Natural Selection: Combat

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Comments

  • ForlornForlorn Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2634Banned
    <!--QuoteBegin--pandas|RoQ+Sep 16 2003, 04:09 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (pandas|RoQ @ Sep 16 2003, 04:09 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Actualy I just read someone elses idea about having a map where aliens already control it and marines try to wipe it out. Or vice versa.

    Basically Assault style maps from Unreal Tournament or MOH/DoD. Unfrotunately those were never tooooo popular but I loved them. Of course they're one-sided and they should be. Its a challenge to breach the enemy in their defenses...it shouldn't be 50/50. But it should be do-able.

    That sounded like fun too =) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Well, I could imagine this being pretty fun and fairly balanced:

    Aliens start with 3 hives, all the nodes, and 0 res each.

    Marines start with everything researched except lv. 2 & 3 weapons, phase tech, MT, and everyone in the squad either has HA/HMG/Welders and some of them have JP/Shotty. However, they only have 100 res, start a good distance away from their only commchair, and have no nodes.

    For the purposes of this map, the comm chair is electrified untill a comm jumps into it, which then loses it's electricity to avoid killing the commander.


    So there you have it; aliens must hold off the marines untill they can get some fades/onos into play, where as the marines need their base(for ammo of the least of things!) and then the hives to avoid being pounded by higher evolution aliens.

    This type of gameplay would reverse the roles of each side; aliens would only need res, and marines would only need location to win (and some res still).

    It would be really neat to tryout.
  • DeronokDeronok Join Date: 2003-03-17 Member: 14613Members
    edited September 2003
    Personally I think this is a great idea, it will give people w/o experience a bit of a feel for combat in NS and will pbly help balance things a bit more. Who cares if it's like DoD/CS ect. UT2k3 is like Quake 3 yet people still play it, DoD is like Medal of Honor in realism mode but people still play it, Battlefield 1942 is like DoD with vehicles but people still play it. If you don't wanna play it then don't play on servers with the mode turned on, it's not like it's being FORCED over the current stratigical/teamplay game.

    Also maybe make it when the round states/getting ready to respawn (If you will respawn) make it so Marines spawn in what looks like a room full of weapons/gear ammo and pick their stuff their and maybe aliens start in a organic-looking room and get their stuff there.
  • Lumberjack_WannabeLumberjack_Wannabe Join Date: 2003-03-11 Member: 14404Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin--DOOManiac+Sep 16 2003, 02:40 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (DOOManiac @ Sep 16 2003, 02:40 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Now if we can just get some MvM and AvA going... <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    *nods head*
  • MadcapMagicianMadcapMagician Join Date: 2003-04-07 Member: 15265Members, Constellation
    I really like Stoneburg's idea that this is something you do on small servers while waiting for them to fill up. Have a server variable the admin can set that determines when the server transitions from NS:C to normal NS, like maybe 12 players or so. And if people only want true NS they could set the number low, if they only want NS:C they could set the number high.

    Otherwise I have the same fears that everyone else has mentioned about this. Splitting the community, reducing development time for normal NS, etc.
  • Cheez1Cheez1 Join Date: 2003-01-28 Member: 12900Members
    <!--QuoteBegin--Flayra+Sep 16 2003, 02:02 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Flayra @ Sep 16 2003, 02:02 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->though I love CS.  <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Say it ain't so flayra!!!

    Oh, one question: Can gorges/commanders still build structres or is this <b>strictly</b> a deathmatch mode?
  • FrikkFrikk Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3164Members, Constellation
    Sounds like a blast to me.
  • SupernornSupernorn Best. Picture. Ever. Made. Ever. Join Date: 2002-11-07 Member: 7608Members, Constellation
    Ok, this information was in the Updated Mapping Guideline. its Very informative. Take a look:

    <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->

    <b>Game summary</b>

    A simple, easy-to-learn, smaller-scale, combat experience that introduces players to the technology and weapons of Natural Selection.

