Best Of
Sentinel mod: A marine training sandbox
Greetings,
I have been working on a mod aimed at providing a training sandbox for marines in order to learn and refine how they play in the early game up to the end game. I consider this mod now ready to be advertised and used by more players.
The rules of the mod are rather simple: As a marine, you need to kill all the skulk eggs on the map and use the phase gate. You start without upgrades and with a limited amount of lives. Each time you die a research will be unlocked. You can also unlock more lives once you are out by killing 5 skulks in a raw without dying, as an intend to reward staying alive.
You can vote for the difficulty that suits you the most and set the AI to be in easy, normal or hardcore. Expect hardcore bots to ambush, pack up, parasite and dodge properly (the average elo required to beat hardcore has been t6 so far
). With harder difficulties skulks are more accurate will miss and the faster they will react.
You can also vote for "training", which is hardcore but where you get all the tech from the start and don't suffer any lives restrictions. If you just need to train your shotgun, test some new mouse settings or farm it's there for you as well. For further challenges you can type "meatshot" in console: it will deny any shotgun shot not instantly killing a skulk. If you want to train your shotgun firing timing the hard way.
The mod is actually hosted on several servers and can be played alone.
Workshop link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1227576722
Gameplay footage #1:
Gameplay footage #2:
I have been working on a mod aimed at providing a training sandbox for marines in order to learn and refine how they play in the early game up to the end game. I consider this mod now ready to be advertised and used by more players.
The rules of the mod are rather simple: As a marine, you need to kill all the skulk eggs on the map and use the phase gate. You start without upgrades and with a limited amount of lives. Each time you die a research will be unlocked. You can also unlock more lives once you are out by killing 5 skulks in a raw without dying, as an intend to reward staying alive.
You can vote for the difficulty that suits you the most and set the AI to be in easy, normal or hardcore. Expect hardcore bots to ambush, pack up, parasite and dodge properly (the average elo required to beat hardcore has been t6 so far
). With harder difficulties skulks are more accurate will miss and the faster they will react.You can also vote for "training", which is hardcore but where you get all the tech from the start and don't suffer any lives restrictions. If you just need to train your shotgun, test some new mouse settings or farm it's there for you as well. For further challenges you can type "meatshot" in console: it will deny any shotgun shot not instantly killing a skulk. If you want to train your shotgun firing timing the hard way.
The mod is actually hosted on several servers and can be played alone.
Workshop link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1227576722
Gameplay footage #1:
Gameplay footage #2:
Fun creature idea
A nocturnal fish that has access to all the leviathan sound files in the game, it’s harmless but when startled mimics the sounds of a leviathan to scare away predators, I think a fish with this mechanic could really mess with the players.
Possible Solution to Long Ladder Animations
One of the things I love about Subnautica is how much personality is conveyed by its first-person animations, with so many interactions having one. One conspicuous exception is in-base ladders. What makes them different from ladders like on the cyclops or moon pool is that they can be stacked on top of each other and can potentially be infinitely long, and nobody wants to watch their character climb a ladder for five minutes every time they want to visit their base in the depths of the abyss.
To ensure that ladders get their due, I propose the following solution: animate just the top and bottom of the ladder, and have the camera quickly sweep past the intermediate parts while the character model teleports to the correct position off-screen.
Example image:
Example animation:
This allows the important parts of the ladder to be animated while cutting out the long (and boring) middle part. And by moving the camera, rather than instantaneously teleporting, you can still get a sense of how much ladder is being climbed without having to watch every rung. Another nice feature of this is that it doesn't necessarily matter how long the ladder is: the camera can just move faster for longer ladders, taking as much or just slightly more time than shorter ones.
"So we'll still have to watch Ryley/Robin climb part of a ladder every time we want to move between floors?" Yes. That's the price of being able to stack base parts vertically with a component that takes up virtually no floor space. It's really not that bad. If it becomes that much of a pain then I feel like it should be your responsibility to design your base to minimize ladder trips.
It's not a perfect solution, and some people will probably think it's still immersion-breaking, but I think it's a heck of a lot better than what we have now.
To ensure that ladders get their due, I propose the following solution: animate just the top and bottom of the ladder, and have the camera quickly sweep past the intermediate parts while the character model teleports to the correct position off-screen.
