Give some bloody credit where credit is due. Schmoozing is an art form, and not everyone can do it. I suck at schmoozing, because I'm really just not that nice. <!--emo&:p--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'><!--endemo--> We need LESS news, because every time something new comes up my body seizures in anticipation.
<!--QuoteBegin--MonsieurEvil+Sep. 03 2002,17:13--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (MonsieurEvil @ Sep. 03 2002,17:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->And I can't really tell you the biggest couple reasons as of late. But they will become obvious soon.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> monsE, you know we love you.. but... AHH!!!!!
guys cmon.. hes on the team... adore him...
he might be evil, and well... he might be askin for a smack on the forehead every now and then with these provocative posts... but.. im sure under all that thick horridness.. hes a great guy, like our buddy Alex, from clockwork orange... <!--emo&:p--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:p--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--MonsieurEvil+Sep. 03 2002,17:13--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (MonsieurEvil @ Sep. 03 2002,17:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->And I can't really tell you the biggest couple reasons as of late. But they will become obvious soon.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Curse your secrets, evil PR man! CURSE THEEEEEEM!
*Shakes fist mightily!*
But seriously, I believe that in this case we must always remember a crucial piece of advice:
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->Dio, what do you want MonsE to put on the main page? What? Tell me, and I'll hound him until it happens. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
well uh.. how bout a download link <!--emo&:D--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'><!--endemo-->
well it'd be nice but i can wait, i've waited a couple months, whats one more? besides i'd rather have a flawless mod then one that has serval anoying kinks and unfinished things
be... PATIENT! <!--emo&:p--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'><!--endemo--> just wait and something else come up <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->As far as the forum-posting goes, you will see that pretty much all my posts happen during the day. That's when I'm at work and can drop in from time to time to make a quick post. I can't update RR.org from work.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yah, never meant to imply that you were slacking off. Just pointed to that as a sign of "he has access to a computer & seems to have the time." Wasn't really aware that you couldn't update from work.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->It's not as quick as you'd think (as we do not use news scripts and have to hand-edit HTML) but it's not a huge bear.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Out of curiousity, why no news script? Seems kinda unusual these days.
Anywho, thanks for the response. This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.
I would say the slow down in visible activity from devs for a while and then the sudden influx of posts from flayra and monse draped with clever euphimisms *cough* is a good sign that release is nearing.
<b>Freemantle's Thoughts</b> 1) The level three will become alien of choice because of it's spamtasticness. I think TFC soliders will apply to this class nicely.
2) Marines will be nice to the commander until the commander gives them a shottie. Then they will perfect the technique of waiting until the critical moment before shotgunning the advancing alien to goo.
3) You put tripmines into a mod that has a team-damage option and respawning isn't easy. Bad combination.
4) Marine Strat: Run to a hive in the beginning and keep aliens from getting it = campers dream. What if you could spawn ANYWHERE you could build an ammo despenser in TFC?
5) Grenade Launcher/Motion Sensor vs SporeCloud/Hivesight = Spam war where you really don't even see anybody.
6) Cloak. Build movment (is that the right one?) chambers where no marine can access them (I.E. Humb's water trick). If all three of your hives go down, just cloak and stay put for an hour. Round Draw.
7)The way one xenociding Skulk rips apart a marine base. Three hives invites all Aliens to evolve and engage in an Umbra/Xenocide spam-fest.
8)Spike-sniping level threes that camp large rooms all day.
This is a small portion of thing I will look into trying to exploit when NS releases. I don't think all the time in the world could make a flawless mod. Now a pretty damn good mod, that is doable...
1. Good. We have something to appeal to the TFC'ers. But the Lerk isn't all THAT strong. Every strength has its trade-off.
2. I'm not sure I understand this point. Something about shotguns.
3. It's been done before, and it teaches you to be careful. And perhaps team-kill can be turned off.
4. Indeed. But you have to camp in three (four, counting the Command Console) places AT THE SAME TIME. Otherwise, the enemy gets two hives and a chance of wrenching the third from your grasp. Besides, you won't hold it too long without going out and searching for RPs.
5. That sounds like fun to me! Nothing but dark everywhere and motion tracking/hive mind to guide me. At least I know the other team is similarly impeded.
