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1
Requests For Features / Re: A big list of suggestions and questions about JH tactics (and LOS questions!)
« on: January 15, 2021, 20:31 »
Hi Sylph, glad to see your brand of tactical discussion joining the JH forums! :D I'll do my best to respond to your points in order. :)
I agree that the current inability to hit enemies outside of LOS is confusing, and I wanted to add that this is worsened by a number of factors, including...
a) The ranges of the rifles list themselves as higher than your sight radius.
b) You can still hit non-enemy targets outside of your visual range, like doors, boxes, and barrels.
c) Enemies can still hit you from outside your visual range, such as the Calsec Sentries when they fire their three consecutive barrages.
d) The fact that you used to be able to hit enemies outside of LOS with the same accuracy penalty that Doomguy would have gotten. (That was seriously a big adjustment to my strategy when I figured out I couldn't do it any more; also, I wasted a hundred bullets trying to shoot a turret before I figured it out) :P
e) The fact that you *can* hit enemies that you can't see if they're in a smokescreen effect that is within your visual radius.
Making monsters retaliate when they get hit could be really interesting, and make for some interesting strategizing... especially after the first time you hit an armoured ravager and you see a rocket flying at you out of the shadows. :P I don't know if that's a direction the devteam wants to go in, but I can see emergent gameplay tactics involving seeking cover before doing your blind-firing.
The security camera idea is pretty neat! Should be easy to implement too.
Hacked drones giving their LOS could only work if there's a way to look around the map without going there, (Maybe there's already a way to do that I don't know about; I do know that holding down ctrl and rolling the mouse wheel zooms in and out) but could be an interesting addition.
Scopes could be cool too, and make up for the drawback of the extra time to fire the weapon.
Flares giving advantage to beings that are far and disadvantage to beings that are close could make for interesting tactical combat, but would be really tricky to communicate to the player, and I can also imagine it being really easy to make it unbalanced, so a lot of care would have to be put into implementation.
The talk of height reminds me of Starcraft. Even though that game is 2D, some terrain is considered to be a different height than others, and any ground unit on the lower terrain can't see units in the upper terrain unless they're at the edge of it, and they also get an accuracy penalty shooting at units on the higher terrain. And any time a unit on the upper level fires at a unit on the lower level, they get revealed briefly. (Not sure how much of that can be applied to JH, but I just thought I'd toss out ideas about how "height" was implemented in another sort of similar game)
Of course, I expect that any means of introducing height to JH would present a huge challenge in conveying it to the player, both visually and in explaining it verbally. All kinds of new art would be needed for the higher platforms (and/or pits?) and for Jupeguy climbing, if they'd want to include that too. The more I think about it, the less likely it seems like it would be something Kornel would want to introduce. (Sorry, Sylph) It would take a lot of work and substantially change the nature of the game. I expect the Devteam would want to be really sure that's a direction they want to go in before they sink all the time into developing that.
Regarding audio, I think the enemies kind of already have their own distinctive sounds? I'm not quite clear on what you think should be different with respect to your comparison to DRL sounds.
Regarding doors, I've never played Space Crusade, but I agree that it would be hard to implement opening/closing specific doors at will in JH. I do kind of like the idea of having a feature in the terminals that says "open all doors" or "close all doors." Either of those potentially has many subtle tactical applications, considering the number of times I've been running away from an enemy and they got an extra shot at me, because I had to take an extra second to open a door, or times I got something's attention prematurely, becase a door was open I didn't want. Also, perhaps another feature of the terminal could be to override the automatic doors on levels that have them, so they're either always open or always closed?
Sorry, but I don't agree about the map-hacking for either of your suggestions. It feels like it would take away the perk of free maps as a reward for getting the hacking skill. (And even that benefit is kind of tenuous, since it hinges on you happening to find a terminal before you map out the level naturally) Even if no one ever uses the multi-tool for the map, I think it's nice to have the option there, if only to tempt the player with what they might get if they get hacking trait.
Exploration mode... hmm... it could be interesting to be able to have a game where you could visit (for example) both Callisto Anomaly and Valhalla Command in the same game, and get both their respective rewards, but I'm not sure how to make it balanced... though it brings to mind another idea... what if there's an Angel challenge that forces you to play through *all* branches in a single game? Not quite Angel of 100, but pretty close? (Might make the rewards for Valhalla Command and Calsec Central a little weird; hmm... maybe you would need to disable both terminals for it to work?)
Also, I agree about bringing back run-waiting. :)
I agree that the current inability to hit enemies outside of LOS is confusing, and I wanted to add that this is worsened by a number of factors, including...
a) The ranges of the rifles list themselves as higher than your sight radius.
b) You can still hit non-enemy targets outside of your visual range, like doors, boxes, and barrels.
c) Enemies can still hit you from outside your visual range, such as the Calsec Sentries when they fire their three consecutive barrages.
d) The fact that you used to be able to hit enemies outside of LOS with the same accuracy penalty that Doomguy would have gotten. (That was seriously a big adjustment to my strategy when I figured out I couldn't do it any more; also, I wasted a hundred bullets trying to shoot a turret before I figured it out) :P
e) The fact that you *can* hit enemies that you can't see if they're in a smokescreen effect that is within your visual radius.
