More modular Exo's and new skulk ability
MrNihil
Join Date: 2013-03-02 Member: 183524Members
Join Date: 2013-03-02 Member: 183524Members
In short:
Allow exo to be customized more freely.
My ideas for now:
-Commander after obtaining Prototype Lab can upgrade for 10 res first Exo model
+Players start with option to build 2-manipulator version for 25 res (manipulator = that fancy slapping hand)
-Commander upgrades for 20 res to allow exo to get one of following in right-manipulator slot:
+Minigun, Railgun (each cost 25 res. In that point of game total research cost for Exo is 30 res, and cost of Mini/Rail exo is 50 res total)
-Commander grabs final upgrade for 25 res, allowing to replace second hand slot in exo:
+Second minigun, second railgun (if someone is crazy ass hitman), welder (works like ordinary welder + self-healing), portable observatory (small-area radar. Without beacon option. Allows exo to be beaconed along with marines), each cost 25 res.
Eventually allow to choose any of following, each level would be: 1) 2 hands free, 2) one upgrade, 3) second upgrade.
EDIT: To compensate and extend commander ability to drop (almost) free Exo: Commander could click Exosuit as unit and choose certain upgrade to be added to either player-owned exo or exo lying on the ground, allowing to drop railguns or other variations of exo without forcing player to spend res on them. Of course that would work only near proto lab and cost tres.
Also: Giving so much variety to exos will bring human team to actually become quite powerful. like Obs/welder exo as support unit for double railgun or self-healing wave of miniguns. To prevent making exo overpowered various rules or penalties should occur to humans to balance the gameplay. For example: welding would only work while exo is not using weapons, and self-weld additionally would require exo to stand still or welding exos or self would not be as effective as mac/marine. While observatory would provide 25-40% range of its equivalent building. Double slap exo is cheap, but lacks ranged combat.
Speed penalties for more upgrades should remain.
Replace useless suicide/extend skulk ability: Grab
Skulk gets new "weapon" (bite, parasite, grab - so he can choose one of those). When close to marine, skulk denies target to move and turn, allowing others to kill immobile and helpless marine. For that price grabbing skulk cannot bite enemy (or should deal regular low/medium damage to give chance for fellow marines to free their buddy while alone skulk can still hunt). Using that on exo would slow it down or stop it, but cannot stop it from turning and killing skulk.
Watch out! Grabbing marine in front of him is bad idea, as marine could still aim in certain area!
EDIT: This will force teams of marines/skulks to cooperate at least on 2-man team level (probably late-game if grab would replace xenocide if anyone would actually use it), making marine lone harassers less trouble.
If anything of those was already proposed: I am sorry for being too lazy to actually see that, I dont mean to steal credit or something.
Allow exo to be customized more freely.
My ideas for now:
-Commander after obtaining Prototype Lab can upgrade for 10 res first Exo model
+Players start with option to build 2-manipulator version for 25 res (manipulator = that fancy slapping hand)
-Commander upgrades for 20 res to allow exo to get one of following in right-manipulator slot:
+Minigun, Railgun (each cost 25 res. In that point of game total research cost for Exo is 30 res, and cost of Mini/Rail exo is 50 res total)
-Commander grabs final upgrade for 25 res, allowing to replace second hand slot in exo:
+Second minigun, second railgun (if someone is crazy ass hitman), welder (works like ordinary welder + self-healing), portable observatory (small-area radar. Without beacon option. Allows exo to be beaconed along with marines), each cost 25 res.
Eventually allow to choose any of following, each level would be: 1) 2 hands free, 2) one upgrade, 3) second upgrade.
EDIT: To compensate and extend commander ability to drop (almost) free Exo: Commander could click Exosuit as unit and choose certain upgrade to be added to either player-owned exo or exo lying on the ground, allowing to drop railguns or other variations of exo without forcing player to spend res on them. Of course that would work only near proto lab and cost tres.
Also: Giving so much variety to exos will bring human team to actually become quite powerful. like Obs/welder exo as support unit for double railgun or self-healing wave of miniguns. To prevent making exo overpowered various rules or penalties should occur to humans to balance the gameplay. For example: welding would only work while exo is not using weapons, and self-weld additionally would require exo to stand still or welding exos or self would not be as effective as mac/marine. While observatory would provide 25-40% range of its equivalent building. Double slap exo is cheap, but lacks ranged combat.
Speed penalties for more upgrades should remain.
Replace useless suicide/extend skulk ability: Grab
Skulk gets new "weapon" (bite, parasite, grab - so he can choose one of those). When close to marine, skulk denies target to move and turn, allowing others to kill immobile and helpless marine. For that price grabbing skulk cannot bite enemy (or should deal regular low/medium damage to give chance for fellow marines to free their buddy while alone skulk can still hunt). Using that on exo would slow it down or stop it, but cannot stop it from turning and killing skulk.
Watch out! Grabbing marine in front of him is bad idea, as marine could still aim in certain area!
EDIT: This will force teams of marines/skulks to cooperate at least on 2-man team level (probably late-game if grab would replace xenocide if anyone would actually use it), making marine lone harassers less trouble.
If anything of those was already proposed: I am sorry for being too lazy to actually see that, I dont mean to steal credit or something.
Comments
The problem is that such kind of modularity seems harder to pull off than you might think in terms of how the game is currently handling the Exo.
Your Skulk idea has been there before countless times as well. The reason why you don't see it in game is because the concept is bad. It would be ridiculously OP and boring if any majority of Skulks had an almost certain victory against any minority of marine players. Besides that abilities that disable other players are a strict no-go in the game's design goals. The Onos' Stomp is already as far as it gets and it got nerfed already so that it doesn't work on the same marine multiple times in a short duration.
Rewriting exo code shouldnt be that bad. You can use arms lab upgrade code for upgrading exo for commander, modify armory code to purchase upgrades, maybe slight new inventions when coding the actual upgrade database.
About skulk - well, then idea is bad then
About the Skulk grab ability, I think the Onos is already violating the "don't take control away from players" rule. No need adding more stuns
At the point of game where Khaara have 3 hives (hence ability to grab the Grab replaced by xeno*useless*cide) humans are already equipped with better armor and weapons, and poor skulks are better shooting targets then on beginning of game. 40HP for skulks or faster movement isnt that big advantage imo.
Skulks should be able to be up to the challange awaiting in late-game, as marine AR can be by weapon upgrade. If not grab, something should let them compete, and give reasonable chance when facing shotty. Its just my thought
Onos the most expensive lifeform, so they can somewhat get away with a stun. No reason to put one on the default lifeform.