Gorge goo walls

FlayraFlayra Game Director, Unknown Worlds EntertainmentSan Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
<div class="IPBDescription">What do you want to do?</div>We've got a basic version of "goo walls" implemented, which allow the Gorge to build a wall of goo (with 2 hives and at a cost of personal resources). The idea here is that he can protect areas from attack, as the goo itself blocks shots and takes damage. It also currently doesn't block marine movement entirely but slows them down when they walk through it. I think this works pretty well so far.

I was originally thinking that you would create blobs that exist on their own. The approach we have tried to start is more like blobs connected with webs, so each blob you create must be attached within a certain distance of another blob, and also stretches a web across it. What's good about this is that lets you block a doorway or entrance, but it is a bit more clumsy to build, as you always have to build within a certain range of an existing goo blob.

My questions for you are:

1. What do you guys think of this idea?
2. How would you want to build these things?
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Comments

  • FreemantleFreemantle Join Date: 2002-06-16 Member: 783Members
    Why not a big "bubble", just a single placement? Also, can we put it on top of hydras and whips but allow them to attack out of it?
  • twilitebluetwiliteblue bug stalker Join Date: 2003-02-04 Member: 13116Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
    edited February 2012
    I love the idea! It's exactly when I've been waiting for!

    I get chills from imagining entering an infested room that looks like a jungle or a hive from Alien, or maybe a city of "termite mounds".
  • internetexplorerinternetexplorer Join Date: 2011-10-13 Member: 127255Members
    Do they extend infestation? It might be cool to use them like sandbag walls in the old C&C games (i.e. make a blob wall across some area and dump a shade/crag/shift at the end for a staging area). I guess a better first question is 'how does it relate to cysts and infestation?'

    Is the goo climbable? One of the things I find missing from the game is the ability for gorges to scale heights using their buildings (in NS1 it was done by stacking chambers). If I climb on top of some goo, can I belly slide on it?
  • Sah.Sah. Join Date: 2012-02-21 Member: 147090Members
    have you ever played bioshock ?
    well in bioshock there are these xbow bolt traps, that you shoot into the wall, then the bolt shoots out and goes directly to the nearest opposite wall.

    It could work like, you shoot a goo blob at the wall, and it shoots a 'tentacle' of goo to the opposite wall, which gets weaker and weaker the more it strings out "forcing you to not spam them accross big rooms".

    Then you could put 3 or 4 of these "goo balls" down one above the other to create a sort of wall.

    i love the general idea though.
  • OmegaliskOmegalisk Join Date: 2012-01-06 Member: 139750Members
    I think that giving the Gorge more defensive capabilities beyond Hydras (which don't do that great, honestly) is a really good idea. I like the idea of extending webs into more defense than NS1, but I'm not sure if goo is what would be best. One thing that I think would be interesting, as well as fitting with the Alien "nature turned behemoth" theme would be tall, thick grasses that the Gorge can plant that extend about 1.5-2.0 marines high. They can slow down/block bullets, obviously block sight, and slow down Marines, and the Marines would use their Axe to cut through it to go faster.

    Imagine a group of marines entering a darkened room full of thick jungle, but underneath it all is cold, hard metal. That is the kind of horrifying situation that I think is missing from the Marine experience. At the same time, Skulks jumping in and out of grass, taking bites where they can, as well as an Onos, flanked by Fades, coming barreling down into the group of Marines.
  • Sah.Sah. Join Date: 2012-02-21 Member: 147090Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1905638:date=Feb 22 2012, 12:36 AM:name=Omegalisk)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Omegalisk @ Feb 22 2012, 12:36 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1905638"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think that giving the Gorge more defensive capabilities beyond Hydras (which don't do that great, honestly) is a really good idea. I like the idea of extending webs into more defense than NS1, but I'm not sure if goo is what would be best. One thing that I think would be interesting, as well as fitting with the Alien "nature turned behemoth" theme would be tall, thick grasses that the Gorge can plant that extend about 1.5-2.0 marines high. They can slow down/block bullets, obviously block sight, and slow down Marines, and the Marines would use their Axe to cut through it to go faster.

    Imagine a group of marines entering a darkened room full of thick jungle, but underneath it all is cold, hard metal. That is the kind of horrifying situation that I think is missing from the Marine experience. At the same time, Skulks jumping in and out of grass, taking bites where they can, as well as an Onos, flanked by Fades, coming barreling down into the group of Marines.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    i like this idea, would make the alien bases feel more ... rainforesty ... which is nice.
  • DaphistoDaphisto Hive Janitor Join Date: 2002-11-16 Member: 8917Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited February 2012
    This actually sounds like a really cool idea. Do you have a screenshot of what it might look like?