Making monsters retaliate when they get hit could be really interesting, and make for some interesting strategizing... especially after the first time you hit an armoured ravager and you see a rocket flying at you out of the shadows. :P I don't know if that's a direction the devteam wants to go in, but I can see emergent gameplay tactics involving seeking cover before doing your blind-firing.
The security camera idea is pretty neat! Should be easy to implement too.
Hacked drones giving their LOS could only work if there's a way to look around the map without going there, (Maybe there's already a way to do that I don't know about; I do know that holding down ctrl and rolling the mouse wheel zooms in and out) but could be an interesting addition.
Scopes could be cool too, and make up for the drawback of the extra time to fire the weapon.
Flares giving advantage to beings that are far and disadvantage to beings that are close could make for interesting tactical combat, but would be really tricky to communicate to the player, and I can also imagine it being really easy to make it unbalanced, so a lot of care would have to be put into implementation.
The talk of height reminds me of Starcraft. Even though that game is 2D, some terrain is considered to be a different height than others, and any ground unit on the lower terrain can't see units in the upper terrain unless they're at the edge of it, and they also get an accuracy penalty shooting at units on the higher terrain. And any time a unit on the upper level fires at a unit on the lower level, they get revealed briefly. (Not sure how much of that can be applied to JH, but I just thought I'd toss out ideas about how "height" was implemented in another sort of similar game)
Of course, I expect that any means of introducing height to JH would present a huge challenge in conveying it to the player, both visually and in explaining it verbally. All kinds of new art would be needed for the higher platforms (and/or pits?) and for Jupeguy climbing, if they'd want to include that too. The more I think about it, the less likely it seems like it would be something Kornel would want to introduce. (Sorry, Sylph) It would take a lot of work and substantially change the nature of the game. I expect the Devteam would want to be really sure that's a direction they want to go in before they sink all the time into developing that.
Regarding audio, I think the enemies kind of already have their own distinctive sounds? I'm not quite clear on what you think should be different with respect to your comparison to DRL sounds.
Regarding doors, I've never played Space Crusade, but I agree that it would be hard to implement opening/closing specific doors at will in JH. I do kind of like the idea of having a feature in the terminals that says "open all doors" or "close all doors." Either of those potentially has many subtle tactical applications, considering the number of times I've been running away from an enemy and they got an extra shot at me, because I had to take an extra second to open a door, or times I got something's attention prematurely, becase a door was open I didn't want. Also, perhaps another feature of the terminal could be to override the automatic doors on levels that have them, so they're either always open or always closed?
Sorry, but I don't agree about the map-hacking for either of your suggestions. It feels like it would take away the perk of free maps as a reward for getting the hacking skill. (And even that benefit is kind of tenuous, since it hinges on you happening to find a terminal before you map out the level naturally) Even if no one ever uses the multi-tool for the map, I think it's nice to have the option there, if only to tempt the player with what they might get if they get hacking trait.
Exploration mode... hmm... it could be interesting to be able to have a game where you could visit (for example) both Callisto Anomaly and Valhalla Command in the same game, and get both their respective rewards, but I'm not sure how to make it balanced... though it brings to mind another idea... what if there's an Angel challenge that forces you to play through *all* branches in a single game? Not quite Angel of 100, but pretty close? (Might make the rewards for Valhalla Command and Calsec Central a little weird; hmm... maybe you would need to disable both terminals for it to work?)
Also, I agree about bringing back run-waiting. :)
2
Post Mortem / Re: [0.9.6|N!|AoLT|Ma|YAVP] Lightfoot Diamond Badge! :D
« on: January 14, 2021, 00:20 »
Note that I've been playing the bleeding-edge Beta version, so it's possible that some details are different from the "public" version. It's easy to lose track of what comes from what version.
3
Post Mortem / [0.9.6|N!|AoLT|Ma|YAVP] Lightfoot Diamond Badge! :D
« on: January 07, 2021, 15:19 »
I've been alternating between various challenges lately, trying for a number of Diamond badges, and finally got Lightfoot Diamond with my classic favourite Vampyre build! :D
I largely relied on ranged weapons for early to mid game, carried a lot by the lucky find of the 7.62 CRI SMG, and then somewhere around Io, I switched to melee almost exclusively after I got the AV3 Katana from the weapon terminal in Tyre Outpost. The "Exalted Bane" upgrade seemed fitting for a Nightmare game. :) (And I like the little nod to Nethack in the name) :D The Momentum upgrade on that weapon combined with the Kinetic upgrade on the armour meant that higher dodge bonuses meant higher damage and protection, which perfectly suited AoLT, where you get a natural speed boost, which I enhanced with Hellrunner, Swift, Danger Monitor, and Running. :)
In a previous run, I found out the hard way that bleeding protection is now extra important for melee builds, because of the extra stackable bleedings that late game enemies give you. :| (And I also learned in this run that you need a power mod for bleeding protection instead of a bulk mod, like in previous versions; that was a waste of a tech terminal) :|
Not much else to say except that I noticed a couple of bugs. The Tech Monitor ability says it "increases all repair received by 50%" but when I used the "repair armour" feature of a tech station, it increased it by the regular amount. (Using multi-tools got the bonus, though... and I was pleased to find that it affected both my helmet and body armour; wasn't sure if it would, from the description) :) Also, the mortem still isn't displaying the trait order properly; probably owing to me getting too many traits. (All those Nightmare re-kills) :P
PS Darn it, I got two too many kills. :P
I largely relied on ranged weapons for early to mid game, carried a lot by the lucky find of the 7.62 CRI SMG, and then somewhere around Io, I switched to melee almost exclusively after I got the AV3 Katana from the weapon terminal in Tyre Outpost. The "Exalted Bane" upgrade seemed fitting for a Nightmare game. :) (And I like the little nod to Nethack in the name) :D The Momentum upgrade on that weapon combined with the Kinetic upgrade on the armour meant that higher dodge bonuses meant higher damage and protection, which perfectly suited AoLT, where you get a natural speed boost, which I enhanced with Hellrunner, Swift, Danger Monitor, and Running. :)
In a previous run, I found out the hard way that bleeding protection is now extra important for melee builds, because of the extra stackable bleedings that late game enemies give you. :| (And I also learned in this run that you need a power mod for bleeding protection instead of a bulk mod, like in previous versions; that was a waste of a tech terminal) :|
Not much else to say except that I noticed a couple of bugs. The Tech Monitor ability says it "increases all repair received by 50%" but when I used the "repair armour" feature of a tech station, it increased it by the regular amount. (Using multi-tools got the bonus, though... and I was pleased to find that it affected both my helmet and body armour; wasn't sure if it would, from the description) :) Also, the mortem still isn't displaying the trait order properly; probably owing to me getting too many traits. (All those Nightmare re-kills) :P
Tormuse, level 17 Marine, defeated
The Summoner against all odds.
