New content to the game
Zeotronic
Join Date: 2011-05-22 Member: 100059Members
Join Date: 2011-05-22 Member: 100059Members
<div class="IPBDescription">New things that deserve a thought.</div>Mind my language btw, I'm swedish.)
To start things off, I'm very well versed in anything sci-fi and general warfare.
I've also been playing NS1 since the day it was released, and have been trying to keep up with NS2 as it's been progressing through the years.
Now seeing that the team who's making the game is taking advice and thoughts / tips from the community, I thought that I would share some things and ideas that I think could belong in NS2.
For starters, let's speed up the evolution to modern age standards, seeing that this is the 2nd game in which the TSA Frontiersmen are exchanging blows with the Kharaa, they should have adapted their technology to some extent.
So some things could naturally have taken place for both sides, marines and aliens alike. (Though I won't focus much on the aliens, as my imaginative creativity for them is somewhat lacking.)
Here's a little rundown of my thoughts.
<b>Handheld/Deployable shields</b>
In every last science-fiction movie, book and show ever made, all types of blockades have proven usefull in every possible way.
But for some reason, the Frontiersmen do not have a single type of shield, no riot shields, no melee-shields, no corridor-blockades, no sandbags, no electrical fences to stop those EVER so anoying Lerks from flying freely through corridors. No built-in blockades in the levels that are deployable. Nothing usefull at all really, just decoration.
The same goes for the alien team, nothing that soaks up bullets except for the Onos, and he's just a really big ugly Rhino-alien with a hardon for squashing marines.
If they should have something, then it could be something like an organic wall that the Gorges can throw up, because that would REALLY add some area-denial abilities to the aliens, and consequentially give the marines some leeway for bringing in some REALLY big siege-weapons.
<b>Exo-suit close combat weapons</b>
Seeing that you were a real badass in armour in NS1, I can only assume that you're equally awesome in NS2. So it should be reasonable to bring in a heavy-hitter against skulk-hordes and a large Onos. Something like a Thunderhammer from WH40k, that'd make perfect sense when you can go toe-to-toe with an Onos.
Plus it'd be the perfect excuse to give the Exo-suit a CQ-model armour, heavier, bigger, more armoured, and a ton more angry-looking.
Nothing would make a skuld second guess himself as much, as when faced with a REALLY pissed-off-looking Exo-suit wielding a Thunderhammer. The sheer terror would be bonechilling.
<b>Forcefields</b>
This is more or less an extension of the deployable shields but a tad more base-defense-ish.
Imagine throwing up a (costly?) pass-through forcefield on the entrances to your marine base, it'd make it a real pain for skulks and lerks to harass the base, and it'd be plausible since the Frontiersmen already posses phasegates which should be considered an advanced piece of technology.
Actually it makes alot of sense.
<b>Kicking things</b>
No game ever made it more obvious that it is an awesome thing, more than Bulletstorm did.
You could kick the living ###### out of everything, for every single purpose you could think up.
But in NS2, it would make excellent sense for marines to be able to send out the mighty foot against a charging skulk, and kick his tiny ass away.
In real life you would kick it, like you meant it, like the damn alien was going to regret it all the way back to his eggsack-stage in life.
It doesn't have to be heavily abusable, but at the very least 2-3 good kicks before you start getting thrown off by the whole thing.
Because as it stands right now, we're just standing there as dumb nitwits without any hope at all when we're changing magazines.
(And it adds more feeling to the game itself when you become skilled and are able to time kicks to your advantage.)
<b>Shoulder-mounted auto-turret</b>
This is not meant to be an assault-rig or anything like that, since it'd be too overpowered.
But more like a handgun-level auto-turret which you can research from the prototype lab, and then sell from the armoury to ordinary marines.
It adds a hell of alot to the survivability of a standard marine who's not perfect with his aim against a fast Skulk or Lerk.
It'd also make sense if it had limited ammo (100 bullets, 0,3 seconds between each shot), since that would put a limit on just how overpowered it'd be when used by 3-4 marines in a hallway, just autopiloting their way through guarding the hallway against skulks.
(3-4 auto-targeting handguns firing at that speed would annihilate most skulks.)
And also, limit their targeting range to the exact same view-range as the player has, so that he actually feels like it was a good buy, but at the same time doesn't stop a good skulk from tearing him apart from the side, or behind.
This creation could be combined with deployability, to let marines throw off a stationary handgun-turret wherever they feel like it would be a great idea to have one.
<b>Targeting-HUD</b>
This is actually somewhat of a mystery to me, why it isn't thrown in yet.
