The 'enhanced Hearing' Replacement For Pheromes
killswitch
Join Date: 2003-02-05 Member: 13141Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2003-02-05 Member: 13141Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">What do you think?</div> If you missed it from the beta post at readyroom.org:
"Pheromones replaced with "Enhanced Hearing". This upgrade allows aliens to "listen" to nearby enemy build/drop/research messages (level 1 = 500, level 2 = 700, level 3 = 900). May try implementing "Focus" if time."
Isn't this like scent of fear only somewhat worse? We already have a tracking ability and this seems like overlap. There have been a lot of suggestions my favorite being <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=5&t=48548&hl=pheromones' target='_blank'>this one</a>, minus all the nitty gritty numbers. Assuming it could be balanced and not as static as it is (+10% for everyone for each chamber), I think it would be useful in relation to other sensory abilities:
Cloaking is good initially until MT and observatories.
Scent of Fear is good for marines that are trying to advance.
"Vorpal" is good for rooting out dug in marines.
The biggest flaw is that it's just a static ability that doesn't require any new strategies. However we do have carapace...
I didn't notice any other possible replacements that needed entertaining, (I heard attack rate increase but that overlaps with primal scream), any other suggestions?
"Pheromones replaced with "Enhanced Hearing". This upgrade allows aliens to "listen" to nearby enemy build/drop/research messages (level 1 = 500, level 2 = 700, level 3 = 900). May try implementing "Focus" if time."
Isn't this like scent of fear only somewhat worse? We already have a tracking ability and this seems like overlap. There have been a lot of suggestions my favorite being <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=5&t=48548&hl=pheromones' target='_blank'>this one</a>, minus all the nitty gritty numbers. Assuming it could be balanced and not as static as it is (+10% for everyone for each chamber), I think it would be useful in relation to other sensory abilities:
Cloaking is good initially until MT and observatories.
Scent of Fear is good for marines that are trying to advance.
"Vorpal" is good for rooting out dug in marines.
The biggest flaw is that it's just a static ability that doesn't require any new strategies. However we do have carapace...
I didn't notice any other possible replacements that needed entertaining, (I heard attack rate increase but that overlaps with primal scream), any other suggestions?
Comments
Perhaps some sort of flicker on and off visibility like cloaking with an obs near you, but you stay cloaked longer. Or a delayed vision for marines where they see where you were half a second ago.
Sounds like a useful upgrade, I just don't think it helps balance the upgrade chambers.
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The way I read it is that you can sit outside the marine base and "listen" to find out what buildings/items they are dropping and what they are researching. Probably only usefull in the beginning of a game. But I think it would be interesting and Im not gonna say its crap or good until I actually have used it.
I don't know exact numbers but it would be like:
2x dmg 2x the wait to chomp again
(note this was pulled from another thread on the exact same topic)
<a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=1&t=50820&hl=focus' target='_blank'>http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/in...=50820&hl=focus</a>
That said, I'd drop Enhanced Hearing in a heartbeat for Focus. That would just be insane for a Fade, and great for a Skulk and Onos too. No doubt about it that it would do wonders for Sensory's viability as first chamber, which Hearing really wouldn't help. It will definitely need balancing though so we'll see what happens.
Wouldn't this just be an implementation of a sound-hack? Or am I misunderstanding how this thing _should_ work?
IMO. But I'm cool with whatever really.
You know how in the top left corner of the screen you can see when and where the commander drops a building, or starts something researching, or drops an item? Well 'enhanced hearing' will basically allow the ALIEN to see those messages when they are within a certain range of the occurance. This means that alien becomes a recon guy. He can station himself near the marine base and notify the team when armor 1 starts, or when MT starts getting researched, or if the commander is about to do a shottie rush. While running around the map, he could notice that a phase just got dropped outside the hive when no other aliens are nearby to notice.
IIRC, the range on a seige cannon is 700, so at lvl 3 enhanced hearing would have a pretty hefty radius.
Clans won't use it, they're got most tech and build orders pounded out to a solid enough degree that it simply isn't necessary. Plus there's no way they can spare a man to spy on marine tech.
Even with those things aside, it's not going to help sensory get out of its spot as the third chamber because, like the other sensory abilities, it offers nothing at all in terms of base breakage. I predict about as much use as pheromones.
*edit* On a side note im not a dev i just posted this because im not telling anyone what the new upgrade is to keep them from whining and getting me in trouble over these changelogs. Hopefully others don't post it either.
Yer focus would b ok but i really can see it nerfing a few games, like gas spam for example....
Personally id rather see SoF changed back to 1.0x where it only shows injured players, i mean marines only get it if they have mt and the alien is moving, clear disadvantage. id rather see an ability that actually enhances abilitys in a useful way. Enh hearing like enh sight, it wont be used as ppl use SoF. Nerf SoF back to its original purpose and i reckon ppl will use pheromones properly.
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It could tell the aliens where the vital organs are or something. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Yer focus would b ok but i really can see it nerfing a few games, like gas spam for example....
Personally id rather see SoF changed back to 1.0x where it only shows injured players, i mean marines only get it if they have mt and the alien is moving, clear disadvantage. id rather see an ability that actually enhances abilitys in a useful way. Enh hearing like enh sight, it wont be used as ppl use SoF. Nerf SoF back to its original purpose and i reckon ppl will use pheromones properly. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sensory chambers are in a bad state as it is, nerfing SoF will be the ultimate death of them. All I want at the end of the day is for SC to be used as a first chamber more often.
it rather sucks, especialy when in combat due to it just being more data for me to have to deal with
"WTH this giant purple thing, oh right the tra..."
*chk chk BLAM* *splat*
again, the basic thing to remember is that in NS equal != even \/ fair
forinstance OMG commander can spam meds anywhere but gorges have to be right there!!!
the basic idea was that the 2 teams would have heavily different abilities but would still be balanced.
I understand Neo. Reading the current changelog at RR.org was a HEAVY boon to marines, so I didn't post it here.
Thanks for the input everyone. I know enhanced hearing isn't scent of fear, but it's LIKE scent of fear because it's a tracking/recon tactic, a wallhack-of-sorts. How we justify why increase damage is a sensory trait isn't important. Perhaps it allows the alien to feel the locations of vital organs and blood vessels, it's the balance and viability of sensory that is more important.
Sorry, I didn't mean this thread to become a "Suggestions" one. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
Worse, the fact is that in most games, learning about enemy structures is just not all that helpful, because in most cases it's obvious. My goodness, marines are researching HMGs! No! Setting up a turret factory and farming turrets! Wow: glad we learned about that!
It fits in with sensory abilities nicely.
The alien has a higher awareness of things; allowing hit attacks to deal more by biting in the most vulerable area's of a human body or structure; the gorge's healspray for instance heals for more because it becomes more proficient at summoning the bacteria; etc.