parasite, with a initial damage spike of say 10 on armor or health if no armor, and three seconds for a buddy marine to tazor his buddy's chest to stop it from burrowing, the parasite then once in side does a damage over time of a couple of health a second purely to health. again deters marines from soloing, leaves a skulk wanting to inject a bunch of parasites without energy or very little
3rd attack alt fire, skulk opens mouth slightly wider on your hud and all the parasites scuttle out and hang off his teeth and mouth, just touching a marine like this will inject multiple parasites it would be equivalent to watching your health go down with a uzi in your face point blank. as soon as alt fire is click it drains energy completely, then it recharges at a normal pace. as parasites are used energy goes back down as more parasites climb out of the skulks mouth, so your ready again to leap head long into your pray, and leap out again leaving him covered in parasites, promotes gorilla warfare style tactics, deters marine solo play.
4th xeno, normal xeno high aoe damage to a medium area alt fire shrapnel para xeno, aoe with slightly less damage in a small radius, but parasite fly out in all directions bouncing off walls at least once, and doing ten damage to marines, no dot since they died in the xeno
<!--quoteo(post=1721207:date=Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721207"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Defending something that is bad because you don't have the wit to imagine an alternative.
Are you by any chance religious?
The skulk has a slight underbite, large lower fangs and teeth could be positioned to give visual cues.There are a myriad of ways to do it. Bitecam is BAD. That's why so many people turned it off before that feature was removed by the devs.
Do you REALLY need a split second of complete blindness in order to know that you are biting?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I support C3 in his response, it re-creates the uniqueness of such a view that the original had.
And I'm a muslim, is that a problem? As I'm thinking the same was as C3 then surely that question applies to me, if you have a problem with religion or my own please I would like you to say it.
in my opinion you can take the old models and just release the game and update the models later ;) But i like the fade baby, i mean the skulk, looks more like an alien, then a "earth animal" and thats good.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->can't wait to show you the Gorge, Lerk and Fade (in that order)!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> and i can't wait to see them, special in that order ;-) I hope you show some ingame footage after the fade.
Ooow my bad ability 3 alt fire name "insertion" - additionally as above you can use other ability's while your doing insertion. but bare in mind parasites cant live very long without a host, so they will get bored crawl back inside fall off if your constantly moving way to fast, id say 10 parasites basically dieing, crawling back in side the skulks mouth or falling off over a 20 second period. depending on speed or combat issues and situation, dont make it linear, like one die at 5 seconds 2 at 11 seconds 3 at 17 seconds and 4 at 20
puzlThe Old FirmJoin Date: 2003-02-26Member: 14029Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation
edited August 2009
The model looks great, I'm loving the little details and the texturing.
For the bite alt-fire, would it not be worth considering some skill based damage bonus.
I'm thinking along the lines of that melee pump-action weapon in UT. Primary fire is an instant hit, secondary fire is a charge-up and hit. The use of secondary fire should be more difficult to land a hit, but it should do slightly more damage. I'm not talking about a press-aim-release mechanism, but a fixed charge time, which would require you to predict the marine position.
This could also replace the niche parasite had in reducing the amount of bites required for a kill.
I couldn't care less about the position of the bite cam, fwiw.
Thinking about parasite, I see no reason why it can't be kept as it is but simply remove the scouting information for the rest of the team. A single skulk 'playing' with a marine in vents could still use para to track the target, and still do the little bit of damage that is very very useful in its own right.
"We're still not sure what his alt-fire for Bite is going to be. We've talked a lot about a grapple type of attack... give us suggestions" - from the blog.
Perfect Idea, alt-fire is a venomous bite attack that does slight damage over time, this ability can only be used if the alien-player charges and holds down the "create saliva button" (A side note on this, I noticed many people thinking that a Damage over time ability is too Over-Powered, well as a balance check, while CHARGING your Venom, i.e. salivating, you leave a small trail of mucus that marines can notice. In other words, if a skulk is about to venom pounce you from above, you would notice some drips above you.)
