Maybe we are thinking in the wrong direction here.
From the look of the videos and my recent games in NS1 I actually think that the marines have become faster, in NS1 they were quite slow but in NS2 they are fast and with the new sprint added they have now become even faster.
Sprint stops the Aliens from building back a base in the time it takes from the marines to reach them again (After the Aliens got attacked by them)
I think they should first make the Marines slower and then see what comes from that.
The aliens are at a disadvantage for sure. Tonight I commanded a game on rockdown that due to my own stupid mistakes caused us to never get control of the map. The Aliens had fades before I even had 2 tech points and it was a game of defense from that point on. By the late game, we had Weapons 2, Armor 2 and Flames and Shotties, but nothing else. The aliens had the rest of the map and we were trapped in MS and Node reserve.
We came very close to losing on a number of occasions, including a 192 second stint were I was screaming at my marines to hug the armory as I needed 16 res to put the IP back up. No matter how many rushes the aliens did and I mean 3 Fade, 2 Lerk and a Gorge all in the base at the same time, with only SGs and Flamers and my MACs were were able to stay alive. We had started to bore the aliens enough that we almost took out 2 hive before everyone just called it a draw. Epic game, but my point is, we would have stayed alive and if we had kept playing pushed them back.
Maybe once the ONOS and HA show up we will be able to have games that go 1 way or another but right now, with a good commander, the marines will not lose if you have tier 2 weapons and just 1 armory, IP and Res node.
<!--quoteo(post=1844985:date=May 9 2011, 06:39 PM:name=Papayas)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Papayas @ May 9 2011, 06:39 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1844985"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Maybe we are thinking in the wrong direction here.
From the look of the videos and my recent games in NS1 I actually think that the marines have become faster, in NS1 they were quite slow but in NS2 they are fast and with the new sprint added they have now become even faster.
Sprint stops the Aliens from building back a base in the time it takes from the marines to reach them again (After the Aliens got attacked by them)
I think they should first make the Marines slower and then see what comes from that.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Its to early to tweak little details like that and beside changing the marine speed is literally just changing a few variables.. There are much bigger game play issues which need to be addressed before the fine tuning is done.
<!--quoteo(post=1844888:date=May 8 2011, 04:52 PM:name=wulf)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (wulf @ May 8 2011, 04:52 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1844888"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->And now cory just came out saying most likely not bhop =(.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> DOH!
Oh well, I'm sure someone will try it out in the coming years ... I'm wondering if it's possible to recreate NS1 in the NS2 engine. Graphics upgrade, but everything else is replicated perfectly.
I find it difficult and frustrating sometimes as an alien fighting a marine is because the camera for an alien is in its mouth??? impairing visibility, I know its keeping true to ns1 but it was never as disorientating as ns1 either.
And sound of marines is bugged or not added coz mid fight the marine is jumping all over the place and you cant hear jack of his footsteps , i dont even think they have any or they're nearly not as loud.
The one thing I don't like about the Alien Commander is it inhibits creative chamber placement the way a gorge can do it. Topdown view, odd drifter behavior and not everything drawn in commander view reduce it to a 2d game.
<!--quoteo(post=1844992:date=May 9 2011, 09:13 AM:name=kabab)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (kabab @ May 9 2011, 09:13 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1844992"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Its to early to tweak little details like that and beside changing the marine speed is literally just changing a few variables.. There are much bigger game play issues which need to be addressed before the fine tuning is done.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I don't agree with everything I said I was just making a suggestion.
<!--quoteo(post=1844991:date=May 9 2011, 05:07 AM:name=Majin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Majin @ May 9 2011, 05:07 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1844991"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The aliens are at a disadvantage for sure. Tonight I commanded a game on rockdown that due to my own stupid mistakes caused us to never get control of the map. The Aliens had fades before I even had 2 tech points and it was a game of defense from that point on. By the late game, we had Weapons 2, Armor 2 and Flames and Shotties, but nothing else. The aliens had the rest of the map and we were trapped in MS and Node reserve.