6. Yeah, but the alien teammates can see where he is. I imagine that after a while, they would get tired and just tell the marines where their errant teammate is hiding.
7. If the aliens manage to GET three hives, then the marines deserve a new a-hole torn. Xenocide spam all around!
8. The marines work in groups, and have long-range weapons, too. And a lot more ammo available.
Most of these are idle guesses as to proper responses. But we'll see how the game plays out soon enough.
-Ryan!
I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. -- Harry S Truman
Freemantle, there will ALWAYS be lamers,llamas,greifers,ff (firenly fire) incedents, and other "Not too good" things...
But MUCH of what you said was true... to a point and on certain occasions only. <!--emo&:D--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'><!--endemo-->
the only one that was a good point was 6... but who would want to wait a hour... and the marines could just go under-water and knife the critter. <!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->
coilAmateur pirate. Professional monkey. All pance.Join Date: 2002-04-12Member: 424Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
<!--QuoteBegin--Freemantle+Sep. 03 2002,22:52--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (Freemantle @ Sep. 03 2002,22:52)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Freemantle's Thoughts</b> 1) The level three will become alien of choice because of it's spamtasticness. I think TFC soliders will apply to this class nicely.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> The level3 is frail, and the energy cost of his more deadly weapons is very high. He has to choose carefully between flight (best chance of not being shot) and attack power. <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->2) Marines will be nice to the commander until the commander gives them a shottie. Then they will perfect the technique of waiting until the critical moment before shotgunning the advancing alien to goo.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Every marine gun is only so effective, and a lone marine will not survive long. Death = lost shotgun = wasted resources = you don't get another shotgun. <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->3) You put tripmines into a mod that has a team-damage option and respawning isn't easy. Bad combination.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Team-damage is off by default, and would only be enabled for tournament matches, normally. <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->4) Marine Strat: Run to a hive in the beginning and keep aliens from getting it = campers dream. What if you could spawn ANYWHERE you could build an ammo despenser in TFC?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> You can spawn anywhere your commander builds a new CC and Infantry Portal. Setting up a secondary base in a hive is an excellent strategy, but by no means a foolproof one. <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->5) Grenade Launcher/Motion Sensor vs SporeCloud/Hivesight = Spam war where you really don't even see anybody.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Hivesight only reveals marines that have been parasited or are visible to other aliens, and spore cloud requires a great deal of energy (see point #1). Grenades have a very small clip and respectable reload time. These facts help keep spam to a minimum. <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->6) Cloak. Build movment (is that the right one?) chambers where no marine can access them (I.E. Humb's water trick). If all three of your hives go down, just cloak and stay put for an hour. Round Draw.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> This may be an issue, and there are elements in place to curb it; the developers are also looking for ways to force a decision in the event of a major llama. <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->7)The way one xenociding Skulk rips apart a marine base. Three hives invites all Aliens to evolve and engage in an Umbra/Xenocide spam-fest.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Aliens with 3 hives *should* be devastating. Additionally, Xenocide has a long charge-up time (and the Skulk is often killed before it can detonate). Umbra is useless against grenades and not 100% effective against bullets. <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->8)Spike-sniping level threes that camp large rooms all day.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Spike is neither a hitscan weapon nor a one-hit kill weapon... sniping isn't really a viable way to use the Lerk.
