It's still called the Link Gun...

[Mardok]

Just a quick question you people:
Have you ever played TDM with the Link Gun? If you played TDM on the more difficult bots, and if you and the other bot has a Link Gun, it will link up to you.

In ONS, they won't link you at all.

[Dr.Crazyhead]

has anyone noticed that the new linkey looks a bit like a spaceship,
and upping the range sounds like a good idea, because then you could hide safely on a ledge or something linking someone attacking a powernode

[Boksha]

I think Linking should increase the beam range aswell as power.

Actually every link added 250 units to the Link sec's range, on a default of 1100.
It might be good idea to up that to 500 though.

[cardfan_01]

this is a unreal blog dont put it on gow.

[Gregori]

Well, I hope the bots understand the linkgun, this time around. If I've got a Link, and a bot has one right next to me, when I start using it, I want some linkage! And an understanding of link-chaining would be appreciated, too.

I agree. The linkgun was a good idea in theory but not handled in the best way.
If most people had seen bots linking, it would have been a bit more obvious. That and a tutorial.

It would be cool if tactics like Linking ended up as strategies for footsoldiers againsts Darkwalkers.

I think Linking should increase the beam range aswell as power.

[Hedge-o-Matic]

Yeah, I always did the same thing when playing Robot Factory. Why enter a link turret yourself, when the turret can aim as well as you can, and then you can link to power it up and repair it? Player-use of link turrets made no sense, unless they linked with the turret to another AI turret, to power it up while it attacked.

As far as dual assault rifles, There are certain maps that seem to favor various weapons, and while playing those maps, otherwise useless weapons become dangerous, for me. For example, on the CDOM map Lament, I seem to be able to actually use the assault rifle as if it were a real weapon. Similarly, on DM-Pipeworks (I think that's the name), I can use the Lightning gun and the link gun effectively. I suck with sniper weapons on all other maps, but not this one. A bot pathing issue, perhaps?

[tyrantrope]

The only time i used 'linking in Ut2004 was during the robot factory level. I shamelessly camped behind a link turret and powered it up using my link gun. occasionally God-like bots link to you during onslaught maps if you are building a node. -off topic- is the redeemer still included as a weapon for UT3?

in ut2004 i intentionally used dual assault rifles.
in Ut99 i used the ripper

the only time i kill people with teh link gun is by circle jump-dodging them during CTF.

[Hedge-o-Matic]

That's not going to get fixed by making it more powerful though; adding extra damage will just make it more random than it already is.

I agree. If you could hit with any sort of reliability, the damage rating would be excellent. This is why the bots can kill in about two seconds with the link secondary (or hump you with the primary after cornering you).

[Boksha]

sorry for saying anything...

Just thought I'd take the advice of your signature.
Seriously though, sorry if I seemed a bit aggressive. I always expect others to reply with the same fervour, so please don't be too intimidated.

And Hedge-o-Matic: I realise damage per second is no measure for effectiveness at all, that's why I added that the link is just too **** hard to use. That's not going to get fixed by making it more powerful though; adding extra damage will just make it more random than it already is.

[Hedge-o-Matic]

The "Damage per second" calculations for weapons are wildly inaccurate measures of effectiveness. All the factors combined in actual gameplay make or break a weapon. Nobody hits with every shot, so full-bore DPS is meaningless.

The linkgun doesn't suck as much as it did in 2k3 (now that was a full-on POS), but it's useable range is very small, and that range zone more than dominated by other weapons (hello, FC!).

Also, as I pointed out during the 2k4 demo days, the Link needs to auto-switch upon button release when it runs out of ammo. This will keep me from eating a sudden flak secondary round.

[Dr.Crazyhead]

i did like the pulse rifle but the model was nothing special, it looked a bit to much like a box with pipes and a handle(and thanks for support Mort Q)

[Jonny]

You're joking right?
The link primary fires 5.5 times per second at 30 damage per shot, so with 165 damage per second it's actually THE most damaging weapon in the game!
If you really did empty 100 ammo on someone, he'd have taken 1500 damage by then (one bolt costs 2 ammo). The link primary's problem isn't that it's too weak; it's that it's too hard to hit an enemy with because of acceleration and generally being pretty slow.

Way to take everything literally!

Yes he was joking but he has a point, i could hardly kill anyone with the link gun primary when aiming at them, you kinda just had to spray them around. The pulse rifle is how this gun should be, there was no need to add some weird acceleration to the projectiles so it was impossible to prediction-kill anyone.

Also when i first loaded up 2004 and shot that gun, i felt cheated that every shot took 2 ammo, what's the point of that?

[Mort_Q]

sorry for saying anything...

Never apologize. Your opinion is worth as much as anyone else's... even if the math isn't on your side.

[Dr.Crazyhead]

sorry for saying anything...

[Boksha]

I think they should also make primary fire on the linky more powerful aswell, 'cos when I play online I can empty about 100 ammo into the back of someones head and they just turn around and flak me

You're joking right?
The link primary fires 5.5 times per second at 30 damage per shot, so with 165 damage per second it's actually THE most damaging weapon in the game!
If you really did empty 100 ammo on someone, he'd have taken 1500 damage by then (one bolt costs 2 ammo). The link primary's problem isn't that it's too weak; it's that it's too hard to hit an enemy with because of acceleration and generally being pretty slow.