He survived for 13648 turns.
The run time was 6h 21m 4s.
He scored 8886 points.
He opposed the NIGHTMARE!
He was an Angel of Light Travel!
CALLISTO L3 - Volatile Storage
CALLISTO L3 -> Mimir Habitat L1
Mimir Habitat L2 - Lockdown
Mimir Habitat L2 -> CalSec Central
CalSec Central - cleared
EUROPA L3 -> Europa Dig Zone L1
Europa Dig Zone L2 -> Tyre Outpost
Tyre Outpost - cleared
IO L2 - Low Power
IO L3 -> Io Black Site L1
Io Black Site L1 - The Hunt
Io Black Site L2 -> Black Site Vaults
Black Site Vaults - cleared
The Shattered Abyss - cleared
BEYOND L2 - Exalted Curse
BEYOND L2 -> Limbo
Limbo - cleared
Awards
CRI Star (bronze cluster) (+25)
* 25+ kills without taking damage
Explorer Ribbon (+50)
* Visited all encountered special levels
Conqueror Ribbon (+100)
* Completed all encountered special levels
Lightfoot Diamond Badge
* Complete AoLT on Nightmare!
He killed 668 out of 697 enemies.
59 archreavers
5 plasma ravagers
42 exalted ravagers
34 fiends
38 exalted fiends
34 turrets
10 rocket turrets
1 Summoner
1 former CRI grunt
6 security sentrys
51 exalted reavers
13 CalSec bots
1 former CRI soldier
3 corrupted sergeants
21 exalted kerbeross
46 ravagers
2 hellish sergeants
26 former soldiers
8 former guards
15 siege ravagers
21 fire fiends
8 former heavys
48 exalted soldiers
2 former sergeants
12 CRI marines
5 corrupted heavys
15 cryobeross
2 guardian bots
8 hellish soldiers
3 military drones
16 ice fiends
3 toxic reavers
4 former grunts
4 hellish commandos
1 former CRI heavy
1 Swordmaster
16 armored ravagers
1 former CRI sergeant
12 CRI bots
64 reavers
6 corrupted commandos
4 security drones
8 cybeross
18 cryoreavers
4 kerbeross
23 CalSec sentrys
10 former commandos
2 security bots
2 toxibeross
Traits
Skilled L1
Furious L2
Hellrunner L2
Ironman L1
Tough as Nails L2
Rip and tear L2
Army Surplus L1
Whizkid L1
Running
VAMPYRE L3
Trait order
Equipment
Slot #1 : CRI 7.62 SMG
* Hunter 1
Slot #2 : AV2 rocket launcher B
* Autoloader
* Poisoned 5
* Focused
Slot #3 : demonic sword
* Frenzy 10
* Vampiric 5
Slot #4 : AV3 katana BA2
* Exalted bane
* Resilient
* Guarded 10
* Critical 30
* Disruptive 3
* Momentum
Body : AV3 combat armor PBA
* Swift
* Durable
* Meshed
* Kinetic shield
* Fireproof
* Tenacity
Head : combat helmet PBA
* Target tracking
* Danger Monitor
* Tech Monitor
Utility : AV1 utility AMP
* Carrier
Inventory
rocket (x5)
7.62 ammo (x88)
stimpack (x2)
small medkit (x1)
PS Darn it, I got two too many kills. :P
4
Post Mortem / [0.9.5a|N!|AoSh|Ma|YAVP] Shotgun sniper (Shottyman Diamond Badge)
« on: November 27, 2020, 03:11 »
I successfully completed my masterless Angel of Shotgunnery game to get Shottyman Diamond! Yay! :D (I'm not sure why my trait order doesn't show in the mortem; I guess mortem generation is still buggy) That Army of the Dead trait was super tempting every time I leveled up, but I resisted, and stayed true to my goal right to the end. :)
This run was helped immensely by the AV3 shotgun I found in Valhalla Command. It had a natural 4/7 range and Vampyric 2. It also had poison effect, which more often than not, was an annoyance, because if they die from the poison, I don't get the life-stealing effect of Vampyric or the AoSh Frenzy bonus. In any case, the addition of a Cold mod pack improved it even more, because not only was I able to fire quickly, thanks to the Reloader and Reload Dance traits, but all my enemies got slowed down, often multiples of them at a time. :)
Another thing that helped was a helmet that I acquired in Tyre Outpost that had "Nightvision" ability, which is described as "improves vision range in dark areas," which I would have assumed refers to the Lights Out event, but actually seems to increase your sight radius everywhere at all times! :o At first, I lamented the fact that I found it in a shotgun game, where I'm restricted to short range weapons, (it would be awesome in a game that allows rifles) but with the help of a bunch of accuracy mods and a shotgun amp, I was able to get my shotgun up to 7/8 range... able to hit enemies for max damage before they even see me. :) After that, the game was pretty much a cakewalk. Almost nothing could touch me, (or if they did, the Vampyre ability brought myself back up) :) and I barely used any med kits for the rest of the game.
