What if leap was the 2nd skill instead of the 3rd? It would definitely help skulks close the gap and distance wouldn't be as much of an issue.
I'm not sure what this would do with overall game balance though (if that is too powerful to be given right away), and I think it would really mess up the balance of co maps (unless co maps the order was kept the same). Just a thought...
As much as I supported it, my previous zest for swapping leap and parasite around were...silly. It won't work, you will basically have (if it's balanced right) an alien that instead of being useless at hive 1, it'll be useless at hive 2. That's not what I'd hope to achieve, if I want the old games of all three hives being involved in the winning of a game, one way or the other, to come back.
Lets just do it slowly. increase the HP and starting armour of the skulk for one. The skulk has got easier to hit thanks to accurate hitboxes and general marine improvement...having been regularly nerfed on health throughout the games history, this mistake needs to be reversed. It may be something this simple that helps a lot.
Long games suck because at least 90% of them are long only because the winning team just cannot finish the job (either tehy fear too much and want tech all up or theu just know how to do it).
And there is many ways to reverse game. If you can force comm to use distress and keep marines some time at their base, almost hopeless situation at hive can become great victory.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Long games suck because at least 90% of them are long only because the winning team just cannot finish the job (either tehy fear too much and want tech all up or theu just know how to do it).
And there is many ways to reverse game. If you can force comm to use distress and keep marines some time at their base, almost hopeless situation at hive can become great victory. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You are talking about most NS 3bx games; the versions we are referring to were NS 2.0x and NS 1.0x. In those versions, the game was not decided in the first 5, or even 10 minutes. In those versions a long game meant the marines and aliens were within 20 % of each other skill wise overall, and that it became a game of strategy, instead of a survival match. Comebacks were common (I can't tell you how many times in 1.04 I was a ninja when the entire marine team was trapped in base and we were able to come back because I put up a CC, IP, etc) because the game was flexible and dynamic.
Long games allow for the two teams to have a real game, where RTS is an important part of the thought process. In this version, you hand out the shotties and tell the marines to move it. Bam, aliens spend the next 10 minutes just trying to make it alive. That's not what the game is about. Combat > Classic because of things like gamelength.
70 HP 20 AP for the skulk would help quite a bit, since it enables the skulk to take 3 more lmg bullets before it dies. That, and a tiny speed increase, would help quite a bit.
However, I think it's important to think "big game" here, since the goal is to slow down the early game so that it is impossible for a team to gather a huge early game advantage if the teams are within 20 % of each other skillwise. Giving the skulks a "darkness" advantage in more areas of maps will keep marines more on their toes than they are now. If a skulk really could be hiding around every corner, ramboing sure is going to get tricky <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->.
So, when thinking overall game, the move needs to be made to a more territory control game, where aliens are able to have actual OC outposts in certain map points without their team crying about it being lame and a waste of res. Improving OC accuracy and line of sight would help quite a bit, as well as cheapening the cost of OC's to 7 per unit.
If the first 5 minutes or so is about map control and basic fortification, the game will move slower and more cautiously, but with both sides slowly building forcing, ambushing one another, etc etc.
Comments
I'm not sure what this would do with overall game balance though (if that is too powerful to be given right away), and I think it would really mess up the balance of co maps (unless co maps the order was kept the same). Just a thought...
Lets just do it slowly. increase the HP and starting armour of the skulk for one. The skulk has got easier to hit thanks to accurate hitboxes and general marine improvement...having been regularly nerfed on health throughout the games history, this mistake needs to be reversed. It may be something this simple that helps a lot.
And there is many ways to reverse game. If you can force comm to use distress and keep marines some time at their base, almost hopeless situation at hive can become great victory.
And there is many ways to reverse game. If you can force comm to use distress and keep marines some time at their base, almost hopeless situation at hive can become great victory. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You are talking about most NS 3bx games; the versions we are referring to were NS 2.0x and NS 1.0x. In those versions, the game was not decided in the first 5, or even 10 minutes. In those versions a long game meant the marines and aliens were within 20 % of each other skill wise overall, and that it became a game of strategy, instead of a survival match. Comebacks were common (I can't tell you how many times in 1.04 I was a ninja when the entire marine team was trapped in base and we were able to come back because I put up a CC, IP, etc) because the game was flexible and dynamic.
Long games allow for the two teams to have a real game, where RTS is an important part of the thought process. In this version, you hand out the shotties and tell the marines to move it. Bam, aliens spend the next 10 minutes just trying to make it alive. That's not what the game is about. Combat > Classic because of things like gamelength.
<!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Should we sum this up somehow, and put it in beta.disc?
We have reached a verdict that skulk`s need hp/armor boost right?
Howabout throwing some numbers?
However, I think it's important to think "big game" here, since the goal is to slow down the early game so that it is impossible for a team to gather a huge early game advantage if the teams are within 20 % of each other skillwise. Giving the skulks a "darkness" advantage in more areas of maps will keep marines more on their toes than they are now. If a skulk really could be hiding around every corner, ramboing sure is going to get tricky <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->.
So, when thinking overall game, the move needs to be made to a more territory control game, where aliens are able to have actual OC outposts in certain map points without their team crying about it being lame and a waste of res. Improving OC accuracy and line of sight would help quite a bit, as well as cheapening the cost of OC's to 7 per unit.
If the first 5 minutes or so is about map control and basic fortification, the game will move slower and more cautiously, but with both sides slowly building forcing, ambushing one another, etc etc.