Example image:
This allows the important parts of the ladder to be animated while cutting out the long (and boring) middle part. And by moving the camera, rather than instantaneously teleporting, you can still get a sense of how much ladder is being climbed without having to watch every rung. Another nice feature of this is that it doesn't necessarily matter how long the ladder is: the camera can just move faster for longer ladders, taking as much or just slightly more time than shorter ones.
"So we'll still have to watch Ryley/Robin climb part of a ladder every time we want to move between floors?" Yes. That's the price of being able to stack base parts vertically with a component that takes up virtually no floor space. It's really not that bad. If it becomes that much of a pain then I feel like it should be your responsibility to design your base to minimize ladder trips.
It's not a perfect solution, and some people will probably think it's still immersion-breaking, but I think it's a heck of a lot better than what we have now.
Extermination Mode
Hey everyone! As you may know, I'm the maintainer of the Combat mod, and today I'd like to share with everyone a mod of a mod called Extermination!
It uses some of the rules and mechanics from Combat and adds a counter-strike like twist. Marines are attacking an Alien hive, and must destroy it using a special new tech called a Tele-Hades Device. To accomplish that, the Marines must fight their way within range of the hive, construct the device, and guard it while it prepares for teleportation and then detonation in the Alien hive. Meanwhile, the Alien team must set up defenses and stop the device from going off.
Gameplay occurs over a series of rounds, and each round is around 2 to 3 minutes long. At the start of each round is a short buy time where players are frozen in place but are able to purchase upgrades using resources. Once the round is going, there's a big timer at the top of the screen along with the number of players alive on each team.
Players are given a lot of resources for winning a round, and a small amount when losing a round. Additionally, the following action awards points:
When a player dies, they must wait until the next round to respawn, though if their team was down a player at the start of the round, their team will get a respawn. This can be a long walk for marines, so… upgrade Improved Sprint? I might improve this in the future!
Specific gameplay mechanics
How to run this mode
Thanks for reading! If you give it a try, let me know what you think!
Link to Workshop page: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=859464141
It uses some of the rules and mechanics from Combat and adds a counter-strike like twist. Marines are attacking an Alien hive, and must destroy it using a special new tech called a Tele-Hades Device. To accomplish that, the Marines must fight their way within range of the hive, construct the device, and guard it while it prepares for teleportation and then detonation in the Alien hive. Meanwhile, the Alien team must set up defenses and stop the device from going off.
Gameplay occurs over a series of rounds, and each round is around 2 to 3 minutes long. At the start of each round is a short buy time where players are frozen in place but are able to purchase upgrades using resources. Once the round is going, there's a big timer at the top of the screen along with the number of players alive on each team.
Players are given a lot of resources for winning a round, and a small amount when losing a round. Additionally, the following action awards points:
- Killing a player awards you with 1 resource.
- Marines all get 1 resource when their team destroys an extractor
- Building the hades device gives your team 1 resource each
- Destroying the hades device gives your team 1 resource each
- A player suiciding will give a random player on the other team 1 resource
When a player dies, they must wait until the next round to respawn, though if their team was down a player at the start of the round, their team will get a respawn. This can be a long walk for marines, so… upgrade Improved Sprint? I might improve this in the future!
Specific gameplay mechanics
Some upgrades are permanent even if you die, but others are not. For example, the Marines can purchase Resupply and have it for every other round they are Marine, but if they buy a shotgun and lose it, they will not get another shotgun when they respawn. For Aliens, all evolutions like Celerity and Carapace are permanent, but all lifeforms are not. As a special rule, when you die as a lifeform, you get refunded half the price you paid. On the flip side, Marines can buy weapons and share them with each other, and pick up their ally’s dropped weapons when they die.
Marines can win a round either by killing all the Aliens or by destroying the hive. Once marines are teched up enough, I have seen exos and JP+GL take out the hive (It can be a good tactic if you suspect the aliens have an onos)
Aliens can win a round by either killing the hades device, killing all marines before the hades device is built, or preventing the construction of the hades device before time runs out.
The hades device has a shield that prevents it from being damaged from far away. The shield is only disabled when an alien player steps within the blue circle range indicator.
Losing multiple rounds in a row will award the losing players more and more resources each time. This is intended to be a catch-up mechanic.
The default configuration is 9 rounds on one team, and then switch for another 9 rounds on the other, or until one team wins 10 times. If there is a tie (exactly 9 wins for both teams), the mode has an overtime mechanic.