Imagine how a targeting rectangle appears in your HUD around the alien(s) infront of you, and magically tracks them.
This would make it easier than ###### and giggles for marines to actually see what tha hell is going on infront of them.
There is nothing like a game where the colours are close alike, and things sometimes are hard to tell apart, or your monitor just plain sucks.
And this is where it would be INFURIATINGLY handy to be able to pickup a nice little targeting-HUD from the armoury, or player customization tab (when there will be one), to help those of us who sometimes just can't tell the skulks apart from the nice decorations in the game.
<b>Bigass rocket launcher</b>
Did you ever play Aliens vs Predator 1?
Remember the SADAR-gun?
That thing kicked so much ass it wasn't even believable, I don't care if I have to sacrifice my primary gun and just get 1 shot with it.
I WANT IT!
Imagine it! Wiping out an entire room of skulks, lerks and whatever other crappy alien mofo's who're lying in wait for you, with a GARGANTUAN EXPLOSION!
<b>Killer-robots</b>
Since this IS the future, and we're fighting off aliens with everything we've got.
I want to know where my awesome automated warmachines are hiding, I want to see my 12 feet tall Kill-a-tron walk around and MASSACRE EVERYTHING!
Give it Chainsaws, give it Vulcan-cannons, give it missile pods, give it homing missiles, give it quadruple-miniguns, give it a BIG EVIL GRIN!
I want to see the most awesome monster-hunter from the most sadistic evilminded scientist the entire universe has to offer!
(Hell, if there are budget restraints, then just give us the terror-drones from Red Alert 2 who KILLED everything biological!)
<b>Clone-assault</b>
Now this simply has to be put into the game. (I have a vague memory of it having existed at some point)
I want the ability for gorges and heavily upgraded skulks to spawn clone-armies near instantly.
This adds a whole new level of awesomeness to the game since automated assault-clones would be totally awesome for both sides.
Imagine being able to walk in with 3-4 good skulks to some 5-6 marines walking down on your main hive, and just, out of a sudden, HORDES!
FRIGGIN ZERG RUSH! 2-3 clones for each use of the clone ability! 6-12 skulks would be thrown into the fray! The look on the marines faces would be "Oh, ######, OH ######, OOOOOHHH SHIIIIIIT!".
And it the ability only would cost ~15-20 personal resources, it'd make it absoluty awesome!
THEN YOU COULD TRULY ZERG RUSH THEM!
<b>Automated robotic sentry</b>
This is something like a killer robot, except that it won't move outside of ~20 meters of the robot-housing that you would have to build for it, but it would sooooooo seriously ease up on the whole base defense thing. A walking, patrolling automaton with twin miniguns would be excellent! It'd make shishkebab out of pretty much anything! (And make games with few players a whole ######load easier.)
Or, if you feel like a sadistical commander (which I hope most of you are), you could just build one of these here and there all over the map, AND LET THE ROBOTS KILL EVERYTHING!
But then again it would be a little overpowered, so I guess it could be bought as an addon to the Command Chair, for defensive purposes. (Not very sadistic!)
<b>Heavy defense-turrets</b>
These have always been needed, not excessively in NS1, but in NS2 it feels like they can fit in.
Sentryguns with at least triple-miniguns or very fast firing mini-rockets. We need them, we really do. Because it takes ALOT of marines with EVEN MORE heavy weapons and REALLY GOOD positioning to stop and kill 2-3 onoses from 2 different paths, it is almost impossible.
And pretty much the same goes for Fades, if you have 2 fades in the base, they can EAT sentryguns, like a hot knife through butter, and we REALLY need a sentrygun which can take them down, or at the very least deal enough damage that they can't stay and ignore our LMG's.
<b>Standard-marine belt-fed-machinegun</b>
This has been bothering me, as marines we're expected to be able to put a stop to almost anything anywhere we are on the field, but we don't have any sustainable support weapons. The Grenadelauncher is good, but it doesn't have that "RAMBO UP YOUR ASS ALIEN SCUMBAG!" feel to it when you dish out the pain from your belt-fed machinegun of uncontrollable DOOM!
I know the Exosuits will have miniguns with ridiculous ammo and damage, but we need something that will let us put down a real field of sustained fire from a normal marine.
Encumbering us with a HMG with 100 rounds per clip, or different LMG-class weapon with ammunition being fed from a backpack would really help, even if we have to sacrifice all of our other weapons, including the axe.
These are some of the ideas that I feel wouldn't be out of place in NS2.
// Zeo
To start things off, I'm very well versed in anything sci-fi and general warfare.
