LMG upgrade ideas
Techercizer
7th Player Join Date: 2011-06-11 Member: 103832Members
7th Player Join Date: 2011-06-11 Member: 103832Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Bring them in or tear them down; come one, come all.</div><i>Reposted from a now-defaced thread in the Suggestions section, because contrary to what my scoreboards say, I am still very new and ignorant here.</i>
I don't think I'm the only one who wants the LMG to gain some nifty new upgrades if range-loving marines have the resources to shell out for them. Whether these upgrades should be researched or not beforehand, or how much they should cost, I'd like to limit in this thread. This is simply a place for people to brainstorm new ideas for the LMG.
I myself have divided my ideas into two categories, ammunition and modifications.
<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Ammunition:<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
Ammo ideas might also apply to shotguns and bullet weapons, but for now these are for the LMG
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- Tracer Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> could be a very cheap upgrade for marines to grab; they'd function exactly like their real-world counterparts in highlighting the traveling bullet (or possibly leaving some sort of vapor trail) to provide feedback for shooters. This could be useful for Marines who plan on doing a lot of ranged combat, though at some point I imagine people will just know their gun's spread intuitively. Even so, this could be a non gamebreaking upgrade that helps out newbies or people who aren't yet sure of their aim.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- Incendiary Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> are an idea I hear a lot on the forums. Not the kind of thing you'd burn off infestation with, but something with enough kick to slow a Fade or stop Hydra regeneration from being too big a pain.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- Explosive, Toxic, or otherwise Painful Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> would be perfect for a late-game damage buff. Simply select your flavour text at will, and maybe drop a ROF decrease to switch up game mechanics, and suddenly the idea of fighting Lurks and Fades with an LMG doesn't seem as ridiculous.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- DU Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> could provide an interesting playstyle for the LMG. For those of you who don't know, depleted uranium is incredibly dense; potentially dense enough to pierce an Onos' shield or give a healthy bit of knockback to anything it slams into enough times. ROF would probably need to be tweaked with this ammo though, as even a slight nudge per bullet gets pretty crazy at 10 rounds a second. Damage upgrades could also be included, but I think an "armor piercing" property would be more thematically correct and offer unique options for fighting highly armored late-game enemies.
<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Gun Modifications:<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
Could potentially alter the appearance of the LMG, but that would mean a lot of work for UW
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- The Magnetic Accelerator<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> would be an alternative to Painful Rounds; a no-nonsense damage buff derived from increased projectile speed and subsequent penetration. Maybe some armor piercing properties, but that's reaching a bit in my opinion.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- <strike>The Magnetic Bottle<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> (terrible, terrible name subject to change; enough magnets in the future, already)</strike>
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- The Spiral-Tooled Barrel<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> would be another simple late-game accuracy upgrade. More of your shots will wind up going closer to your crosshair, making Hydra-sniping and ranged combat easier
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- The Expanded Barrel<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> would offer a counterpart to the <strike>Bottle, Barrel (no, wait)</strike> Spiral. For those who like close-quarter combat but hate the relatively low rate of fire on the shotgun, this upgrade would increase your spread, allowing for more spraying and more praying. This would be a nice upgrade for people with FPS difficulties or those who have trouble aiming, because if you can't spend resources to try and improve the parts of combat you suck at, what can you spend them on?
Other ideas include <!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->The Extended Clip<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> and/or <!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Generic ROF Increase<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->. One lets you spray longer without being vulnerable; the other lets you do more damage per second at the cost of burning through ammo quicker. Might be a bit overpowered if the two could be used at the same time, or, for the right cost, it might be a staple pair of upgrades.
Please note that each idea is a stand-alone entity; some of them may work well with other suggestions, and some may be so different they shouldn't even be options in the same game. Tell me what you think, and post any ideas you might have.
I don't think I'm the only one who wants the LMG to gain some nifty new upgrades if range-loving marines have the resources to shell out for them. Whether these upgrades should be researched or not beforehand, or how much they should cost, I'd like to limit in this thread. This is simply a place for people to brainstorm new ideas for the LMG.
I myself have divided my ideas into two categories, ammunition and modifications.
<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Ammunition:<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
Ammo ideas might also apply to shotguns and bullet weapons, but for now these are for the LMG
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- Tracer Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> could be a very cheap upgrade for marines to grab; they'd function exactly like their real-world counterparts in highlighting the traveling bullet (or possibly leaving some sort of vapor trail) to provide feedback for shooters. This could be useful for Marines who plan on doing a lot of ranged combat, though at some point I imagine people will just know their gun's spread intuitively. Even so, this could be a non gamebreaking upgrade that helps out newbies or people who aren't yet sure of their aim.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- Incendiary Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> are an idea I hear a lot on the forums. Not the kind of thing you'd burn off infestation with, but something with enough kick to slow a Fade or stop Hydra regeneration from being too big a pain.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- Explosive, Toxic, or otherwise Painful Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> would be perfect for a late-game damage buff. Simply select your flavour text at will, and maybe drop a ROF decrease to switch up game mechanics, and suddenly the idea of fighting Lurks and Fades with an LMG doesn't seem as ridiculous.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- DU Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> could provide an interesting playstyle for the LMG. For those of you who don't know, depleted uranium is incredibly dense; potentially dense enough to pierce an Onos' shield or give a healthy bit of knockback to anything it slams into enough times. ROF would probably need to be tweaked with this ammo though, as even a slight nudge per bullet gets pretty crazy at 10 rounds a second. Damage upgrades could also be included, but I think an "armor piercing" property would be more thematically correct and offer unique options for fighting highly armored late-game enemies.