There is an alternate server-side configuration for “Casual Mode” where teams do not swap sides, and the first team to win 10 rounds is the match winner.
Marines can win a round either by killing all the Aliens or by destroying the hive. Once marines are teched up enough, I have seen exos and JP+GL take out the hive (It can be a good tactic if you suspect the aliens have an onos)
Aliens can win a round by either killing the hades device, killing all marines before the hades device is built, or preventing the construction of the hades device before time runs out.
The hades device has a shield that prevents it from being damaged from far away. The shield is only disabled when an alien player steps within the blue circle range indicator.
Losing multiple rounds in a row will award the losing players more and more resources each time. This is intended to be a catch-up mechanic.
The default configuration is 9 rounds on one team, and then switch for another 9 rounds on the other, or until one team wins 10 times. If there is a tie (exactly 9 wins for both teams), the mode has an overtime mechanic.
There is an alternate server-side configuration for “Casual Mode” where teams do not swap sides, and the first team to win 10 rounds is the match winner.
How to run this mode
For ease of (my) development, this is a mod of many mods! You will need the Extermination Mod (333A61CD) along with these two mods:
Note that if you wish your server to have "EXT" as the game mode, extermination will need to be AFTER combat in your mod ID list. UWE doesn't have an API for defining game modes, so this is the only way to override game modes.
So your mod ID list might look like: ["520abdce", "333A61CD", "3417dbef", "5ADE48BB", "30bf2431"]
For both modes, the number of rounds needed to win is configurable by the server admin using the file “CombatSkirmish.json”, that the mod will create for you.
What maps? This works on any vanilla NS2 or Combat map! If there are multiple spawn locations for teams, the game will cycle through them in a pseudo-random order, and will spawn teams in the same order each time for fairness. I have found that ns2_refinery, ns2_docking, ns2_tram, and ns2_mineshaft are pretty great. Although ns2_veil, ns2_unearthed, and ns2_origin and similar layouts are fine, I personally found the linear paths to hives to be a little boring. But try them out!
NOTE: Please do not run bots with this mode. They don't work.
- Combat Classic (520abdce)
- Hades Device (3417dbef)
Note that if you wish your server to have "EXT" as the game mode, extermination will need to be AFTER combat in your mod ID list. UWE doesn't have an API for defining game modes, so this is the only way to override game modes.
So your mod ID list might look like: ["520abdce", "333A61CD", "3417dbef", "5ADE48BB", "30bf2431"]
For both modes, the number of rounds needed to win is configurable by the server admin using the file “CombatSkirmish.json”, that the mod will create for you.
What maps? This works on any vanilla NS2 or Combat map! If there are multiple spawn locations for teams, the game will cycle through them in a pseudo-random order, and will spawn teams in the same order each time for fairness. I have found that ns2_refinery, ns2_docking, ns2_tram, and ns2_mineshaft are pretty great. Although ns2_veil, ns2_unearthed, and ns2_origin and similar layouts are fine, I personally found the linear paths to hives to be a little boring. But try them out!
NOTE: Please do not run bots with this mode. They don't work.
Thanks for reading! If you give it a try, let me know what you think!
Link to Workshop page: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=859464141
Snow Stalkers are Terrible Predators
The more I interact with snow stalkers, the less believable they seem. It's not just that they're simple and easy to outsmart, but they seem implausible and out of place in the world.
Below is a list of problems I think snow stalkers have (with pictures!), both mechanical and aesthetic, and possible solutions that shouldn't require too much work. Individually these things might seem like nitpicking, but taken together I think these small solutions can really improve the experience.The goal is not to make snow stalkers more challenging as monsters, which isn't necessarily in the spirit of the game, but to make them more believable as animals, which is.
Too Territorial
<u>Problem:</u> Snow stalkers seem to be deliberately placed so that they each have a small territory to "guard." Problem is they won't attack or pursue you if you're standing outside this territory, even if they're staring you in the face. Furthermore, if removed from their territory, they will immediately begin trying to walk back and will ignore the player unless the player gets right in their face. It seems kinda cool when they have a den with babies, but makes them seem really derpy when they're outside, supposedly hunting, but don't react when potential prey stands just an arm's reach away.
<u>Solution:</u> Remove the arbitrary boundaries, or at least make them way, way less restrictive.
