The Dedicated Skulk Herder..
Thanatos
Join Date: 2003-02-05 Member: 13138Members
Join Date: 2003-02-05 Member: 13138Members
<div class="IPBDescription">And how skulks cower befor him.</div> This is a true story about someone who either drinks to much coffe or who just takes his responsibility with huge dedication.
It happend on one of those big servers (cant remeber wich). The player count was around 24 and the game had been going for about 5-10 minutes I guess. I picked random team and ended up a happy and hungry skulk. Turns out our starting hive is via. By the looks of things the rines have cargo covered and the first thing I hear in thevoice-comm is someone requesting assistans in Silo.
"Ok.. lets go to silo and start munching down on those tasty marines" I think.... And then it happens.
I barely get to the vent before I have this other skulk jumping up and down and "barking" at me.
"Where are you going?!?!" He says over the comm. "Get back to the others at via!!".
"But..." I start... "GET BACK TO THE OTHERS!!!!" *woof, woof!!* And he more or less drags me back to a via where I find three other skulks cramped up in a corner. I can´t help it, but they look a bit ashamed and not very happy and hungry at all.
"Whats up with him" I ask as the herding skulk runs off to find other stray skulks.
"He´s got a plan......I think" one says, but not in a very loud voice.
A few seconds later he is back with 2 other skulks who more or less looks like they have been beaten with a stick. It´s getting very crowded in the corner now. Another run and he is back with the last two. All the time he is pushing them on through the voice-com.
"Ok. Follow me, we are attacking cargo room." And off we go! On the way there he gives out encouragment through the comm and to my amazement I start to feel like a tidalwave of pure skulkhunger. When we get there the frenzy is upon us all and the marine outpost doesnt even last 20 seconds. About half of us survive (not our herdskulk though but that doesnt stop him from pushing us on through the com) and we eat our way through several marines almost back to their spawn.
*respawn* And guess what. Yes, he is at it again. Turns out this was not a onetime deal to take out cargo. I can´t take 2 steps without that skulk keeping tabs on me. He seems to know where everybody is at any given time and where they are supposed to be. And you really felt guilty when you where in the wrong place.
But it worked. We won. The marines tried every trick in the book but nothing they built could survive a ten-skulk onslaught. Not mines, not turrets... nothing.
Especially one moment was really fun. He had managed to gather almost all of us in a very tight corridor and was out screamming for that last stray skulk. We, other skulks, enjoyed our little break and chatted along about how stupid marines are and "did you see their faces" and all that when it happend. Round the corner walks 2 LA marines and 1 HA. Time seems to freeze for atleast 2 seconds. Then the HA opens fire. He gets buried in a blurr of teeth and claws. The other marines make a run for it and one actually gets pretty far.
The "OMG!!!"´s from the all-team chat keept me laughing for a good minute.
All in all a good game. Just thought to share it with you.
Thanatos. <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo-->
It happend on one of those big servers (cant remeber wich). The player count was around 24 and the game had been going for about 5-10 minutes I guess. I picked random team and ended up a happy and hungry skulk. Turns out our starting hive is via. By the looks of things the rines have cargo covered and the first thing I hear in thevoice-comm is someone requesting assistans in Silo.
"Ok.. lets go to silo and start munching down on those tasty marines" I think.... And then it happens.
I barely get to the vent before I have this other skulk jumping up and down and "barking" at me.
"Where are you going?!?!" He says over the comm. "Get back to the others at via!!".
"But..." I start... "GET BACK TO THE OTHERS!!!!" *woof, woof!!* And he more or less drags me back to a via where I find three other skulks cramped up in a corner. I can´t help it, but they look a bit ashamed and not very happy and hungry at all.
"Whats up with him" I ask as the herding skulk runs off to find other stray skulks.
"He´s got a plan......I think" one says, but not in a very loud voice.
