Grendel Interview
Macguyvok
Godlike Fuzzydice Join Date: 2003-05-09 Member: 16162Members
Godlike Fuzzydice Join Date: 2003-05-09 Member: 16162Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Here's my notes on it:</div> Grendel Interview went well.. it was long. I'm sorry I couldn't get a recording, I tried. However, to hold you over till one's released, or a transcription is done, here's the notes I caught while typing to about 3 other people, and mapping.... lolz.. forgive the possible inaccuracies/lack of real info.. I tried.
o Flay's been taking the suggestions very seriously, and have been trying to intigrate these into builds, but it's makes things more complicated to run the playtesting, don't be worried if you don't see a new build anytime soon, Flay's trying to iron out everything and release big builds.
o Flay maintains a really good dialog with the communications, and if you post a thread, and it's conherent, chances are, he reads it.
o NS has become much more newbie friendly, and useability has been greatly increased. Things are much more intuitive, including the commander interface, the general HUD layout, and tooltips.
o Although there's changes, 1.04 players aren't going to have to re-learn the game.
o Currently, it's been really easy to get Onos, however, they've not been balancing teams specifically, they've doing more general balancing, and by the time it's done, Onos will be out by the time Marines have Jetpack.
o There is a new flexability on the aliens side.
o Hive lockdown is still viable, becuase it slows kharaa down, and denys them abilities.
o Map changes have been more to make games more interesting, than to remove Hive lockdowns, or marine lockdowns, etc.
o DON'T E-MAIL DEVS! ("Unless you're the world's best weapons modler, and you've descided to model for NS.")
o Grendel's favorite change: Commander Interface, since it's made the biggest leap forward. Also, new sounds.
o There have been particle system changes, but Grendel's not a mapper, so he doesn't have details.
o Some Strategies are outdated, others aren't. Also, new ones need to be made. Electrified RT's are a big improvement, and give flexability.
o If lerk bite is the only thing that made the game worth playing, sorry. It's not coming back.
o Without bite, PT's have still been owning marines, so it's not real idea.
o Biggest change to Marines: Lower weapon costs. 2nd most: Marines loss weapon when they die.
o Biggest change to Aliens: Skulks Orrient to walls, which is very distracting/difficult when you are trying to shoot at them. Skulk is also faster. Skulks have been owning quite a bit.
o Bile Bomb owns buildings. A few bile bombs will kill turrets like nothing. Grendel claims it's like using a catapult to destroy a town hall, it doens't take much, but the "seige vehicle" is a pretty weak one. A few bile bombs will ruin a marine base, but a single marine can kill them.
o Gorges are more like medics now.
o The order for Chambers is not longer DMS, it's whatever you want. "There's no single, set in concrete build list. Sensory chambers are pretty cool, and powerful now. Many people go for them first."
o Med Spam: You can't do it right at the start, you have to research med packs now. The new Commander interface makes in vastly easier, however, they cost 2 res, so he doesn't have much simpathy for people who complaine, since the commander's wasting alot of res to do it *equivalent of a few shotties/HA).
o Spawn camping: Aliens have a personalize umbra when they spawn now.
o With server overhead decreasing, there are going to much bigger teams on pubs, and they will be able to be hosted off personal computers.
Well, that's it.. feel free to add anything I missed.. I'll edit it into the main post.
o Flay's been taking the suggestions very seriously, and have been trying to intigrate these into builds, but it's makes things more complicated to run the playtesting, don't be worried if you don't see a new build anytime soon, Flay's trying to iron out everything and release big builds.
o Flay maintains a really good dialog with the communications, and if you post a thread, and it's conherent, chances are, he reads it.
o NS has become much more newbie friendly, and useability has been greatly increased. Things are much more intuitive, including the commander interface, the general HUD layout, and tooltips.
o Although there's changes, 1.04 players aren't going to have to re-learn the game.
o Currently, it's been really easy to get Onos, however, they've not been balancing teams specifically, they've doing more general balancing, and by the time it's done, Onos will be out by the time Marines have Jetpack.
o There is a new flexability on the aliens side.