No Vertical Mobility
<u>Problem:</u> Despite being twice as tall as the player, snow stalkers cannot walk over anything the player cannot walk over and, unlike the player, cannot jump. Because they also make no attempt to navigate around obstacles, dramatic chases will often end abruptly when the snow stalker runs into a cluster of mushrooms or a small pile of rocks. Small ledges or steep inclines provide safe hiding spaces for the player. The only thing to worry about is snow stalkers' magnet hands: if you stand too close, they can still grab you.
<u>Solution:</u> I don't really know how character collision works in game engines, but surely there must be a way to increase the max height limit of obstacles they can walk over. It might even be worth giving them special jumping or limited climbing ability, because right now they're pathetic. Obstacle avoidance would also be great.
Forgetful
<u>Problem:</u> When a snow stalker either catches or fails to catch the player, they will "forget" and become docile for about five seconds, wandering around and performing idle animations. (Sea creatures do this as well, but it's more obvious and jarring when you don't have the constant forward motion and six degrees of freedom of swimming.) With a little bit of patience, and by exploiting their vertical mobility as mentioned above, moving through a snow stalker's territory is extremely easy even on foot.
<u>Solution:</u> Make them more determined! They should be pursuing the player in some capacity for as long as they can see the player, only giving up if they determine that the player absolutely cannot be reached (accompanied by frustrated growling).
Catch and Release
<u>Problem:</u> In addition to the above problem, snow stalkers don't seem too determined to eat the player when they do catch them. They'll pin you to the ground, Robin wrestles them off with her... giant human muscles? And then they just sort of let you go if you still have health left. Mechanically this is fine and balanced, but it looks ridiculous.
<u>Solution:</u> Firstly, new animations. Make it look like Robin actually fights them off. She's not a soldier, but I'm sure she's a tough girl. Punch them in the eyes, kick them in the nose, whatever. Functionally identical, it just looks better. Secondly, after the snow stalker releases the player, they keep aggro, but spend a couple seconds licking their wounds or something and then go right back to chasing you instead of idling or derping around. I made a short example animation (hire me!).
They Make Great Mounts!
<u>Problem:</u> You can stand on a snow stalker's back and it can't do anything about it. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
<u>Solution:</u> A simple problem, but the solution is probably more complicated. How does the game know you're on its back? Again, not knowing game logic, I don't know exactly what you can do. Maybe have a rule where if the player is in physical contact with the snow stalker for X seconds, it performs some bucking animation and applies an impulse to the player, knocking them back and additionally knocking them prone for a second. ...Or just make their backs count as slippery surfaces.
Spy Pengling Makes You Invulnerable
<u>Problem:</u> In keeping with the theme of exploiting snow stalkers' weaknesses, it's good to know that they cannot harm you while your spy pengling is active. They'll still charge at you, they just won't grab or bite you. Makes for great photo ops at least!
<u>Solution:</u> It should be the player's responsibility to make sure they're in a safe location if they know they're going to be immobile for a few minutes. Snow stalker attacks should pull you out of pengling mode. Loading times are a potential problem -- the player should not be vulnerable for the entire duration of the load since it would be unfair to players with slower PCs, but at the same time it would be awkward to finish a 30 second load to see a snow stalker politely waiting for you to finish. Perhaps it can go through the motions of the first few seconds of the tackle animation, and then pause until the player is done loading so that they "wake up" pinned to the ground. Terrifying!
What Do They Eat?
<u>Problem:</u> This one is the biggest threat to my suspension of disbelief. Snow stalkers are remarkably well adapted to land life, but nothing else on the planet is, which begs the question of why they're even there. Presumably snow stalkers are on dry land to prey on pengwings, but pengwings are only found in one small area of the Ice Flats and spend most of the time in the water anyway. More damning, snow stalkers and pengwings will actually completely ignore each other; snow stalkers will attack and kill baby penglings (while the adults look on), but they don't even eat them. Robin is literally the only thing these fearsome predators ever actually eat.
<u>Solution</u> A few things. Firstly, describe snow stalkers as opportunistic omnivores. If food is scarce, why wouldn't they eat anything they can fit in their mouths? Secondly, give stalkers and pengwings some interactions. Snow stalkers should chase (AND EAT) pengwings, and pengwings should flee. Thirdly, maybe remodel some of the terrain to include more pengwing pools. They don't have to connect to the open ocean, but they could have cracks and holes too small for the player to give the impression that pengwings could access the ocean from there. Lastly, maybe add some more terrestrial fauna to justify snow stalkers being so far from the water. They don't have to be big or plentiful -- an occasional burrowing snow bunny or a tiny tunneling ice worm -- but there should be something other than penguins and sky rays. PDA text could even allude to a larger herbivore, possibly extinct, that justifies snow stalkers having such bulk.
