2nd Generation Technology- Marines -Concepts
Karrd
Join Date: 2005-02-26 Member: 42555Members
Join Date: 2005-02-26 Member: 42555Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Conceptual Discussion</div>:Edited: The original post was apparently deleted as a duplicate. I found my backup copy so here it is :end edit:
As I understand it, NS2 is supposed to take place after the first initial encounters that NS1 represents. Following this, I was wondering why no one has discussed what logical changes would have been implemented once both sides had a chance to evaluate their encounters.
This topic is only for discussing the conceptual evolution, not the implementation. For example, the natural response to so many marines being ambushed by skulks would be for someone to try to counter those ambushes. Talking about ways that someone would go about countering that would be ok. This isn't a topic about how they would be implemented in the game, or what effect they would have on gameplay. In otherwords, let's discuss it as if you were part of the Frontiersmen trying to adapt to the enemy, not as a player. I'll make a seperate thread for discussing how these ideas could be implemented, or whether they should be implemented.
Let me repeat, this is along the lines of a brainstorming thread. It's goal is to come up with ideas, not to evaluate them. I expect most of these ideas won't be workable in the game, but this isn't the place to discuss them.
To make it easier to reference, I'm numbering the ideas I present so that both in this topic and in the other I can just type "Idea 2C" rather than having to quote the whole post. It would be best if everyone did the same.
1>Ok, for starters the problem I mentioned above, marines being ambushed by skulks. There are a few things that could be done to counter this:
1A)The best one would be some sort of sensory suite that would allow marines to detect more easily nearby skulks, but that would be too large to be easily man-packable.
1B)A simpler solution would be to increase rear and head armor, and decrease frontal armor to balance the weight becuase most ambushes attempt to attack from behind or above.
1C) Another solution would be a small detection system, something along the lines of a tripwire or local motion sensor that could be placed in areas that are passed through. It could be either standard issue, or supplied as needed by the commander in the field. A tripwire system would have the advantage of being small enough that a single marine could carry several. A sensor would be larger so fewer could be carried, but they would have the advantage of not having to be reset after every time they are tripped (assuming the Alien does not find an destroy it when it goes off) and the lack of a tripwire would mean they could more easily be concealed.
2> The other large problem are Fades, more precisely how fast and hard to hit they are, and their hit and run tactics. A few ideas to deal with them:
2A) Some sort of high damage weapon that would have enough power to kill a fade in the few seconds it is in range. Possible ideas would be a High Velocity heavy rifle sacrificing rate of fire for lethality (ammunition could be "Dumb" or explosive), a directionally pulsed explosive rocket, or a Metal Storm multi-barrel concept.
(becuase I'm sure the ideas aren't universally known: <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1281426.html" target="_blank">Metal Storm concept is described here.</a> They did a good job of explaining it, but you can search for other articles if interested. The concept of a directionally pulsed explosive rocket hasn't been pulled off yet, but the basic idea is a rocket that explodes in front of it's target with an explosion that is pulsed so that most of the energy in the explosion is in front of it. The explosive force would more or less disentegrate whatever is directly in front of it.)
2B) Another way to counter the hit and run tactics of fades would be to interfere with their movement. One way to do this would be to essentially steal the idea of webs from gorges. Using high strength lines designed to be attached to corridors walls a simple but affective snare can be set. Any fade flying through them would be snared until it can cut through the lines, giving the marines at least a second or two more to fire. These lines could be standard issued, or supplied at the front.
2C) Another simple way to counter fade movement would be simple "Catches", barricade-like sheets. By placing them at angles on the wall or floor a fade coming towards a marine would pass unhindered, but would have to work to avoid getting snared on the barricade as it flies away. These catches could be issued by the commander, most likely a standard TF could be made to issue one, and a simple set of nanites could weld them to place after the marine places it. They would be vulnerable to automatic recycling if they get damaged, not having any significant amount of nanites in them to repair them once damaged.
2D) A more complex counter to the hit and run tactics of fades would be full blown portable barricades. Essentially a collapsible wall, they would be too heavy for unpowered (non-heavy) marines to carry. They could be carried to a location and placed to block corridors. When undeployed they would be nearly invulnerable to damage from anything smaller than a fade or onos. Either when the commander selects one, or when a marine activates one it would expand into a simple vertical wall, roughly 7' wide and 9' tall (unless a projection or the roof prevents full deployment, at which point it would stop at the highest point possible). It could also be set by the commander to deploy automatically when a alien passes over it, for either a standard amount (10 seconds sounds about right) or until undeployed. While deployed it would be too thin to withstand much damage, a skulk or lerk could destroy it in under half a minute, a fade could destroy it in a half the time, and an onos would only have to spend a second or two on it. An advanced TF could probably be made to issue one, at the commanders orders.