<b><span style='color:white'>OF COURSE ALL THESE ANSWERS ARE STC!!!</span></b>
humbabaThat Exciting Tales From the Frontline GuyJoin Date: 2002-01-25Member: 86Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Amen to that coil. Regarding my water trick, 1 skulk is no match for an entire marien team, even when hiding under water. There are very few places in maps where something like this can be pulled off (especially once mariens get jet packs), and most of those places can be cleaned with a Grenade Launcher. Additionally, if all your teammates are waiting for you to die before the next game starts, they will probobly want you to kill yourself, and will express that (changename KILLYOURSELFHUMB). Failure to please your teammates means no support in the next round ("help, Im under attack by marine start!" "screw off"). And I think a team of 10 marines with knifes could probobly take me out underwater (me envisions an underwater swirling melee with me as a skulk ad ten marines with knives slashing at meh). And of course, better safe then sorry, other measure are being implemented (as coil said) to prevent such instances from occuring. Regarding the shotgun skill = win win win. Thats just not true. The shotgun is a useful close range gun, if an alien team wants to beat a lone unsupported shotgunner, they just need to back up about 10 to 20 feet where the shotgun's spread makes useless. The shotgunner's main role is killing lvl 1s and lvl 3s that decide to bite. Against lvl 2s, lvl 3s that stay out of range, lvl 4s (unless the player sucks), and lvl 5s (of course), the shotgun is almost useless. Its a necessity to have 1 to 2 shotgunners in a squad because, if your shotgunners are skileld enough, it keeps you nearly invulnerable to melee. However, if you have more than 1 or 2, the enemy will stay out of range and dispatch you quick as a wink. My synopsis of weapons and their roles: Pistol: Fast firing, tiny clip, packs a punch. Nice gun, and in skilled hands, it can take out an individual target reasonably effectively (as long as its small). If the enemy attacks with more than one of its number, chances of survival when using this weapon drop to very low.
LMG: Possibly the best weapon at long ranges. Free and High ROF. Most balanced gun, but too weak to be useful against anything but light, fast targets and long to medium range. A favorite of mine when the enemy prefers to use pesky lvl 3s.
Shotty: I consider it the marines answer to melee. I equate it to a bite that has some range for fighting purposes. The ideal weapon for short ranged threats, and the worst weapon for any other situation. Shotgun rushes are doomed to failure unless the marines are equipped for speed (carry little ammo, wear a jet pack). Even then, the shotgun lacks the power of some of the other guns. Its use is limited. Make each shot count.
HMG: The more, the merrier. High damage, High ROF, Large clip size, large spread. The ultimate in powerful spray and pray weaponry. If you have a big squad equipped with these, SO many bullets will be thrown around at high speeds that somethign is bound to die. The bread and butter weapon of a marien team rolling in dough. The support weapon of most. Has trouble handling a SINGLE target, but is well equipped to handle hordes and, in conjunction with more HMGs, is capable of eliminating most threats. It can swing for attacking buildings (though the GL is better), it can swing for attacking close range threats (though the shotgun is better).
Grenade Launcher: Stationary and large targets. A skilled player can hit fast targets IF he is aided by motion tracking (in theory, though I am not able to do it). A good weapon to distribute 1 in a squad. For every man that could be an HMGer or Shotgunner that YOU make a GLer, you (as commander) are making your squad more vulnerable to close range, fast moving, or airborne threats (in other words, most of the alien team).
This is just to dispel any myths or suspicions that any weapon can be "Whored" in NS. The same applies to classes. Both sides can adapt to deal with a threat if its only of one kind. The game is an RTS at heart, so all things have a counter.
<!--QuoteBegin--Diogenes' Dog+Sep. 04 2002,12:57--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (Diogenes' Dog @ Sep. 04 2002,12:57)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->Quick question: are the grenades from the launcher timed, or do they go off on impact?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> As with anything here, this could change at any moment, and we wouldn't know until the game was in our hot little hands, but the latest RC6 changelog listed the grenades as being on a timer, unless they hit an enemy directly.
And, as always, STC, void where prohibited.
-Ryan!
People can have the Model T in any colour--so long as it's black. -- Henry Ford
Comments
monsE, you know we love you.. but... AHH!!!!!
guys cmon.. hes on the team... adore him...
he might be evil, and well... he might be askin for a smack on the forehead every now and then with these provocative posts... but.. im sure under all that thick horridness.. hes a great guy, like our buddy Alex, from clockwork orange... <!--emo&:p--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:p--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'><!--endemo-->
Curse your secrets, evil PR man! CURSE THEEEEEEM!
*Shakes fist mightily!*
But seriously, I believe that in this case we must always remember a crucial piece of advice:
Sometimes, no news is GOOD news.