This would affect the skulk game-play to make it very much more hit-n-run based, and I think, really fit the class well.
PS: I also agree with the possibility of a counterable grapple, i.e. the skulk grabs onto a limb and starts biting and the marine has to work quick to shoot him off, and also the option to latch onto a marines back. However, I disagree with a skulk grappled to a marines back being un-counterable. If this ability were to be implemented, I think the marine with the skulk on his back could act fast, and back up against a wall (while he's flailing around :D) to knock off the skulk and give him a second chance.
So remember, in this hypothetical suggestion, that the skulk can latch onto any of the marine's limbs. Whatever free limb the marine has, he can use to grab his backup weapon. However, what if multiple skulks were able to latch onto ALL of the limbs of the one marine's body? If there is a skulk on both arms then the marine can TRY to run back to base and have a buddy shoot them off, but if a leg or 2 is ALSO grappled, then running speed is greatly impaired. This would definitely motivate teamwork among the skulk pack. And add incentive for the marines to stick with the group.
PSS: I also second the Idea of dragging marine bodies to a more secluded spot so multiple aliens can eat it, however I think there should also be some sort of alien structure that converts marine bodies into some sort of points. This could give incentive for a marine to stray from the group. Now the question would be, what would the marine do with the body? how about if the marines can melee or shoot the body to destroy it preventing alien use of the body, maybe every marine body has a self-destruct button that a nearby marine needs to activate, or possibly the marines could drag their dead friend's body to a furnace in the HQ to turn into some sort of points?
>> We're still not sure what his alt-fire for Bite is going to be. We've talked a lot about a grapple type of attack where he could clench down on a marine and do damage to him over time, but that seemed too annoying from the marine's perspective (and how would he shoot the skulk off of him?). Please give us some suggestions.
my Idea:
Use this.. but only on dead marines or marines under 10-20HP ? -> Skulk jumps on Marine like in Left4Dead the hunter and drains health! So one Skulk can get back HP after killing a marine (instead of run back to hive and heal). if the marines act in team.. they can simply shot the skulk on the dead marine. limited to only one "use" of a dead marine is allowed.
<!--quoteo(post=1721207:date=Aug 7 2009, 03:27 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 03:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721207"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Defending something that is bad because you don't have the wit to imagine an alternative.
Are you by any chance religious?
The skulk has a slight underbite, large lower fangs and teeth could be positioned to give visual cues.There are a myriad of ways to do it. Bitecam is BAD. That's why so many people turned it off before that feature was removed by the devs.
Do you REALLY need a split second of complete blindness in order to know that you are biting?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The bitecam and muzzle flash were designed to be blinding
<!--quoteo(post=1721223:date=Aug 7 2009, 11:17 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 11:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721223"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Realism? The creatures eyes aren't in the back of its throat.
Uniqueness? Not even close. There are tons of games with nearly identical viewpoints.
Immersion? The eyes of the creature in third person don't correspond to the first person view. That breaks immersion.
Hopefully you will read this before it's time to get another rugburn on your forehead propitiating your invisible friend.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You still haven't answered my question. What is wrong with liking the bitecam and what does it have to do with religion?
Just accept bitecam works. An alternative is not viable for the ethos of the game and by using smart design (including KISS, Keep it simple, stupid) rather than "OMG IT BLOCKS MY SCREEN" and changing it to suit just yourself.
<!--quoteo(post=1721228:date=Aug 7 2009, 05:24 AM:name=Thaldarin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thaldarin @ Aug 7 2009, 05:24 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721228"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Why is it a poor design choice? I'd like it backed up.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You need things repeated a number of times before they sink in.
I'm guessing that's why you believe in Odin. Or is it Zeus? I can never keep track.
<!--quoteo(post=1721229:date=Aug 7 2009, 11:26 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 11:26 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721229"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'm guessing that's why you believe in Odin. Or is it Zeus? I can never keep track.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sorry who are you? And did you just troll the fact that I have a religous belief? That's pretty uncool.
