First, I want to thank Kornel for this amazing game. After playing DooM RL obsessively for the last few days I wanted to share my observations. There are some ways I think DooM RL could get even better, despite how good it is now. My total experience is about 50 games and I've attempted both the AoM and AoBs enough to get the first rank up from them. Would have finished Hurt Me Plenty except that I took a (fatal) detour into the Mortuary on floor 22. I actually did make it to the stairs out of there but I wanted to try to clear the map...
I've been trying to organize my thoughts for this post and the best way I can do that is with my dream patch notes for v1.0. Please read the entire list before you decide something sounds like a bad idea, as the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, with the end result being Shotguns, Armor, and Mods being made much more useful and the Traits being brought more in line with each other:
General Gameplay
- Unique Items, Thermonuclear Bombs, and Homing Phase Devices taken out of the Standard and Challenge game modes, you can now find them only in the Ao 100 floor mode. Both modes have been balanced to account for this change and should have a unique feel while played.
- Monster hp raised slightly to compensate for new higher minimum and average weapon damages
- Advanced Weapon drop rate increased in Standard and Challenge game modes to compensate for no longer getting Uniques
- Levers can no longer turn rooms / entire floors into lava or acid, or destroy ALL walls in Standard or Challenge game modes
- New Tactic Added - (S)neaking
- Sneaking makes you invisible to monsters farther than 5 squares away from you, but lowers movement speed by 50% and is reverted to "Cautious" or "Tired" immediately upon attacking or being attacked, and cannot be re-used for 100 seconds
- Melee damage caused by most monsters increased (not for FH soldiers), monster melee accuracy increased across the board
to compensate for the new Knife Fighter Trait and melee weapon Dodge (Parry) Mod
Weapons
- Extended Weapons removed from all modes
- Advanced Weapons reduced to 3 Mod slots by default
- "Regular" Shotgun removed from game
- Advanced Knives and Chainsaws added to loot table, Chainsaw spawn chance increased slightly
- Weapon damage rolls normalized (xd3 based on ammo type) for more predictable damage and easier balancing with new Weapon Mods (could also easily allow for multiple ammo types per weapon in mods / later features)
- Average damage of all weapons increased as a result
- Combat Knife changed to 3d3 base damage
- Chainsaw changed to 9d3 base damage (buffed to compensate for nerf to Brute, and to be kept viable as a melee build main weapon vs. dual knives)
- Pistol changed to 3d3 base damage - Buffed slightly as compensation for the stacking direct +dmg Traits (SoG, SoB) going away
- Combat Shotgun buffed to 8d3 and can now be repeat fired while standing still like any other gun
- Double Barrel Shotgun damage changed to 8d3 x 2 shots to allow more benefit from the new Weapon Damage Mod, Trigger Happy Trait, and can now be upgraded by Magazine Mods
- Combat Shotgun and DB Shotgun bullet spread can be condensed by weapon +acc mods for more concentrated damage at longer ranges
- Chaingun changed to 3d3 x 4 shots, magazine changed to 40 rounds, inventory stacks changed to 80 rounds (dmg slightly buffed as SoB Trait is gone)
- Rocket Launcher changed to 12d3 base damage, can now accept Magazine Mods
- Plasma Rifle changed to 5d3 x 4 shots, magazine changed to 20 rounds, inventory stacks changed to 40 rounds - Lowered # of shots for less wasted ammo on overkills, and limits benefit from certain Traits and Mods
Traits
- Ironman removed
- Son of a Bitch removed
- Trigger Happy now available from game start, effects the DB Shotgun IF you've modified it to hold more than 2 shells
- Reloader - now reduces reload time on all weapons by 25% at rank 1, 50% at rank 2 (max)
- Eagle Eye reduced to 2 ranks max
- Tough As Nails reduced to 2 ranks max
- New Trait - Quick Recovery, unlocked by 2 ranks in Tough as Nails
- Quick Recovery heals the player for 2% every 10 steps at rank 1, 4% hp / 10 steps at rank 2 (max) up to 100% hp
- New Trait - Rocket Jockey, unlocked by Tough as Nails rank 2
- Rocket Jockey - Damage sustained by AoE effects (demons', barrels, or your own) reduced by 20% per rank (2 ranks)
- Badass reduced to 2 ranks, 1st rank triples duration of bonus hp, 2nd rank removes bonus hp decay
- Finesse now gives a 10% chance per rank, per shot fired, to cause a "critical" hit for max damage rolls (i.e. 8d3 Shotgun will do 24 damage) with all weapon types (including melee)
- Finesse no longer reduces firing time
- Whiz Kid renamed Gun Nut and made available at game start
- Gun Nut now increases weapon mod slots by 1 per rank on all weapon types (weapon mods have been improved)
- New Trait - Reverse Engineer, unlocked by rank 2 Gun Nut
- Reverse Engineer - Allows you to (D)ismantle an equippable item (weapon, armor, or boot) in your inventory with a 20% chance to create a random Mod (for the same item type), and 50% chance to recover installed Mods, but the item is destroyed