<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Gun Modifications:<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
Could potentially alter the appearance of the LMG, but that would mean a lot of work for UW
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- The Magnetic Accelerator<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> would be an alternative to Painful Rounds; a no-nonsense damage buff derived from increased projectile speed and subsequent penetration. Maybe some armor piercing properties, but that's reaching a bit in my opinion.
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- <strike>The Magnetic Bottle<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> (terrible, terrible name subject to change; enough magnets in the future, already)</strike>
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- The Spiral-Tooled Barrel<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> would be another simple late-game accuracy upgrade. More of your shots will wind up going closer to your crosshair, making Hydra-sniping and ranged combat easier
<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->- The Expanded Barrel<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> would offer a counterpart to the <strike>Bottle, Barrel (no, wait)</strike> Spiral. For those who like close-quarter combat but hate the relatively low rate of fire on the shotgun, this upgrade would increase your spread, allowing for more spraying and more praying. This would be a nice upgrade for people with FPS difficulties or those who have trouble aiming, because if you can't spend resources to try and improve the parts of combat you suck at, what can you spend them on?
Other ideas include <!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->The Extended Clip<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--> and/or <!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Generic ROF Increase<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->. One lets you spray longer without being vulnerable; the other lets you do more damage per second at the cost of burning through ammo quicker. Might be a bit overpowered if the two could be used at the same time, or, for the right cost, it might be a staple pair of upgrades.
Please note that each idea is a stand-alone entity; some of them may work well with other suggestions, and some may be so different they shouldn't even be options in the same game. Tell me what you think, and post any ideas you might have.
Comments
Depleted Uranium ammunition sounds like it would slow you down a lot. Especially carrying a bunch of magazines of the stuff around with you. Maybe there could be a high kick, and an anti-sprint cutback on it, but they hurt like nuts.
Magnetic Accelerator sounds like a neat thing too. Having an almost railgun style of magnets that cover the circumference of the barrel to accelerate the discharged projectile before it exits the chamber. Since there is magnetic influence, I doubt that there would be much of a kick, but instead, maybe the upgrade is one of the more expensive ones to get.
Maybe another type of ammo could be Acoustic ammo, where it could indicate where the bullet hits. Hitting walls would leave whirly pinging kind of sound, but hitting aliens could leave a more sloppy smack sound.
Also, for the grenade launcher, maybe you can have a "flare" upgrade, where it lights up a big area around it, and burns anything it is near until it disintigrates.
Action = reaction.
You will always get knockback
You will always get knockback<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
depends! if the gun's barrel has both ends open there wouldn't be any significant amount of knockback. the bullets would have to be self-propelled though.
Yes.
I would also like to see a whiter, bluer muzzle flash to go along with it. Expelled ammo could have a hot white blue energy tint to it. Give the sense that its nano technology in the works.
I would like to see a front barrel length extension attachment. Similar to the Spiral-Tooled Barrel idea in the OP, but bit more altering and visually pleasing. It'll turn the almost Carbine-like rifle(lmg) we have now, to a high powered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_rifle" target="_blank">battle rifle</a>. Compared to the standard rifle, it has better range, accuracy and armor penetration...but loses melee butt strike (longer barrels are less suited close combat). Changes the damage type from normal to heavy or puncture. It has a slower fire rate so not as ideal for skulks or fade up close. Good for taking out gorges and lerks that stay at range. Ideal for putting as much damage on an Onos before it charges in up close. <b>Give marine range some real bite.</b>
<a href="http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/OutlawD1/NS2-battle-rifle-attachment.png" target="_blank">http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz40/Ou...-attachment.png</a>
Yeah, I'll admit, I was sort of thinking of Bioshock-style weapon model (and maybe weapon sound) changes when you purchase a specific upgrade for one of your guns. The problem is, that's a lot of extra (cool looking, but still...) modeling and texturing for UW to do for what's basically eye-candy.
Overall though, I believe adding new types of ammunition will over complicate things.
Overall though, I believe adding new types of ammunition will over complicate things.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Too many types of ammunition would definitely create a lot of information to process, but having 1-2 alternates for each gun could work out if they were differentiated by muzzle & bullet-impact effects.
I was going to say that didn't sound useful, since everything in NS2 starts with armor and by the time you'd research ammo types aliens would probably have armor upgrades, but then I remembered that alien buildings are really fleshy. Not a bad idea in my opinion, as long as the extra damage applies to alien structures.
<u><!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Photon Rounds<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></u>
or alternatively
<u><!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->EM Wave Inducer<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--></u>
<b>By modifying the traditional bullet-loading system and replacing magazines with micro-scale pulse laser capacitors, Frontier scientists have finally found a solution to the age old problem of ammunition in the field. Specialized for tackling Kharaa bacteria and their amalgamations, this modification dramatically improves the field performance of the Light Machine Gun against unarmored targets and structures, though the lack of penetrating power has a markedly poor performance against armor. Though a modified LMG experiences a longer period of firing than the clip-based model and in independence from ammo requirements, it is unable to quickly "reload" its ammunition, and must instead recharge its capacitors from local nanotechnology. Due to the weakness of the device against armor and the potential for ambush near the end of capacitor charge, deploying these weapons alone is strongly advised against.</b>
Our field testing marines seemed quite fond of the prototype model. One of them told us he "<i>couldn't wait to burn those alien suckers a new sucker</i>, though skirmish testing has raised concerns about the bright and easy-to-spot nature of the firing beam.
<img src="http://www.brywright.co.uk/gallery/albums/weapons/lmg.thumb.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Because they aren't suggestions yet. They're seeds for suggestions.
If people actually chime in about how they feel about these ideas and bring in some of their own, I'll take the finished bunch (the good ones) to suggestions.