The fact that you aren't arguing in favor of a new animation for fade swipe or onos gore, that temporarily blinds the player, is a sign that you don't even believe your own arguments.
How you choose to rot your brain in your own time is your business.
Skulk model, skin and animations all look great, just like the onos. I also love the color scheme mimicing the one fade has in NS1.
Now, I think that a grabbing attack would be great. How I thought it would work best is this.
As a skulk, you can grab any limb or any specific spot you want to by aiming at it and doing the attack. This would leave the skulk grabbing/pulling/hanging form there, now the catch is that the skulk can still move, slower than normal of course, and pull the marine into different directions like you would think that a dog does, you know, pulling its head rapidly side to side. This would be done in the game by simply moving youre mouse, using WASD to move the skulk itself and the skulk would then pull to that direction, jerking the marines aim to the opposite direction. This would make it really hard to shoot the skulk off by yourself, but not impossible. Also i think the skulk should be able to knock the marine to the ground whit a nice powerfull pull if hes unable to get the skulk off. The skulk then could pull the still living marine to vents etc. and finish him off there, or get finished by the marine whos still perfectly concious and able to shoot back, altho really hard as I specified before. This would also open strategic placement off the skulk like if you see a marine near a vent, you could grab him, and start to pull the marine in to the vent, while being covered inside there. I can imagine the marines screaming as his leg is being pulled inside a vent by a skulkie ^_^
I dislike the grapple idea mainly because you would know where the skulk is, parasite was good because it was a bit tricky to know exactly where the skulk was parasiting you. Also it just doesn't sound right for a skulk ability.
Temporary parasite sounds better. It's handy for deciding when to attack a marine behind a wall and it's a fun ability, annoying but not disorientating for the marine.
Skulk was good in NS1 it doesn't need much changing. Xenocide was probably the worst of its weapons so change it if you have a better idea, maybe make it grapple? Hmm nah still don't like grapple, reminds me of mortal kombat "COME HERE!" just not right for a skulk to do it.
Oh skulk model looks good btw, and the vents. Can't wait to play it. Does POV rotate as you walk on wall ceiling? That'd be cool.
Opprobrious, you can stop insulting everyone now. Thank you.
<!--quoteo(post=1721233:date=Aug 7 2009, 05:36 AM:name=CheesyPeteza)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CheesyPeteza @ Aug 7 2009, 05:36 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721233"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Oh skulk model looks good btw, and the vents. Can't wait to play it. Does POV rotate as you walk on wall ceiling? That'd be cool.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It doesn't no, purely for the reason a lot of people felt sick playing in AvP which had it. I know I did.
I actually believe that having the skulk latch onto the Marines would be an excellent idea. The main focus of marines in NS1 was how they interacted together in a more coherent team than the aliens, and I believe that this should still be an important part of marine play in NS2. so saving a teammate from a latched-on Skulk would be an important part of this teamwork. And it would discourage marines from running off alone :P
Also, I believe it would also be a double-edged sword for the skulk. While latched on, it would inherently reduce mobility by a great deal, meaning they are easier to fire on and kill, so it would be a tactical decision as to whether to latch on or not.
Overall, I think this ability would probably be an enhancement to both marine and alien tactical play, not a detraction from either.
Comments
uuh, oblivion combat is ######. Play Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3WQZXiYLbg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3WQZXiYLbg</a>
Uhh.. Yeah it is.
as for the right click, i think leap sounds like a logical idea. considering the new players comming into the game i believe leap for the right click would be something appropriate for them aswell.
for gameplay purposes aswell, it seems so much faster to have leap as a right click.
otherwise id consider not so much an attack but a stalkerish attribute to help the skulk get possibly abit closer to its target with out it knowing. not so much like team fortress 2 the spy camouflage but along those lines...