I hesitated about getting Whizkid for a long time, but I'm glad I finally got it, because there are a lot of neat upgrades you can get. (Side note: I really like the new mod pack system; it keeps things interesting) :) It got me the auto-loader feature on my main shotgun and a couple of boosts to my critical chances.
The Summoner was completely trivial to defeat. In fact, I'm pretty sure he isn't supposed to be that easy. Bloodhound trait let me see where he was, and I just shot him from outside his visual radius. He summoned one enemy during his first phase, and for the second and third phases... nothing at all. He didn't summon or move, so I just kept shooting him until he was dead. This suggests that if you can get to the last level with a regular shotgun, you can always count on an easy time against the Summoner.
This run was helped immensely by the AV3 shotgun I found in Valhalla Command. It had a natural 4/7 range and Vampyric 2. It also had poison effect, which more often than not, was an annoyance, because if they die from the poison, I don't get the life-stealing effect of Vampyric or the AoSh Frenzy bonus. In any case, the addition of a Cold mod pack improved it even more, because not only was I able to fire quickly, thanks to the Reloader and Reload Dance traits, but all my enemies got slowed down, often multiples of them at a time. :)
Another thing that helped was a helmet that I acquired in Tyre Outpost that had "Nightvision" ability, which is described as "improves vision range in dark areas," which I would have assumed refers to the Lights Out event, but actually seems to increase your sight radius everywhere at all times! :o At first, I lamented the fact that I found it in a shotgun game, where I'm restricted to short range weapons, (it would be awesome in a game that allows rifles) but with the help of a bunch of accuracy mods and a shotgun amp, I was able to get my shotgun up to 7/8 range... able to hit enemies for max damage before they even see me. :) After that, the game was pretty much a cakewalk. Almost nothing could touch me, (or if they did, the Vampyre ability brought myself back up) :) and I barely used any med kits for the rest of the game.
I hesitated about getting Whizkid for a long time, but I'm glad I finally got it, because there are a lot of neat upgrades you can get. (Side note: I really like the new mod pack system; it keeps things interesting) :) It got me the auto-loader feature on my main shotgun and a couple of boosts to my critical chances.
The Summoner was completely trivial to defeat. In fact, I'm pretty sure he isn't supposed to be that easy. Bloodhound trait let me see where he was, and I just shot him from outside his visual radius. He summoned one enemy during his first phase, and for the second and third phases... nothing at all. He didn't summon or move, so I just kept shooting him until he was dead. This suggests that if you can get to the last level with a regular shotgun, you can always count on an easy time against the Summoner.
Tormuse, level 18 Marine, defeated
The Summoner against all odds.
He survived for 11137 turns.
The run time was 4h 59m 45s.
He scored 8234 points.
He opposed the NIGHTMARE!
He was an Angel of Shotgunnery!
CALLISTO L2 -> Valhalla Terminal L1
Valhalla Terminal L1 - Infestation
Valhalla Terminal L3 -> Valhalla Command
Valhalla Command - cleared
EUROPA L2 - Lockdown
EUROPA L2 -> Europa Dig Zone L1
Europa Dig Zone L3 - Exalted Summons
Europa Dig Zone L3 -> Tyre Outpost
IO L2 -> Io Black Site L1
Io Black Site L1 - Secure Vault
Io Black Site L2 -> Black Site Vaults
IO L5 - The Hunt
BEYOND L2 -> Limbo
BEYOND L3 - Exalted Summons
Awards
CRI Star (bronze cluster) (+25)
* 25+ kills without taking damage
Explorer Ribbon (+50)
* Visited all encountered special levels
Shottyman Platinum Badge
* Complete AoSh on Nightmare!
Shottyman Diamond Badge
* Complete AoSh on N! master-less
He killed 842 out of 983 enemies.
