Change Cyst Spike

l3lessed

<div class="IPBDescription">Keeping the concept while making it thematically match</div>I love the new direction the alien commander and metagame is moving in. One thing which stuck out to me though was the cyst spike ability. Now, I like the concept and don't want to change it, but the graphical implementation seems odd to me and doesn't really match up to well with the Kharaa Bacteria/enzyme cloud feel for me. Instead of having it a spike type wall make it a "super umbra" cloud. Think of Umbra on steriods. The cloud is so thick it stops all non-kharaa matter from passing through it, bullets, marines, macs, grenades, and so on.

I feel this will work much better with the whole enzyme/bacteria/cloud theme the designers are moving towards. Think of it as a quick one way forcefield at a large pres cost. It could work like the enzyme cloud too, in that the cyst would have to remature again to use it, and if used before fully mature it won't be nearly as large.

Of course, it would be balanced by shifting the size and duration of it. However, it makes the placement of cysts all the more critical. You would want to put them in doorways and hallways in order to either trap marines who wondered into an unfriendly room or to allow aliens an escape who are being chased by a squad. The possibilities are endless and in a very good way.

Arkanti

-snipped for elsewhere-

PsiWarp

I would like to see a glob of infestation or even a wall of tentacles. Clouds are becoming a very common effect for aliens, and variety never hurts :P

l3lessed

I could go along with that. It was the term spike which gives me a really bad image in my head. Nasty tentacles with globs of bacteria between them would work well too.

Techercizer

<!--quoteo(post=1926137:date=Apr 16 2012, 09:50 PM:name=Techercizer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Techercizer @ Apr 16 2012, 09:50 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1926137"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Wait until Dynamic Infestation is in before you start counting out sudden growth of infestation; it's been expected that some hallways could grow so thick with DI that Heavies might not be able to fit through ever since their early prototype videos, if I recall.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Plasma

No way!

Imagine walking down a hall as a marine and seeing a bloody spike pop up in front of you, that's amazing. A spore cloud is something else.

Twiggeh

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Wait until Dynamic Infestation is in before you start counting out sudden growth of infestation; it's been expected that some hallways could grow so thick with DI that Heavies might not be able to fit through ever since their early prototype videos, if I recall.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

But... If DI clogs hallways to such an extent that Exo's cant pass through, how will the Onos squeeze through?
Doesnt it seem dumb to "randomly" deny your own players passage?

I always assumed that players wouldnt collide with the DI geometry.

IMHO whipping tentacles seems like a neat solution (hentai style), having farty-gas to solve every problem just seems unimaginative - and also unintuitive for players to distinguish all the gases, spores and whatnot.