But something that can be cool is that, once a marine is taken by a skulk, instead of lying on the ground, he stays on his feet and turns to a 3rd person perspective. Then his goal is to knock the skulk(s) by throwing himself on the walls. If the skulk has also a 3rd view when he's on someone, he could be able to change position on the marine body, making it harder for the marine to get rid of it.
That idea would make the grapple thing more funny and skill based than when the skulk and the marine are just on the ground, waiting for seconds for the marine to die. I must admit that's something that could be hard to code, but it would add a cool mini game.
No more parasite !? I really don't agree with that. A parasited marine is so easier to ambush. It must be replaced by some ability for the alien commander to make marines appear like when they are parasited, maybe when he's looking at them or something like that.
Another idea concerning the bite : skulks could eat dead bodies as well as other aliens structures and players to heal themselves in spite of the automatic and slow healing. It could add some strategy as you have choices to do to heal yourself.
Finally, i hope there will be some BH or some movement trick as it was one of the things that kept me playing NS1 for years. And there must be some air control for the leap. It's not realistic but it adds a lot of depth to the gameplay.
Are you by any chance religious?
The skulk has a slight underbite, large lower fangs and teeth could be positioned to give visual cues.There are a myriad of ways to do it. Bitecam is BAD. That's why so many people turned it off before that feature was removed by the devs.
Do you REALLY need a split second of complete blindness in order to know that you are biting?
Are you by any chance religious?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Excuse me? there was no need for that at all.
<!--quoteo(post=1721207:date=Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721207"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The skulk has a slight underbite, large lower fangs and teeth could be positioned to give visual cues.There are a myriad of ways to do it. Bitecam is BAD.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Positioned where exactly?
<!--quoteo(post=1721207:date=Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM:name=Opprobrious)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Opprobrious @ Aug 7 2009, 10:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721207"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Bitecam is BAD. That's why so many people turned it off before that feature was removed by the devs.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I believe the 'feature' as you call it was turned off so everybody has the same handicap. Why do you think in other games such as unreal with the redeemer the gun takes up half the screen? I know it wasnt because they got bored with the scale tool.
secondary attack bite is lick blood, a small health boost mopping blood splatters off the wall like a licker from resident evil, or chewing down on that freshly killed marine.
me though I have always liked the tackle grapple bite idea, it stops marines from soloing, when you need another marine to shoot the skulk off your back. with a damage over time, and slowing movement down to a walking pace, even the best marines who always keep their backs to a wall with lots of range, are going to be careful.
3 third attack is parasite, with a initial damage spike of say 10 on armor or health if no armor, and three seconds for a buddy marine to tazor his buddy's chest to stop it from burrowing, the parasite then once in side does a damage over time of a couple of health a second purely to health. again deters marines from soloing, leaves a skulk wanting to inject a bunch of parasites without energy or very little
3rd attack alt fire, skulk opens mouth slightly wider on your hud and all the parasites scuttle out and hang off his teeth and mouth, just touching a marine like this will inject multiple parasites it would be equivalent to watching your health go down with a uzi in your face point blank. as soon as alt fire is click it drains energy completely, then it recharges at a normal pace. as parasites are used energy goes back down as more parasites climb out of the skulks mouth, so your ready again to leap head long into your pray, and leap out again leaving him covered in parasites, promotes gorilla warfare style tactics, deters marine solo play.
4th xeno, normal xeno high aoe damage to a medium area
alt fire shrapnel para xeno, aoe with slightly less damage in a small radius, but parasite fly out in all directions bouncing off walls at least once, and doing ten damage to marines, no dot since they died in the xeno
Are you by any chance religious?
The skulk has a slight underbite, large lower fangs and teeth could be positioned to give visual cues.There are a myriad of ways to do it. Bitecam is BAD. That's why so many people turned it off before that feature was removed by the devs.
Do you REALLY need a split second of complete blindness in order to know that you are biting?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I support C3 in his response, it re-creates the uniqueness of such a view that the original had.