62 archreavers
32 fiends
81 exalted ravagers
8 plasma ravagers
60 exalted fiends
14 rocket turrets
31 turrets
1 Summoner
4 military sentrys
1 former CRI grunt
23 CalSec bots
112 exalted reavers
3 former CRI soldiers
36 exalted kerbeross
4 corrupted sergeants
2 hellish sergeants
56 ravagers
2 combat drones
16 former soldiers
5 former guards
6 former heavys
19 fire fiends
9 siege ravagers
4 former sergeants
76 exalted soldiers
7 cryobeross
1 corrupted heavy
10 CRI marines
4 guardian bots
8 hellish soldiers
3 military drones
8 corrupted soldiers
6 hellish commandos
4 former grunts
5 toxic reavers
24 ice fiends
2 former CRI sergeants
12 armored ravagers
9 CRI bots
11 reavers
8 corrupted commandos
10 cybeross
4 security drones
15 cryoreavers
4 kerbeross
16 former commandos
6 CalSec sentrys
3 toxibeross
5 security bots
Traits
Skilled L1
Furious L1
Hellrunner L2
Ironman L2
Tough as Nails L2
Reloader L2
Army Surplus L1
Bloodhound
Whizkid L2
Running
Reload Dance
Incoming!
Trait order
Equipment
Slot #1 : AV3 12ga shotgun BAC
* Autoloader
* Critical 25
* Freezing 2
* Vampiric 2
* Poisoned 3
* Calibrated 2
Slot #2 : AV3 12ga auto-shotgun
* Retaliate
* Disruptive 3
* Barbed 3
Slot #3 : CRI plasma shotgun
Body : AV2 basic armor B2A
* Loading feed
* Durable
* Target tracking
* Powered
* Swift
Head : AV3 combat helmet PA2
* Long-range tracking
* Target tracking
* Critical 25
* Durable
* Nightvision
* Aim assist
Utility : AV2 shotgun AMP
* Shotgun focus mode
* Shotgun spread control
Inventory
12ga shell (x50)
12ga shell (x50)
12ga shell (x50)
12ga shell (x50)
12ga shell (x33)
krak grenade (x1)
smoke grenade (x1)
CRI phase kit (x3)
stimpack (x3)
small medkit (x3)
large medkit
large medkit
5
Post Mortem / [0.9.5a|N!|AoB|Sc|YAVP] Never know what hit 'em (Berserker Diamond Badge)
« on: November 25, 2020, 11:13 »
I've been trying to get Berserker Diamond for a while, off and on, alternating between different character classes to see what works best. A while ago, I concluded that Scout is the weakest melee class. Marine can dish it out, but not take it, thanks to Rip and Tear trait, and the Technician can take it, but not dish it out, thanks to Blademaster and Juggernaught traits, but the Scout just had to rely on being sneaky, which means you're screwed if you get caught without energy... that is until the Executioner trait was added in this version, which turns things around and puts the Scout on top, since now he can dish it out and avoid taking it. :)
I went with a Ghost build, which meant that I had to waste a level getting Eagle Eye, but it was totally worth it, especially when combined with the utility amp I found that gave me extra energy from crates, and when combined with Energy Leech 2, I always had tons of energy for going stealthy-stealth everywhere and critting every enemy I came across. Very few enemies didn't get gibbed, which is why my kill ratio was so high. :) (The only enemies left alive were from early levels)
I only went up to Ghost 2 for the reduced energy usage; getting Ghost 3 seemed pointless, since Ghost already (apparently) has the undocumented feature of acting like Bloodhound trait. Once you detect an enemy by going within 7 squares of it, you continue detecting it forever, no matter how far away you are. If it dies, you can even detect the Nightmare difficulty purple square that shows where it's going to respawn, and you can detect the respawned exalted version. This isn't how I expected Ghost trait to behave from the description; I thought that you only detect enemies within 7 squares, and if they go beyond that, you can't detect them any more. So I'm not sure if this behaviour is a bug or feature.
I spent a good chunk of the run with a machete with Vampyric 2 on it, which I found in Valhalla Command. (Valhalla Command was kind of harrowing; I dealt with the Guardian Bots with an EMP grenade and some well placed stealth strikes) Later, I replaced that with a katana with Vampyric 3, and finally the Demonic Sword, which has Vampyric 5. (What can I say? I've always been fond of the Vampyre trait) :D By the end, I was so strong that I was throwing away med kits, something I almost never do in this game, especially a melee game, where you expect to take more damage.
All that said, as much fun as this was, I have a feeling the Scout is a little OP in melee now. It was underpowered before, but it looks like the devteam went too far in the other direction. :)
P.S. I considered putting "Silent, but deadly" as the post title, but decided I preferred the Starcraft Ghost reference. :)
I went with a Ghost build, which meant that I had to waste a level getting Eagle Eye, but it was totally worth it, especially when combined with the utility amp I found that gave me extra energy from crates, and when combined with Energy Leech 2, I always had tons of energy for going stealthy-stealth everywhere and critting every enemy I came across. Very few enemies didn't get gibbed, which is why my kill ratio was so high. :) (The only enemies left alive were from early levels)
I only went up to Ghost 2 for the reduced energy usage; getting Ghost 3 seemed pointless, since Ghost already (apparently) has the undocumented feature of acting like Bloodhound trait. Once you detect an enemy by going within 7 squares of it, you continue detecting it forever, no matter how far away you are. If it dies, you can even detect the Nightmare difficulty purple square that shows where it's going to respawn, and you can detect the respawned exalted version. This isn't how I expected Ghost trait to behave from the description; I thought that you only detect enemies within 7 squares, and if they go beyond that, you can't detect them any more. So I'm not sure if this behaviour is a bug or feature.