A few seconds later he is back with 2 other skulks who more or less looks like they have been beaten with a stick. It´s getting very crowded in the corner now. Another run and he is back with the last two. All the time he is pushing them on through the voice-com.
"Ok. Follow me, we are attacking cargo room." And off we go! On the way there he gives out encouragment through the comm and to my amazement I start to feel like a tidalwave of pure skulkhunger. When we get there the frenzy is upon us all and the marine outpost doesnt even last 20 seconds. About half of us survive (not our herdskulk though but that doesnt stop him from pushing us on through the com) and we eat our way through several marines almost back to their spawn.
*respawn* And guess what. Yes, he is at it again. Turns out this was not a onetime deal to take out cargo. I can´t take 2 steps without that skulk keeping tabs on me. He seems to know where everybody is at any given time and where they are supposed to be. And you really felt guilty when you where in the wrong place.
But it worked. We won. The marines tried every trick in the book but nothing they built could survive a ten-skulk onslaught. Not mines, not turrets... nothing.
Especially one moment was really fun. He had managed to gather almost all of us in a very tight corridor and was out screamming for that last stray skulk. We, other skulks, enjoyed our little break and chatted along about how stupid marines are and "did you see their faces" and all that when it happend. Round the corner walks 2 LA marines and 1 HA. Time seems to freeze for atleast 2 seconds. Then the HA opens fire. He gets buried in a blurr of teeth and claws. The other marines make a run for it and one actually gets pretty far.
The "OMG!!!"´s from the all-team chat keept me laughing for a good minute.
All in all a good game. Just thought to share it with you.
Thanatos. <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo-->
Comments
skulks are win if you can actually get to biting stuff - but everyone runs off DM style and don't tend to stick in big groups. one marine cannot 0wn 5 skulks, unless he mine spams a corridor (walls, roof and floor) and waits at the other end....
-- Codeman
If you're the herder, please come to Roob's *No time for Muppets* NS1.04; 163.1.180.217:27016
KTHXBYE
Roo
Nah. Sounds way too polite to be Grendel <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Thats a great story and proves one of the points of the game.....
<!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> > <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo-->
But really if something works really really well one time people seem to listen to that person for the rest of the game
I tried to heard once in the prossessing vent (I HATE THAT SPOT) and unfortunately some one decided to make a short cut THROUGH the marine outpost to climb up the wall to the spot we were in.....
*Thoomp* *Thoomp* *Thoomp* *Thoomp*
And I was the one being yelled at while we were all in the que line cause it was my plan......
and skulk hearding works very well because you can't stop them all
the first rush wasn't really successful at all, surprisingly though the aliens kept to the plan and eventually, with the third rush, we managed to destroy the processing outpost. after that the marines went down pretty quickly.
it's matches like that that make me love NS <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
-- Codeman <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
neg, ive done it
Seen it a few times (and i dont mean at gamestart) and was always prout of getting killed.
I consider myself a slightly above average marine.
At the very beginning, before aliens get cara, I routinely own 2-3 skulks at a time.. 5 would be too much, but if they were uncoordinated and in the right situation (i.e. none of them dodge and they come down a corridor), i could probably own 4 them.. the last would have to be with my knife.
After cara, even 1 skulk becomes a challenge sometimes, and 3 is far and away too much. An obvious lesson, to me: if you're skulk herding, get D up pronto.
i.e. jp/gl, ha/hmg, backwards bunnyhop/pistol scripts <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Never seen 5+ gorges rounding a corner, eh? <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo--> THAT is better than 5 skulks, IMHO... but to each his own LOL
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->How exactly did this "herder" drag you back to via?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Guilt. And a +3 charisma bonus. Persuasion is a good skill to invest in. ~nods sagely~
He got the com chair online and even laid an IP before he took off. But, Just as we got our base-in-exile up and running 9 sulks and a gorge flew out of the vent and killed us to the last man.
Group of Skulks > Group of Marines = True
Not to mention the shear building killing power. Can anyone say "Mass Cracklings"?