We came very close to losing on a number of occasions, including a 192 second stint were I was screaming at my marines to hug the armory as I needed 16 res to put the IP back up. No matter how many rushes the aliens did and I mean 3 Fade, 2 Lerk and a Gorge all in the base at the same time, with only SGs and Flamers and my MACs were were able to stay alive. We had started to bore the aliens enough that we almost took out 2 hive before everyone just called it a draw. Epic game, but my point is, we would have stayed alive and if we had kept playing pushed them back.
Maybe once the ONOS and HA show up we will be able to have games that go 1 way or another but right now, with a good commander, the marines will not lose if you have tier 2 weapons and just 1 armory, IP and Res node.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> They're restructuring the Tech Tree (untying Tech from Tech Points), so this issue of being gridlocked and unable to advance should be alleviated even sooner than the Onos and Exo can show up.
<!--quoteo(post=1845005:date=May 9 2011, 06:16 AM:name=NurEinMensch)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NurEinMensch @ May 9 2011, 06:16 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845005"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The one thing I don't like about the Alien Commander is it inhibits creative chamber placement the way a gorge can do it. Topdown view, odd drifter behavior and not everything drawn in commander view reduce it to a 2d game.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Give the Alien Commander the ability to possess Drifters (and possibly any non-player-controlled Alien entity) and control them from a 1st or 3rd person perspective for precision control?
With every evolution of NS2 i think they are moving back towards NS1 which is really good..
I really think UNW should listen to their fans/customers/long term supporters and drop Alien commander the feeling i get is most people don't want it..
I can understand their reluctance not to because its always hard to scrap a feature you have developed but i think it would be for the greater good..
Bring back the focus to the gorge as being the main co-ordinator / builder for aliens.
You can still have team resource model as you do now but just change it so that only gorges can spend team res on units that where built from the hive previously.
I also think change the way the trigger attacks work on crags/whips etc make it so that any aliens can go upto the chamber and hit 'use' to trigger the ability..
This to me feels much more "alien" and organic....
<!--quoteo(post=1845095:date=May 9 2011, 01:44 PM:name=shiv)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shiv @ May 9 2011, 01:44 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845095"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'm a fan, customer and supporter of UWE and NS/NS2 and I disagree. I'm absolutely for the alien commander role.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1845146:date=May 9 2011, 09:23 PM:name=jkflipflop)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (jkflipflop @ May 9 2011, 09:23 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845146"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I hate it. Worst idea evar.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I love it. It is the main reason I play the game.
ScardyBobScardyBobJoin Date: 2009-11-25Member: 69528Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
<!--quoteo(post=1845005:date=May 9 2011, 03:16 AM:name=NurEinMensch)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NurEinMensch @ May 9 2011, 03:16 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845005"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The one thing I don't like about the Alien Commander is it inhibits creative chamber placement the way a gorge can do it. Topdown view, odd drifter behavior and not everything drawn in commander view reduce it to a 2d game.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Give me comm view rotate, tilt, and zoom and I can be very creative on where I place structures :)
Then again, maybe thats the reason UWE won't institute those functions.
I do not want to see the elimination of the commander.
There are so many FPS shooters out there. What impressed me about NS2 was the strategic elements. When NS2 gets released it will be compared to Aliens: Colonial Marines. It is important to focus on making the game different. UWE is way ahead of the mainstream in developing a FPS/RTS hybrid.
<!--quoteo(post=1845158:date=May 10 2011, 03:21 AM:name=ScardyBob)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ScardyBob @ May 10 2011, 03:21 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845158"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Give me comm view rotate, tilt, and zoom and I can be very creative on where I place structures :)
Then again, maybe thats the reason UWE won't institute those functions.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think just letting the comm fly around like an invisible player would be better honestly, trying to handle fully 360 rotation inside a level would be kind of hard.
