A Bit Of A Rant From Me For The First Time

[A Boojum Snark]

I have finally gotten annoyed enough with these 2 things (actually 3) that I feel like ranting and seeing what other people think.

First off I dont like MT and SoF. Personally I think they should be completely removed. It get so tiring trying to do sneaky things only to be so easily found out. They are helpful, I just think I would have more fun without them.

Secondly, the shotgun. Once again I think it needs to be removed and a new weapon found. If you knew me you would know this must mean the shotgun is bad, as the shotgun has always been my favorite weapon in every game I play... untill NS came along.
There is the insta-kill on lower lifeforms that I am sure everyone gets annoyed with at one time or another, also is the fact that it is an all-around weapon good for everything, this is obvious as some comms use nothing but them.
They slaughter structures much too fast, so fast that you rarely see GLs even though GLs are better at it (324 damage per grenade at lv3). HMGs are supposed to be anti-onos, yet shotguns work perfectly fine too.
Lastly I avoid picking up a shotgun like the plauge. If I happen to get one, I look around for someone with an LMG and toss it to him. The only time I will take one is if it is a direct order from the comm such as shotgun rushing the hive, which I hate being a part of as I have experienced the other end.

and finally don't think this rant was spawned after a bad game. I just got back from the orthodontist and am using the computer for the first time today.

So what are your opinions?

[BobTheJanitor]

Partial agreement. MT circles need to be removed. MT should be limited to the map. That's its most useful function anyway, as you can tell where enemies are moving all over the map. The circles are just a distraction, and rather overpowered as they totally destroy the ability to ambush. If I knew an alien was waiting on the other side of the door, but not exactly WHERE he was waiting, then things are still interesting. As it is I just have to walk throught the door with my gun on him and fire.

SoF, not so bad. Not a lot of people get it anyway and with sens always being last, it's not killing anything. Makes it harder to ninja to a hive and set up a PG to take it down, but then I find that fair. Marines still have that slim comeback chance when trapped in base vs hive 3 aliens, whereas hive 1 aliens vs. full tech marines have no comeback chance at all. SoF means they won't have as easy a time getting that one man out to help kill a hive.

Shotgun. Hard to say. Overpowered, but how much is hard to know without getting the damn spark bug fixed. Sometimes skulks take one blast, sometimes it's three or four. >.<

[devicenull]

What's this spark bug I keep hearing about?

[Diablus]

BAsically i think MT should be disabled when a skulk is walking, or to up the resource cost of it about 15-20 resources to encourage ambushes. The way I see it, ambushes usuualy take place during the first 5 minutes of a game, once hive 2 is up and leap for a quick attack into a group of marines and the you can hear my hiss every 5 seconds from the other side of the map. Ambushes dont really take place. Unless HA are moving out to a hive, aliens don't really need ambushes.

The shotgun.... well.... Its not anti tank weapon 1v1 like the HMG is (125 +10 pistol shots with lvl 3 (or mabye even 2) kills an onos. I think its pretty fair. It should be upped 2-5 resources for 1 since its at defualt armory. (to encourage the use of GL's)

I see more HA trains with all shotguns and a few HMGS then GL mixed with HMGs Current B4.



And another thing. Seriously.... a LA marine should be running SLOWER with a freakin HMG, im SICK of 1 LA marine chasing after a onos, CATCHING up to him and taking him out, i find that completly rediculous if Flayra has the ability to go onos at Hive 1 in game.


Ok they have 1 onos, here take 15-20 resources and go kill something that cost 102-106 resources.

completly rediculous.

[X-S-Z]

The spark bug occurs randomly to some players (Steam bug, not ns) and is most noticeable when skulking. The bug causes the skulk's hitbox to actually lag behind the model, thus when you fire directly upon the model, all you see are the sparks of your bullets as they hit the ground beyond.

I've been bugged a couple of times, the most memorable time was a game on Hera. Nuke pulled me aside and recorded a demo of the bug in action.
All you can do is tell the guy to restart Steam, and hope it fixes itself.