And I'm a muslim, is that a problem? As I'm thinking the same was as C3 then surely that question applies to me, if you have a problem with religion or my own please I would like you to say it.
But i like the fade baby, i mean the skulk, looks more like an alien, then a "earth animal" and thats good.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->can't wait to show you the Gorge, Lerk and Fade (in that order)!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
and i can't wait to see them, special in that order ;-)
I hope you show some ingame footage after the fade.
In all serious though Nex9 I can't quite understand your idea. How about a title with some bullet points on each?
For the bite alt-fire, would it not be worth considering some skill based damage bonus.
I'm thinking along the lines of that melee pump-action weapon in UT. Primary fire is an instant hit, secondary fire is a charge-up and hit. The use of secondary fire should be more difficult to land a hit, but it should do slightly more damage. I'm not talking about a press-aim-release mechanism, but a fixed charge time, which would require you to predict the marine position.
This could also replace the niche parasite had in reducing the amount of bites required for a kill.
I couldn't care less about the position of the bite cam, fwiw.
Thinking about parasite, I see no reason why it can't be kept as it is but simply remove the scouting information for the rest of the team. A single skulk 'playing' with a marine in vents could still use para to track the target, and still do the little bit of damage that is very very useful in its own right.
At most we have badly-formed opinions based on nostalgia over NS1.
What was your counter argument again? Religion? I'm still waiting on a reply on why religion applies to that.
Perfect Idea, alt-fire is a venomous bite attack that does slight damage over time, this ability can only be used if the alien-player charges and holds down the "create saliva button" (A side note on this, I noticed many people thinking that a Damage over time ability is too Over-Powered, well as a balance check, while CHARGING your Venom, i.e. salivating, you leave a small trail of mucus that marines can notice. In other words, if a skulk is about to venom pounce you from above, you would notice some drips above you.)
This would affect the skulk game-play to make it very much more hit-n-run based, and I think, really fit the class well.
PS: I also agree with the possibility of a counterable grapple, i.e. the skulk grabs onto a limb and starts biting and the marine has to work quick to shoot him off, and also the option to latch onto a marines back. However, I disagree with a skulk grappled to a marines back being un-counterable. If this ability were to be implemented, I think the marine with the skulk on his back could act fast, and back up against a wall (while he's flailing around :D) to knock off the skulk and give him a second chance.
So remember, in this hypothetical suggestion, that the skulk can latch onto any of the marine's limbs. Whatever free limb the marine has, he can use to grab his backup weapon. However, what if multiple skulks were able to latch onto ALL of the limbs of the one marine's body? If there is a skulk on both arms then the marine can TRY to run back to base and have a buddy shoot them off, but if a leg or 2 is ALSO grappled, then running speed is greatly impaired. This would definitely motivate teamwork among the skulk pack. And add incentive for the marines to stick with the group.
PSS: I also second the Idea of dragging marine bodies to a more secluded spot so multiple aliens can eat it, however I think there should also be some sort of alien structure that converts marine bodies into some sort of points. This could give incentive for a marine to stray from the group. Now the question would be, what would the marine do with the body? how about if the marines can melee or shoot the body to destroy it preventing alien use of the body, maybe every marine body has a self-destruct button that a nearby marine needs to activate, or possibly the marines could drag their dead friend's body to a furnace in the HQ to turn into some sort of points?
Uniqueness? Not even close. There are tons of games with nearly identical viewpoints.
Immersion? The eyes of the creature in third person don't correspond to the first person view. That breaks immersion.
Hopefully you will read this before it's time to get another rugburn on your forehead propitiating your invisible friend.
my Idea:
Use this.. but only on dead marines or marines under 10-20HP ? -> Skulk jumps on Marine like in Left4Dead the hunter and drains health! So one Skulk can get back HP after killing a marine (instead of run back to hive and heal). if the marines act in team.. they can simply shot the skulk on the dead marine. limited to only one "use" of a dead marine is allowed.
Are you by any chance religious?
