An idea for Gorges...
Konohas Perverted Hermit
Join Date: 2008-09-26 Member: 65075Members
Join Date: 2008-09-26 Member: 65075Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Was just messing around last night on the BAD server...</div>Alright so I was playing on the BAD server and I got an idea out of the blue for Gorges in Natural Selection 2. Gorges could be like Hermit Crabs, picking up a Chamber, putting it on their back, and walking it to where ever they wanted and dropping it. Not only that if it is built on their back it could provide that Chamber's abilities (Movement, Sensory, Defensive, or Offensive). They could only move one Chamber at a time and their Heal Spray would be able to reach whatever chamber is on their back. Anyhow just an idea.
Comments
How to balance?
What purpose?
Why add?
Add what's above.
^
that made me laugh
Like this...
<img src="http://www.cheapfish.co.uk/hermit-with-anemone1.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Only Gorges could move then drop them where they seem fit. When it is on their back the Chamber would provide what it normally would when it is in place only the Gorge is basically moving it around.
I'm not sure I completely like this idea. First, for balance, let's limit it to only allow one chamber to be carried at a time. Secondly, the chamber only benefits the Gorge carrying it so you can't be a walking DC or SC chamber. OCs get deactivated on pickup. The ability has a cool down from place to pickup such that the Gorges can't just spam this ability and keep chambers moving while giving everyone else the bonus.
Anyways, creative idea, but I'm still not a convert as to why we want this as a game mechanic.
Still, the ability itself would have numerous uses: Moving a sensory chamber to a better location. Moving an OC wall forward to hold a different choke point. Moving chambers out of a hive that is being sieged. It allows players to move unfortunate chamber placement that would otherwise require the ability to /recycle them.
Simple, fun, useful.
Edit: One more thing. It would be heavily abused without precautions. i.e.: Griefers picking up other people's chambers to make them useless/get them killed.
1) The person moving the chamber also has to be the owner of the chamber
2) The chambers don't work while in transit. Maybe have a pack-up animation?
I like the concept though.
2) The chambers don't work while in transit. Maybe have a pack-up animation?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
QFT
I mean if the marines are getting mobile siege canons then the aliens should get something as well.
1) The person moving the chamber also has to be the owner of the chamber
2) The chambers don't work while in transit. Maybe have a pack-up animation?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I got some more.
The chamber must be built before it can be picked up.
Since the chamber is attached to the ground it can't be fully moved. So when you go to pick it up you rip the top half off.
The bottom half (still attached to the ground) withers away and dies. The top half (now on the gorges back) receives half health.
When you go to drop it down you need to repair it to full health before it works again. This would prevent battle gorges with OCs because it wouldn't instantly activate.
Just a thought
added to Idea Map.
One thing that could really add an interesting dynamic to this would be if the chamber's HP and the gorge's HP fused together. The gorge gets the extra health, but is suddenly a much larger target and with less mobility. Right now, one of the best advantages of a gorge and OC together is that the gorge can use the OC for cover while it heals the OC. This would remove that advantage, and make most gorges think a lot more carefully about when to use the ability.
I would suggest that the chamber's abilities remain active though.
One thing that could really add an interesting dynamic to this would be if the chamber's HP and the gorge's HP fused together. The gorge gets the extra health, but is suddenly a much larger target and with less mobility. Right now, one of the best advantages of a gorge and OC together is that the gorge can use the OC for cover while it heals the OC. This would remove that advantage, and make most gorges think a lot more carefully about when to use the ability.
I would suggest that the chamber's abilities remain active though.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
When you think about if it is active and the hole team Gorges, some drop DCs and some drop OCs. They then pack them to Marine Start, instant win.
<!--quoteo(post=1689104:date=Sep 29 2008, 04:38 PM:name=locallyunscene)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(locallyunscene @ Sep 29 2008, 04:38 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1689104"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Maybe to streamline this a bit, the gorge has an "chamber aura/cloud" instead of the actual chamber on it's back to give the bonuses of that chamber. Might give it something to do/encourage kharaa players to protect it. Non-stackable of course, so we wouldn't need to do anything crazy like halve health or speed.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'd prefer to keep Warcraft out of the game lol. That idea would defeat the purpose of being able to pack around the chambers you have dropped.