    Short, timed games, where players start as marines and skulks. As players kill enemies, they gain experience to gain "levels". Higher levels grant the player more weapons, abilities, upgrades or a higher lifeform.

    Players respawn in waves. Whenever a player dies, a respawn "wave" triggers in x seconds. Any players that are dead when the time limit ends immediately respawn at their base. Players always respawn at their current level.

    Every time a player kills an enemy, experience is split between all nearby friendly players. Higher level players grant more experience.
    When a player gets enough experience, he gains a level. Players start at level 1, and can go to level 10.

    When a player gains a level, a menu allows them to choose which improvement, upgrade or equipment they want. Marines can upgrade their weapon, get an upgrade, upgrade their armor, or resupply ammo or health to themselves and nearby friendly players.

    Aliens can unlock the next level of ability (normally linked to hives), purchase a level 3 upgrade, or upgrade their lifeform.

    ------------------------
    Proposed marine upgrade menu:
    1) Upgrade weapon to shotgun (-> grenade launcher, -> heavy machine gun)
    2) Upgrade armor to jetpack (-> heavy armor)
    3) Upgrade armor bonus (-> damage bonus, -> motion-tracking)
    4) Resupply health (for yourself and nearby teammates)
    5) Resupply ammo (for yourself and nearby teammates)

    ---------------------------------
    Proposed alien upgrade menu:
    1) Unlock next hive ability
    2) Morph to Gorge (-> Lerk, -> Fade, -> Onos)
    3) Evolve Carapace (-> Regeneration, -> Redemption)
    4) Evolve Scent of Fear (-> Pheromones, -> Cloaking)
    5) Evolve Celerity (-> Silence, -> Adrenaline)

    ----------------------------
    Scoring:

    the scoreboard shows every player's current level and number of kills. The team's score is the combined levels of all players on the team. A winner is determined by the greater score when the time limit expires with one exception: a team immediately loses if the whole team is dead and waiting to respawn.

    -----------------------------------
    Map differences:

    Unless stated here, all mapping guidelines in this document apply normally to Combat maps.
    Combat maps should be named with a "co" prefix, instead of a standard "ns" prefix. This tells NS that it's a Combat map. Examples: "co_hera", "co_eclipse", etc.
    The overall size of Combat maps should be smaller then the average NS map, roughly the size, complexity and layout of Counter-strike maps. Combat maps should work for 1v1, 2v2, and other small numbers of players.

    Don't place any command station, hives, or func_resources.
    Create a ready room as normal, 16 info_team_start entities for marines, and 16 info_team_start entities for aliens. Create a info_gameplay entity as normal. Aliens will always start in the same location.

    Maps should have fluid DM-like connectivity, to promote intense combat and movement.

    Concentrate on making maps as simple as possible, while still providing strategic depth. As Commander Mode isn't supported in this mode,<i> level-over-level play is encouraged</i>.

    This gameplay mode isn't meant as a replacement for the core gameplay in Natural Selection, it's meant as a "starter" mode to introduce people to the concepts in NS a bit more gently. It also allows small groups of players to play together (ie, at a cyber cafe, at the office or home, etc.). It is slated for inclusion in NS 2.1. Please submit Combat maps to the NS team normally.

    <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    So...once you get to a certain level, you'll always have that ability? ( Aka, unlock D chambs, always have them)
  • SupernornSupernorn Best. Picture. Ever. Made. Ever. Join Date: 2002-11-07 Member: 7608Members, Constellation
    I think the ability to upgrade your team-mates should be considered, to promote Team-play.
    Although I get this vision of someone flash-lighting a team-mate and begging for a HMG..... <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
  • DeronokDeronok Join Date: 2003-03-17 Member: 14613Members
    What about ranks (Like in RtCW) like Private and such.
  • AhnteisAhnteis teh Bob Join Date: 2002-10-02 Member: 1405Members, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    PLEASE make it a separate filterable in game filters. If I'm looking for an NS game, I don't want to drop into multiple NS:C servers trying to find a game.
  • EmseeEmsee Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16644Members, Constellation
    edited September 2003
    Oh no! This will mean all the NS players leave regular NS to play this new CS/TDM style game. Especially because there are no other CS type games available for HL and we all know that people want to play CS but can't because NS is the only mod available on HL!
    Maybe it's just me but doesn't saying NS(RTS/FP) will lose players because of a new CS like game seem kind of silly?
    Surely the original NS will keep the same amount of players with this addition or gain more due to people being interested in the tdm version then moving to NS proper. Sure maybe there will be a few more people asking "why can't i upgrade my weapons etc." But they'l bve ones who didnt play NS befor which = growth. Besides they'll only need to be told once. I don't think thats too much to ask is it?

