Skulk "backstab" ability for 1 hit kill
fr0st2k
Join Date: 2004-04-26 Member: 28210Members
Join Date: 2004-04-26 Member: 28210Members
<div class="IPBDescription">and other ability suggestions</div>A starting ability for the skulk should be a 1 hit kill akin to CS's "strong" knife attack.
If the idea of skulks to to sneak up on marines, it makes no sense that they have to take a few bites out of them from behind or overhead to finally kill them.
They should have a charge attack (clicking it begins the motion, 1.5 seconds later it attacks wherever the cursor currently is) that instantly KO's a non-armored marine.
Another suggestion would be to have a "camouflage" ability.
Cause the skulk model to phase out while standing still simulating a chameleon effect. Then allow them to move slowly with a slight increase in opacity.
If the idea of skulks to to sneak up on marines, it makes no sense that they have to take a few bites out of them from behind or overhead to finally kill them.
They should have a charge attack (clicking it begins the motion, 1.5 seconds later it attacks wherever the cursor currently is) that instantly KO's a non-armored marine.
Another suggestion would be to have a "camouflage" ability.
Cause the skulk model to phase out while standing still simulating a chameleon effect. Then allow them to move slowly with a slight increase in opacity.
Comments
good to hear about the cloak addition. I suppose rounds never last long enough for me to even get that far =\
Concerning the general disdain for a 1 hit kill, I'd like to expand on my original suggestion.
IMO, there NEEDS to be one. It should, of course, be handled carefully. As you said, an attack (no matter the cost of energy), should not be instant. If that was the case, it would be mastered by SOMEONE/s, and be used within active fights and become the basic attack.
I don't want this, no one wants this.
However, sneaking around as a skulk should have its benefits. A 1.5 second "charge up" would promote the ability to be used solely when unengaged.
Another way of ensuring it isn't over used, or used at improper moments would be to decrease skulk movement speed when active. This variable would allow balance to be finely tuned. 0% movement speed up to 100% movement speed would GREATLY affect the usability of the ability and would dictate how a skulk player could utilize it.
I think its important to include adjustable variables within skills. A 1 hit kill could simply cost energy...but then how do you balance that? With energy cost + charge time + movement speed + damage +research cost +range(size), you can choose what EXACTLY you want the ability to do, its effectiveness at any given point in the game, and easily adjust for balance.
Skulks don't really gain any benefit from being sneaky. You are wasting time not doing anything but stalking and risking your life when you could be helping your team elsewhere doing more beneficial tasks like actually coordinating attacks or taking down buildings so the marines aren't gaining ground.
I do agree however that there should be a more skilful attack the skulks can perform - I suggested more dynamic hitboxes but the idea is 50/50 in the NS community.. some people are strongly against the idea of a player with actual skills to land the damaging shots or something.. ofc it should be balanced so that the upgrades will allow you to, and then deny the ability, and then allow you to, etc back and forth so that there are certain times when you can really make use of it.
A charge up skill move sound interesting but I think it would fail because a good marine team sticks together so with or without the skill, lone aliens will get shot at - and I'd rather have alien teammates actually trying to attack instead of just sitting there for 1.5s getting shot in the face - either way if they're bad they are probably going to die, but still at least without that skill they might put <i>some</i> damage down because they are forced to use a normal attack..
But with melee vs ranged teams, adding location based damage only adds and element of frustration and gives an unfair advantage to the marine team. Also, random shots into high damage areas (not well aimed), would only add to this...
@fr0st2k, you still have to upgrade the camouflage ability (b menu, small icons underneath the class portrait) once it has been researched by the alien commander through the shade
I do agree however that there should be a more skilful attack the skulks can perform - I suggested more dynamic hitboxes but the idea is 50/50 in the NS community.. some people are strongly against the idea of a player with actual skills to land the damaging shots or something.. ofc it should be balanced so that the upgrades will allow you to, and then deny the ability, and then allow you to, etc back and forth so that there are certain times when you can really make use of it.
A charge up skill move sound interesting but I think it would fail because a good marine team sticks together so with or without the skill, lone aliens will get shot at - and I'd rather have alien teammates actually trying to attack instead of just sitting there for 1.5s getting shot in the face - either way if they're bad they are probably going to die, but still at least without that skill they might put <i>some</i> damage down because they are forced to use a normal attack..<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Maybe this whole thing comes down to the random spawns. Im not sure I entirely like the idea yet. Having two dedicated areas that you KNOW the enemy team is...creates a much more strategical game. Randomness in spawns leads to chaotic and hectic early games.
If you knew strategies of the opposing team, you would know where to camp, and you could make better use of vents, etc to get to the other side.
It would be more tug of war and make defense and pushing / defending more streamline. Maps and map layout are important. Look at CounterStrike vs Modern Warfare. Small tweaks in the game completely change the core. In CS, having no random spawns creates hot spots and gives advantage to players who know the map and know general strategies. MW2/3 is just plain hectic, with random spawns and poor map construction creating an environment where you are NEVER safe.
Im not saying NS2 should be identical to either one of those playstyles...but it should decide what it wants to do. With random base spawns you lose strategy. You lose the ability to create maps that focus on "hot spots." One thing I noticed the last time I played was how pointless the vents seemed. You don't use them to get behind marines, you just use them to travel from one area to another faster.
That makes sense. Treat what I wrote as a discussion point for what should become standard.
Or perhaps include "map types" such as ds_map sp_map, dynamic spawn/single spawn
1. This should only be usable on stationary targets: Marines repairing things, Marines standing guard, marines building. (I'm unsure how you could implement this though so it was intuitive for players. Maybe have it completely disabled unless your cross hair is on a target which meets the requirements. A light marine who is standing mostly still. Mainly, your normal attack will automatically turn into a one hit kill on its own if the proper criteria are met; of course it would give a quick visual indicator like a change to the mouth animation and position.)
2. It would not work on heavy marines. To much protection.
3. It should require a momentary "charge up". Something like a 1 second mini pounce animation so it looks like the skulk leaped on to the marine effectively killing him. However, it won't decloak a cloaked skulk until the "charge up" time is completed and the actual attack activates.
I'm all for this within this framework or one very similar, because it will discourage marines from going commando on a regular basis; the moment they have to stop to build or repair something, they're completely open to a quick death from one sneaky skulks. Now if the commander and marine work together to scan the area before hand, you can still have the commando marine now and then, but it will actually be planned and coordinated. It will also reward skulks who actually, you know, skulk around and are sneaky. Lastly, it will also make cloak a little more viable throughout the game. I remember in NS1, cloak was never picked because focus was required once the game had entered mid to late game.
Also if yourkilling a rine as a fade who is busy doing something else, It is not going to matter if you use attack two or one. He'll be dead quick either way.
Also if yourkilling a rine as a fade who is busy doing something else, It is not going to matter if you use attack two or one. He'll be dead quick either way.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Fade backstab does seem a bit pointless on the fade class, not really consistent with its role.