That is all.
well uh.. how bout a download link <!--emo&:D--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'><!--endemo-->
well it'd be nice but i can wait, i've waited a couple months, whats one more? besides i'd rather have a flawless mod then one that has serval anoying kinks and unfinished things
just wait and something else come up <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->
Yah, never meant to imply that you were slacking off. Just pointed to that as a sign of "he has access to a computer & seems to have the time." Wasn't really aware that you couldn't update from work.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->It's not as quick as you'd think (as we do not use news scripts and have to hand-edit HTML) but it's not a huge bear.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Out of curiousity, why no news script? Seems kinda unusual these days.
Anywho, thanks for the response. This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.
-dio
<b>Freemantle's Thoughts</b>
1) The level three will become alien of choice because of it's spamtasticness. I think TFC soliders will apply to this class nicely.
2) Marines will be nice to the commander until the commander gives them a shottie. Then they will perfect the technique of waiting until the critical moment before shotgunning the advancing alien to goo.
3) You put tripmines into a mod that has a team-damage option and respawning isn't easy. Bad combination.
4) Marine Strat: Run to a hive in the beginning and keep aliens from getting it = campers dream. What if you could spawn ANYWHERE you could build an ammo despenser in TFC?
5) Grenade Launcher/Motion Sensor vs SporeCloud/Hivesight = Spam war where you really don't even see anybody.
6) Cloak. Build movment (is that the right one?) chambers where no marine can access them (I.E. Humb's water trick). If all three of your hives go down, just cloak and stay put for an hour. Round Draw.
7)The way one xenociding Skulk rips apart a marine base. Three hives invites all Aliens to evolve and engage in an Umbra/Xenocide spam-fest.
8)Spike-sniping level threes that camp large rooms all day.
This is a small portion of thing I will look into trying to exploit when NS releases. I don't think all the time in the world could make a flawless mod. Now a pretty damn good mod, that is doable...
2. I'm not sure I understand this point. Something about shotguns.
3. It's been done before, and it teaches you to be careful. And perhaps team-kill can be turned off.
4. Indeed. But you have to camp in three (four, counting the Command Console) places AT THE SAME TIME. Otherwise, the enemy gets two hives and a chance of wrenching the third from your grasp. Besides, you won't hold it too long without going out and searching for RPs.
5. That sounds like fun to me! Nothing but dark everywhere and motion tracking/hive mind to guide me. At least I know the other team is similarly impeded.
6. Yeah, but the alien teammates can see where he is. I imagine that after a while, they would get tired and just tell the marines where their errant teammate is hiding.
7. If the aliens manage to GET three hives, then the marines deserve a new a-hole torn. Xenocide spam all around!
8. The marines work in groups, and have long-range weapons, too. And a lot more ammo available.
Most of these are idle guesses as to proper responses. But we'll see how the game plays out soon enough.
-Ryan!
I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.
-- Harry S Truman
But MUCH of what you said was true... to a point and on certain occasions only. <!--emo&:D--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'><!--endemo-->
the only one that was a good point was 6... but who would want to wait a hour... and the marines could just go under-water and knife the critter. <!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->
1) The level three will become alien of choice because of it's spamtasticness. I think TFC soliders will apply to this class nicely.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The level3 is frail, and the energy cost of his more deadly weapons is very high. He has to choose carefully between flight (best chance of not being shot) and attack power.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->2) Marines will be nice to the commander until the commander gives them a shottie. Then they will perfect the technique of waiting until the critical moment before shotgunning the advancing alien to goo.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Every marine gun is only so effective, and a lone marine will not survive long. Death = lost shotgun = wasted resources = you don't get another shotgun.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->3) You put tripmines into a mod that has a team-damage option and respawning isn't easy. Bad combination.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Team-damage is off by default, and would only be enabled for tournament matches, normally.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->4) Marine Strat: Run to a hive in the beginning and keep aliens from getting it = campers dream. What if you could spawn ANYWHERE you could build an ammo despenser in TFC?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You can spawn anywhere your commander builds a new CC and Infantry Portal. Setting up a secondary base in a hive is an excellent strategy, but by no means a foolproof one.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->5) Grenade Launcher/Motion Sensor vs SporeCloud/Hivesight = Spam war where you really don't even see anybody.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hivesight only reveals marines that have been parasited or are visible to other aliens, and spore cloud requires a great deal of energy (see point #1). Grenades have a very small clip and respectable reload time. These facts help keep spam to a minimum.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->6) Cloak. Build movment (is that the right one?) chambers where no marine can access them (I.E. Humb's water trick). If all three of your hives go down, just cloak and stay put for an hour. Round Draw.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This may be an issue, and there are elements in place to curb it; the developers are also looking for ways to force a decision in the event of a major llama.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->7)The way one xenociding Skulk rips apart a marine base. Three hives invites all Aliens to evolve and engage in an Umbra/Xenocide spam-fest.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Aliens with 3 hives *should* be devastating. Additionally, Xenocide has a long charge-up time (and the Skulk is often killed before it can detonate). Umbra is useless against grenades and not 100% effective against bullets.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->8)Spike-sniping level threes that camp large rooms all day.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Spike is neither a hitscan weapon nor a one-hit kill weapon... sniping isn't really a viable way to use the Lerk.
