Hive-independant movement abilities for each alien class?
Detheron
Join Date: 2006-11-07 Member: 58469Members
Join Date: 2006-11-07 Member: 58469Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Tell me what you think.</div>So... I had this idea after reading about possible gameplay changes in NS2, and it came up in the middle of a discussion about bunnyhopping. (please don't discuss bunnyhopping here.)
The idea is about giving each alien an active, hive-independant movement ability, adding more flavor to the game and allowing new weapons/skills to be placed in their previous slots. I believe this would make games more interesting for both sides, since giving skulks a hive 1 leap would be imbalacing if they didn't tweak Marine's armor values to, say, 3 full bites at lvl 0.
The main goal behind this idea is to keep both sides unique (one centered at ranged attacks, the other at melee attacks) while making the advantages each one receives at closed/long range more subtle.
What I'm trying to say is that a skulk who finds a marine in the other side of a very long hallway won't be in a huge disadvantage, and neither will be marines who are ambushed around a corner.
So, here's what I've been thinking:
Hive 1:
Skulk - Can leap 66% of the distance they are currently allowed, at the cost of 25% more adrenaline. Leap is removed from the 3rd weapon slot and replaced by something else. Leap can be used by pressing mouse2 or binding "+movement" to any other key. It is now a hive-independant ability.
Fade - Blink is removed from the 2nd weapon slot and replaced by something else. Blink can be used by pressing mouse2 or binding "+movement" to any other key. It is now a hive-independant ability.
Onos - Increases their walking speed by 100%(for 200% total or 230% if he has celerity) for 6 seconds. Can only be used once every 20 seconds. This ability should be used mainly as a quick escape method (distress beacons, hit and run tactics, you name it). Charge is removed from the 4th weapon slot, and replaced by something else. It is now a hive-independant ability.
Edit: Unlike the current charge, this ability should not use adrenaline, since it has a somewhat long cooldown. For FPS games that is.
Hive 2:
Skulk - Leaps at 100% of the current distance at no additional cost.
Fade - Blink speed is increased by 5%, adrenaline cost reduced by 10%.
Onos - Walking speed is increased by 100% for 8 seconds.
Hive 3:
Skulk - Leap deals additional damage.
Fade - You can now blink through players.
Onos - This ability now deals damage on touch.
The idea is about giving each alien an active, hive-independant movement ability, adding more flavor to the game and allowing new weapons/skills to be placed in their previous slots. I believe this would make games more interesting for both sides, since giving skulks a hive 1 leap would be imbalacing if they didn't tweak Marine's armor values to, say, 3 full bites at lvl 0.
The main goal behind this idea is to keep both sides unique (one centered at ranged attacks, the other at melee attacks) while making the advantages each one receives at closed/long range more subtle.
What I'm trying to say is that a skulk who finds a marine in the other side of a very long hallway won't be in a huge disadvantage, and neither will be marines who are ambushed around a corner.
So, here's what I've been thinking:
Hive 1:
Skulk - Can leap 66% of the distance they are currently allowed, at the cost of 25% more adrenaline. Leap is removed from the 3rd weapon slot and replaced by something else. Leap can be used by pressing mouse2 or binding "+movement" to any other key. It is now a hive-independant ability.
Fade - Blink is removed from the 2nd weapon slot and replaced by something else. Blink can be used by pressing mouse2 or binding "+movement" to any other key. It is now a hive-independant ability.
Onos - Increases their walking speed by 100%(for 200% total or 230% if he has celerity) for 6 seconds. Can only be used once every 20 seconds. This ability should be used mainly as a quick escape method (distress beacons, hit and run tactics, you name it). Charge is removed from the 4th weapon slot, and replaced by something else. It is now a hive-independant ability.
Edit: Unlike the current charge, this ability should not use adrenaline, since it has a somewhat long cooldown. For FPS games that is.
Hive 2:
Skulk - Leaps at 100% of the current distance at no additional cost.
Fade - Blink speed is increased by 5%, adrenaline cost reduced by 10%.
Onos - Walking speed is increased by 100% for 8 seconds.
Hive 3:
Skulk - Leap deals additional damage.
Fade - You can now blink through players.
Onos - This ability now deals damage on touch.
Comments
1v1 the skulk would have the upper hand (is it any different from what we have now? We're talking about corner ambushes after all), but in a 2v2 situation, one marine could play bait and turn around the corner while the other provides cover fire without exposing himself. And the "bait" would actually last longer with his new armor values, even if it is just a little more.
"But then why change it at all?" Well, all I am trying to do is trying to tone down some situations where one team "excels too much" while adding some interactive options to boot. To further illustrate this, let me give you 2 examples of what I am talking about:
NS_veil, cargo hive - It has 2 exits, one being a "L" shaped hall and the other being a straight long hallway. At 1 hive it is pretty easy for one or two marines to lock down that exit, because they can fire an entire clip and reload before you reach them.
On the other hand...
NS_hera - I forgot the exact name, but one of the exits leading to the ventilation hive is very dark... most of the time you get parasited and bitten once before you know there is a skulk there. Now imagine if your armor values were higher because aliens were given new abilities, you would have a better chance to defend yourself.
Besides.......that's what the chambers are for..............how about you eliminate the gorge completely?
The devs think about secondary fire for marines and if they implement this they should make +movement the secondary fire for aliens. The secondary fire button is usually bound to the right mouse button, that's where +movement makes the most sense now in NS1. (the pop-up menu isn't really that important that it should have such a prominent button)
Since then every alien would have a movement ability indepented of the number of hives, there would have to be some measures to restore balance. The changes mentioned by Detheron are one example. But I think it is a bit early for us to talk about balance since we don't even know which other gameplay changes will be made.