<!--quoteo(post=1845181:date=May 9 2011, 11:58 PM:name=Chris0132)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chris0132 @ May 9 2011, 11:58 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845181"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think just letting the comm fly around like an invisible player would be better honestly, trying to handle fully 360 rotation inside a level would be kind of hard.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This makes me imagine the Alien Comm being visible to aliens as a cloud of spores, which is a great way to convey commander presence to the players.
<!--quoteo(post=1845182:date=May 10 2011, 08:14 AM:name=PsiWarp)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PsiWarp @ May 10 2011, 08:14 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845182"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This makes me imagine the Alien Comm being visible to aliens as a cloud of spores, which is a great way to convey commander presence to the players.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah someone suggested that somewhere, not sure who.
It'd be a good idea if you need to give the alien comm a more freeform view, letting him select say a hive or a crag, clicking a button, and the hive/crag spawns a little cloud of spores which the comm can view from and control, and it dissipates when the comm exits the cloud and goes back to regular comm view.
You could add structure placement to it much like a gorge does hydra placement.
<!--quoteo(post=1845147:date=May 9 2011, 06:34 PM:name=Sethbeastalan)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sethbeastalan @ May 9 2011, 06:34 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845147"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I love it. It is the main reason I play the game.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Really, the alien commander is the main reason you play?
I'm not sure why that is hard to believe. Some players play one life-form almost exclusively, some players play marine commander almost exclusively - evidently Seth plays Alien commander almost exclusively.
Seems Rockdown has a problem for the Aliens once the marine reach advanced weapons (flamers, nades)... That problem is...
<b>The Marines can hold on forever, with a good commander!</b>
I played my 3rd stalemate to date game on Rockdown tonight, the aliens took the entire map, were owning the marines hard, until we got to marine start. The marine commander put up about 8 sentries covering almost every angle, he also had lots and lots of MACS. Combined with flamers, shotguns, weapons and armor 3, we just couldn't finish off the marine before they were able to repair and regroup. We sending in 4 lerks, we tried sending in skulks, we even did FADESWARM. No matter how many times we attacked, they were just able enough to kill us off and repair everything or replace. Eventually the alien team just got fed up and quit.
Don't know what else to say, it's the 3rd time I have seen this happen, i guess we will just have to wait till we get some new abilities.
<!--quoteo(post=1845914:date=May 13 2011, 08:44 AM:name=Majin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Majin @ May 13 2011, 08:44 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845914"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Seems Rockdown has a problem for the Aliens once the marine reach advanced weapons (flamers, nades)... That problem is...
<b>The Marines can hold on forever, with a good commander!</b>
I played my 3rd stalemate to date game on Rockdown tonight, the aliens took the entire map, were owning the marines hard, until we got to marine start. The marine commander put up about 8 sentries covering almost every angle, he also had lots and lots of MACS. Combined with flamers, shotguns, weapons and armor 3, we just couldn't finish off the marine before they were able to repair and regroup. We sending in 4 lerks, we tried sending in skulks, we even did FADESWARM. No matter how many times we attacked, they were just able enough to kill us off and repair everything or replace. Eventually the alien team just got fed up and quit.
Don't know what else to say, it's the 3rd time I have seen this happen, i guess we will just have to wait till we get some new abilities.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, this superturtling is spreading alot and its driving me nuts. Makes me wish lerk would get exploding bombs to shoot, as a counter to GLs..
<!--quoteo(post=1845900:date=May 12 2011, 11:09 PM:name=Harimau)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Harimau @ May 12 2011, 11:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845900"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'm not sure why that is hard to believe. Some players play one life-form almost exclusively, some players play marine commander almost exclusively - evidently Seth plays Alien commander almost exclusively.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I almost exclusively go shotgun since I can't hit anything on the alien team. It's <u>not</u> the main reason I've played NS2. Citing it as the singular reason to play a game seems a bit hyperbolic, I'm not sure why that's hard to acknowledge.
