Other Roguelikes > AliensRL

How to make AliensRL fun

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Jovian:
Howdy, I've just joined and thought I'd add some ideas:

1. Randomise the layout of the towers. I think this would be fairly easy to implement. Just imagine, with this you could play through a game with a more civilian bent (two civilian towers, some kind of recreation tower), a mining colony (massive central storage tower, mining equipment) or a research station (overall scientific theme).

2. The inclusion of "fresh meat", weak, frankly dim allies which you'd begin the game with; their sole purpose is to get snatched in order to buy you time during the beginning phase.

3. Expanded classes, which aren't designed to be balanced, there would be achievements just for completing the game as each class since each one would be a mode unto itself.
I'm thinking:
Marine
Heavy Weapons Specialist
Scout
Medic
Technician
-
Android = A synthetic robot that looks exactly like a human. Since their creation is, I imagine, expensive as Hell, it makes sense they'd be owned by a big corporation, making each one designed for their most obvious use, special operations and recon. They would be much more durable than a human, with a stealthy skill set, but wouldn't be over the top in power.

Worker = An all rounder, begins with some handy tool and decent body armour, all skill costs are average. Since they are native to the tower, they would likely have more fresh meat with them than the other classes, further, they might even be competent to a point.

Prisoner = Begins with very little, but is an uncompromising badass that levels quicker than the other classes. Any fresh meat hanging around the Prisoner would be disloyal, if not outright violent. Choosing this class would obviously generate a prison area of which to escape from.

Scientist = The living opposite of the Worker, they would be able to "research" the aliens in order to better combat them as well as having a "high clearance rating" which allows them to enter sealed areas and get free stuff from wall vendors. They might also be able to convince people to work for them, running on the movie trope that people listen to scientists.

4. Alternate Goals:
1. Kill the Queen.
2. Escape in a ship. Requires others to help man it, a weak victory. May involve a time limit or combat against marines defending it as the place is on lock-down.
3. Rig up a communications station and contact some government body that will send marines to save you...or nuke you from orbit. Bad ending.
4. Escape the towers. Travel beyond the tower in an astronaut suit in a buggy. A fade to black style ending, alluding that this is just a prolonged suicide. Plus it might mean you've let the aliens out into the wilder reaches of the planet.
5. Destroy whatever makes the oxygen (and possibly gravity?) of the towers, killing everything. Another bad ending.

I think, while not exactly missions, would add a lot to the game.

Thats my lot for now, cheers!

Kornel Kisielewicz:
BTW, in case anyone wonders, work on the next version is seriously underway, so this topic is quite hot for me!

skarczew:
Some of older topics with lots of ideas, for those interested in it :P :

http://forum.chaosforge.org/index.php/topic,3177.0.html
http://forum.chaosforge.org/index.php/topic,3139.0.html
http://forum.chaosforge.org/index.php/topic,3179.0.html
http://forum.chaosforge.org/index.php/topic,4215.0.html

Jovian:

--- Quote from: Kornel Kisielewicz on November 04, 2011, 19:10 ---BTW, in case anyone wonders, work on the next version is seriously underway, so this topic is quite hot for me!

--- End quote ---

Great! Hope it's going well for ya Kornel.

I was just thinking about allies, and while proper A.I may be difficult, if there was a series of "mindsets", that each one could possibly have, it might give the illusion of personalities, for instance:

Joe - Wanders around waiting to get snatched. Returns to the main group regularly.
Scavenger - Picks up random items, not including, or less likely, ammunition and med kits. If items can be taken from them, picking up ammo could actually be useful. Travels some distance from the player, often the first to die, as greedy people die first in horror.

Coward - Struggles to move from safe areas, then rushes to the side of the player after a time. Runs from aliens. Will become disloyal when presented with a more powerful group, such as marines or corporative officials.
Innocent - Travels near the player when possible. Hides during combat, but will attack if the player is taking excessive damage.