Maybe we should have a new build animation, where a mist of bacteria materializes slowly, forms the shape of a chamber and becomes more and more solid.
Do this:
* Gorgies move 50% slower with chamber on its back.
* Chambers (offense chamber included) are fully functional.
* Gorges cannot drop new structures until chamber on its back is dropped.
So why wouldn't you always keep an offense chamber strapped to your back?
* Very risky. You easily waste 20 resources because the first marine to see you was HA/Jetpack/marine with grenade launcher.
* Hard to get around map.
* Counters your ability to build.
Why would you keep anything on your back?
* Provide mobile cloaking support.
* Provide mobile healing support.
* Provide mobile teleportation support.
* Provide mobile offensive line support.
'Nuff said.
What? A gorge can drop a chamber within about 20 seconds of the game starting.
The rest of your points are a good summation of things so far, but you did miss one that I felt was a biggie. If the chamber's HP was added to the gorge while it was on its back, and the gorge's hitbox also encompassed the chamber, this would make it far riskier, and imo, balanced. Sure the gorge would have that much more hp, but he'd be a massive target. Plus, his heal would be nerfed: he'd only have the half self-heal, whereas a chamber on the ground gets full heal PLUS he gets his own self heal.
Add that in, and I think it could be an awesome new ability. Sure, there would now be a second type of gorge rush, but it would have its own set of advantages AND disadvantages. I gorge a lot, and I'd definitely use this ability, but I'd be very careful with it and try to make sure that I'd avoid any and all marine contact during it. The HP- and hitbox-fusion are what really balance it out.
Perhaps a better approach would be to allow the gorge to "use" any type of chamber. That gorge would then gain the characteristics of that chamber. The affects would still be area affects but with a smaller radius. The gorge appearance could also change to reflect the additional characteristics.
What he said, <b>vote <!--coloro:#00DD00--><span style="color:#00DD00"><!--/coloro-->yes<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b>, to that visual implementation style.
Plug-ins can be sloppy and look a bit buggy visually -- it's considered acceptable for basic freeware tinkering with the code. But for a game you buy and a game the community wants to be proud of, locallyunscene's suggestion is far better on the eyes than the sea anemone transport method.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><!--coloro:#00BFFF--><span style="color:#00BFFF"><!--/coloro-->A thought on this topic: <!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
Wouldn't it be easier to virtually "store" the matter and chemical energy in a reserve and then have it build from a congealing mist in hyper-build mode? In otherwords, the gorge "dissolves the chamber" (holding a limited max quantity of them) where it can then drop somewhere else to have it almost-instantly build and activate.
I could see it being used as a useful, limited tactic. (one that you have to use wisely, under the right circumstances) Gorges on the alien team decide to assist an offensive by dissolving a few chambers and then reform them rapidly right after the fades and skulks move in. The fire fight could still be raging, but now the marines are suddenly surrounded by aliens getting the beneficial help of OCs, MCs and DCs (maybe SC too, but the commander could just scan, unless the commander is incompetent or distracted of course). It could even give a reason for the siege cannon's mobility: to counter this ability.
And as for the hitbox combination, I don't even know if that's feasible without creating separate models, which means they'd have to create separte models for every gorge and its chamber. Even if that weren't true, I don't see why a gorge should be linked to its chamber. That isn't the case for a hermit crab and it shouldn't be the case for a gorge. Rather, should be a tactic that a gorge should be able to be on the front line with a chamber strapped to his back taking the hits (though the same gorge would be awfully vulnerable from any other side).
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->What? A gorge can drop a chamber within about 20 seconds of the game starting.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
And it probably wouldn't be the wisest decision either. How much damage could you do as a gorge with an offense chamber strapped to your back? Any half awake marine would try to hit from a different angle, and if you die within the first 20 seconds of the game because you went gorge and paid 10 res for an offense chamber, you've screwed your team pretty bad. It's one less resource node capped early in the game.
Also something nobody has considered. What if the gorge dies during transport? Does this mean you lose the chamber after that? Do you even get your res back for it?
A good point for this is if the marines are sieging then the gorges can move the chanbers out of siege range.
Also, it would be far more useful if the chamber was on your back and functional, rather than the chamber dissolving for storage. And if you dissolved it, would it not be the same as turning it back into the base resource? If that was the case, recycling chambers would be an invaluable tool.
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+1 for awesome Homicide.