Dull Senses
<u>Problem:</u> Unless you're standing right in front of them, snow stalkers are surprisingly ignorant. They don't react to noises and don't appear to have any sense of smell in spite of rearing up and sniffing the air every now and then. This isn't a big problem for sea creatures, but it seems really strange for snow stalkers.
<u>Solution:</u> Again, not a programmer, I'm not going to tell you how to do your job, but I think the AI could use improvement in this area. In particular, I think it would be really neat if snow stalkers had a developed sense of smell: once the player enters a certain radius (ignore line of sight), snow stalkers begin periodically rolling random numbers to see if they sense the player, and if they do, they will begin cautiously navigating toward the player and attack when line of sight is established. Or you could take inspiration from the original Half-Life's smell mechanics. (video link)
Too Active
<u>Problem:</u> This might seem like a nitpicky thing, but I think snow stalkers move around too much when they're idle. Large predators here on Earth are pretty lethargic when they aren't hunting, and why wouldn't they be? They work hard for their food, they should take every available opportunity to conserve calories.
<u>Solution:</u> A wider range of idle animations. Resting, sleeping, grooming, etc. They don't need to be pacing back and forth to look alive. (another video for inspiration)
<u>Additionally:</u> When snow stalkers are on the hunt, they should look like they're moving with purpose. In addition to getting rid of their confined patrol areas, maybe there could be invisible paths through the canyons that snow stalkers walk along, using their own pathing to avoid obstacles. To avoid cluttering up the already narrow canyons, snow stalkers could retreat to designated rest areas off the path when their AI decides it's time for them to rest.
No Communication
<u>Problem:</u> Snow stalkers growl and howl, but there is no intended recipient and there is never any response. They're supposed to be social creatures.
<u>Solution:</u> Make these behaviors provoke responses from other animals. Maybe snow stalkers growl at each other, prompting them to growl back. Maybe when snow stalkers howl, you occasionally hear distant response howls (doesn't even need to come from a particular source, it can just be a world sound). Howls should also sound more... howly, and less growly. Doesn't even need to sound like a wolf. It's an alien. Tell your sound engineers to get creative. It just needs to sound like it would actually carry.
Glitchy Physics
<u>Problem:</u> I'm sure we've all seen a bone shark hurdled through the water by a weird collision, or a leviathan clip through a wall and disappear forever. Snow stalkers face similar issues, but again, because it's on land, it's that much more obvious. Sometimes they'll be catapulted into the air, slide along the ice, or get stuck in a structure. This last one is particularly easy to replicate (see image).
<u>Solution:</u> Make snow stalkers block structure placement (it's good that fish don't, but snow stalkers less numerous and have no excuse). As for the rest of the issues... no idea.
Below is a list of problems I think snow stalkers have (with pictures!), both mechanical and aesthetic, and possible solutions that shouldn't require too much work. Individually these things might seem like nitpicking, but taken together I think these small solutions can really improve the experience.The goal is not to make snow stalkers more challenging as monsters, which isn't necessarily in the spirit of the game, but to make them more believable as animals, which is.
Too Territorial
<u>Problem:</u> Snow stalkers seem to be deliberately placed so that they each have a small territory to "guard." Problem is they won't attack or pursue you if you're standing outside this territory, even if they're staring you in the face. Furthermore, if removed from their territory, they will immediately begin trying to walk back and will ignore the player unless the player gets right in their face. It seems kinda cool when they have a den with babies, but makes them seem really derpy when they're outside, supposedly hunting, but don't react when potential prey stands just an arm's reach away.
<u>Solution:</u> Remove the arbitrary boundaries, or at least make them way, way less restrictive.
No Vertical Mobility
<u>Problem:</u> Despite being twice as tall as the player, snow stalkers cannot walk over anything the player cannot walk over and, unlike the player, cannot jump. Because they also make no attempt to navigate around obstacles, dramatic chases will often end abruptly when the snow stalker runs into a cluster of mushrooms or a small pile of rocks. Small ledges or steep inclines provide safe hiding spaces for the player. The only thing to worry about is snow stalkers' magnet hands: if you stand too close, they can still grab you.