THAT would of been seriously FUNNY ****, turning the corner and 10+ skulks are standingl ooking at you LOL - like the chaos movie....
DUDES! THERES LIKE GIANT SPIDERS COMING AND THYE GONNA KILL US!
pfft, yeha right dude, ur crazy
then giant spiders come, the groups kind of look at eachother then one runs. Caranage ensues.
At times where i think there are many skulks nearby i tend to get nervous, i accidentally fired off ina a game once cus i twitched and everyone nearby started firing at vents and dark spots. I said 'no my finger twitched theres nothing there' We all reloaded and i was mistaken about there being no skulks.
Needless to say i was reported for being disruptive and banned for a day <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So there was valient Frontiersman JoeSoap, freshly out of the infantry portal and psyched up to kick some alien arse. "Come get some!" he muttered to himself idly expecting some rash Kharaa skulk to charge into the base to get cut to shreds.
"Satelite Comunications and Fusion Reactor are secured" blurted out over the comm frequency, "move to Waste Handling" said the commander. "We need some force recon stat." Grabbing a few spare clips from the armoury Joe hit the ground running, "I'm on my way!" he confirmed with the commander.
Just outside of the base his sharp ears picked up an odd sound, something wasn't right. That sounded like the pitter patter of small feet, four of them all hitting the ground. "Hostiles spotted" he chattered over the radio as he quickly checked his rear to make sure it was free of intereference. Cautiously he moved forward, "I know your round here somewhere skulky" he internaly thought to himself, too scared to even speak lest he further give away his position. Creeping forward he poked his head round the corner checking the corridor in front of him, all clear, so he pressed forward with his weapon held up ready to let a clip loose should a skulk come leaping down the corridor.
Another odd sound caught his attention, "**** where is this skulk?" he thought to himself before remembering some schematics he had studied before being deployed, slowly he raised his gun upwards to cover the vent he knew was there and then he saw it. And it wasn't an it, it was a them.
The humans were disturbed as their communications channel suddenly erupted with the screams of terror from Frontiersman JoeSoap cut with the unmistakable sound of a light machine gun being fired randomly and in panic to be cut off all too suddenly. An ambush it had to be they all acknowldeged but few realised that it hadn't been any old ambush, JoeSoap had wandered into the Kharaa staging area and nine skulks all told hovered on the ceiling to drop and devour JoeSoap before a warning could be sent out.
"It appears we have underestimated the enemy" said the Frontiersman commander from the safety of his heavily armoured command console, "not only do they appear to evolve to meet our tactics on their own terms but their hive minds seems to be growing stronger over time, cleverer and more intelligent. They now hunt in packs of savage skulks and organise the presence of all Kharaa lifeforms to take back critical systems. We may need reinforcements."
<!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo-->
A few seconds later he is back with 2 other skulks who more or less looks like they have been beaten with a stick<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hahaha thats a great story.
THAT is quality
We were playing on TommyD's excellent new map, ns_delta (not public yet) and I was on the alien team along with some assorted PTs and clan players. We realized where the marines had made a new base and suddenly 6 skulks appeared next to each other, myself included. Someone over voice comm said: "Let's rush it together...on my mark...3...2....1....GO". We ran straight for the marine base, and I remember we were packed so tightly we were all touching.
Just up ahead at the marine base, Citixen must've been exploring or making sure there were no def chambers going up outside the base, because he wandered around corner...right into us. If I hadn't known that the models don't have any magic facial animation, I would've sworn his marine model put on a face of terror as 6 skulks leaped together and just ripped him apart. I don't think the skulk train even paused, as the marine put up about as much resistance as a wet piece of paper. Over public chat, Cit was just like "OMG"...
This sparked some ancient glimmer of thought inside my head. I wouldn't mind seeing more maps that required team interaction to progress. Perhaps buttons that need to be pressed in unison to open sections of the map, or automated base defenses that don't care what side you are on that can only be deactivated by a coordinated effort.