I spent a good chunk of the run with a machete with Vampyric 2 on it, which I found in Valhalla Command. (Valhalla Command was kind of harrowing; I dealt with the Guardian Bots with an EMP grenade and some well placed stealth strikes) Later, I replaced that with a katana with Vampyric 3, and finally the Demonic Sword, which has Vampyric 5. (What can I say? I've always been fond of the Vampyre trait) :D By the end, I was so strong that I was throwing away med kits, something I almost never do in this game, especially a melee game, where you expect to take more damage.
All that said, as much fun as this was, I have a feeling the Scout is a little OP in melee now. It was underpowered before, but it looks like the devteam went too far in the other direction. :)
Tormuse, level 16 Scout, defeated
The Summoner against all odds.
He survived for 12166 turns.
The run time was 5h 38m 10s.
He scored 8872 points.
He opposed the NIGHTMARE!
He was an Angel of Berserk!
CALLISTO L2 -> Valhalla Terminal L1
Valhalla Terminal L2 - Lockdown
Valhalla Terminal L3 -> Valhalla Command
Valhalla Command - cleared
EUROPA L2 - Volatile Storage
EUROPA L2 -> Conamara Chaos Biolabs L1
Conamara Chaos Biolabs L1 - Infestation
Conamara Chaos Biolabs L2 -> Containment Area
Containment Area - cleared
IO L3 -> Io Black Site L1
Io Black Site L2 -> Black Site Vaults
Black Site Vaults - cleared
The Shattered Abyss - cleared
BEYOND L2 - Exalted Curse
BEYOND L2 -> Limbo
Limbo - cleared
Awards
CRI Star (bronze cluster) (+25)
* 25+ kills without taking damage
CRI Star (silver cluster) (+50)
* 50+ kills without taking damage
Explorer Ribbon (+50)
* Visited all encountered special levels
Conqueror Ribbon (+100)
* Completed all encountered special levels
Berserker Bronze Badge
* Reach Io on Angel of Berserk
Berserker Silver Badge
* Complete Angel of Berserk (AoB)
Berserker Gold Badge
* Complete AoB on Hard
Berserker Platinum Badge
* Complete AoB on Nightmare!
Berserker Diamond Badge
* Complete AoB on N! with 80%+ kills
He killed 611 out of 632 enemies.
51 archreavers
49 fiends
26 exalted ravagers
16 plasma ravagers
21 exalted fiends
23 rocket turrets
37 turrets
1 Summoner
2 military sentrys
8 security sentrys
4 former CRI grunts
30 CalSec bots
25 exalted reavers
3 former CRI soldiers
16 exalted kerbeross
4 corrupted sergeants
41 ravagers
6 combat drones
12 former soldiers
5 former guards
3 former heavys
21 fire fiends
8 siege ravagers
7 former sergeants
27 exalted soldiers
8 cryobeross
1 corrupted heavy
13 CRI marines
4 guardian bots
2 hellish soldiers
5 military drones
2 former CRI commandos
4 former grunts
8 toxic reavers
18 ice fiends
1 Swordmaster
1 former CRI sergeant
20 armored ravagers
14 CRI bots
71 reavers
4 corrupted commandos
7 cybeross
12 security drones
21 cryoreavers
6 kerbeross
4 former commandos
13 CalSec sentrys
1 toxiberos
Traits
Skilled L2
Hellrunner L2
Juggler
Dash
Eagle Eye
Executioner L2
Energy leech L2
Dodgemaster
Second Wind
GHOST L2
Trait order
Exe->Exe->Skl->EnL->Skl->EE->MGH->EnL->
MGH->Das->Hr->Hr->Dm->Jug->SWd
Equipment
Slot #1 : demonic sword
* Frenzy 10
* Vampiric 5
Slot #2 : chainsaw
Body : ENV armor PA
* Swift
* Powered
* Sealed
* Fireproof
* Heated
Head : marine helmet PB
* Durable
* Critical 25
Utility : AV2 utility AMP
* Energetic
* Aim assist
Inventory
plasma grenade (x1)
gas grenade (x2)
EMP grenade (x3)
krak grenade (x3)
krak grenade (x3)
CRI phase kit (x1)
multitool (x4)
stimpack (x3)
stimpack (x1)
small medkit (x1)
large medkit
large medkit
P.S. I considered putting "Silent, but deadly" as the post title, but decided I preferred the Starcraft Ghost reference. :)
6
Discussion / Re: Nightmare requires a tedious, boring play style
« on: November 06, 2020, 18:38 »Wait, nightmare is actually possible to beat? I cant even reliably beat im too young to die! Hundreds of tries and Ive beaten the game twice I think?
I can confirm that it's very possible. :) Browse through the Nightmare forum sometime, and you'll see quite a lot of Nightmare wins from over the years. (I've got quite a few, myself) :) What do you find is your most common cause of death in the game? Maybe we can help you win more frequently.
7
Post Mortem / [0.9.4|N!|AoMr|SC|YASD] Anomaly Diamond Badge! :D
« on: November 04, 2020, 13:02 »
I got this one a week ago, but wasn't sure if I should post it here, since it was in the beta-testing version, but ultimately decided it's worth sharing for posterity at least. :) I don't even really remember the details of the run, except that I had a pretty good supply of med kits going into Callisto Anomaly, and none going out. :P These days, I usually go into Calsec Central or Valhalla Command, because I like the free experience of shutting down Calsec, so this was my first time in a while going into Callisto Anomaly. I feel like the rewards aren't really worth it.
