Modular Exo [Alpha]
Scatter
Join Date: 2012-09-02 Member: 157341Members, Squad Five Blue
Join Date: 2012-09-02 Member: 157341Members, Squad Five Blue
What is this mod?
Modular Exosuits!
Do you have a neat video or some pretty pictures?
Here's an image of the GUI:
How do I install this?
Head over to the workshop and subscribe!
Steam Workshop Link
(ModId: E5B606D )
Who made this mod?
Scatter — Team Leader, Programmer
Deco — Lead Programmer
Beq — Visual artist, Master of Fotoshoppe
We are currently in need of:
I've tried this mod, it seems unbalanced! Why is this?
This mod is currently in Alpha; the functionality is still being worked on, and it would be bloody annoying for us to try and balance it at this point.
Playtesting will commence... laterish, we're not sure when.
We welcome all kinds of input! Just remember that most "balance values" were picked semi-randomly.
What are the changes?
Modular Exosuits!
Do you have a neat video or some pretty pictures?
Here's an image of the GUI:
How do I install this?
Head over to the workshop and subscribe!
Steam Workshop Link
(ModId: E5B606D )
Who made this mod?
Scatter — Team Leader, Programmer
Deco — Lead Programmer
Beq — Visual artist, Master of Fotoshoppe
We are currently in need of:
- Shader programmer
- Modeller (+ texturer would be cool)
- Sound effect engineer (or someone who knows where we can get some neat "shield" sounds)
I've tried this mod, it seems unbalanced! Why is this?
This mod is currently in Alpha; the functionality is still being worked on, and it would be bloody annoying for us to try and balance it at this point.
Playtesting will commence... laterish, we're not sure when.
We welcome all kinds of input! Just remember that most "balance values" were picked semi-randomly.
What are the changes?
- Exosuits have modules.
- There are Six module slots:
- Power supply.
- Right arm weapon.
- Left arm weapon.
- Utility module.
- Movement module. [PLANNED]
- Chassis armour upgrade.
- The power supply module is a reactor that provides power for the other modules.
- Better power supplies cost more personal resources and must be researched at the Prototype Lab by the commander.
- You can upgrade to a better power supply at the Prototype Lab, with a discount based on your current power supply.
- You can change your module selection at anytime using the Prototype Lab, free of charge! (except for the power supply).
- Each module uses power; your total usage cannot exceed the supply.
- Each module adds weight; the heavier you are, the slower you move and the bigger your chassis is.
Left and right arm slots- You can choose any combination of weapons! [PLANNED] (For now, the right arm choice dictates what you can pick for the left arm. This is because there are only certain models available. The welder and the flamethrower currently use the railgun model, this will change in the future.)
- The power usage, weight and "balance tweaks" of each weapon module is undecided!
- The choices are:
- Claw: A standard issue Exosuit claw.
- Welder: A high-precision rapid welding tool that has the accuracy of the handheld welder but with a high-power energy source.
- Shield [WORK IN PROGRESS]: A shield-projection device that creates dozens of hexagon-shaped objects from an unstable yet durable material similar to nanoshield. Using phase technology to transfer energy, the hexagons are positioned and structured into a front-facing "wall" to block incoming enemy projectiles. As they are absorbed, the projectiles interfere with the projector causing heat increase rapidly. The user must strategically retreat to avoid damage and give the projector time to cool down. If the projector reaches a certain level of heat, it automatically shuts down. An interesting observation by the TSA Marines is how the hexagons interact with Kharaa lifeforms while in contact: it interferes with their adrenal process, causing them to rapidly lose energy.
- Minigun: A standard issue Exosuit minigun with a few changes based on feedback from front-line marines: the rate of fire has been increased. Unfortunately, the calibre of the ammunition had to be decreased to facilitate this.
- Railgun: A standard issue Exosuit railgun.
- Flamethrower: A flamethrower weapon much like the Marine flamethrower, except utilising a different fuel that burns at a higher temperature; the effect is higher damage to structures and infestation but lower impact on mobile lifeforms.
Utility slot- You can have at most one utility module.
- The power usage, weight and "balance tweaks" of each utility module is undecided!
- The choices are:
- None: To keep your Exosuit lightweight, this is the best option.
- Scanner [MAYBE CANCELLED]: Allows for directional "X-Ray" vision.
- Extended Radiator [PLANNED]: By increasing the surface area of the Exosuit's radiator, there is a significant increase in the rate of cooling for many Exosuit modules including: Shield, Railgun, Minigun, Flamethrower, Dash and Thrusters.
Movement slot [PLANNED]- You can have at most one movement module.
- The power usage, weight and "balance tweaks" of each movement module is undecided!
- The choices are:
- Dash Unit [PLANNED]: A large capacitor is used to deliver short bursts of high-acceleration, allowing the Exosuit to dodge and jump.
- Thrusters: By adding thrusters to the limbs of the Exosuit, it can move faster for medium durations.
- Phase Unit [PLANNED]: All marines have a phase unit inside of their bodies, which allows them to be transported back and reconstructed by an Infantry Portal, beaconed by an Observatory, and teleported by Phase Gates. Adding this unit to an Exosuit gives them the same functionality! Well, mostly... they're a bit too big for the Infantry portal.
Chassis armour slot- You can at most one movement module.
- The power usage, weight and "balance tweaks" of each movement module is undecided!
- The choices are not yet finalised! This module may be cancelled. (We would like to know your opinion!)
Your GUI is ugly.
Work in progress!
We have a new artist who's working on a neat design.
I have an idea/comment/criticism/death threat for you!
Please post it!
Though, you might want to check it hasn't been mentioned before.
Comments
if there is like 3 skulks on ure feet and final bite kills exo that destructs and deals atleast 200 dmg blast once dead.