Forgetful
<u>Problem:</u> When a snow stalker either catches or fails to catch the player, they will "forget" and become docile for about five seconds, wandering around and performing idle animations. (Sea creatures do this as well, but it's more obvious and jarring when you don't have the constant forward motion and six degrees of freedom of swimming.) With a little bit of patience, and by exploiting their vertical mobility as mentioned above, moving through a snow stalker's territory is extremely easy even on foot.
<u>Solution:</u> Make them more determined! They should be pursuing the player in some capacity for as long as they can see the player, only giving up if they determine that the player absolutely cannot be reached (accompanied by frustrated growling).
Catch and Release
<u>Problem:</u> In addition to the above problem, snow stalkers don't seem too determined to eat the player when they do catch them. They'll pin you to the ground, Robin wrestles them off with her... giant human muscles? And then they just sort of let you go if you still have health left. Mechanically this is fine and balanced, but it looks ridiculous.
<u>Solution:</u> Firstly, new animations. Make it look like Robin actually fights them off. She's not a soldier, but I'm sure she's a tough girl. Punch them in the eyes, kick them in the nose, whatever. Functionally identical, it just looks better. Secondly, after the snow stalker releases the player, they keep aggro, but spend a couple seconds licking their wounds or something and then go right back to chasing you instead of idling or derping around. I made a short example animation (hire me!).
They Make Great Mounts!
<u>Problem:</u> You can stand on a snow stalker's back and it can't do anything about it. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
Spy Pengling Makes You Invulnerable
<u>Problem:</u> In keeping with the theme of exploiting snow stalkers' weaknesses, it's good to know that they cannot harm you while your spy pengling is active. They'll still charge at you, they just won't grab or bite you. Makes for great photo ops at least!
What Do They Eat?
<u>Problem:</u> This one is the biggest threat to my suspension of disbelief. Snow stalkers are remarkably well adapted to land life, but nothing else on the planet is, which begs the question of why they're even there. Presumably snow stalkers are on dry land to prey on pengwings, but pengwings are only found in one small area of the Ice Flats and spend most of the time in the water anyway. More damning, snow stalkers and pengwings will actually completely ignore each other; snow stalkers will attack and kill baby penglings (while the adults look on), but they don't even eat them. Robin is literally the only thing these fearsome predators ever actually eat.
<u>Solution</u> A few things. Firstly, describe snow stalkers as opportunistic omnivores. If food is scarce, why wouldn't they eat anything they can fit in their mouths? Secondly, give stalkers and pengwings some interactions. Snow stalkers should chase (AND EAT) pengwings, and pengwings should flee. Thirdly, maybe remodel some of the terrain to include more pengwing pools. They don't have to connect to the open ocean, but they could have cracks and holes too small for the player to give the impression that pengwings could access the ocean from there. Lastly, maybe add some more terrestrial fauna to justify snow stalkers being so far from the water. They don't have to be big or plentiful -- an occasional burrowing snow bunny or a tiny tunneling ice worm -- but there should be something other than penguins and sky rays. PDA text could even allude to a larger herbivore, possibly extinct, that justifies snow stalkers having such bulk.
Dull Senses
<u>Problem:</u> Unless you're standing right in front of them, snow stalkers are surprisingly ignorant. They don't react to noises and don't appear to have any sense of smell in spite of rearing up and sniffing the air every now and then. This isn't a big problem for sea creatures, but it seems really strange for snow stalkers.
<u>Solution:</u> Again, not a programmer, I'm not going to tell you how to do your job, but I think the AI could use improvement in this area. In particular, I think it would be really neat if snow stalkers had a developed sense of smell: once the player enters a certain radius (ignore line of sight), snow stalkers begin periodically rolling random numbers to see if they sense the player, and if they do, they will begin cautiously navigating toward the player and attack when line of sight is established. Or you could take inspiration from the original Half-Life's smell mechanics. (video link)
Too Active
<u>Problem:</u> This might seem like a nitpicky thing, but I think snow stalkers move around too much when they're idle. Large predators here on Earth are pretty lethargic when they aren't hunting, and why wouldn't they be? They work hard for their food, they should take every available opportunity to conserve calories.