    Edit: BTW it sounds great and should be great for when you just want to have a quick game of shottehs Vs fades without the extra 20 mins eitherway of start and end game. Should compliment the regular NS well.
  • SupernornSupernorn Best. Picture. Ever. Made. Ever. Join Date: 2002-11-07 Member: 7608Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin--Deronok+Sep 16 2003, 08:49 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Deronok @ Sep 16 2003, 08:49 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> What about ranks (Like in RtCW) like Private and such. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Yes. Now that would be an excellent idea. The original concept of NS did infact have a rank system. Maybe it would be plausible in this new game-mode <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->

    (sorry about all the posts...i'm rather excited)
  • WitherWither A Bugged Life Join Date: 2002-12-24 Member: 11513Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, Constellation
    To all the flamers ...Flayra just stated he's adding it. Get it? It's in. Now either contribute or don't. Flaming won't help anything.

    I personally love this idea. I've been thinking of "Mission" maps, MvM, and AvA, I seriously think it'll add new layers of depth to NS, and hopefully get more people into it.


    Good luck!
  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    Maybe random alien ranks too :O

    Not hard to make up :

    Rewoar

    Naajoo

    Dahnih

    etc...
  • KwilKwil Join Date: 2003-07-06 Member: 17963Members
    edited September 2003
    I'm a pretty dedicated gorge player, because I love being able to build traps. There's nothing better than getting that flushing sound while you're just hiding in a corner waiting for enough res to build another OC. (Well.. except for building a hive on top of their unobs'd turret farm.)

    <b>So while I'm typing this, somone goes and finds the file that has most of the answers..</b>

    So first, how do I even become a gorge? <b>Answered</b>
    If skulks kill a lot, are they forced to upgrade to a gorge before moving on to the higher classes? That seems kind of counterintuitive, because if you ask me, the skulk is the better out-and-out killing machine, my preference for gorge aside.<b>Unsure. Depends if -> xxx, -> xxx is options or levels</b>

    Once a gorge, I wonder, will I be able to build chambers? <b>None of these answered. I'm worried.</b>
    If I can build chambers, will I be forced to use RFK only to get them?
    If so, will the costs be adjusted to take into account that I'm a gorge fer chrissakes and will be lucky to kill more than one or two marines at a go?

    Also, if this is NS:Combat, can alien combat alien and marine combat marine? (ie, true deathmatch play?) If so, will chambers also work against other aliens? <b>Not answered, but probably not from what I can tell</b>

    As a marine, will I be able to choose my upgrade (as in, instead of upgrading my weapon, can I upgrade to a JP instead?) How will I gain motion tracking as a marine?<b>answered</b> If the game is still slightly team based, how do I gain a welder to help my teammates?<b>answered</b> Or will welders be able to weld themselves?<b>not mentioned</b> (One mod I saw had this.. apparantly if you looked straight down at your feet, you could weld your own armor up. Never got it to work, personally, though I think it would have been cool.)

    More important, as a marine, how the heck do I build a siege turret to take out the WoL that the gorge built?<b>Not answered. Beginning to think chamber building will not be allowed. Bad. Is the major feature of the gorge class.</b>

    The overall idea I don't have a problem with.. I'm a little worried like some of the posters are that a dumbed down version of NS will make it easier for people to avoid the "Advanced" NS altogether.. and being as NS is a game that needs a fairly large player base..