I've also been playing NS1 since the day it was released, and have been trying to keep up with NS2 as it's been progressing through the years.
Now seeing that the team who's making the game is taking advice and thoughts / tips from the community, I thought that I would share some things and ideas that I think could belong in NS2.
For starters, let's speed up the evolution to modern age standards, seeing that this is the 2nd game in which the TSA Frontiersmen are exchanging blows with the Kharaa, they should have adapted their technology to some extent.
So some things could naturally have taken place for both sides, marines and aliens alike. (Though I won't focus much on the aliens, as my imaginative creativity for them is somewhat lacking.)
Here's a little rundown of my thoughts.
<b>Handheld/Deployable shields</b>
In every last science-fiction movie, book and show ever made, all types of blockades have proven usefull in every possible way.
But for some reason, the Frontiersmen do not have a single type of shield, no riot shields, no melee-shields, no corridor-blockades, no sandbags, no electrical fences to stop those EVER so anoying Lerks from flying freely through corridors. No built-in blockades in the levels that are deployable. Nothing usefull at all really, just decoration.
The same goes for the alien team, nothing that soaks up bullets except for the Onos, and he's just a really big ugly Rhino-alien with a hardon for squashing marines.
If they should have something, then it could be something like an organic wall that the Gorges can throw up, because that would REALLY add some area-denial abilities to the aliens, and consequentially give the marines some leeway for bringing in some REALLY big siege-weapons.
<b>Exo-suit close combat weapons</b>
Seeing that you were a real badass in armour in NS1, I can only assume that you're equally awesome in NS2. So it should be reasonable to bring in a heavy-hitter against skulk-hordes and a large Onos. Something like a Thunderhammer from WH40k, that'd make perfect sense when you can go toe-to-toe with an Onos.
Plus it'd be the perfect excuse to give the Exo-suit a CQ-model armour, heavier, bigger, more armoured, and a ton more angry-looking.
Nothing would make a skuld second guess himself as much, as when faced with a REALLY pissed-off-looking Exo-suit wielding a Thunderhammer. The sheer terror would be bonechilling.
<b>Forcefields</b>
This is more or less an extension of the deployable shields but a tad more base-defense-ish.
Imagine throwing up a (costly?) pass-through forcefield on the entrances to your marine base, it'd make it a real pain for skulks and lerks to harass the base, and it'd be plausible since the Frontiersmen already posses phasegates which should be considered an advanced piece of technology.
Actually it makes alot of sense.
<b>Kicking things</b>
No game ever made it more obvious that it is an awesome thing, more than Bulletstorm did.
You could kick the living ###### out of everything, for every single purpose you could think up.
But in NS2, it would make excellent sense for marines to be able to send out the mighty foot against a charging skulk, and kick his tiny ass away.
In real life you would kick it, like you meant it, like the damn alien was going to regret it all the way back to his eggsack-stage in life.
It doesn't have to be heavily abusable, but at the very least 2-3 good kicks before you start getting thrown off by the whole thing.
Because as it stands right now, we're just standing there as dumb nitwits without any hope at all when we're changing magazines.
(And it adds more feeling to the game itself when you become skilled and are able to time kicks to your advantage.)
<b>Shoulder-mounted auto-turret</b>
This is not meant to be an assault-rig or anything like that, since it'd be too overpowered.
But more like a handgun-level auto-turret which you can research from the prototype lab, and then sell from the armoury to ordinary marines.
It adds a hell of alot to the survivability of a standard marine who's not perfect with his aim against a fast Skulk or Lerk.
It'd also make sense if it had limited ammo (100 bullets, 0,3 seconds between each shot), since that would put a limit on just how overpowered it'd be when used by 3-4 marines in a hallway, just autopiloting their way through guarding the hallway against skulks.
(3-4 auto-targeting handguns firing at that speed would annihilate most skulks.)
And also, limit their targeting range to the exact same view-range as the player has, so that he actually feels like it was a good buy, but at the same time doesn't stop a good skulk from tearing him apart from the side, or behind.
This creation could be combined with deployability, to let marines throw off a stationary handgun-turret wherever they feel like it would be a great idea to have one.
<b>Targeting-HUD</b>
This is actually somewhat of a mystery to me, why it isn't thrown in yet.
Imagine how a targeting rectangle appears in your HUD around the alien(s) infront of you, and magically tracks them.
This would make it easier than ###### and giggles for marines to actually see what tha hell is going on infront of them.
There is nothing like a game where the colours are close alike, and things sometimes are hard to tell apart, or your monitor just plain sucks.