    Also, would this be a hive 1 ability or hive 2 or 3?
  • rantologyrantology Join Date: 2012-02-05 Member: 143750Members, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Gold, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold
    edited February 2012
    How much damage can these goo walls take....and can gorges Bile Bomb through them? ;) I would suggest not, esp if this structure is available at 2 hives. But I guess this also depends on how much p-res it takes to build. Hard to judge with no numbers :P

    Oh maybe an idea would be that this wall can only be built on creep. Would help from marines immediately facing a couple of fades nd some gorge goo walls knocking on their front door right when hive #2 goes up. That might be a bit too overwhelming.
  • Shrike3OShrike3O Join Date: 2002-11-03 Member: 6678Members, Constellation
    Has someone been playing World of Goo? :) This sounds like variation/mix of Web and Umbra (provides cover, slows movement). I'd like to see it burn energy and NOT PRes (as the gorge already has enough things sapping his res). I'd hope that it would be usable offensively (blobbing up a turret to impair it's ability to fire out would be good). If it's on Croach, I'd like to see it be sustained, rather than temporary, feeding from the nutrient web below it, but have it dissolve over time if used in areas that aren't already infested.

    Maybe have it be flammable? Maybe have it be VERY flammable? Destroyable with flamers, but lighting it up creates a temporary flaming wall (ow!) and a bunch of smoke.

    If it's going to turn into long strands of snot draped across doorways, I'm a little less interested, but if you're talking giant D&D style "gelatinous cube" piles in hallways, I'm all for it :)
  • internetexplorerinternetexplorer Join Date: 2011-10-13 Member: 127255Members
    edited February 2012
    Another place to look for inspiration is the really unpopular Half-Life mod "Wizard Wars"

    It's basically a TFC clone where the 9 classes are 9 types of wizards (pyromancer, geomancer etc). One of them is a druid who can <a href="http://pnmedia.gamespy.com/planethalflife.gamespy.com/images/oldsite/clusterimages/ww1.jpg" target="_blank">make beanstalks</a> and climb them (analogous to the engineer in Team Fortress).

    <!--quoteo(post=1905644:date=Feb 21 2012, 08:40 PM:name=Shrike3O)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shrike3O @ Feb 21 2012, 08:40 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1905644"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->If it's going to turn into long strands of snot draped across doorways, I'm a little less interested, but if you're talking giant D&D style "gelatinous cube" piles in hallways, I'm all for it :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    Yeah, I have to agree with this too.
  • PsiWarpPsiWarp Gifted Gorge Richmond, B.C., Canada Join Date: 2010-08-28 Member: 73810Members
    edited February 2012
    Interesting, I like it :)

    As for how I would want to build it, perhaps tie the Goo Wall to Mini-Cysts and Cysts, to eliminate the need for a blob? The Goo Wall itself however, no idea yet~

    Edit: Got an idea for Goo Wall-

    If tied to Cysts, the Goo Wall ability would show a vertical range indicator (instead of horizontal range indicator for Hydras and Cysts), so the Gorge would be able to tell how far the wall will reach.

    Once selected, drain 40 adrenaline like for Hydras and Mini-Cysts, perhaps a small PRes fee, then a Goo Wall would generate around the Cyst (circular, not spherical). The Goo Wall will always generate with either of its flat sides facing you, for easy placement and positioning adjustments.

    Each Cyst would be able to support only 1 Goo Wall, pop that Cyst and you pop the Goo Wall as well (which should recede slowly and not disappear instantly)

    Also for coolness factor, if Goo Wall would start to shrink base on the damage it is taking, that would be neat.
  • SentrySteveSentrySteve .txt Join Date: 2002-03-09 Member: 290Members, Constellation
    Cool idea. If you require infestation to be in place then I'd recommend some kind of cyst-like building the gorge can drop. Once built, the goo can slowly expand to cover the hallway. This reminds me of the Tribes: Ascend Doombringer class. They have a forcefield and when it's selected the player can see a ghost outline of where the forcefield generator (a smaller device on the ground, like how the cyst could work) will go along with an outline of the forcefield itself and how much it will block/cover.
  • Shrike3OShrike3O Join Date: 2002-11-03 Member: 6678Members, Constellation
    edited February 2012
    Another option, a little more "organic" feeling: aim the goo like you're going to plant a cyst or a hydra, and it shows a blob. Press the mouse button down, and the blob appears... and as long as you HOLD the button down, you keep feeding energy into it and it keeps getting bigger. Eventually it's the right size and/or the gorge runs out of energy and has to stop to breathe, and the blob "hardens" a bit, taking on it's final shape. Burning/damaging the blob reduces it in size (effectively removing energy put into it) until it's destroyed, and if you want to build a wall or cover a doorway, multiple blobs may be the most effective way to do so. Let us stack them, so that aliens can climb into weird places! Or maybe just the gorge... all that pudge makes him positively bouyant in goo, whereas the other lifeforms are either too wiry or just too heavy to swim in goo :)
  • olisisolisis Join Date: 2003-02-01 Member: 12944Members
    Why not just combine this idea and cysts?