    The particular details though.. there's a lot to consider to get this to work even remotely right.
  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    I think the guns ( name --> name --> name) thing is just all your options.


    You pick a shotgun, or hmg, or gl at that stage.
  • ThansalThansal The New Scum Join Date: 2002-08-22 Member: 1215Members, Constellation
    ok, I like team DM (I even go infor the few rounds of CS till the spaming of g4y over all forms of chat makes me wana kill IRL)

    So, I tihnk this mode would be totaly rockin....

    HOWEVER!

    I fear the:
    Well lets go look at the CS servers
    de_dust
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    right, gg
    I meen, now that I know how to make ASE work it isn't THAT big a problem, but I am still afraid....
  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    Um...huh? I don't get what you're saying. That map is the most popular? So, people always have favorites.
  • Lando131Lando131 Join Date: 2003-07-05 Member: 17943Members
    I'm not going to comment on the whether this is a good idea or not, but rather try and think about the balance issues of it. How will the chambers work for aliens? Will they have to work their way through level 1, 2, and 3 regen/cara/redempt? On one hand level 1 regen is worthless, but on the other hand level 3 regen can be completely overpowering if givin at the first level up. Although with cloaking this isnt such a big problem. My guess is that marines will slaughter aliens early on, having the ranged weapons. Also, how will the hive abilities work? Will a skulk start out with leap? Xeoncide? Obviously xenocide skulks could just rush the marines, kill themselves and end it in seconds, but bite and parasite alone aren't going to do much against lmgs. Also, once marines get shotguns, skulks will be almost worthless. I doubt that anyone would upgrade weapons after shotgun, sure HMGs are powerful, but the Grenade launcher is nearly worthless in Melee combat. Also, how long will it take for marines to get HA? The way I see this game going is marines first taking shotguns, then tech rushing to HA and then going for other upgrades, armor, ammo, Motion tracking? Aliens will probably go for 1 upgrade type first, then rush for onos, a few maybe staying in gorge, lerk, or fade for support roles. Also, if there is no commander will marines have any way to heal at all? If not i think that THAT could be the key to balance. Of course all smart HA will have welders, but they WILL die eventually if they can't heal their hitpoints.
    There are some key alien abilities that would slaughter marines, IE stomp, devour, spore early on. But others that would seem completely useless. Bile bomb anyone? Yes, it is VERY powerful against structures, but in a game like this there wouldn't be any.
    Aliens have infinite energy, but what of marine ammo? This could also be a good way to balance gameplay depending on what is done here. If marines have no access to ammo I doubt you would ever see HMGs. It does a lot of damage, but the shotgun holds so much ammo, and grenade launchers dont have near enough to stay effective for very long.
    This seems like it could be very interesting, but I would personally like to see Marine vs. Marine and Alien vs. Alien maps. Marine vs. Marine would be fairly straight forward, but AvA might be more difficult. I suppose you could simply change their colors to match what team they were on, but not so drastically that it would completely give them away if cloaked. Aliens have never had to deal with psycological warfare, like silence, or cloaking. I would love to see an onos try to take on 3 skulks, just to see the outcome. Sure, an onos will probably 1 hit kill them with gore, but skullks are so small and fast it would be very hard to hit them. Of course, if there is AvA you're going to have to decide wether an onos can devour another onos. Personally, i would say no... but say yes to onos eating everything up to fade.

    <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif'><!--endemo--> *Get in meh belleh*

    Thats my two cents,
    ~Lando
  • Jabba_The_HuntJabba_The_Hunt Join Date: 2003-01-05 Member: 11850Members
    I really really really like this idea, it give some intense ns style combat, although can we please have the choice between a grenade lanucher and a hmg cause both have use's at different times..., but mainly the gl needs a lot of cover.

