The MIA

subshadow · July 2011

<div class="IPBDescription">The Mobile Intelligence Assistant</div>All ideas in this post aren't written in stone, feel free to give suggestions/optimisations/opinions.

New idea for a secondary weapon, wich could exist next to the welder and pistol:

The Mobile Intelligence Assistant: The MIA 

What it does?
Giving marines the possibility to have better knowledge of their surroundings. Needs to be researched at an observatory.
For the 2 active functions it drains an internal battery (ammo required)

How does it do that?
It's a secondary weapon (replacing the pistol) wich has 3 main functions.

1: Provide motion tracking
Most of us know motion-tracking from NS1. It displays an indicator on your HUD wich tells you where there is alien movement (behind walls). But there are a few differences:

1: Motion tracking only works within a certain radius around your crosshair. (Like in the picture below, it would only work within the red circle)
You need to look around to get a good overview.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/R6bUa.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

2: Motion tracking only works in a certain radius around you. (You can't scan the entire map at once)

3: The tracking has a start-up and turn-off delay.
This requires you to be carefull when you start up your scanning. You are helpless while scanning and you have a small delay before you can switch back to your main weapon, luckily you know when the aliens are coming. This also makes it more of a support tool, you are scanning for your teammates, not for yourself. (requires teamwork and communication)
The delays could be visualised with antennas that start spinning.

4: The motion-tracking detects sounds.
It can track running aliens (not walking) who don't have the Silence upgrade.
(Cloaked aliens already need to walk to keep their cloak on)

2: Provide a strong/wide angled flashlight
The secondary fire of the MIA works just like the normal flashlight, only much brighter and has a much larger cone. So when a group of marines enter a dark room while one of them carries a MIA, they will have a MUCH better view of their surroundings.

3: Indicate when the rules of physics are being broken
Passive ability when hold.
With this I mean that a flikkering LED indicates when fades are using blink near you, cloaked aliens are around or when near a shade.
While it does indicate there are cloaked aliens around, it can't see them with either motion-tracking or the flashlight.

How does it look?
I'm guessing something like this:
<img src="http://common2.csnimages.com/lf/1/hash/10116/3603917/1/Nightwatcher-Security-Motion-Tracking-LED-Security-Floodlight-with-Camera-in-Black.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Maybe an antenna or sattelite-dish on top. Or above the ammo(energy)-counter a graph indicating the measurments of how many supernatural activity has happened near you.

What's up with the name?
I wanted to come up with some letter-word like ARC but didn't find anything suitable (yet)

TrC · July 2011

Well thought idea, I preferred if it was an lmg upgrade and would work as an secondary attack

I dont know if it has a place in NS2 though, worth a try I guess.

Feha · July 2011

You coded a "missing in action"? ;)

You have not provided a download/codebox where we can get your mod, but it does sound interesting. You might want to change it though, to be a passive ability rather than a weapon, and to scan for your whole screen, not that red circle. I think it would be a good idea to make it like it was in ns1. But again, I have not tested your mod, so I can't be sure.

swalk · July 2011

I'm guessing the reason he made the topic is because motion tracking in ns1 were so simple and powerful. It frustrated players alot, ambushing was out of the question once this upgrade was done.
Still, I'd say; limit motion tracking to powered areas of the map, thats the best way of balancing it in my opinion. And it also gives powernodes a more important role.
Great idea, but I don't really see the "need" for this tool.

Kurrine · July 2011

Motion tracking in powered areas is good if they fix it so you can power down hallways too, eventually. I'd also like it to be only powered areas with an observatory in them of course.

Feha · July 2011

Corridors are not powered, they lack powernodes entirely. You need mobile pn's for that.
I think motion tracking should work in any powered areas, close enough to the rine. And the closer the alien is to a obs, the slower it can walk and still be found (so that sneaking works normally, but not in rine base)

Sewlek · July 2011

I like the idea that motion tracking works only in cone of your view direction. And it should not detect silent (skulk +movement ability = silent, or silence upgrade if it would get included) or cloaked aliens.

a little bit more general: I like the idea to increase the marines' perception. they already have a visor, but it seems it has no purpose other than displaying how dead / alive you are? We don't even need an upgrade or special device, maybe just make the observatory send informations about nearby enemies to the marines' visor (like it was in ns1)

Kurrine · July 2011

Momentary memory lapse there, yeah it isn't powered, I'd rather they had a node, or used one or both adjacent rooms. It's silly the lights are fine in there if there's no power, and the same goes for crossroads, really, the power behavior is kinda inconsistent right now..

subshadow · August 2011

But giving all the marines that power (even when limited to nearby powered rooms) would not be fair against the aliens.
Marines: 1 tech to activate MT
Aliens: all aliens to to purchase upgrades to cancel out the effects of MT (silence, cloak)

Kurrine · August 2011

Personally I'd rather there wasn't motion tracking at all, really, but if this happens, I'd prefer the limited FOV (maybe) and it required to be both within an observatory range and inside a powered zone to limit the horrible effect it has on any sneaking. But really it's too.. symmetrical for my tastes to have both teams get basically "hive-sight".

Another alternative: (as again I'm not fond of Motion tracking)

Perhaps a sort of combat uplink (maybe if you want this extra intel so badly) so if anything is in sight of another marine others can see it through walls, within a reasonable distances of course, or too much on-screen data clutter would result. (perhaps limit it to squads)

The MIA

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