Sure I can get behind this, but then we should add a new specialist with a jet/jump pack that has the same mobility as this flying xeno.
Yes
No
ummmmmm, depends on how you implement them and what they do
Sure I can get behind this, but then we should add a new specialist with a jet/jump pack that has the same mobility as this flying xeno.
Spoiler:
It's the era of moba benos, so let's think like a moba.
Ability #1: Fly: If on the ground you fly (after a short windup if you're dragging someone). If you're in the air you dive down to the targeted point, knocking prone and stunning a marine under the point of impact.
Ability 2: Wind gust: if you're on the ground you send a gust of wind in the target direction, knocking targets back a few tiles and slowing them for two seconds. They take damage if knocked into something solid. In the air it blows all targets in a 3x3 one tile from the center. The center tile is unaffected.
Ability 3: Airlift: Select a point within three tiles. After a one second windup you and the dragged xeno both jump to that point. Cooldown increases based on tier of airlifted xeno.
I think this would be a pain to balance honestly. I think it needs to be able to be shot while in the air, but shooting at the shadow sounds like a good way to get loads of FF since it's shadow should theoretically be able to occupy the same space as a marine. It's also completely useless shipside, in caves, indoors, on prison, and in lower level ice. Dropping a carried marine would just be done with 'Q', or by the marine resisting. The damage is the same either way.
It would all depend on how they're implemented. But I wouldn't mind seeing some concepts.
Yeah, it would be. But that doesn’t prevent the idea from being fun.Originally Posted by UnwaveringGrey
And the idea (not that anyone would follow that idea) would be that it’s never used in caves, it’s a surface creature. It would be harassing the LZs, not nest defending.
Following up on the idea of the blowback and slow: It’s a 2 part thing to maintain viability in man-made places where it can’t fly (though in man-made places where it CAN fly, it might be OP, so tell me what you think) first, give it a toggle for “crowbar grip” so that it can pry up floor tiles. Second, make ground debris affected by the Wind Gust, to deal very light damage on impact but with a knockdown. So the Gust only moves you, but if you get nailed by all the crap being blown about, you get knocked on your ass. And if there is little to no debris, then there’s no knockdown.
I do guess that dropping one marine onto another marine would probably just result in two piles of salt, so I should prolly retract that idea.
As for FF, I think it would be about the same as when a lurker pounces. Did you click on the Lurker? Or did you click on one pixel of downed marine by accident? Instead of a non-descript traveling darkness, it could be a perfectly ocular sprite of just blackness, but then it would be way too visible, even if transparent, IMO. Maybe increase the targetable sprite of the shadowed area to be the same size as the darkness, a full 3x3, but it ignores shots that don’t target it specifically? So it won’t get mowed down by random fire since it’s not even in the line of fire, but if someone clicks on the shadow specifically, there’s a chance to hit?
Also, I know it sounds like a nasty bugger, but when I said this idea had low armor, low health, I mean one burst from a pulse rifle should pain-crit it. Or make it so any shot that “hits” the flier does an equivalent drop on them, same damage given to a falling marine.
In order to prevent them flying into a corner and drawing the end of a round out, flight would require a huge plasma cost to start, with a per tick cost as well. This also prevents an unusually robust Xeno player from drop spamming marines.
You could just change its abilities when during Almayer Hijack. Like dropping wings in favour of becoming runner/lurker hybrid.
So... something kinda like what the warrior does when it goes to all 4s? Something like it having really fast movement, using folded wings as an extra pair of legs, at the expense of its other abilities?
It’s encouraging that you chose to connect an alternate play mode for this one to a lurker & runner, since I was thinking a good spot for it would be T2 evolve from runner.
What do you mean by runner/lurker hybrid? I don’t think the stalk would be a good fit, for sure, otherwise its alternates would be... speed and pounce? But then it would just be a runner, right?
That would only happen when DS hits the Almayer. You shouldn't be able to change your abilities before. Because flyer would have low armor and HP then it needs to be compensated with speed (runner) and some kind of pounce (lurker). While also being more squishy that lurker.
Then ability to attach itself to the ceiling. It would work sort of like burrower hiding underground, but it can move only on tiles that are passable (no walking trough walls). This would drain plasma at steady rate and moving would drain it way faster.
Thanks to that it would retain its status as ultimate ambusher. Where lurker is just runner that also can turn semi-invisible, this flying beno would be ambusher first and foremost.
That is a really good idea. I guess it’d be more like the runner in Alien 3 then, able to move fast, able to ceiling run. So since it is at that point a perfect ambusher (since there is no warning, unlike being able to spot a lurker (even if just barely), or seeing a giant red dog run onto and off the screen before going Xeno-binocular and pouncing you from off-screen) it probably shouldn’t be able to one-shot a target wearing even light armor (sorry non-coms, you shouldn’t be fighting or going alone anyways). Or should it be able to, but with an incredibly long (5+ minute) cooldown on a ceiling tackle/ripyourfaceoff ability? There’s a time limit once the Xenos hijack I believe, so limiting it to only a few times might not be necessary, especially if it has a significant plasma cost and exposes the Xeno to being one shorted even from a distance...
If this was implemented I would say it should be a branch off from the runner. So instead of becoming a lurker you can choose to evolve to a "flyer". Given how a instance of a "flyer" was portrayed in red in the 1990 arcade machine. It would be a nice nod to that old ass game.
Last edited by Midnight0gamer; 03-10-2020 at 01:09 PM.
And for abilities I’m going to take a bit of inspiration from the Lurk from Natural Selection 2.
Now if we are going with moba morphs the passive will be “Accelerating Flight” Accelerating flight will cause the Xenomorph to start of slow but gain speed the more it moves taking a maximum of like 3-5 seconds to reach max speed and losing max speed after 2 seconds of not moving. This speed will surpass the runner in max speed while outside or in a large enough area. While inside it’ll be slightly faster.
This passive can be toggled on and off at will. When toggled off the “Flyer” assumes a walking position and slows down considerably. When on the “flyer” gains increased move speed and the “Accelerating flight” passive.
For balance “Accelerating Flight” drains plasma based on how fast the “flyer” is moving so they can’t stay supersonic all game. Also being shot will slow you down
Ability one is an utility called “Latch” Latch allows for the
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