<!--quoteo(post=1845915:date=May 13 2011, 06:47 AM:name=Twiggeh)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Twiggeh @ May 13 2011, 06:47 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845915"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yeah, this superturtling is spreading alot and its driving me nuts. Makes me wish lerk would get exploding bombs to shoot, as a counter to GLs..<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think what will really help turn the tides is the onos. You get 4 of them rush in at once, i don't care what kind of setup you got. it's going down. (or I'd hope)
Also doesn't repair cost resources? if you kill all of their extractors and own the rest of the map then you win. Just have to break them down.
<!--quoteo(post=1845964:date=May 13 2011, 08:10 AM:name=MJBrune)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MJBrune @ May 13 2011, 08:10 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845964"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think what will really help turn the tides is the onos. You get 4 of them rush in at once, i don't care what kind of setup you got. it's going down. (or I'd hope)
Also doesn't repair cost resources? if you kill all of their extractors and own the rest of the map then you win. Just have to break them down.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
i dont get why the alien team would even NEED to get 4 onos. not to mention by the time you save enough to get 4 onos the marines should be ending the game anyway. aliens still have no midgame attack role and its looking like they never will.
Alien strat should not be slow with tanks. But it looks like it may be heading that way with no kind of skill based movement or should I say movement at all.
<!--quoteo(post=1845964:date=May 13 2011, 09:10 AM:name=MJBrune)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MJBrune @ May 13 2011, 09:10 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845964"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think what will really help turn the tides is the onos.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No because the onos counter is the exo-skeleton. You are back to the same problem.
If both sides are mid-level tech (top level being onos exo etc) and one side is dominating the map...they should crush the competition.
With one res node the marines shouldn't be able to AFFORD flame lasers and shotties. They can't strangle to number of units because then the Marines would rage quit (I'm sitting in a spawn queue forever) With one res node the marines should be fighting with machine guns, pistols, and axes.
For those of you who have played RTS games answer me this. When has the person who only built one base...ever won the game?
<!--quoteo(post=1846041:date=May 13 2011, 09:08 PM:name=kingmob)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (kingmob @ May 13 2011, 09:08 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1846041"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->No because the onos counter is the exo-skeleton. You are back to the same problem.
If both sides are mid-level tech (top level being onos exo etc) and one side is dominating the map...they should crush the competition.
With one res node the marines shouldn't be able to AFFORD flame lasers and shotties. They can't strangle to number of units because then the Marines would rage quit (I'm sitting in a spawn queue forever) With one res node the marines should be fighting with machine guns, pistols, and axes.
For those of you who have played RTS games answer me this. When has the person who only built one base...ever won the game?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No the onos counter is lots of marines with room to move. The tech counter is the jetpack because it helps with mobility.
To fight an onos you have to be able to outmaneuver them, you can't do that if doing that means they smash your base up. What the onos really is vulnerable to is time, because it has a lot of health and can do a lot of damage, but it needs time to get there and with enough time, marines can kill it. This does however make it an ideal siege unit because in that time, it can wreck the place pretty nicely.
If you pen the marines in that well, you can tech up almost instantly due to your huge res income.
<!--quoteo(post=1846043:date=May 13 2011, 10:15 PM:name=Chris0132)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chris0132 @ May 13 2011, 10:15 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1846043"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->No the onos counter is lots of marines with room to move. The tech counter is the jetpack because it helps with mobility.
To fight an onos you have to be able to outmaneuver them, you can't do that if doing that means they smash your base up. What the onos really is vulnerable to is time, because it has a lot of health and can do a lot of damage, but it needs time to get there and with enough time, marines can kill it. This does however make it an ideal siege unit because in that time, it can wreck the place pretty nicely.