And this is where it would be INFURIATINGLY handy to be able to pickup a nice little targeting-HUD from the armoury, or player customization tab (when there will be one), to help those of us who sometimes just can't tell the skulks apart from the nice decorations in the game.
<b>Bigass rocket launcher</b>
Did you ever play Aliens vs Predator 1?
Remember the SADAR-gun?
That thing kicked so much ass it wasn't even believable, I don't care if I have to sacrifice my primary gun and just get 1 shot with it.
I WANT IT!
Imagine it! Wiping out an entire room of skulks, lerks and whatever other crappy alien mofo's who're lying in wait for you, with a GARGANTUAN EXPLOSION!
<b>Killer-robots</b>
Since this IS the future, and we're fighting off aliens with everything we've got.
I want to know where my awesome automated warmachines are hiding, I want to see my 12 feet tall Kill-a-tron walk around and MASSACRE EVERYTHING!
Give it Chainsaws, give it Vulcan-cannons, give it missile pods, give it homing missiles, give it quadruple-miniguns, give it a BIG EVIL GRIN!
I want to see the most awesome monster-hunter from the most sadistic evilminded scientist the entire universe has to offer!
(Hell, if there are budget restraints, then just give us the terror-drones from Red Alert 2 who KILLED everything biological!)
<b>Clone-assault</b>
Now this simply has to be put into the game. (I have a vague memory of it having existed at some point)
I want the ability for gorges and heavily upgraded skulks to spawn clone-armies near instantly.
This adds a whole new level of awesomeness to the game since automated assault-clones would be totally awesome for both sides.
Imagine being able to walk in with 3-4 good skulks to some 5-6 marines walking down on your main hive, and just, out of a sudden, HORDES!
FRIGGIN ZERG RUSH! 2-3 clones for each use of the clone ability! 6-12 skulks would be thrown into the fray! The look on the marines faces would be "Oh, ######, OH ######, OOOOOHHH SHIIIIIIT!".
And it the ability only would cost ~15-20 personal resources, it'd make it absoluty awesome!
THEN YOU COULD TRULY ZERG RUSH THEM!
<b>Automated robotic sentry</b>
This is something like a killer robot, except that it won't move outside of ~20 meters of the robot-housing that you would have to build for it, but it would sooooooo seriously ease up on the whole base defense thing. A walking, patrolling automaton with twin miniguns would be excellent! It'd make shishkebab out of pretty much anything! (And make games with few players a whole ######load easier.)
Or, if you feel like a sadistical commander (which I hope most of you are), you could just build one of these here and there all over the map, AND LET THE ROBOTS KILL EVERYTHING!
But then again it would be a little overpowered, so I guess it could be bought as an addon to the Command Chair, for defensive purposes. (Not very sadistic!)
<b>Heavy defense-turrets</b>
These have always been needed, not excessively in NS1, but in NS2 it feels like they can fit in.
Sentryguns with at least triple-miniguns or very fast firing mini-rockets. We need them, we really do. Because it takes ALOT of marines with EVEN MORE heavy weapons and REALLY GOOD positioning to stop and kill 2-3 onoses from 2 different paths, it is almost impossible.
And pretty much the same goes for Fades, if you have 2 fades in the base, they can EAT sentryguns, like a hot knife through butter, and we REALLY need a sentrygun which can take them down, or at the very least deal enough damage that they can't stay and ignore our LMG's.
<b>Standard-marine belt-fed-machinegun</b>
This has been bothering me, as marines we're expected to be able to put a stop to almost anything anywhere we are on the field, but we don't have any sustainable support weapons. The Grenadelauncher is good, but it doesn't have that "RAMBO UP YOUR ASS ALIEN SCUMBAG!" feel to it when you dish out the pain from your belt-fed machinegun of uncontrollable DOOM!
I know the Exosuits will have miniguns with ridiculous ammo and damage, but we need something that will let us put down a real field of sustained fire from a normal marine.
Encumbering us with a HMG with 100 rounds per clip, or different LMG-class weapon with ammunition being fed from a backpack would really help, even if we have to sacrifice all of our other weapons, including the axe.
These are some of the ideas that I feel wouldn't be out of place in NS2.
// Zeo
Comments
1) actually read the standard practices sticky on this forum and abide by the bylaws
2) appreciate that NS2 is a FPS with only soft counters allowing skill to bring up the difference
3) Introduce your ideas with appropriate soft counters.
Exceptions below
Heavy hand to hand weapon for exos. Like it
Bigger clip purchaseable for lmgs. Perhaps a backpack? Even 75 bullets at a price would be a handy upgrade!