Gorge goo walls
Flayra
Game Director, Unknown Worlds EntertainmentSan Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
Game Director, Unknown Worlds EntertainmentSan Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
<div class="IPBDescription">What do you want to do?</div>We've got a basic version of "goo walls" implemented, which allow the Gorge to build a wall of goo (with 2 hives and at a cost of personal resources). The idea here is that he can protect areas from attack, as the goo itself blocks shots and takes damage. It also currently doesn't block marine movement entirely but slows them down when they walk through it. I think this works pretty well so far.
I was originally thinking that you would create blobs that exist on their own. The approach we have tried to start is more like blobs connected with webs, so each blob you create must be attached within a certain distance of another blob, and also stretches a web across it. What's good about this is that lets you block a doorway or entrance, but it is a bit more clumsy to build, as you always have to build within a certain range of an existing goo blob.
My questions for you are:
1. What do you guys think of this idea?
2. How would you want to build these things?
I was originally thinking that you would create blobs that exist on their own. The approach we have tried to start is more like blobs connected with webs, so each blob you create must be attached within a certain distance of another blob, and also stretches a web across it. What's good about this is that lets you block a doorway or entrance, but it is a bit more clumsy to build, as you always have to build within a certain range of an existing goo blob.
My questions for you are:
1. What do you guys think of this idea?
2. How would you want to build these things?
Comments
I get chills from imagining entering an infested room that looks like a jungle or a hive from Alien, or maybe a city of "termite mounds".
Is the goo climbable? One of the things I find missing from the game is the ability for gorges to scale heights using their buildings (in NS1 it was done by stacking chambers). If I climb on top of some goo, can I belly slide on it?
well in bioshock there are these xbow bolt traps, that you shoot into the wall, then the bolt shoots out and goes directly to the nearest opposite wall.
It could work like, you shoot a goo blob at the wall, and it shoots a 'tentacle' of goo to the opposite wall, which gets weaker and weaker the more it strings out "forcing you to not spam them accross big rooms".
Then you could put 3 or 4 of these "goo balls" down one above the other to create a sort of wall.
i love the general idea though.
Imagine a group of marines entering a darkened room full of thick jungle, but underneath it all is cold, hard metal. That is the kind of horrifying situation that I think is missing from the Marine experience. At the same time, Skulks jumping in and out of grass, taking bites where they can, as well as an Onos, flanked by Fades, coming barreling down into the group of Marines.
Imagine a group of marines entering a darkened room full of thick jungle, but underneath it all is cold, hard metal. That is the kind of horrifying situation that I think is missing from the Marine experience. At the same time, Skulks jumping in and out of grass, taking bites where they can, as well as an Onos, flanked by Fades, coming barreling down into the group of Marines.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
i like this idea, would make the alien bases feel more ... rainforesty ... which is nice.
Also, would this be a hive 1 ability or hive 2 or 3?
Oh maybe an idea would be that this wall can only be built on creep. Would help from marines immediately facing a couple of fades nd some gorge goo walls knocking on their front door right when hive #2 goes up. That might be a bit too overwhelming.
Maybe have it be flammable? Maybe have it be VERY flammable? Destroyable with flamers, but lighting it up creates a temporary flaming wall (ow!) and a bunch of smoke.
If it's going to turn into long strands of snot draped across doorways, I'm a little less interested, but if you're talking giant D&D style "gelatinous cube" piles in hallways, I'm all for it :)
It's basically a TFC clone where the 9 classes are 9 types of wizards (pyromancer, geomancer etc). One of them is a druid who can <a href="http://pnmedia.gamespy.com/planethalflife.gamespy.com/images/oldsite/clusterimages/ww1.jpg" target="_blank">make beanstalks</a> and climb them (analogous to the engineer in Team Fortress).
<!--quoteo(post=1905644:date=Feb 21 2012, 08:40 PM:name=Shrike3O)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shrike3O @ Feb 21 2012, 08:40 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1905644"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->If it's going to turn into long strands of snot draped across doorways, I'm a little less interested, but if you're talking giant D&D style "gelatinous cube" piles in hallways, I'm all for it :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, I have to agree with this too.
As for how I would want to build it, perhaps tie the Goo Wall to Mini-Cysts and Cysts, to eliminate the need for a blob? The Goo Wall itself however, no idea yet~
Edit: Got an idea for Goo Wall-
If tied to Cysts, the Goo Wall ability would show a vertical range indicator (instead of horizontal range indicator for Hydras and Cysts), so the Gorge would be able to tell how far the wall will reach.
