Ideas for improvemens, UBP balance, and other extensions

[nalf]

Perhaps it'd be better to create a separate category for this and split it into several threads?

Mods adding new strategic options (and also fun )
Granger-dance is discussed in a separate thread.

Scare AKA taunt+nade: If a goon or a rant taunts behind a human carrying a grenade (within a given range), there is 50% chance the human will get scared and will drop the nade. It can be used in two ways: To prevent a human nading an alien base and to make a careless human nade his own base. Humans can counteract this by trying to face the nearby aliens.
This mod is already working on NALF's server.

A flying unit. I'm sure this has been discussed many times before. My idea is: Small, low HP, very fast, controlled like an airplane, causing damage by hitting a target. On the ground the unit would move quite slowly and only very small jumps (something like a granger). To get into air it would have to charge, when the charge is full, it would take off. While in air, the unit would have a constant speed (not able to slow down - like an airplane). Hitting a wall would cause it to fall and need to charge to take off again. I think this would make it limited enough not to be abused, would be ideal for attacking jets in large areas, and would add something novel to the game.

Ideas for balancing UBP
Higher damage/radius of exploding buildings. Two (or even one?) destroyed turrets/DCs/teslas would create an explosion strong enough to kill rets/DCs stacked close to it. This would prevent humans to build ret/DC/tesla farms, since they'd chain-explode after destroying just 1-2 of them. Humans would have to be much more careful when building.

[[{USATREM}] !Gunther!]

The last one is kind of sketchy, because then one nooby adv Mara can kill entire base because nooby humans build 25~rets in front on 1 node/medi/arm.
Scare should maybe only work within normal slash range, that way aliens can decide whether to swipe or play with their food first.
+1 for Granger Dance.

[Lancer]

I already told nalf balance would be bad idea, just lower the rate of DC's and it's fine.

[nalf]

The last one is kind of sketchy, because then one nooby adv Mara can kill entire base because nooby humans build 25~rets in front on 1 node/medi/arm.

Yes, Lancer told me that this would be a problem. I still thoutht that it's a responsibility of the human team to prevent such situations. A nooby human can kill his team by many possible ways, like feeding, bad RC moving, defending the base with a luci/flamer, etc. So this would be just one more. And if a more experienced human spots it, it's easy and fast to repair - just remove some of the turrets. But if you say it just wouldn't work, I believe you.

Scare should maybe only work within normal slash range, that way aliens can decide whether to swipe or play with their food first.
+1 for Granger Dance.

Perhaps. My idea was that it could be used for "aided basenading" when humans camp too hard. Being behind a human within a slash range inside a human base seems almost impossible to me. What if the probability would depend on the range? The closer to the human the more likely he'll get scared?

[Lancer]

I would shit my pants when a tyrant growls in my back, but i would shit my pants harder when he's beside me, either way - DEAD

[[{USATREM}] !Gunther!]

Would it affect multiple humans though?
Because then rant could just run up behind, scare 3~ humans with nades, game over.
Or all are distracted by mara on RC, then rant is behind and, once again, game over.

I would shit my pants when a tyrant growls in my back, but i would shit my pants harder when he's beside me,

Maybe we should make scare=drop "human poo" which can be flung at aliens for damage.

Poisoning aliens?
Humans carry sickthings (deceases?) and aliens gets poisoned
EDIT: ^HEY, I DIDN'T WRITE THAT^
LLLAAANNCCEERR....

[nalf]

Would it affect multiple humans though?
Because then rant could just run up behind, scare 3~ humans with nades, game over.
Or all are distracted by mara on RC, then rant is behind and, once again, game over.

Humans can easily avoid this situations by not buying a nade when not rushing. Defending a base with a nade has no use anyway, and it's easy to sell it quickly.

Another option would be to require that the taunting alien is not pouncing/trampling. (Since pouncing/trampling reveals the alien by its sounds.) This way it'd be harder to get past humans "unnoticed".

Anyhow, the idea needs to be thought over, discussed and tested, in order to be balanced.

I already told nalf balance would be bad idea, just lower the rate of DC's and it's fine.

That'd help, but it won't solve people building tons of rets (which eventually makes the server lag). And I'm afraid this would just make people build even more DCs to get the same rate as before.

[nalf]

Another idea for

Teamwork improvement:

1. See not only the HP of your teammates but also their evos/credits. This would help planning attacks, advising people that have no evos/credits and just feed etc.
2. Include the location into messages informing about building/deconing structures. For example Booster built by nalf (Bunker top).