If you pen the marines in that well, you can tech up almost instantly due to your huge res income.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No, you're wrong. The technical counterweight to the Onos is the exosuit. Jetpacks counter Lerk.
What we are referring to isnt tactics on how to kill said units, but what balances the teams out.
<!--quoteo(post=1846051:date=May 13 2011, 10:03 PM:name=Twiggeh)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Twiggeh @ May 13 2011, 10:03 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1846051"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->No, you're wrong. The technical counterweight to the Onos is the exosuit. Jetpacks counter Lerk.
What we are referring to isnt tactics on how to kill said units, but what balances the teams out.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well that isn't a counter then is it? It's an equivalent.
A counter is generally something which opposes the object in question, and the thing to oppose the onos with is the jetpack. The thing to oppose the lerk with is an exosuit because it gets a huge minigun and is immune to spores.
Comments
From the look of the videos and my recent games in NS1 I actually think that the marines have become faster, in NS1 they were quite slow but in NS2 they are fast and with the new sprint added they have now become even faster.
Sprint stops the Aliens from building back a base in the time it takes from the marines to reach them again (After the Aliens got attacked by them)
I think they should first make the Marines slower and then see what comes from that.
I don't see the connection.
Tonight I commanded a game on rockdown that due to my own stupid mistakes caused us to never get control of the map. The Aliens had fades before I even had 2 tech points and it was a game of defense from that point on. By the late game, we had Weapons 2, Armor 2 and Flames and Shotties, but nothing else. The aliens had the rest of the map and we were trapped in MS and Node reserve.
We came very close to losing on a number of occasions, including a 192 second stint were I was screaming at my marines to hug the armory as I needed 16 res to put the IP back up. No matter how many rushes the aliens did and I mean 3 Fade, 2 Lerk and a Gorge all in the base at the same time, with only SGs and Flamers and my MACs were were able to stay alive. We had started to bore the aliens enough that we almost took out 2 hive before everyone just called it a draw. Epic game, but my point is, we would have stayed alive and if we had kept playing pushed them back.
Maybe once the ONOS and HA show up we will be able to have games that go 1 way or another but right now, with a good commander, the marines will not lose if you have tier 2 weapons and just 1 armory, IP and Res node.
From the look of the videos and my recent games in NS1 I actually think that the marines have become faster, in NS1 they were quite slow but in NS2 they are fast and with the new sprint added they have now become even faster.
Sprint stops the Aliens from building back a base in the time it takes from the marines to reach them again (After the Aliens got attacked by them)
I think they should first make the Marines slower and then see what comes from that.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Its to early to tweak little details like that and beside changing the marine speed is literally just changing a few variables.. There are much bigger game play issues which need to be addressed before the fine tuning is done.
DOH!
Oh well, I'm sure someone will try it out in the coming years ... I'm wondering if it's possible to recreate NS1 in the NS2 engine. Graphics upgrade, but everything else is replicated perfectly.
And sound of marines is bugged or not added coz mid fight the marine is jumping all over the place and you cant hear jack of his footsteps , i dont even think they have any or they're nearly not as loud.
I don't agree with everything I said I was just making a suggestion.
Basically saying: "Think outside the box"
Tonight I commanded a game on rockdown that due to my own stupid mistakes caused us to never get control of the map. The Aliens had fades before I even had 2 tech points and it was a game of defense from that point on. By the late game, we had Weapons 2, Armor 2 and Flames and Shotties, but nothing else. The aliens had the rest of the map and we were trapped in MS and Node reserve.
We came very close to losing on a number of occasions, including a 192 second stint were I was screaming at my marines to hug the armory as I needed 16 res to put the IP back up. No matter how many rushes the aliens did and I mean 3 Fade, 2 Lerk and a Gorge all in the base at the same time, with only SGs and Flamers and my MACs were were able to stay alive. We had started to bore the aliens enough that we almost took out 2 hive before everyone just called it a draw. Epic game, but my point is, we would have stayed alive and if we had kept playing pushed them back.