    Make a sort of webbing goo barrier that would stop bullets and slow marines but either end of it would create a patch of infestation.

    It would work the same way as webbing from ns1 as well, but instead of just shooting two across from each other, you could do a third and fill up a triangle of space in front of a door, and a fourth for a rectangle/square.

    And what's more, you could let hydra / lerk shots and aliens pass through unhindered which would make hydras feel a bit more beefier like their offensive chamber counterparts.

    Flamethrowers should instantly knock them down though.

    Of course putting so many cysts down in one area would be res costly so I don't think it's over the top.
  • MrGunnerMrGunner Join Date: 2003-01-03 Member: 11757Members, Constellation
    edited February 2012
    My only problem is that there really isn't much risk/reward with this. Unless the res cost is fairly high they will just spam them at every bottleneck, and unless they are easily killed having a high res cost won't make them effective defenses. If they are a medium annoyance and they combine to make hyras more effective tools for aliens to place without gorges being able to just spam them all over key areas I think they would probably be a good tool for gorges to use.

    [edit] Also they would be a reasonably effective soft counter for jetpacks as lerks no longer have bite and fade blink/swiping is pretty ######e currently.
  • StarkwindStarkwind Join Date: 2011-07-26 Member: 112394Members
    Can Hydras shoot through the goo wall?
  • PsiWarpPsiWarp Gifted Gorge Richmond, B.C., Canada Join Date: 2010-08-28 Member: 73810Members
    edited February 2012
    For those who are curious, this image is by no means the final implementation or design (found in models folder):

    <img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7046/6772912222_60434993ff.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

    The "blob" model is just a white blob for now, above is the Goo Wall.
  • TriggermanTriggerman Graphic Artist Join Date: 2004-11-10 Member: 32724Members, WC 2013 - Supporter
    edited February 2012
    Instead of adding a new ability, let the Gorge inflate Mini Pustules so they become spherical blobs.
    The blobs slows down marines moving through it and absorbs bullets. They slowly deflate over time or when they take damage, so a Gorge would have to be in the near vicinity in order for the blobs to block a passage (prevents spamming them across the maps when they have res overflow). The Gorge would most likely use Healing Spray to inflate a Mini Pustule.
  • Tool8Tool8 Join Date: 2012-01-01 Member: 139405Members
    edited February 2012
    Maybe it must not be goo walls but instead it could be a <b>longish building that is attached to a ceiling or wall</b> and will <b>segregate some nasty slimy goo that will hang or better slowly pour from the ceiling/wall to the ground</b> and block the marines view and absorb most of the damage. It could also be made of two parts and the further they are put from each other the more spaced out the goo wall will be, but maybe absorb less damage, because its getting thinner?
    I think it's easy to imagine it as a very slowly flowing goo waterfall.

    What would it do and be like

    - As I already said, it would absorb damage
    - Be build by a Gorge that puts two parts of it on a wall/ceiling. They will connect automatically and have to be placed in range to each other.
    - It would be not see-through or maybe be a little transparent. I could imagine it like looking trough a green(?) jello-waterfall, where you can see the silhouettes behind it, but its all very blurred.
    - If marines go through it their view gets blurred, similar to bile bomb, but I think a little stronger effect.
    - Slow down walk speed (?). Maybe blurring the vision is enough. That's a matter of balancing it, I think.
    - It could run dry after some time which could be something to balance it, if that's needed.
    - If it's put on a wall just above a gate/door it is actually only destroyable from the room it is in. So if placed cleverly it can't be sniped. ARCs could be able to destroy them.
    - Needs infestation.
    - MACs should refuse to go through it. They hate goo.
    - Stop flamethrower or some other effect?
    - Affect Grenades in some way?
    - Maybe even do a little damage and/or parasite marines? But this could be OP.
    - ...