I'll probably have more to type later, but for now I'm going to open the other topic.
As I understand it, NS2 is supposed to take place after the first initial encounters that NS1 represents. Following this, I was wondering why no one has discussed what logical changes would have been implemented once both sides had a chance to evaluate their encounters.
This topic is only for discussing the conceptual evolution, not the implementation. For example, the natural response to so many marines being ambushed by skulks would be for someone to try to counter those ambushes. Talking about ways that someone would go about countering that would be ok. This isn't a topic about how they would be implemented in the game, or what effect they would have on gameplay. In otherwords, let's discuss it as if you were part of the Frontiersmen trying to adapt to the enemy, not as a player. I'll make a seperate thread for discussing how these ideas could be implemented, or whether they should be implemented.
Let me repeat, this is along the lines of a brainstorming thread. It's goal is to come up with ideas, not to evaluate them. I expect most of these ideas won't be workable in the game, but this isn't the place to discuss them.
To make it easier to reference, I'm numbering the ideas I present so that both in this topic and in the other I can just type "Idea 2C" rather than having to quote the whole post. It would be best if everyone did the same.
1>Ok, for starters the problem I mentioned above, marines being ambushed by skulks. There are a few things that could be done to counter this:
1A)The best one would be some sort of sensory suite that would allow marines to detect more easily nearby skulks, but that would be too large to be easily man-packable.
1B)A simpler solution would be to increase rear and head armor, and decrease frontal armor to balance the weight becuase most ambushes attempt to attack from behind or above.
1C) Another solution would be a small detection system, something along the lines of a tripwire or local motion sensor that could be placed in areas that are passed through. It could be either standard issue, or supplied as needed by the commander in the field. A tripwire system would have the advantage of being small enough that a single marine could carry several. A sensor would be larger so fewer could be carried, but they would have the advantage of not having to be reset after every time they are tripped (assuming the Alien does not find an destroy it when it goes off) and the lack of a tripwire would mean they could more easily be concealed.
2> The other large problem are Fades, more precisely how fast and hard to hit they are, and their hit and run tactics. A few ideas to deal with them:
2A) Some sort of high damage weapon that would have enough power to kill a fade in the few seconds it is in range. Possible ideas would be a High Velocity heavy rifle sacrificing rate of fire for lethality (ammunition could be "Dumb" or explosive), a directionally pulsed explosive rocket, or a Metal Storm multi-barrel concept.
(becuase I'm sure the ideas aren't universally known: <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1281426.html" target="_blank">Metal Storm concept is described here.</a> They did a good job of explaining it, but you can search for other articles if interested. The concept of a directionally pulsed explosive rocket hasn't been pulled off yet, but the basic idea is a rocket that explodes in front of it's target with an explosion that is pulsed so that most of the energy in the explosion is in front of it. The explosive force would more or less disentegrate whatever is directly in front of it.)
2B) Another way to counter the hit and run tactics of fades would be to interfere with their movement. One way to do this would be to essentially steal the idea of webs from gorges. Using high strength lines designed to be attached to corridors walls a simple but affective snare can be set. Any fade flying through them would be snared until it can cut through the lines, giving the marines at least a second or two more to fire. These lines could be standard issued, or supplied at the front.
2C) Another simple way to counter fade movement would be simple "Catches", barricade-like sheets. By placing them at angles on the wall or floor a fade coming towards a marine would pass unhindered, but would have to work to avoid getting snared on the barricade as it flies away. These catches could be issued by the commander, most likely a standard TF could be made to issue one, and a simple set of nanites could weld them to place after the marine places it. They would be vulnerable to automatic recycling if they get damaged, not having any significant amount of nanites in them to repair them once damaged.
2D) A more complex counter to the hit and run tactics of fades would be full blown portable barricades. Essentially a collapsible wall, they would be too heavy for unpowered (non-heavy) marines to carry. They could be carried to a location and placed to block corridors. When undeployed they would be nearly invulnerable to damage from anything smaller than a fade or onos. Either when the commander selects one, or when a marine activates one it would expand into a simple vertical wall, roughly 7' wide and 9' tall (unless a projection or the roof prevents full deployment, at which point it would stop at the highest point possible). It could also be set by the commander to deploy automatically when a alien passes over it, for either a standard amount (10 seconds sounds about right) or until undeployed. While deployed it would be too thin to withstand much damage, a skulk or lerk could destroy it in under half a minute, a fade could destroy it in a half the time, and an onos would only have to spend a second or two on it. An advanced TF could probably be made to issue one, at the commanders orders.
I'll probably have more to type later, but for now I'm going to open the other topic.