Armor Skin That Reflects Research Level

Arx · February 2009

Hello everyone, I've been thinking about this idea and here it is: Have the visual representation of the characters armor in the game change to reflect their current research level, EG: helmet starts off as open faced but at armor 3 becomes a fully enclosed face covering helmet. However the visual change wouldnâ€™t be confined to the helmet alone of course and this would affect both marine armor and alien carapace.

I imagine this Idea might have been suggested before and I DID search to find out but once I saw the sheer amount of posts to wade through to find out I lost hope in that lol. I would also imagine that this might not be practical as it would increase rendering requirements and development time and some people just may not care about it. however I feel it might raise the over all enjoyment level of game play.

Also what about this idea for weapons as well?

Thoughts?

Fraxinus · February 2009

It is generally pretty obvious when marines upgrade their armor in game, and for that reason I do not see any need for a visual aid other than eye candy.

armor 0 - 3 bites
armor 1- 3 bites
armor 2 - 4 bites
armor 3 - 4 bites

granted you aren't missing any of them.

Arx · February 2009

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Fraxinus @ Feb 13 2009, 09:30 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1700314"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>It is generally pretty obvious when marines upgrade their armor in game, and for that reason I do not see any need for a visual aid other than eye candy.</div>

Eye candy is the whole idea, I agree thats it's already obvious when the armor is upgraded however thats not the point. I'm not suggesting any kind of an aid just a fun bit of extra detail.

Harimau · February 2009

I'm all for it, personally.

Ride · February 2009

Iâ€™m against it, while it does provide some visuals to see how far the game has progressed itâ€™s absolutely not neccessary for gameplay. Savage 2 had it implemented with a free content patch, but that was one thing the community just didnâ€™t ask for. If itâ€™s gonna get in, move it down down down on the todo list, maybe include it with a further patch.

Firewater · February 2009

I see no reason why this could not be implemented. I think its a good idea to give the aliens a visual indictator of the current marine tech. This will not affect gameplay in a negative way, and will only benefit the aliens as sometimes there is confusion on what level tech the marines have.

Also, Armor rating is not only about skulk bites, but as the game progresses it effects lerk bites fade swipes and onos gore. Not to mention if spores effect armor again, there is another dynamic that is thrown in. Overall I think this is a very good idea, having more information is seldom a bad thing.

Bacillus · February 2009

It's definitely a good way to introduce the armor system to the newbies too.

Prioritizing the features is important of course, but the addition to the gameplay itself isn't bad.

ryknow69 · February 2009

The idea was brought up before, and discussed heavily. Most people agreed, it's good, but needs to be low on the totem pole of todo.

<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=104754" target="_blank">Here's</a> the topic, it also talked more about other upgrades.

Arx · February 2009

Thank you ryknow69 for that link, I felt overwhelmed trying to find that info myself.

ryknow69 · February 2009

I've sent PM's to the mods about it before.

iKossu · February 2009

If they have extra time at some point they just might do this one. This is kinda of topic... I suggest that the icon of weapons upgrade should be changed to bullet instead of pistol because newbies might think that only the pistol has been upgraded.

Harimau · February 2009

I agree. Make things as transparent as possible

tjosan · March 2009

Going to go against the pack here as usual. I don't fully agree with this idea. Quite honestly I think it's important that what little RTS is in the game plays as great a role as possible. Working with incomplete information and the ability to predict what gets teched when is a small but interesting part of any "strategy"-themed game. I mean it's a small thing, but whether they teched armor now or later might affect your battle plan if you're well enough versed in the nuances of the game.

Of course most of the times you can figure it out easily enough, but it adds a bit of uncertainty sometimes which I think is great.

Bacillus · March 2009

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tjosan @ Mar 16 2009, 11:38 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1702781"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Going to go against the pack here as usual. I don't fully agree with this idea. Quite honestly I think it's important that what little RTS is in the game plays as great a role as possible. Working with incomplete information and the ability to predict what gets teched when is a small but interesting part of any "strategy"-themed game. I mean it's a small thing, but whether they teched armor now or later might affect your battle plan if you're well enough versed in the nuances of the game.

Of course most of the times you can figure it out easily enough, but it adds a bit of uncertainty sometimes which I think is great.</div>
Hmm, most RTSes allow you to see the opponent upgrade levels. Still, on NS there isn't that much other hidden info, so it's a little different.

IMHO the optimal situation would be so that there are other 'hidden' features. For example obs/armslab first, possibly other tech picks, more of 'optional' res capping and so on.

Armor Skin That Reflects Research Level

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