    Can't wait for 2.1, hope I still have access to the net to play it, im going to uni and well its unlikey I will get net access in my accomadation, ill be lucky with 56k <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
  • DramaKingDramaKing Join Date: 2003-06-21 Member: 17582Banned
    Anything that will possibly make me play NS atleast once post-hl2 is a good thing.
  • FlayraFlayra Game Director, Unknown Worlds Entertainment San Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
    To clear something up: there are no structures planned in NSC. No welders either. I can't decide whether gorges should be in there or not, but they'll probably be removed.

    Oh get real Dramaking.
  • BlackPantherBlackPanther Join Date: 2002-02-11 Member: 197Members
    Just by looking at the way most NS players are on pubs, i can easily forsee this mode becoming popular and overpassing the normal way that NS is played.
  • AegeriAegeri Join Date: 2003-02-13 Member: 13486Members
    Personally, I don't really like the idea and it doesn't appeal to me at all. That is because the thing that makes NS unique and a game that stands out is its RTS/FPS style gameplay. Removing that, or gamemodes that do seem to ruin the way the game feels to me IMO.
  • SHAMPOOSHAMPOO Probably the best NS player Join Date: 2003-04-26 Member: 15865Members, Constellation
    Natural Selection can't be Natural selection without the gorges
  • 343_guilty_spark343_guilty_spark Join Date: 2003-06-18 Member: 17462Members
    Well it would add the fast paced action to the game, but it doesn't feel NS if you get my drift, you built up NS to be a slow-paced RTS/FPS game, that's why it's so different. Guess we should just do some testing on it with the vetrans and playtesters.
    *If we add this will it delay 2.1 ?*
  • Brett_ErilaneBrett_Erilane Join Date: 2003-01-01 Member: 11708Members
    Great idea, but I would much rather see the development team's energy focused on fixing major bugs (can't type while dead, can't drop medpacks until you click on minimap, shotguns don't reload, etc.)
  • ElectricSheepElectricSheep Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15716Members
    I think it sounds good. It would be fun for a breather on some servers and would widen the community to more deathmatch people.
  • AxehiltAxehilt Join Date: 2003-09-12 Member: 20796Members
    It does sound a lot like taking the NS combat system and putting it into a Counterstrike-style purchasing system. With the current marine and alien weapons, it would take a lot of effort to balance everything - yet even with all that effort, the result wouldn't be that great of a game because it would be too similar to games already out there.

    <b>It would be better if each Marine acted more like a Gorge </b>- able to spend personal resources to put up TFs, make upgrades, buy weapons, receive a medpack, etc. To encourage marines (and gorges) to place RTs for the good of their team, you receive 25-50% more resources from the RTs that you personally place. You're also able to give your resources out, either to a specific player or spread it between your teammates equally.

    In this way, the "pub server advantage" the aliens have over the Marines disappears. It's been said many times that in NS's current system, the commander is the single most key player in the game. If he sucks, the marines are nearly gauranteed to lose. A single newbie Gorge won't cause the same negative impact for the aliens. In my suggested system, the marines can perform just as well as the aliens on a pub server.

    One problem that would have to be solved in my system is how to show players the range of Command Chairs and Turret Factories, so they know where structures can be placed. Showing them where their siege turret can hit before they place it would be important too.

    Other things would also have to be tweaked. I think it would be appropriate for the first IP and Armory to be free, since they're necessities, but they're not really "fun" purchases to make. Or have them prebuilt, just like the Hive.

    I would definitely rather see more effort expended on sexy new stuff for standard Natural Selection instead of a new gametype. Either that, or put more thought into creating a distinct, new experience for NS:Combat. The current plans seem too similar to existing games/mods. I'm not too interested in "Team Deathmatch with Aliens/Marines".

    Lastly, do we really have to suffer with the Grenade Launcher before we can get the HMG? <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> I find the GL is only really useful in a very limited style of combat and it would suck in a variant entirely based on combat (I use GLs primarily against aliens in vents, around corners, or against structures).
This discussion has been closed.