<b><span style='color:white'>OF COURSE ALL THESE ANSWERS ARE STC!!!</span></b>
Regarding the shotgun skill = win win win. Thats just not true. The shotgun is a useful close range gun, if an alien team wants to beat a lone unsupported shotgunner, they just need to back up about 10 to 20 feet where the shotgun's spread makes useless. The shotgunner's main role is killing lvl 1s and lvl 3s that decide to bite. Against lvl 2s, lvl 3s that stay out of range, lvl 4s (unless the player sucks), and lvl 5s (of course), the shotgun is almost useless. Its a necessity to have 1 to 2 shotgunners in a squad because, if your shotgunners are skileld enough, it keeps you nearly invulnerable to melee. However, if you have more than 1 or 2, the enemy will stay out of range and dispatch you quick as a wink.
My synopsis of weapons and their roles:
Pistol: Fast firing, tiny clip, packs a punch. Nice gun, and in skilled hands, it can take out an individual target reasonably effectively (as long as its small). If the enemy attacks with more than one of its number, chances of survival when using this weapon drop to very low.
LMG: Possibly the best weapon at long ranges. Free and High
ROF. Most balanced gun, but too weak to be useful against anything but light, fast targets and long to medium range. A favorite of mine when the enemy prefers to use pesky lvl 3s.
Shotty: I consider it the marines answer to melee. I equate it to a bite that has some range for fighting purposes. The ideal weapon for short ranged threats, and the worst weapon for any other situation. Shotgun rushes are doomed to failure unless the marines are equipped for speed (carry little ammo, wear a jet pack). Even then, the shotgun lacks the power of some of the other guns. Its use is limited. Make each shot count.
HMG: The more, the merrier. High damage, High ROF, Large clip size, large spread. The ultimate in powerful spray and pray weaponry. If you have a big squad equipped with these, SO many bullets will be thrown around at high speeds that somethign is bound to die. The bread and butter weapon of a marien team rolling in dough. The support weapon of most. Has trouble handling a SINGLE target, but is well equipped to handle hordes and, in conjunction with more HMGs, is capable of eliminating most threats. It can swing for attacking buildings (though the GL is better), it can swing for attacking close range threats (though the shotgun is better).
Grenade Launcher: Stationary and large targets. A skilled player can hit fast targets IF he is aided by motion tracking (in theory, though I am not able to do it). A good weapon to distribute 1 in a squad. For every man that could be an HMGer or Shotgunner that YOU make a GLer, you (as commander) are making your squad more vulnerable to close range, fast moving, or airborne threats (in other words, most of the alien team).
This is just to dispel any myths or suspicions that any weapon can be "Whored" in NS. The same applies to classes. Both sides can adapt to deal with a threat if its only of one kind. The game is an RTS at heart, so all things have a counter.
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<!--EDIT|MonsieurEvil|Sep. 04 2002,09:53-->
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(Humbaba gets torn to shreds by Fade who attempted to "Hug" him.)
<!--EDIT|humbaba|Sep. 04 2002,10:20-->
-dio
As with anything here, this could change at any moment, and we wouldn't know until the game was in our hot little hands, but the latest RC6 changelog listed the grenades as being on a timer, unless they hit an enemy directly.
And, as always, STC, void where prohibited.
-Ryan!
People can have the Model T in any colour--so long as it's black.
-- Henry Ford