Maybe once the ONOS and HA show up we will be able to have games that go 1 way or another but right now, with a good commander, the marines will not lose if you have tier 2 weapons and just 1 armory, IP and Res node.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They're restructuring the Tech Tree (untying Tech from Tech Points), so this issue of being gridlocked and unable to advance should be alleviated even sooner than the Onos and Exo can show up.
<!--quoteo(post=1845005:date=May 9 2011, 06:16 AM:name=NurEinMensch)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NurEinMensch @ May 9 2011, 06:16 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1845005"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The one thing I don't like about the Alien Commander is it inhibits creative chamber placement the way a gorge can do it. Topdown view, odd drifter behavior and not everything drawn in commander view reduce it to a 2d game.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Give the Alien Commander the ability to possess Drifters (and possibly any non-player-controlled Alien entity) and control them from a 1st or 3rd person perspective for precision control?
With every evolution of NS2 i think they are moving back towards NS1 which is really good..
I really think UNW should listen to their fans/customers/long term supporters and drop Alien commander the feeling i get is most people don't want it..
I can understand their reluctance not to because its always hard to scrap a feature you have developed but i think it would be for the greater good..
Bring back the focus to the gorge as being the main co-ordinator / builder for aliens.
You can still have team resource model as you do now but just change it so that only gorges can spend team res on units that where built from the hive previously.
I also think change the way the trigger attacks work on crags/whips etc make it so that any aliens can go upto the chamber and hit 'use' to trigger the ability..
This to me feels much more "alien" and organic....
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE guys scrap alien commander :/<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm a fan, customer and supporter of UWE and NS/NS2 and I disagree. I'm absolutely for the alien commander role.
I hate it. Worst idea evar.
I love it. It is the main reason I play the game.
Give me comm view rotate, tilt, and zoom and I can be very creative on where I place structures :)
Then again, maybe thats the reason UWE won't institute those functions.
There are so many FPS shooters out there. What impressed me about NS2 was the strategic elements. When NS2 gets released it will be compared to Aliens: Colonial Marines. It is important to focus on making the game different. UWE is way ahead of the mainstream in developing a FPS/RTS hybrid.
Then again, maybe thats the reason UWE won't institute those functions.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think just letting the comm fly around like an invisible player would be better honestly, trying to handle fully 360 rotation inside a level would be kind of hard.
This makes me imagine the Alien Comm being visible to aliens as a cloud of spores, which is a great way to convey commander presence to the players.
Yeah someone suggested that somewhere, not sure who.
It'd be a good idea if you need to give the alien comm a more freeform view, letting him select say a hive or a crag, clicking a button, and the hive/crag spawns a little cloud of spores which the comm can view from and control, and it dissipates when the comm exits the cloud and goes back to regular comm view.
You could add structure placement to it much like a gorge does hydra placement.
Really, the alien commander is the main reason you play?
<b>The Marines can hold on forever, with a good commander!</b>
I played my 3rd stalemate to date game on Rockdown tonight, the aliens took the entire map, were owning the marines hard, until we got to marine start. The marine commander put up about 8 sentries covering almost every angle, he also had lots and lots of MACS. Combined with flamers, shotguns, weapons and armor 3, we just couldn't finish off the marine before they were able to repair and regroup. We sending in 4 lerks, we tried sending in skulks, we even did FADESWARM. No matter how many times we attacked, they were just able enough to kill us off and repair everything or replace. Eventually the alien team just got fed up and quit.
Don't know what else to say, it's the 3rd time I have seen this happen, i guess we will just have to wait till we get some new abilities.