- New Trait - Armorer, unlocked by rank 1 Gun Nut
- Armorer - Allows one additional Armor or Boot Modification to be installed
- New Trait - Demon Stalker, becomes available after 2 ranks in Hell Runner
- Demon Stalker - Further reduces all demons' ability to see you while Sneaking. You can't be detected until within 4 squares at rank 1, 3 squares at rank 2 (max) and the recharge time on the Sneak tactic is reduced by 25 seconds per rank
- Son of a Gun renamed Double Tap and no longer gives old bonuses
- Double Tap causes you to randomly fire an extra shot (or 2) when equipped with a pistol (or 2), 33-66-100% chance per rank
- Shottyman renamed Run and Gun, now requires 2 ranks in Hell Runner
- Run and Gun allows reloading while moving for Pistols (only for your main hand pistol), both Shotguns, and the Plasma Rifle
- New Trait - Knife Fighter, available from game start
- Knife Fighter increases your evasion to melee attacks by 15% per rank (2 max)
- New Trait - Slice and Dice added, requires 2 ranks in Knife Fighter
- Slice and Dice allows you to attack with a Knife equipped in your prepared weapon slot if you're holding Knives in both hands
- Berserk now triggers as a 10% chance when you take damage (effect lowered to +2 armor +50% melee dmg)
- Brute lowered to +3 dmg and 2 ranks (as melee weapons minimum dmg has been improved, and the old Brute would make Slice and Dice WAY too powerful)
Items
- Small Health Globe healing reduced to 10%
- Large Health Globe spawn chance improved slightly
- Computer Maps can no longer spawn multiple times on one floor
- Supercharge, Invulnerability, and Megasphere can no longer spawn on the same floor, and may only spawn once
- Berserker packs may only spawn once per floor
- Berserker status now increases melee damage by 50% (not 100%) and armor by 2 (no more taking off armor!)
- Small Medpack healing reduced to 25%
- Large Medpack healing reduced to 50%
- Armor no longer reduces movement speed (we've got futuristic lightweight materials that conform to your shape :] )
- Armor Mod - Mobility removed
- Boot Mod - Protection removed
- Durability Mod for Armor / Boots removed
- New Armor / Boot Mod - Self Repairing Nanites - once installed Nanites repair an item over time by 1% per 5 steps
- New Armor Mod - Medical Augment - your armor is modified to automatically (and instantly) use a Large (if available) Medpack from your inventory after taking damage that lowers your health below 25%, and increases the duration of all Berserk effects by 100% (double) by regulating your adrenaline
- Armor Mod - Protection - Now Grants 2 Armor instead of 1 (to compensate for only 2 ranks in Tough as Nails)
- Boots no longer give resistance to being knocked around by default
- Boot Mod - Spiked Treads - Can no longer be knocked around by explosions
- Boot Mod - Mobility - Buffed to 20% speed bonus
- Weapon Mods - All Weapon Mods capped at 2 per type per weapon
- Weapon Accuracy Mod now adds 2 +accuracy and works with Shotgun type weapons to narrow the cone of fire for greater long range damage
- Weapon Magazine Mod now works with ALL standard ranged weapons, Rocket Launcher gains +1 rocket per mod (but loads rockets 1 at a time), Double Shotgun gains +1 shell per mod, but still loads only 2 shells per reload action
- Weapon Damage Mod now based on ammunition type - 10mm bullets cause +1 dmg, shells +3, plasma +2, rockets +4
- Weapon Firing Speed Mod now -20% firing time, stacking (not multiplying)
- Weapon Reload Mod removed
- New *Melee* Weapon Damage Mod - Adds +2 damage
- New *Melee* Weapon Attack Speed Mod - Reduces melee attack time by 20% (stacking, not multiplying)
- New *Melee* Weapon Dodge Mod - Increases chance to dodge (parry) melee attacks by 10%
I have well thought out reasoning behind all of these changes, but I'll save it until someone asks for it as this post is long enough already :] The short version is: with every Item Mod and Trait (nearly) equally desirable, and more viable build options in Standard and Challenge mode play (for example, Chainsaw vs. 2 Knife), replay value and fun of the game will be extended and enhanced. By removing uniques from the Standard and Challenge game modes it is easier to balance monsters and normal / advanced weapons for a more consistent experience overall without having to consider the odds of a player getting their hands on an incredibly powerful (yet random) piece of equipment and most of the remaining challenge being removed from that point on. It also isn't fun trying to plot a character build around an item you might never actually see. By shifting this power into Advanced Weapons and their Mods the growth in player power can be measured more closely, and corresponding difficulty adjustments can be made more easily to keep the game consistently challenging to the end. By leaving the "banned" items in the Ao100 mode they remain a large part of what is the "main" game mode for many players while making Standard and Challenge modes more balanced experiences.