(good if punching the hive and goes down)
Wise words from Scatter at the end
Limited time to work on this, so it'd be a good to have an idea of what it'll look like before I write a shader.
I'm heavily leaning towards: "shield projects an array of physical, glass-like hexagons (made from stuff similar to nano-shield). As shield is hit, hexagons turn red and flicker. At high damage, they begin falling on the ground like glass fragments. On destruction, the remaining hexagons all fall down."
Also, for the opening effect: window shutters from left and right inwards, or circular rollout from centre outwards?
Balance isn't a high priority at this time.
Any input on the "broad scope" of how it could be balanced is much appreciated
(e.g: dual weapons should add extra weight; or exos should not have multiple utilities, etc)
As for finer tweaks, they'll come much later and we'll need the help of playtesters to see how the exact values work.
If something is OP it will be dealt with of course.
It's great to see the work that has been done on this so far
Also, any easy way to see what servers are running this?
watch the feature creep, I'm certain a few elements need removing. Levels of armor aren't really needed for the sake of simplifying the UI, balance and the readability of the exo's durability for aliens.
And I'm not entirely convinced different power supply's. It kinda seems like one person could just save up all game and buy a super mech.
I love the left arm/right arm weapon selection and the flame thrower is actually a really nice touch. Also the utilities has some potential but maybe lock it to one?
Keep at it just be prepared to remove the ideas that don't work and this could go somewhere.
As I say, obviously it does need tweaking and balancing, but I really wouldn't worry about super-mechs.
ModBox - Chicago #1
69.39.239.29:27615
Has anyone ever suggested an exo v exo mod? I imagine exos like this, only all sped up and agile, clinging to walls like lerks maybe, blasting les shits out of each other with a pace a la skulks w/ shotguns. Or maybe even map control based mode w/ rts and tps counting towards power/available upgrades or something, forcing teammates to choose different upgrade paths to defend or attack. Meh, I dunno.
Anyways, not a game I'd imagine a lot of ns2 players would be into, especially given the time it takes to create a mod. But fun to imagine the lag fest of like 8 rail blasts, maybe a mini gun or 2, some flamethrower action, and exos & gibs zooming all around one room at once.
I really like the Power Management dynamic, it could allow for a lot more refined balance tweaking. When you do get around to balance I think making armor require a lot more power could be a first step. I like the idea of having an EXO that can take A LOT of damage but feel like it should be limited to one weapon unless you invest a ton of p-res.
Currently I have gone with exos not receiving armour upgrade research and having a baseline 200 armour instead of the default 280, which is 5.33 bites. So at most in its currently unbalanced state it will, at most, have less than 11 bites to kill.
Additionally, like in regular ns2, different weapon types have a different weight value added to the exo. This is also the case for armour modules which at level 3 is like having another weapon, resulting in a dual FT exo with full armour having less than 4 movement speed. Pretty slow. In contrast, the low armour lightly weaponed exos are significantly faster (around marine speed) while also having the ability to jump. The more you throw on the less mobile you are, the less map control you will be able to have, but you may want such an exo towards the end of the game. Different exo load-out, different job.
Flame throwers on exos are envisioned to be principally an anti-structure weapon and will be balanced as such since I don't find the low skill nature of the regular flame thrower to be fun or easily balanced when it's your only weapon, in addition to disliking structure spam. It will retain the ability to kill life forms.
This was mostly done to present a tradeoff between weapons, survivability, speed, etc. I think the menu could come across as a bit complex, and there is next to no communication on how things affect performance but this could be an issue of its newness and unfamiliarity which people would get used to. It's really not much more complex than going to armoury and buying a welder, then a shotgun, then going to the proto and buying a jetpack.
It's possible to save up, or continually upgrade the power supply on the exo, to achieve this. The exos aren't really that op and range from the current ns2 exo power (fairly weak) to the power exos used to have before BT (although this is a late game ender).
The current issue is that you can actually buy an exo, give it to your friend who can then spend their res upgrading the power and thus having a too powerful exo too early. The intention with this is to retain some commander input in the possible loadouts by making the power supplies available depend on tech research by the commander.
Currently you are only able to select one utility module, but only the thruster is working and I probably wont implement the scanner (which was envisioned to be a direction scanner with say a 30 degree arc) as it overlaps with the commanders scan too much probably. Several ideas are being floated about possible utility items, including a logistics/phase module which makes the exo beaconable and be allowed to use phase gates. But really, it is about determining if there is a need for such certain modules rather than implementing based on what is cool.
A few other things have changed such as removal of the slowdown when firing weapons as well as some changes to the railgun behavior.
AKA, the exo needs to have animations that better line up with its mobility. Not sure how doable that is.
Atm jetpack + shotgun is a lot cheaper and 10 times more powerfull.
-Removed armour modules (unnecessary complexity and separation from marine armour levels)
-Base armour of 240 and 80 additional per armour level
-Reduced number of power supplies to 4 from 6 (power: 20, 25, 30, 35)]
-Added commander power supply tech research (20 res, 60 seconds each) to unlock higher power supply.
-Railgun/Flame/Minigun now 15 power each
-Added Phase module (10 power) that allows the use of phase gates
-Thruster now 10 power
Starting to get a balance baseline for this mod before anything more is implemented. If you are keen to test this on your Sunday map tests, Howser, that would be great as I am hoping to collect as much data and opinions on balance as possible and will be arranging some AusNS2 pugs also.
What I'd love to see experimented with is an upgrade on phase gates rather than the exos, making them bigger to support exos going through. That way the phase gate has to be established rather than just have an exo rush through a sneaky phase gates. But I like where this is going!
(Of course, this can only happen after MvM is released...)