Butch - Travel ahead of the player, in a supposed leadership. Relatively brave, maybe to the point of getting killed because he thinks he can stand still and shoot the aliens down with a pistol.
Veteran - Travels fairly near, at the right, left or behind the player. Takes pot shots at the aliens whilst moving backwards or to the side. Occasionally wanders off to pick up ammo.

Backstabber - Disloyal from the start, will leave the player of his own accord or join another group when possible.
Psychopath - May act as a veteran for a time, but there is always a chance he could flip and try to kill the player and his allies. He might have a tick of standing behind the player more often before he goes crazy.

skarczew:

--- Quote from: Jovian on November 04, 2011, 09:10 ---3. Expanded classes, which aren't designed to be balanced, there would be achievements just for completing the game as each class since each one would be a mode unto itself.
(...)
Android = A synthetic robot that looks exactly like a human. Since their creation is, I imagine, expensive as Hell, it makes sense they'd be owned by a big corporation, making each one designed for their most obvious use, special operations and recon. They would be much more durable than a human, with a stealthy skill set, but wouldn't be over the top in power.

--- End quote ---
Wrong way. Androids should act as a different race, as they could do different tasks (soldier, medic, etc) while still being an android.
I once saw some approach, that androids were better than humans in almost everything - except for the fact they could not be healed once damaged (or it was very hard/expensive).
The only "stealthy" thing that androids had in AvP games was the fact they did not emit pheromones like the humans, thus making them somehow invisible for aliens in darkness.


--- Quote from: Jovian on November 04, 2011, 09:10 ---Worker = An all rounder, begins with some handy tool and decent body armour, all skill costs are average. Since they are native to the tower, they would likely have more fresh meat with them than the other classes, further, they might even be competent to a point.

--- End quote ---
How is worker different from technician?


--- Quote from: Jovian on November 04, 2011, 09:10 ---Prisoner = Begins with very little, but is an uncompromising badass that levels quicker than the other classes. Any fresh meat hanging around the Prisoner would be disloyal, if not outright violent. Choosing this class would obviously generate a prison area of which to escape from.

--- End quote ---
This is some kind of "flavour" and not a real class, imo... A prisoner may have been a soldier, technician, civilian, etc in the past.


--- Quote from: Jovian on November 04, 2011, 09:10 ---2. Escape in a ship. Requires others to help man it, a weak victory. May involve a time limit or combat against marines defending it as the place is on lock-down.

--- End quote ---
First, you would need to contact someone to send a dropship to you, and that is almost the same as:

--- Quote from: Jovian on November 04, 2011, 09:10 ---3. Rig up a communications station and contact some government body that will send marines to save you...or nuke you from orbit. Bad ending.

--- End quote ---
Actually, they may send marines, but that may not end the game - you still would have to do some work there (kill marines and escape with a dropship - if you can fly; or end the game in another way).


--- Quote from: Jovian on November 04, 2011, 09:10 ---4. Escape the towers. Travel beyond the tower in an astronaut suit in a buggy. A fade to black style ending, alluding that this is just a prolonged suicide. Plus it might mean you've let the aliens out into the wilder reaches of the planet.

--- End quote ---
Too easy and available from the start. Sounds similar to committing suicide with grenades :P . Noooo ...


--- Quote from: Jovian on November 04, 2011, 09:10 ---5. Destroy whatever makes the oxygen (and possibly gravity?) of the towers, killing everything. Another bad ending.

--- End quote ---
For gravity, it would be needed to have Death Star, Mass Shadow Generator, Hyperspace tractor beam, Galaxy Gun, or sth similar :P . Gravity is a phenomenon created by object as big a planet, and not simply by some strange machinery.

When it comes to oxygen, it depends on whether the oxygen is available outside the towers - or not. Another factor is that whether aliens can live without it or not ...
Destroying oxygen in the towers is fairly easy, but if it is available outside the colony, then you would need weapon capable of destroying the surface (at least) of the planet. This may be really hard to obtain ...

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