o Hive lockdown is still viable, becuase it slows kharaa down, and denys them abilities.
o Map changes have been more to make games more interesting, than to remove Hive lockdowns, or marine lockdowns, etc.
o DON'T E-MAIL DEVS! ("Unless you're the world's best weapons modler, and you've descided to model for NS.")
o Grendel's favorite change: Commander Interface, since it's made the biggest leap forward. Also, new sounds.
o There have been particle system changes, but Grendel's not a mapper, so he doesn't have details.
o Some Strategies are outdated, others aren't. Also, new ones need to be made. Electrified RT's are a big improvement, and give flexability.
o If lerk bite is the only thing that made the game worth playing, sorry. It's not coming back.
o Without bite, PT's have still been owning marines, so it's not real idea.
o Biggest change to Marines: Lower weapon costs. 2nd most: Marines loss weapon when they die.
o Biggest change to Aliens: Skulks Orrient to walls, which is very distracting/difficult when you are trying to shoot at them. Skulk is also faster. Skulks have been owning quite a bit.
o Bile Bomb owns buildings. A few bile bombs will kill turrets like nothing. Grendel claims it's like using a catapult to destroy a town hall, it doens't take much, but the "seige vehicle" is a pretty weak one. A few bile bombs will ruin a marine base, but a single marine can kill them.
o Gorges are more like medics now.
o The order for Chambers is not longer DMS, it's whatever you want. "There's no single, set in concrete build list. Sensory chambers are pretty cool, and powerful now. Many people go for them first."
o Med Spam: You can't do it right at the start, you have to research med packs now. The new Commander interface makes in vastly easier, however, they cost 2 res, so he doesn't have much simpathy for people who complaine, since the commander's wasting alot of res to do it *equivalent of a few shotties/HA).
o Spawn camping: Aliens have a personalize umbra when they spawn now.
o With server overhead decreasing, there are going to much bigger teams on pubs, and they will be able to be hosted off personal computers.
Well, that's it.. feel free to add anything I missed.. I'll edit it into the main post.
Comments
I think its this one that does it:
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Flay's been taking the suggestions very seriously, and have been trying to intigrate these into builds, but it's makes things more complicated to run the playtesting, don't be worried if you don't see a new build anytime soon, Flay's trying to iron out everything and release big builds.
o Flay maintains a really good dialog with the communications, and if you post a thread, and it's conherent, chances are, he reads it.</span>
*feels watched by the king*
Why? Bandwidth.
Few people have enough upstream to host a Half-Life server, and most of those who do have transfer caps.
For example, I have a DSL line with 800kbit upstream (before overhead). It's enough to host a 24 player server, maybe even 32 with some tweaking of server settings. I even have a server I used to use to host scrims when it was needed. However, I have a 15GB monthly transfer cap, so I can't run it full time. This is the case with most people who have the bandwidth, but can't afford to pay the extra bandwidth bills.
I myself did some math, and figured it would cost me something like 30-50$ canadian per month to run a pub. Certainly way cheaper than a hosted server, but still way out of my budget.
but i don't understand something ...
There is a new flexability on the aliens side??? flexability? i dont know what does it mean in that context, could some1 nice tell me?
In 1.04 the Aliens usually got first the Defense Chamber than Movement and Sensory...
In 1.1 you can get all of them they are all as good as the others.
And you don't need more hives to evolve to higher forms.
Erm, this <u>really</u> needs clearing up...
Where would be the fun in getting hives if you can build all the chambers at hive 1?
Now I think that we still need more Hives for another chambers, but know we almoust always build DC, MC and at the end SC, but in 1.1 the upg. will be so balanced that, it won't make any difference which chamber will be first
devour <!--emo&::marine::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/marine.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='marine.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif'><!--endemo-->
(if the lineup of attacks (sp?) is final anyways)
just kidding <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif'><!--endemo--> (I love the new smiley's btw <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> )
For a while I also thought that all the chambers where supported at 1 hive, maybe in a previous build it was??
As for the moment, you don't need hives for life-forms, but you'll need hives for chambers & attacks