Now that we have a fairly good idea on what should form the base of Unvanquished (ie, the win conditions and larger goals):
I would like to compile the opinions of the development team of what they would like to see changed in Unvanquished from Tremulous. As I have stated in the past, I'm less interested in making the focus of Unvanquished gameplay to differ from Tremulous. My primary focus is to create a fun game, whether or not it is similar to Tremulous.
Somethings that we have previously mentioned:
Introduction of a flying alien, dubbed the Vulture by kharnov.
Renaming of the Machine Gun to the Carbine by kharnov.
Renaming the Acid Tube to a name more suitable to the model. One name that was floated around was the "Acid Spore" or perhaps something that connotes it's more gaseous visual effect.
Unvanquished is only a shiny Tremulous mod.
Everything here is only about changing small things in Tremulous without a real goal. norfenstein's method with the questions for a vision statement was a step in the right direction for a better gameplay. Don't misunderstand me i played Tremulous for years like many others here, but the grafik is not the only reasy why people left the game. For us it's quite natural how the game and his building, classes and weapons works.
We need to go a step back and challenge every part of the game. Answering more question and start to summary the results to a vision statement.
like:
How many aliens do we need?
In witch way should they distinguish?
What should be their abilities?
Do we need Adv. Classes?
What building do humans and aliens need?
What are the functions of these buildings?
Witch weapons and items need the humans?
This should be done first, before conception and naming of all game elements. Now the situation is that there are many Concepts and Models already made, what restricts a bit the the possible choices. But it would be sad to make everything just like Tremulous. We have the chance to make it better. :)
it's just something i want to say for a while and hope this makes any sense. @_@
But it would be sad to make everything just like Tremulous. We have the chance to make it better. :)
it's just something i want to say for a while and hope this makes any sense. @_@
It makes sense. It makes perfect sense. This is what I've been shouting about for more than a year now. It's nice to see that I'm not the only person with this opinion anymore.
Right, but the thing is, we don't need to change a weapon, remove a class, or modify a buildable "because Tremulous had it." If it doesn't fit, if we can do better, or if there is a valid reason beyond "Tremulous had it," by all means. In fact, this was the purpose of the thread: to determine what we need to change, things that we want to change, and lastly, things that we do not need to change.
Rifle → Carbine. Optionally, add a model number in front. MX-4 Carbine for instance. Painsaw → Plasma Cutter, Beam Cutter, etc. Shotgun remains the same, it's a generic weapon name. Alternatively, a model number can be prefixed. MX-12 Automatic Shotgun. Lasgun → Laser Rifle, Beam Rifle, etc. Mass Driver → Particle Accelerator, Particle Rifle, something with Particle in front. Alternatively, Railgun, Rail Rifle. Chaingun remains the same, again, a generic weapon name. Add a model number in front. MG-4 Chaingun. Flamer → Flamethrower should be established as the standard name, unless there's something more illustrious. Pulse Rifle → Plasma Rifle is my favorite. Lucifer Cannon → Ion Burst Cannon.
This makes a hell of a lot more sense. I can't imagine the humans creating a "pain saw" for use as a weapon--the idea just seems, well, crazy. I can, however, see the idea that the "painsaw" was actually some sort of industrial cutting thing (like you're suggesting with those names) and was repurposed by desperate soldiers.
Yes. It's what I wrote for the story material too, more than a year ago. Probably out of date, but still good as a reference.
Of all weapons in the human arsenal, the painsaw stands out as the most peculiar, for two reasons. The first is that the weapon does not have the same reach as any of the others, in fact working over extremely short distances, which result in considerable risk to the wielder. Secondly, the weapon does not possess a military origin, but is in fact a weaponized form of a common cutting implement used in construction and the processing of highly strengthened metal alloys. Two electrodes jut out from the handle of the weapon, each fed by a pair of miniaturized generators that can give off a considerable amount of power for their size. When a trigger in the handle is held down, current flows between the electrodes, with enough voltage to ionize the surrounding air into searing plasma. If the “blade” of the weapon does not make contact with another surface, such as the body of an alien, the current is cycled back into the generators, with relatively little loss of energy. This, along with efficient power storage, allows for the weapon to be used almost indefinitely.
The weapon is a common sight among starship crewmen, who favor it over the standard rifle for its inability to damage the ship’s infrastructure with stray rounds. Smaller aliens are butchered in a matter of seconds, making the painsaw an excellent choice for those that choose to venture into the poorly lit ventilation systems where they lurk. Even the largest aliens may be slaughtered by several humans wielding painsaws, although at such close ranges, going in without the protection of armor or teammates would be suicidal.
In fact, this was the purpose of the thread: to determine what we need to change, things that we want to change, and lastly, things that we do not need to change.
And how do we decide what need/want and don't need or doesn't fit?
When we create a concept, this can be used to look at the current game and say what class/weapon/building fits to the things we want and where we need to change/add or remove things.