Once selected, drain 40 adrenaline like for Hydras and Mini-Cysts, perhaps a small PRes fee, then a Goo Wall would generate around the Cyst (circular, not spherical). The Goo Wall will always generate with either of its flat sides facing you, for easy placement and positioning adjustments.
Each Cyst would be able to support only 1 Goo Wall, pop that Cyst and you pop the Goo Wall as well (which should recede slowly and not disappear instantly)
Also for coolness factor, if Goo Wall would start to shrink base on the damage it is taking, that would be neat.
Make a sort of webbing goo barrier that would stop bullets and slow marines but either end of it would create a patch of infestation.
It would work the same way as webbing from ns1 as well, but instead of just shooting two across from each other, you could do a third and fill up a triangle of space in front of a door, and a fourth for a rectangle/square.
And what's more, you could let hydra / lerk shots and aliens pass through unhindered which would make hydras feel a bit more beefier like their offensive chamber counterparts.
Flamethrowers should instantly knock them down though.
Of course putting so many cysts down in one area would be res costly so I don't think it's over the top.
[edit] Also they would be a reasonably effective soft counter for jetpacks as lerks no longer have bite and fade blink/swiping is pretty ######e currently.
<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7046/6772912222_60434993ff.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
The "blob" model is just a white blob for now, above is the Goo Wall.
The blobs slows down marines moving through it and absorbs bullets. They slowly deflate over time or when they take damage, so a Gorge would have to be in the near vicinity in order for the blobs to block a passage (prevents spamming them across the maps when they have res overflow). The Gorge would most likely use Healing Spray to inflate a Mini Pustule.
I think it's easy to imagine it as a very slowly flowing goo waterfall.
What would it do and be like
- As I already said, it would absorb damage
- Be build by a Gorge that puts two parts of it on a wall/ceiling. They will connect automatically and have to be placed in range to each other.
- It would be not see-through or maybe be a little transparent. I could imagine it like looking trough a green(?) jello-waterfall, where you can see the silhouettes behind it, but its all very blurred.
- If marines go through it their view gets blurred, similar to bile bomb, but I think a little stronger effect.
- Slow down walk speed (?). Maybe blurring the vision is enough. That's a matter of balancing it, I think.
- It could run dry after some time which could be something to balance it, if that's needed.
- If it's put on a wall just above a gate/door it is actually only destroyable from the room it is in. So if placed cleverly it can't be sniped. ARCs could be able to destroy them.
- Needs infestation.
- MACs should refuse to go through it. They hate goo.
- Stop flamethrower or some other effect?
- Affect Grenades in some way?
- Maybe even do a little damage and/or parasite marines? But this could be OP.
- ...
This would probably be hard to implement visually.
I think it should also blur Alien view (when they walk through), but not Alienvision. <b>It should also slow aliens down when they try to walk through. It should be something that is used for defense carefully, not just put it on either side of marine base to keep them inside and then rush through it.</b> <- This applies to whatever way the goo walls are implemented.
It would probably be better off as a time based structure, or be limited in active numbers like the doombringer's shield wall in tribes ascend.
And of course the way to build it would be a tf2 like build menu for the gorge and only place-able on infestation.
A side note is that time based structures seem to really fit the gorge. As the gorge shouldn't just drop structures and forget. Hopefully there could be time based structures of the classic gorge structures of the ns1 days so he can better support his team tf2 buff banner style.
The lerk had this before TF2 had the Soldier backpacks, and it was called primal scream. I hope something like that is in the works for NS2..
<!--coloro:#00FF00--><span style="color:#00FF00"><!--/coloro-->Good question +1<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
It would make sense, balance-wise aswell;
I wonder if it is going to be possible to make offensive <i> sculptures</i> using blob and hydra..?
Please don't make it something that will be destroyed by a single grenade, or there'll be little point putting it up.
Hallways would become public swimming pools for Skulks!!
Not sure if that would feel satisfying as a marine. People generally prefer to destroy stuff outright. To have to keep shooting until it completely vanished that could be tedious.
Just bring back webs (slow-movement). Destroyable with the use of the axe.
A gorge or commander would place a cyst
Once cyst was mature a gorge could interact with the cyst in a menu similar to the armory for marines. Similar to a marine buying mines. You would buy goo anchor points. place them like mini cysts creating a second anchor point for the wall to procedurally grow along, Add more anchor points to create a gooey web latice. Upgrading the cyst into the goo wall.
<u>A bit Off Topic.</u>
As Cysts count towards the building limit and you can't recycle them, It makes sense that you should be able to upgrade them into things. With a interactive cyst menu a gorge could upgrade cysts into all sorts of things for a PRES cost. A gorge gets his building abilties back but it's very expensive for him to build as PRES trickles in compared to TRES.