As for shotguns, they need to do... say, like... half damage to Onos or something. It really shouldn't be the all-in-one wonder that it is now, but as for popping lower level lifeforms.... well, I think it should be a skulk destroyer. However, it still takes some skill to nail those quick critters at close range.

[Niteowl]

i've always thought that lerk sporing from afar is the best counter to the shotty.

[Diablus]

Yes it is, but sometimes the SG shrapnel actually hits you doing a hella lotta damage, i remember i went from 125 hp to about 20 from 2 SG shots down a corridor, so sometimes they glitch and the pellets actualyl seem to bunch together :blink:

[A Boojum Snark]

Well why I see the shotguns as overpowered is not in how much damage it does (though that is a factor) but rather that it is good against everything. Maybe it would be better if the shotgun recived a damage type and some alien and/or upgrade was the oppisite of it. (ya know, GL are blast, HMG is piercing, etc) Maybe carapace should make you more resistant to shotgun pellets because they ricochet off the hard armor.
Hmm... I like that idea, maybe I'll post it in I&S, whatcha think?

[Mr.Bill]

that whoole carapace idea is a very good Idea I agree to it.


from a marine side I love the shottie,

from a alien side I hate it, well not so much hate but more of an annoyance, it'd be hate if I played aliens more often.

I know it long hallways that using a shottie works just as well as your chances of actually hitting something is really high, and if they far away you can get a lot of shots off, I know the fact that they scatter and might miss helps ym aim (yes, I actually count on the fact that Ill miss because I knwo skulks movce faster then my reaction time ) I'd say to maybe lowe the damage of the shotgun a little, or lot which ever would be needed.


But ABS's carapace idea is a good one, im for it.

and as a totaly abstract MvM point of view of it, Shotgun pwns, but a good counter for it is the hmg.


(sorry, had to add that)

[Diablus]

You can do it ABS, but the only people who will actually see it and respond to it are the ones who lurk deep in the dark places of the firey pits of the S&I forums, they say if you see one you die of fright because theyre so evil. That and chances of flayra or a dev seeing it before it gets locked due to spammage from anonamous noobs, or they all flame your idea so much that it must be locked to make the 3rd degree burns stop. thats why i dont bother posting in the S&I forums

[fatty]

so you want to make defense chambers MORE powerful ?  

[Diablus]

its the first chamber 98% of the time in a game. So who cares if its made more powerful? aliens lose once they go sensory in a BIG game of 8v8... and movment, well i havent seen that as hive 1 chamber in B4 yet

[XeroDream]

yea i agree with the MT but not the SoF, Also Shotties are cool But a touch overpowered maybe not 1 hit kills on the poor little skulks But real close!

[rad4Christ]

and movment, well i havent seen that as hive 1 chamber in B4 yet

We did it the other day and won 3 consecutive rounds with it. I quit after that, but MC is a great first chamber IF you use it.

[Keyser59]

The shotgun.... well.... Its not anti tank weapon 1v1 like the HMG is (125 +10 pistol shots with lvl 3 (or mabye even 2) kills an onos. I think its pretty fair. It should be upped 2-5 resources for 1 since its at defualt armory. (to encourage the use of GL's)

I see more HA trains with all shotguns and a few HMGS then GL mixed with HMGs Current B4.

Actually the pellets have the exact same spread every shot. Try shooting a hive or a resource node and notice the blood spurts. Bullet decals do NOT represent where the pellets land.

If you do perform this test, you will notice that 3-4 pellets are grouped slightly to the right and above of your crosshair. I've managed to make a crosshair that shows where this pellet group is so I can snipe skulks from medium distance with the shotgun.

However, once I got used to knowing the location of the small group, I went back to normal crosshairs because that is where the general center of the circle of pellets lands (and sometimes it screwed up closerange fights), but I can still semi-snipe skulks unexpected ranges if I need to.

EDIT: However, the HMG is still the all purpose anti-alien weapon, as it should be. In pretty much any situation I would prefer a HMG over a shotgun in almost every situation.