[Lancer]

Another idea for

Teamwork improvement:

1. See not only the HP of your teammates but also their evos/credits. This would help planning attacks, advising people that have no evos/credits and just feed etc.
2. Include the location into messages informing about building/deconing structures. For example Booster built by nalf (Bunker top).

Not all maps include pointers where they are, so that will become difficult.

[nalf]

Not all maps include pointers where they are, so that will become difficult.

Then it would work as it is now, without printing any location. Teamchat works similarly - if the player's location is known, it prints it, otherwise it prints nothing.

[grmg.pl]

strategic

Lol,don't take it too seriously

If a goon or a rant taunts behind a human carrying a grenade (within a given range), there is 50% chance the human will get scared and will drop the nade.

Care to explain how is that gonna happen in ATCS tunnel?
Wasting time to taunt while attacking an s2 human is gonna get u killed faster.
Since you have to assume that a nade is for nading alien base it ain't gonna happen inside human base.
On top of it add this - what do you accomplish if you somehow make the human drop his nade? You still have to kill him? So whats the point?

To prevent a human nading an alien base

Choose path in ATCS - from default arm to outside to OM - it takes seconds to walk to alien entrance and then sprint to OM.

Take a game 10 vs 10. Top 2 humans rush usually. All time. Will a nade make a big difference to a lucisuit, that consistently has credits to well - lucisuit?

and to make a careless human nade his own base

Hahahahahahaha.
That ain't gonna happen.

Humans can counteract this by trying to face the nearby aliens.

Find me a human not facing a nearby alien.

Small, low HP, very fast, controlled like an airplane, causing damage by hitting a target.

Whats the point of flying when you have to hit a human?
Where are you going to fly?
Whats the damage to helmeted human?

Higher damage/radius of exploding buildings.

F1
Good idea. Since most ppl have no idea how to build and build randomly or spam (or both), why not penalize the idiots. Like a darwinian rule.

See not only the HP of your teammates but also their evos/credits.

F1. A really really good idea.

Include the location into messages informing about building/deconing structures.

Doesn't really change anything.

1. Because then rant could just run up behind, scare 3~ humans with nades, game over.

2. Or all are distracted by mara on RC, then rant is behind and, once again, game over.

Hahahahahhahaa.

1. When did you last saw a 3(!!!!!) humans with a nade (s2!!!!!) have their backs to an alien?

2. Get me a mara on top of RC at SD on any of the classic maps. I dare you.

[grmg.pl]

Not a doublepost, made this to stand out:

If you want to play with the "scare the nader" idea, make the nade instantly explode on human, dealing random damage (to humans only) in a certain radius (20-40dmg, half the nade radius).

This gives the aliens a goal worth using precious time near a s2 human.

[[{USATREM}] !Gunther!]

Another idea for

Teamwork improvement:

1. See not only the HP of your teammates but also their evos/credits. This would help planning attacks, advising people that have no evos/credits and just feed etc.
2. Include the location into messages informing about building/deconing structures. For example Booster built by nalf (Bunker top).

+1 for these ideas; I hate having to ask/answer everyone "how many creds you got?" >_>
This might perhaps result in a conflict with HUDs? Would you put the Evos/Cred factors in the listing on the side, or with the health info when you view a teammate?

Edit: For Scare, why not make it so you have 25%-ish chance of dropping nade from Front, then maybe 50~65%-ish chance when used from the Back?

[nalf]

+1 for these ideas; I hate having to ask/answer everyone "how many creds you got?" >_>
This might perhaps result in a conflict with HUDs? Would you put the Evos/Cred factors in the listing on the side, or with the health info when you view a teammate?

My idea was to put it in the list on the left side, after HPs. But it has a drawback - some people like to view only nearby teammates, not the whole team.
Seeing it when looking at a teammate would work too, but I'd say it'd be a bit annoying searching for everybody on the team and looking at them.
Yet another option would be to create a new command that would list all teammates and their evos on the console.

Edit: For Scare, why not make it so you have 25%-ish chance of dropping nade from Front, then maybe 50~65%-ish chance when used from the Back?

Yes, that's possible, but I'm afraid it would be too easy to abuse this way if there were many large aliens, all taunting. Maybe if the scaring effect range would be low (like chomp/maul-range)?

[[{USATREM}] !Gunther!]

Yes, that's possible, but I'm afraid it would be too easy to abuse this way if there were many large aliens, all taunting. Maybe if the scaring effect range would be low (like chomp/maul-range)?

That is what I've been saying. >_>