    This would probably be hard to implement visually.
    I think it should also blur Alien view (when they walk through), but not Alienvision. <b>It should also slow aliens down when they try to walk through. It should be something that is used for defense carefully, not just put it on either side of marine base to keep them inside and then rush through it.</b> <- This applies to whatever way the goo walls are implemented.
  • IeptBarakatIeptBarakat The most difficult name to speak ingame. Join Date: 2009-07-10 Member: 68107Members, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow
    It would be cool if bullets and grenades that get fired into the goo wall would slow down to a halt. And the grenade explosion would be contained in the goo so there would be minimal to no damage to nearby structures or players.

    It would probably be better off as a time based structure, or be limited in active numbers like the doombringer's shield wall in tribes ascend.

    And of course the way to build it would be a tf2 like build menu for the gorge and only place-able on infestation.

    A side note is that time based structures seem to really fit the gorge. As the gorge shouldn't just drop structures and forget. Hopefully there could be time based structures of the classic gorge structures of the ns1 days so he can better support his team tf2 buff banner style.
  • internetexplorerinternetexplorer Join Date: 2011-10-13 Member: 127255Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1905670:date=Feb 21 2012, 09:42 PM:name=IeptBarakat)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (IeptBarakat @ Feb 21 2012, 09:42 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1905670"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->tf2 buff banner style.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    The lerk had this before TF2 had the Soldier backpacks, and it was called primal scream. I hope something like that is in the works for NS2..
  • measlesmeasles Join Date: 2007-02-26 Member: 60122Members, Constellation
    <!--quoteo(post=1905657:date=Feb 22 2012, 11:17 AM:name=Starkwind)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Starkwind @ Feb 22 2012, 11:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1905657"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Can Hydras shoot through the goo wall?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    <!--coloro:#00FF00--><span style="color:#00FF00"><!--/coloro-->Good question +1<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

    It would make sense, balance-wise aswell;

    I wonder if it is going to be possible to make offensive <i> sculptures</i> using blob and hydra..?
  • peregrinusperegrinus Join Date: 2010-07-16 Member: 72445Members
    Really like this idea. Been waiting a long time for more gorge gadgets.

    Please don't make it something that will be destroyed by a single grenade, or there'll be little point putting it up.
  • PsiWarpPsiWarp Gifted Gorge Richmond, B.C., Canada Join Date: 2010-08-28 Member: 73810Members
    edited February 2012
    Also, would Skulks be able to climb the Goo Wall? Even though there are probably walls around the goo, and the Skulk might phase into the goo, it would be neat :P

    Hallways would become public swimming pools for Skulks!!
  • FreemantleFreemantle Join Date: 2002-06-16 Member: 783Members
    Back to the gelatenous cube instead of a curtain, what if the pile is invulnerable, but decreases in size when shot? It automatically re-grows when connected to a cyst.
  • peregrinusperegrinus Join Date: 2010-07-16 Member: 72445Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1905690:date=Feb 22 2012, 03:18 AM:name=Freemantle)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Freemantle @ Feb 22 2012, 03:18 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1905690"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Back to the gelatenous cube instead of a curtain, what if the pile is invulnerable, but decreases in size when shot? It automatically re-grows when connected to a cyst.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    Not sure if that would feel satisfying as a marine. People generally prefer to destroy stuff outright. To have to keep shooting until it completely vanished that could be tedious.
  • PsiWarpPsiWarp Gifted Gorge Richmond, B.C., Canada Join Date: 2010-08-28 Member: 73810Members
    I think I like the idea of Flamethrower being a strong counter against Goo Wall. Bullets and explosion damage absorbed by the wall would help against across room sniping.
  • LV426-ColonistLV426-Colonist Space Jockey Join Date: 2011-08-05 Member: 114269Members, Constellation
    Goo? Meh.

    Just bring back webs (slow-movement). Destroyable with the use of the axe.
  • WorthyRivalWorthyRival Black Armor Division Join Date: 2006-11-07 Member: 58470Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    Cysts could become interactive anchor points for gorges to create these goo walls/webs.

    A gorge or commander would place a cyst
    Once cyst was mature a gorge could interact with the cyst in a menu similar to the armory for marines. Similar to a marine buying mines. You would buy goo anchor points. place them like mini cysts creating a second anchor point for the wall to procedurally grow along, Add more anchor points to create a gooey web latice. Upgrading the cyst into the goo wall.

    <u>A bit Off Topic.</u>
    As Cysts count towards the building limit and you can't recycle them, It makes sense that you should be able to upgrade them into things. With a interactive cyst menu a gorge could upgrade cysts into all sorts of things for a PRES cost. A gorge gets his building abilties back but it's very expensive for him to build as PRES trickles in compared to TRES.
  • Egad!Egad! Join Date: 2011-10-19 Member: 128250Members
    I like this idea of upgrading cysts.
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