Tormuse, level 7 Scout, killed on
EUROPA L2 by a corrupted sergeant.
He survived for 3525 turns.
The run time was 1h 23m 15s.
He scored 2050 points.
He opposed the NIGHTMARE!
He was an Angel of Marksmanship!
CALLISTO L2 -> Callisto Mines L1
Callisto Mines L1 - Infestation
Callisto Mines L3 -> Callisto Anomaly
Callisto Anomaly - cleared
EUROPA L2 - Lockdown
Awards
CRI Star (bronze cluster) (+25)
* 25+ kills without taking damage
Anomaly Platinum Badge
* Clear Callisto Anomaly on NIGHTMARE
Anomaly Diamond Badge
* Clear N! Anomaly using only pistols
He killed 200 out of 251 enemies.
2 combat drones
5 CalSec sentrys
1 ravager
4 cryoreavers
27 fiends
2 rocket turrets
7 archreavers
2 former guards
4 former grunts
1 former sergeant
8 security drones
10 CalSec bots
2 turrets
13 exalted soldiers
51 exalted fiends
2 former heavys
30 fire fiends
1 corrupted sergeant
8 military drones
2 corrupted commandos
1 corrupted heavy
1 exalted reaver
8 former soldiers
8 former commandos
Traits
Hellrunner L1
Pinpoint L1
Son of a Gun L2
Dash
Deadly precision
Trait order
SoG->SoG->Hr->PP->Das->DPr
Equipment
Slot #1 : .44 revolver PA
Slot #2 : 9mm pistol P
Body : basic armor
Head : basic helmet
Utility : AV2 pistol AMP
* Pistol speed-loader
* Aim assist
Inventory
.44 ammo (x20)
9mm ammo (x100)
9mm ammo (x100)
9mm ammo (x32)
bulk mod pack
power mod pack
power mod pack
EMP grenade (x1)
red keycard (x1)
8
Post Mortem / Re: [0.9.4|N!|AoD|Sc|YAVP] My first Nightmare win! :D (Doomed Diamond)
« on: October 10, 2020, 01:22 »
With the skill you've demonstrated, I expect you should be able to do this one without too much trouble. It is a very different playstyle, though. Since cover is irrelevant, the key becomes to face one enemy at a time, as much as possible, which means you need speed to control your encounters with them, and weapons that are good at range, so you can take them out quickly as soon as they come into view. I built my arsenal and my traits around that idea. :)
9
Post Mortem / [0.9.4|N!|AoD|Sc|YAVP] My first Nightmare win! :D (Doomed Diamond)
« on: October 09, 2020, 18:19 »
Hey, it's my first time winning in Nightmare! Yay! :D After trying a bunch of different challenge modes, I finally had a winning game in Angel of Doom. :)
Scout with Gunrunner build seemed like the obvious choice, since it maximizes the dodge-convert-to-damage benefit of the challenge. :) I wore basic basic armour for the whole game, because I didn't want anything that would hurt my dodge chance (and therefore my damage bonus) too much. I was pretty pleased with the combination of weapons I found; my primary weapon was a 7.62 sidearm with enhanced damage and range, with occasional use of the rocket launcher if I wanted to kill things faster. :P And when I really wanted to clean up shop, the Jackhammer absolutely wrecked everything, when I had the ammo for it. The auto-reload feature of Gunrunner took away that weapon's biggest drawback, and the AoD damage bonus let it shred even the largest enemies. (Including the Summoner!) :D I also found that when I combined the damage bonus from using stealth with the AoD damage bonus, a rocket was able to gib Exalted Ravagers! :o
I seem to have uncovered a couple of bugs in the mortem, though. It says I cleared CalSec Central and Asterius Breach multiple times, presumably because after I cleared them, some enemies revived and I cleared them again. (It even displayed the "Breach Vault Unlocked" message each time) Also, it isn't showing the trait order, except the last skill I got, I'm guessing because it's trying to take up two lines, but only shows the second line?
Scout with Gunrunner build seemed like the obvious choice, since it maximizes the dodge-convert-to-damage benefit of the challenge. :) I wore basic basic armour for the whole game, because I didn't want anything that would hurt my dodge chance (and therefore my damage bonus) too much. I was pretty pleased with the combination of weapons I found; my primary weapon was a 7.62 sidearm with enhanced damage and range, with occasional use of the rocket launcher if I wanted to kill things faster. :P And when I really wanted to clean up shop, the Jackhammer absolutely wrecked everything, when I had the ammo for it. The auto-reload feature of Gunrunner took away that weapon's biggest drawback, and the AoD damage bonus let it shred even the largest enemies. (Including the Summoner!) :D I also found that when I combined the damage bonus from using stealth with the AoD damage bonus, a rocket was able to gib Exalted Ravagers! :o
I seem to have uncovered a couple of bugs in the mortem, though. It says I cleared CalSec Central and Asterius Breach multiple times, presumably because after I cleared them, some enemies revived and I cleared them again. (It even displayed the "Breach Vault Unlocked" message each time) Also, it isn't showing the trait order, except the last skill I got, I'm guessing because it's trying to take up two lines, but only shows the second line?
Tormuse, level 18 Scout, defeated
The Summoner against all odds.
He survived for 10626 turns.
The run time was 4h 11m 40s.
He scored 9226 points.
He opposed the NIGHTMARE!
He was an Angel of Doom!
