Dive reel -> cave retrieval system
EvilSmoo
Join Date: 2008-02-16 Member: 63662Members
Join Date: 2008-02-16 Member: 63662Members
After seeing the monorail again in Planet Explorers, this notion occurred to me.
The dive reel didn't really do the job the time that I used it. The line was entirely too willing to clip through terrain, so it wasn't very useful for retracing my "steps".
Instead, how about a system that deploys mini-buoys, like beacons? Then, the system just checks ONE line at a time for terrain clipping, the active shot between you and the most recent buoy. When it no longer has a clear shot or goes out of range, a light goes red. While it's green, you can drop a buoy, and it makes a beam of light to the last buoy.
So, you make a few clips of these, and drop a buoy at your sub, or the surface. Then you swim into the cave. Every room, or down every corridor, you create this temporary line of buoys. When you want to return, you drop one last buoy, and use it (another item, or just build it into the buoy.)
The system then rapidly drags you along the line of buoys, which is already checked for collision when you placed it, collecting each buoy as you pass, and starting the pull towards the next. So you wind up at the first buoy, rapidly. Or, you can just swim along them, and use them to map out a route along the cave.
I think the system would be relatively simple, as well?
The dive reel didn't really do the job the time that I used it. The line was entirely too willing to clip through terrain, so it wasn't very useful for retracing my "steps".
Instead, how about a system that deploys mini-buoys, like beacons? Then, the system just checks ONE line at a time for terrain clipping, the active shot between you and the most recent buoy. When it no longer has a clear shot or goes out of range, a light goes red. While it's green, you can drop a buoy, and it makes a beam of light to the last buoy.
So, you make a few clips of these, and drop a buoy at your sub, or the surface. Then you swim into the cave. Every room, or down every corridor, you create this temporary line of buoys. When you want to return, you drop one last buoy, and use it (another item, or just build it into the buoy.)
The system then rapidly drags you along the line of buoys, which is already checked for collision when you placed it, collecting each buoy as you pass, and starting the pull towards the next. So you wind up at the first buoy, rapidly. Or, you can just swim along them, and use them to map out a route along the cave.
I think the system would be relatively simple, as well?
Comments
But you could fix this little problem. No, no, don't do a Blizzard and nerf it shitless, just make it so that every buoy has to be below the last by at least forty five degrees (or something along those lines) and they each have to be less than ten-twenty metres away from each other. This way you can't trail them to the island or wherever you want to go because they can only really go down caves this way, and you can't create two buoys to make one line since they would need to be twenty or so metres away from one another, so you'd need more.
There should also be a disconnect option, just in case the line sends you hurtling towards a sand shark whilst you're on minimal health or something.
Awesome idea. One of my favourites in a while
I love this idea.
First, the system is one-shot, the buoys are collected while you use them, like I put in the OP. So I suppose you could use it for base transport? Once. Then you have to re-lay it. I don't see how that is OP for map traversal, since you have to swim it once, slow, per use. You don't get to stop on the way and place new ones.
Second, the system was always range-limited, its right there in the OP as well. Sure, you can place two buoys, but they won't connect or do anything if they're too far apart.
I suppose the buoy-collector should work a lot like the Seaglide. Except it only pulls you toward the nearest buoy, taking the next lock as it collects, and pulling you to the next, and you have to hold down fire to use it. It stays connected while not in use and in range, but you can avoid stuff, then resume leaving. Placing new buoys would just tie into your existing system, or the player can only have one track at a time, or something. So you could be able to retract it from the initial buoy, if you leave by another hole and just want to delete the entire thing.
An amount of inventory space tied up, but a nice system in return.
Putting in arbitrary angle limits would be totally unnecessary.
That is almost the system real divers use to get in and out of caves. They place little anchors every now and then and clip a line to them when they explore a cave for the first time. That would be so helpful if you could mark your track that way.