Slow-field improvements!

[Kyllian]

And instead of just blocking hitscan weapons, there should be a change in effect as they pass through the volume.

There's no "easy" way to do that. You'd have to stop the beam when it strikes the cube, spawn a projectile at the point of impact to create the "slowed down" effect and once that reaches the other side, destroy the projectile and restart the hitscan beam. All while maintaining who owns that particular hitscan beam/bullet/etc

Besides, the cube dies off faster the more objects you try to pass thru it. If I'm reading the code right, the lifespan depletes 50% faster for each actor that enters it

[Canadianhebrew]

very great idea, everytime my friends come over to play this game all they do is whine about the slow-field because they don't seem to know how to avoid it, not really sure how they manage to not avoid it. If someone were to create this as a mutator then i wouldn't even think twice about not getting it.

[Brad.G]

very great idea, everytime my friends come over to play this game all they do is whine about the slow-field because they don't seem to know how to avoid it, not really sure how they manage to not avoid it. If someone were to create this as a mutator then i wouldn't even think twice about not getting it.

id be using it as standard

[Harmatia]

Note sure about the Slowfield, I would think that it gets a bit too easy to use when your team can completely ignore it and just kill enemies that are walking into it. Would like to try it in an actual game though, maybe it turns out to be interesting.

While we're at it: I find the Shield even more useless. Yeah, it can protect one of your nodes for a while (best idea is to hide with your Nightshade inside), but eventually you'll lose the node before the shield goes down and so it either helps the enemy team when they got the node up or it just annoys everyone because it blocks your shots, you can't manage to heal the node properly, people suicide at it etc...

Well, it would still provide some audio/visual distruption when you were walking through it, and its not exactly clear, so shooting through it wouldn't be cake. Personally, I think it'd remain balanced.

While I love the shield... I hate when that happens! And it always seems to!

Ideally, the shield would be bound to the node, and destroyed when it was captured. Like, if you set up a shield within x distance of a node, it knows what you want to do, and places the shield around it (making maneuvering the nightshade a bit less difficult). When the node is destroyed, the shield then goes with it.

Another possible solution would be something similar solution to the slow-field would be in order? Team-coloring it, and having YOUR teams projectiles be able to pass through it, but not the enemies. Of course... that would be ridiculously unbalanced. You could set up a shield at a choke-point, get in with a bunch of hitscan weapons... and stop anything from coming at you. Or worse... setting it up a Nemesis...

[Harmatia]

Bump. .

[Shadow Dancer]

Perhaps making it less visible would be helpful. If you can see it coming, it's easier to avoid it. Maybe make it visible to the team that placed it, and nearly invisible to the opponents.

[Hedge-o-Matic]

I agree with these ideas. I've long thought that a field that alters to fit it's environment would be better, filling in doors and the like. Also, team-coordinated slow-volumes is a great idea, too.

[Belgian General]

I really like your idea, Harmatia. I have one question, however : what is a 'hitscan' weapon?

[Shadow Dancer]

I really like your idea, Harmatia. I have one question, however : what is a 'hitscan' weapon?

Hitscan refers to a way of managing fast projectiles like bullets. There's no actual projectile, nothing that covers the ground between the weapon and the point of impact. The game traces the trajectory of the shot and scans for where it hits, then just applies the damage instantly.

This is opposed to ballistic projectiles, where there is a projectile that travels the distance and deals damage to what it runs into.

In UT3, shots like the Sniper, Shock primary, Enforcer and Stinger primary are hitscan. The moment you fire, the damage is applied on whatever the target is. This is typically used in faster-paced games like UT or Quake to reduce lag a little bit by allowing the game to not have to think about the location of hundreds of little bullets.

[RPGWiZaRD]

I really like your suggestion, yes slow field would get a lot more use for strategic moves. I've done such things as planting it once I went capturing flag in their base and then it was really good but heh you don't often get to the base without encountering some enemies first...

So yes I'm all for your idea.

[Harmatia]

Anyone against this idea? XD I like to hear the other side of the argument, or possible reasons why this functionality doesn't already exist.

[KentaroKaos]

Perhaps making it less visible would be helpful. If you can see it coming, it's easier to avoid it. Maybe make it visible to the team that placed it, and nearly invisible to the opponents.

I think this is an awesome idea. Either way, this or the OP's idea definitely need to be implemented. The slow-field generator is a fantastic and innovative instrument for an FPS; it just needs to be tweaked and refined with either of these methods (perhaps both?).

[BlaenkDenum]

Neat idea, can be made into a mutator though. I like the idea but what if the flag is in a place where it's hard to get into, someone could put the field there and so make it virtually impossible to get in, they'd always get caught into it then spammed to death by the enemies.

[Harmatia]

I think this is an awesome idea. Either way, this or the OP's idea definitely need to be implemented. The slow-field generator is a fantastic and innovative instrument for an FPS; it just needs to be tweaked and refined with either of these methods (perhaps both?).

It'd be pretty awesome if slow-fields had cloaking like the nightshade-- nothing but a mild shimmer occasionally to the enemy team until they were heading through it.

I've yet to get a headshot on someone stuck in a slow-field... and I must say that I am awaiting the day.

Neat idea, can be made into a mutator though. I like the idea but what if the flag is in a place where it's hard to get into, someone could put the field there and so make it virtually impossible to get in, they'd always get caught into it then spammed to death by the enemies.

Well, that's fully possible now, without any tweaks to the field.

Is it possible to place a slow-field over the flag in any of the stock maps? I'm pretty sure they're all balanced against it, and mod-makers have to make the decision whether they wanted to make the flag accessible to such tactics.

Making it semi-invisible, as stated above, would make it much more useful in war...

So let's see... a transparant slow-field that conforms to the surface you place it on to seal it off as best as it can, that only affects the enemy.... XD C'mon modders!

[Madmanxan]

i like the slow field the way it is tbh....but its a nice idea for a mut