<u>Solution:</u> A wider range of idle animations. Resting, sleeping, grooming, etc. They don't need to be pacing back and forth to look alive. (another video for inspiration)
<u>Additionally:</u> When snow stalkers are on the hunt, they should look like they're moving with purpose. In addition to getting rid of their confined patrol areas, maybe there could be invisible paths through the canyons that snow stalkers walk along, using their own pathing to avoid obstacles. To avoid cluttering up the already narrow canyons, snow stalkers could retreat to designated rest areas off the path when their AI decides it's time for them to rest.
No Communication
<u>Problem:</u> Snow stalkers growl and howl, but there is no intended recipient and there is never any response. They're supposed to be social creatures.
<u>Solution:</u> Make these behaviors provoke responses from other animals. Maybe snow stalkers growl at each other, prompting them to growl back. Maybe when snow stalkers howl, you occasionally hear distant response howls (doesn't even need to come from a particular source, it can just be a world sound). Howls should also sound more... howly, and less growly. Doesn't even need to sound like a wolf. It's an alien. Tell your sound engineers to get creative. It just needs to sound like it would actually carry.
Glitchy Physics
<u>Problem:</u> I'm sure we've all seen a bone shark hurdled through the water by a weird collision, or a leviathan clip through a wall and disappear forever. Snow stalkers face similar issues, but again, because it's on land, it's that much more obvious. Sometimes they'll be catapulted into the air, slide along the ice, or get stuck in a structure. This last one is particularly easy to replicate (see image).
Re: Squad 5 Nominations!
I would like to nominate @AmbivalentAmbiguity ( [TA]Red ) for Squad 5 Blue for providing the TA servers, which are popular and well admin'd.
Just dumbed a lot of money into new servers and is not taking donations. Considering there are other server admins with Squad 5 Blue (SupaFred, Wooza), this shouldn't be too much to ask.
Just dumbed a lot of money into new servers and is not taking donations. Considering there are other server admins with Squad 5 Blue (SupaFred, Wooza), this shouldn't be too much to ask.
Re: Squad 5 Nominations!
Nominating @Kasharic for ns2_unearthed and continuous support of ns2 and its (mapping-) community.
Don't give it to him before finishing that damn map tho!
Don't give it to him before finishing that damn map tho!
Re: Sync error 0x83860012
For those having the sync issue keeping you from using your save game that is already on your Xbox One please use Offline mode as a work around for the time being. For those that have the save game on another Xbox and need Sync'ing to get your save game back and are having issues getting your save game pulled down to your Xbox, hit the agree button next to my post so I can get a general sense of how many in this thread are in this camp.
Offline mode instructions:
@TORminator77 , thank you for that info I'm going to follow up with you in direct message with some additional questions. Perhaps I'm missing something like this in my setup, or this is another way to reproduce the problem.
One interesting point that I believe is still an issue with Xbox sync'ing in general is that if you have Xbox A and Xbox B both with Subnautica, and you finish playing on Xbox B and have saved but then hit the home button or put Xbox B into sleep mode, there is a throttling of bandwidth placed on sync'ing your last save game up to Microsoft's cloud. I haven't seen anyone mention the typical error message from this, which is something along the lines of "Your other Xbox is not finished uploading, try again or use the local save game instead". I've run into this while trying to reproduce the issue and it can go much faster if you use the options button on the Subnautica icon and choose to close the app when you're done playing(if you plan to quickly go to the other Xbox and play the same save game).
Offline mode instructions:
Go to Settings > Network > Network Settings > select Go Offline
Go back to Xbox Home and use the option menu and close Subnautica and then relaunch it.
@TORminator77 , thank you for that info I'm going to follow up with you in direct message with some additional questions. Perhaps I'm missing something like this in my setup, or this is another way to reproduce the problem.
One interesting point that I believe is still an issue with Xbox sync'ing in general is that if you have Xbox A and Xbox B both with Subnautica, and you finish playing on Xbox B and have saved but then hit the home button or put Xbox B into sleep mode, there is a throttling of bandwidth placed on sync'ing your last save game up to Microsoft's cloud. I haven't seen anyone mention the typical error message from this, which is something along the lines of "Your other Xbox is not finished uploading, try again or use the local save game instead". I've run into this while trying to reproduce the issue and it can go much faster if you use the options button on the Subnautica icon and choose to close the app when you're done playing(if you plan to quickly go to the other Xbox and play the same save game).