The skulk has a slight underbite, large lower fangs and teeth could be positioned to give visual cues.There are a myriad of ways to do it. Bitecam is BAD. That's why so many people turned it off before that feature was removed by the devs.
Do you REALLY need a split second of complete blindness in order to know that you are biting?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The bitecam and muzzle flash were designed to be blinding
Uniqueness? Not even close. There are tons of games with nearly identical viewpoints.
Immersion? The eyes of the creature in third person don't correspond to the first person view. That breaks immersion.
Hopefully you will read this before it's time to get another rugburn on your forehead propitiating your invisible friend.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You still haven't answered my question. What is wrong with liking the bitecam and what does it have to do with religion?
Just accept bitecam works. An alternative is not viable for the ethos of the game and by using smart design (including KISS, Keep it simple, stupid) rather than "OMG IT BLOCKS MY SCREEN" and changing it to suit just yourself.
Fade swipes don't blind. That OBVIOUSLY needs to be fixed.
Let's have swipecam from within the claw! Every attack completely fills the screen with an image of the slashing claw.
You need things repeated a number of times before they sink in.
I'm guessing that's why you believe in Odin. Or is it Zeus? I can never keep track.
Did my fade example seem ridiculous?
Sorry who are you? And did you just troll the fact that I have a religous belief? That's pretty uncool.
How you choose to rot your brain in your own time is your business.
Now, I think that a grabbing attack would be great. How I thought it would work best is this.
As a skulk, you can grab any limb or any specific spot you want to by aiming at it and doing the attack. This would leave the skulk grabbing/pulling/hanging form there, now the catch is that the skulk can still move, slower than normal of course, and pull the marine into different directions like you would think that a dog does, you know, pulling its head rapidly side to side. This would be done in the game by simply moving youre mouse, using WASD to move the skulk itself and the skulk would then pull to that direction, jerking the marines aim to the opposite direction. This would make it really hard to shoot the skulk off by yourself, but not impossible. Also i think the skulk should be able to knock the marine to the ground whit a nice powerfull pull if hes unable to get the skulk off. The skulk then could pull the still living marine to vents etc. and finish him off there, or get finished by the marine whos still perfectly concious and able to shoot back, altho really hard as I specified before. This would also open strategic placement off the skulk like if you see a marine near a vent, you could grab him, and start to pull the marine in to the vent, while being covered inside there. I can imagine the marines screaming as his leg is being pulled inside a vent by a skulkie ^_^
I dislike the grapple idea mainly because you would know where the skulk is, parasite was good because it was a bit tricky to know exactly where the skulk was parasiting you. Also it just doesn't sound right for a skulk ability.
Temporary parasite sounds better. It's handy for deciding when to attack a marine behind a wall and it's a fun ability, annoying but not disorientating for the marine.
Skulk was good in NS1 it doesn't need much changing. Xenocide was probably the worst of its weapons so change it if you have a better idea, maybe make it grapple? Hmm nah still don't like grapple, reminds me of mortal kombat "COME HERE!" just not right for a skulk to do it.
Oh skulk model looks good btw, and the vents. Can't wait to play it. Does POV rotate as you walk on wall ceiling? That'd be cool.
<!--quoteo(post=1721233:date=Aug 7 2009, 05:36 AM:name=CheesyPeteza)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CheesyPeteza @ Aug 7 2009, 05:36 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1721233"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Oh skulk model looks good btw, and the vents. Can't wait to play it. Does POV rotate as you walk on wall ceiling? That'd be cool.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It doesn't no, purely for the reason a lot of people felt sick playing in AvP which had it. I know I did.
Also, I believe it would also be a double-edged sword for the skulk. While latched on, it would inherently reduce mobility by a great deal, meaning they are easier to fire on and kill, so it would be a tactical decision as to whether to latch on or not.
Overall, I think this ability would probably be an enhancement to both marine and alien tactical play, not a detraction from either.
Great work on the model as well, I <3 it!