<b>The Marines can hold on forever, with a good commander!</b>
I played my 3rd stalemate to date game on Rockdown tonight, the aliens took the entire map, were owning the marines hard, until we got to marine start. The marine commander put up about 8 sentries covering almost every angle, he also had lots and lots of MACS. Combined with flamers, shotguns, weapons and armor 3, we just couldn't finish off the marine before they were able to repair and regroup. We sending in 4 lerks, we tried sending in skulks, we even did FADESWARM. No matter how many times we attacked, they were just able enough to kill us off and repair everything or replace. Eventually the alien team just got fed up and quit.
Don't know what else to say, it's the 3rd time I have seen this happen, i guess we will just have to wait till we get some new abilities.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, this superturtling is spreading alot and its driving me nuts.
Makes me wish lerk would get exploding bombs to shoot, as a counter to GLs..
I almost exclusively go shotgun since I can't hit anything on the alien team. It's <u>not</u> the main reason I've played NS2. Citing it as the singular reason to play a game seems a bit hyperbolic, I'm not sure why that's hard to acknowledge.
Makes me wish lerk would get exploding bombs to shoot, as a counter to GLs..<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think what will really help turn the tides is the onos. You get 4 of them rush in at once, i don't care what kind of setup you got. it's going down. (or I'd hope)
Also doesn't repair cost resources? if you kill all of their extractors and own the rest of the map then you win. Just have to break them down.
Also doesn't repair cost resources? if you kill all of their extractors and own the rest of the map then you win. Just have to break them down.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
i dont get why the alien team would even NEED to get 4 onos. not to mention by the time you save enough to get 4 onos the marines should be ending the game anyway. aliens still have no midgame attack role and its looking like they never will.
No because the onos counter is the exo-skeleton.
You are back to the same problem.
If both sides are mid-level tech (top level being onos exo etc)
and one side is dominating the map...they should crush the competition.
With one res node the marines shouldn't be able to AFFORD flame lasers and shotties.
They can't strangle to number of units because then the Marines would rage quit (I'm sitting in a spawn queue forever)
With one res node the marines should be fighting with machine guns, pistols, and axes.
For those of you who have played RTS games answer me this.
When has the person who only built one base...ever won the game?
You are back to the same problem.
If both sides are mid-level tech (top level being onos exo etc)
and one side is dominating the map...they should crush the competition.
With one res node the marines shouldn't be able to AFFORD flame lasers and shotties.
They can't strangle to number of units because then the Marines would rage quit (I'm sitting in a spawn queue forever)
With one res node the marines should be fighting with machine guns, pistols, and axes.
For those of you who have played RTS games answer me this.
When has the person who only built one base...ever won the game?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No the onos counter is lots of marines with room to move. The tech counter is the jetpack because it helps with mobility.
To fight an onos you have to be able to outmaneuver them, you can't do that if doing that means they smash your base up. What the onos really is vulnerable to is time, because it has a lot of health and can do a lot of damage, but it needs time to get there and with enough time, marines can kill it. This does however make it an ideal siege unit because in that time, it can wreck the place pretty nicely.
If you pen the marines in that well, you can tech up almost instantly due to your huge res income.
To fight an onos you have to be able to outmaneuver them, you can't do that if doing that means they smash your base up. What the onos really is vulnerable to is time, because it has a lot of health and can do a lot of damage, but it needs time to get there and with enough time, marines can kill it. This does however make it an ideal siege unit because in that time, it can wreck the place pretty nicely.
If you pen the marines in that well, you can tech up almost instantly due to your huge res income.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No, you're wrong.
The technical counterweight to the Onos is the exosuit.
Jetpacks counter Lerk.
What we are referring to isnt tactics on how to kill said units, but what balances the teams out.
The technical counterweight to the Onos is the exosuit.
Jetpacks counter Lerk.
What we are referring to isnt tactics on how to kill said units, but what balances the teams out.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well that isn't a counter then is it? It's an equivalent.
A counter is generally something which opposes the object in question, and the thing to oppose the onos with is the jetpack. The thing to oppose the lerk with is an exosuit because it gets a huge minigun and is immune to spores.