Making skulk and aliens easier
alster
Join Date: 2003-08-06 Member: 19124Members
Join Date: 2003-08-06 Member: 19124Members
There is a very good way to make aliens especially the skulk easier to play without buffing them. When a marine sees and then shoots a casual skulk player, the skulk is usually dead in seconds. In Metal Gear a stealth game, when your spotted an exclamation mark appears on the enemy and then your given seconds to respond. It makes Metal Gear very playable for casual players. Spiderman has a spider sense to know when he is in danger, so he almost never dies.
Solution:
In NS2 when the skulk is spotted on the marine map the skulk player is notified of this danger in a non annoying way. This is different then being scanned or in obs range. If the player is hiding he instantly knows when he is spotted. The player can be notified in many different ways: color change in the targeting cursor to red, x/circle shape appears around cursor for colorblind, flashing cursor, the edges of the screen slightly red, a slight red shader on skulk, or small exclamation mark sign on the screen. There could also be an audio cue like a low volume ping, gong, or action music like Mortal Kombat.
Pros:
+Lowers skill ceiling for the average player
+Doesn't buff the health, damage, or movement of aliens
+Let's players know when to start jumping or zig zagging
+Player does not need to check the map as often for danger he will be notified on screen
+Helps all aliens not just the skulk
+Comp players can disable it
Cons:
-Might be a tiny performance hit
Solution:
In NS2 when the skulk is spotted on the marine map the skulk player is notified of this danger in a non annoying way. This is different then being scanned or in obs range. If the player is hiding he instantly knows when he is spotted. The player can be notified in many different ways: color change in the targeting cursor to red, x/circle shape appears around cursor for colorblind, flashing cursor, the edges of the screen slightly red, a slight red shader on skulk, or small exclamation mark sign on the screen. There could also be an audio cue like a low volume ping, gong, or action music like Mortal Kombat.
Pros:
+Lowers skill ceiling for the average player
+Doesn't buff the health, damage, or movement of aliens
+Let's players know when to start jumping or zig zagging
+Player does not need to check the map as often for danger he will be notified on screen
+Helps all aliens not just the skulk
+Comp players can disable it
Cons:
-Might be a tiny performance hit
Comments
Rookies need to have the feeling that, despite dying so much, they are still improving somehow. One of the things they can do this for, that doesn't involve engaging marines per se, is walljumping. It's a skill they can make progress on for 90% of the time they're playing skulk. But they have to know this mechanic actually exists. After almost 4 years of post-release development, the basic skill for the basic lifeform is still never actually explained or even mentioned properly. Please, for the love of god, do something about it.
Would certainly encourage better skulk play. Though an emphasis on ambushing would also be insanely helpful.
Yeah, the feedback on walljumping could be better. It might be worth looking at racing games here. Have the speedboost "kick in" after three consecutive jumps or so with all the visual and audio cues of a racing game. (Swoosh sound, sudden acceleration, maybe a little popup thing.)
This is a good idea. There should be a visual\audio indicator to help with wall jumping. This is UWE's chance to add cool stuff to the game to help people. Not make the game any easier to play. Teach and help with visual indicators.
Yea, but how many people notice that? I think it should also have a visual cue and help indicate that you're doing it right with the first couple jumps.
they could improve this witha simple wind sound that increase with speed
People are obsessed with getting high combos..
You can have easy to learn, difficult to master, that contains plenty of skill still.
Not every single element from the beginning has to require skill.. that's just called inaccessible.
I think this is the root of the disagreement and discontent is with UWE.
Both paths have challenges.
Providing better resources to learn the game is expensive to implement, implemented slower, risky, but has a higher potential return on player retention.
Making the game easier to play is cheaper to implement, implemented faster, less risky, but has a lower potential return on player retention.
From my perspective UWE has been trying to both with what little resources they have given to the game. They don't have an AAA budget, let alone an indie game budget. They have the budget of a game that has been out 4 years. I want to say, don't half ass two things, whole ass one thing. I just don't think they have the resources to do it.
Unlike many of the people on the forums, I guess I am just happy they are at least trying even though I may not like what they end up doing.
pls instead of blamin the game just l2p. pdt already did way to much to make the game more ez for rookies.
even with larger hitboxes some ppl still get only <10%. u wanna give them autoaim next? stop bein ridiculous pls
For one, consider that even with proper tutorials, 50% don't even bother with them.
Then account for the fact that the only way to guide someone through intuitive gameplay design inherently makes it less skillful for the floor (the ceiling can still be high) and is exactly what I was highlighting.
In other words, you can have a skillful game without making it inaccessible at the floor through high skill requirements, or having to lean on tools that no one will use.
Again.. the design approach is referred to "easy to learn, difficult to master", not "difficult to learn, even more difficult to master".
Both of those are skilled games, by definition, but only one of them is needlessly inaccessible.
You don't think people would click on a tutorial after a round if it seemed geared towards the user? Want to shoot a higher accuracy/work on your marine game, click on this tutorial. Want to work on your skulk gameplay, click on this tutorial. Yes, some people wouldn't watch it, but I think a lot of people that like the concept of the game and wanted to improve or stay with the game would. I think it should be geared at something the player did the previous round and try to show a path for improvement.
2) Coaching/mentoring would be unwanted by the majority of rookies. I know this because it already is. Go on any pub server with any amount of rookies and you will have a hard time finding even one that is willing to actually listen to you. These players only play the game for 2 hours and quit forever regardless of any training.
3) The people who would benefit the most from coaching are more intermediate players who are willing to seek it out already.
4) Coaching, mentoring, or whatever you want to call it is just not worth any time or effort.
5) Rookies really do not need veterans to teach them. If you do not believe me watch the videos in this spoiler.
These guys had some minor practice before hand but almost all of them are total rookies.
This is a full round on a rookie only server.
http://www.twitch.tv/calego/v/38082162
6) In those videos you will see that rookies do indeed learn the game on their very own. Sure, they do not play the way we veterans expect them to but that is not the point. Rookies are very new to the game and they do not know what things are. Let them learn at their own pace so that they are more willing to continue learning when they get to regular servers.
Where are all your people you have trained in countless hrs?
With your logic the playerbase should be much higher after all the mentor programs.
Beside the fact that its boring like hell to tell the same over and over again for years, it just doesnt worth it.
If people want to learn things, they are asking, search the forum or Youtube.
And these players are the ones that play longer, the other ones who are not asking or interested in tutorial videos or whatever would quit anyway.
Even if you try to train them a whole round.
While rookies did appreciate it in the past, the number of rookies who appreciate help is dropping like a stone.. fast.
I would no longer bother, it creates a worse mood in the match then not trying at all.
Did you watch the videos? I don't think so.
Give a man a HP boost, and his floorskulk will survive an extra 0.5 seconds. Teach a man how to play, and he'll never floorskulk anymore.