Proposed Blaster Change

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Comet_
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Proposed Blaster Change

Post by Comet_ »

Proposed change: Remove blaster and replace it with the Painsaw (rename the Painsaw too, please).

Reasoning: Painsaw is not a viable weapon in the game, so I hardly see it getting used unless someone is base rushing. Even when base rushing, painsaw rushes are generally weak because you are risking proximity to alien buildings and with things like trappers, hives, and spikers (even acid tubes), the more distance you have the more health efficient you will be in base destruction. Also, the painsaw is very confusing weapon for new players and many of them will make the mistake of buying it not understanding what its use is. So, that being said, we have now established that a painsaw is hardly viable as a primary weapon and it is also a very risky tool to use when killing bases. This is where my proposal comes in. The blaster deals 9 damage with a slow iteration rate and bullet speed; no one will ever use it over the primary. I see people who are out of ammunition, run to base with primary in hand because they don't even think twice about pulling out the useless blaster. This reasoning is why I want to bring the painsaw into usage as the standard secondary for humans. It will be better at killing aliens than the blaster (but only if the aliens misplay as the painsaw is easily outranged by most aliens evolutions) and it actually will serve a purpose. Say you find a lone egg in the middle of the map out in the open, no longer would you have to waste 7 mass driver shots just to kill it; take out your unlimited ammo secondary and reduce it to alien beef. I do acknowledge that the painsaw is way too strong to give to humans in the current state of the weapon which is why I suggest lowering the damage by 10 points per iteration to 5 points of damage making it comparable to the rifle, but melee (and with a slightly higher firing speed. DPS was 66.67 by my calculations which is more than fair). This is also a good change because aliens wouldn't have to worry about a painsaw sneaking into their base and destroying the OM in a few seconds.

Tell me what you think! :grin:

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Viech
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Re: Proposed Blaster Change

Post by Viech »

And how I ask you, would a human wear a sidearm chainsaw, hidden in its pants? :grin:

I disagree that the painsaw is not viable. It's very strong against both bases and bigger aliens (given some movement skills) though you usually need to go with a ranged partner to back you up and prevent enemies from just running away. For the low price it's quite a decent item to pick up. If you ever played against hrmm you know that it can even win matches.

Note that, just like against alien attacks, a high ping makes you more vulnerable to the painsaw than a low one as you can't dodge it as easily by varying your distance to the enemy. This makes balancing it more difficult. In particular it may feel weak(er) if you're playing as an alien with little delay and your enemy is used to playing against people with a high delay.

With regards to the blaster, yep it's pretty weak. There has been a pistol in the making which might replace it, potentially allowing for burst damage through a high semi-automatic fire rate. How exactly we use it – as a general blaster replacement, as a buyable item or as an automatic blaster replacement at a certain team level – isn't decided yet (despite my description in the model assignment thread). Have a look here.

Responsible for: Arch Linux package & torrent distribution, Parpax (map), Chameleon (map texture editor), Sloth (material file generator), gameplay design & programming, artistic direction

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Comet_
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Re: Proposed Blaster Change

Post by Comet_ »

I guess I agree with you. I always felt that the painsaw was just out of place and didn't feel right. I just thought that would be a good compromise to make it feel better in gameplay as well as solve the problem of the blaster. Also, I have played against hrmmm and I would've consider myself a painsaw lord in Tremulous GPP.

A halo-esque pistol with 7 damage shots would be much better than the current blaster.

Can we at least agree that the painsaw is a bad name lol

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Viech
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Re: Proposed Blaster Change

Post by Viech »

Comet_ wrote:

Can we at least agree that the painsaw is a bad name lol

Yes.

Also, I don't know the halo pistol but I liked the blaster in JK2. It had faster primary projectiles than ours and a secondary that's charged for a slower powershot.

Responsible for: Arch Linux package & torrent distribution, Parpax (map), Chameleon (map texture editor), Sloth (material file generator), gameplay design & programming, artistic direction

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