CALLISTO L3 -> Mimir Habitat L1
Mimir Habitat L2 -> CalSec Central
CalSec Central - cleared
CalSec Central - cleared
EUROPA L2 -> Asterius Habitat L1
Asterius Habitat L2 -> Asterius Breach
Asterius Breach - cleared
Asterius Breach - cleared
Asterius Breach - cleared
IO L2 -> Io Black Site L1
Io Black Site L1 - Secure Vault
Io Black Site L2 -> Black Site Vaults
BEYOND L2 - The Hunt
BEYOND L2 -> Limbo
Awards
CRI Star (bronze cluster) (+25)
* 25+ kills without taking damage
CRI Star (silver cluster) (+50)
* 50+ kills without taking damage
Explorer Ribbon (+50)
* Visited all encountered special levels
Conqueror Ribbon (+100)
* Completed all encountered special levels
JoviSec Platinum Badge
* Win any game on NIGHTMARE!
Doomed Platinum Badge
* Complete AoD on UV
Doomed Diamond Badge
* Complete AoD on Nightmare!
He killed 788 out of 885 enemies.
32 archreavers
25 fiends
72 exalted ravagers
15 plasma ravagers
2 military bots
53 exalted fiends
11 rocket turrets
40 turrets
1 Summoner
4 military sentrys
22 security sentrys
1 former CRI grunt
12 CalSec bots
69 exalted reavers
1 former CRI soldier
44 exalted kerbeross
3 corrupted sergeants
49 ravagers
6 combat drones
18 former soldiers
5 former guards
2 former heavys
19 fire fiends
16 siege ravagers
3 former sergeants
63 exalted soldiers
12 cryobeross
5 corrupted heavys
9 CRI marines
3 guardian bots
6 hellish soldiers
2 military drones
4 corrupted soldiers
4 former grunts
7 toxic reavers
26 ice fiends
1 former CRI sergeant
14 armored ravagers
11 CRI bots
10 reavers
4 corrupted commandos
5 cybeross
10 security drones
19 cryoreavers
9 kerbeross
14 former commandos
24 CalSec sentrys
7 toxibeross
5 security bots
Traits
Skilled L1
Hellrunner L2
Juggler
Packrat L2
Son of a Gun L2
Gun hoarder
Dash
Eagle Eye
Dodgemaster
Second Wind
Scavenger
GUNRUNNER L3
Trait order
->
Skl
Equipment
Slot #1 : AV2 7.62 sidearm P
Slot #2 : rocket launcher PA
Slot #3 : 12ga jackhammer PA
Body : basic armor PB
Head : AV2 marine helmet
Utility : AV2 pistol AMP
Inventory
rocket (x10)
rocket (x1)
12ga shell (x44)
7.62 ammo (x100)
7.62 ammo (x100)
7.62 ammo (x100)
7.62 ammo (x78)
plasma grenade (x2)
gas grenade (x3)
EMP grenade (x1)
krak grenade (x3)
smoke grenade (x3)
CRI phase kit (x3)
multitool (x2)
large medkit
10
Post Mortem / Re: [0.9.3b|N!|AoMr|Te|YAVP] Anomaly Diamond
« on: October 02, 2020, 21:42 »
Congrats on the Diamond badge! :D I have yet to get one of those. Clearly, I need to play this game more. :)
11
Post Mortem / [0.9.4|N!|Ma|YASD] Bleh... my best Nightmare game so far
« on: October 02, 2020, 15:47 »
I was trying for CRI Diamond, and this was the first time I got as far as Io. (A bit disappointed there's no badge for getting to Io in Nightmare; Oh well...) :P Aside from being a little worryingly low on ammo, I was doing well, with some pretty nice equipment, up until I opened a door to be greeted by a quartet of naturally occurring exalted reavers with fire ability, and I guess all four of them must've hit me at once, because they did a lot more damage than I was expecting. I should've healed or sought cover or something, but they were so perfectly positioned for my cold-enhanced shotgun that I couldn't resist just shooting them. Whoops...
And while I'm here, why are there so many Diamond badges that require you to play masterless? They might as well say you're required to not have fun. :P I sort of wonder... what if the requirement instead said you have to kill everything at least once? (Or a minimum number of first-time kills?) Then you still get the interesting benefits of the master traits, while making for some interesting strategic planning as you figure out what route you take through the level.
And while I'm here, why are there so many Diamond badges that require you to play masterless? They might as well say you're required to not have fun. :P I sort of wonder... what if the requirement instead said you have to kill everything at least once? (Or a minimum number of first-time kills?) Then you still get the interesting benefits of the master traits, while making for some interesting strategic planning as you figure out what route you take through the level.
Tormuse, level 14 Marine, killed on
IO L5 by a exalted reaver.
He survived for 12487 turns.
The run time was 5h 54m 21s.
He scored 5504 points.
He opposed the NIGHTMARE!
CALLISTO L3 -> Mimir Habitat L1
Mimir Habitat L2 -> CalSec Central
CalSec Central - cleared
CalSec Central - cleared
CalSec Central - cleared
EUROPA L2 - Volatile Storage
EUROPA L2 -> Asterius Habitat L1
Asterius Habitat L2 - Infestation
Asterius Habitat L2 -> Asterius Breach
Asterius Breach - cleared
IO L2 -> Io Black Site L1
Io Black Site L2 -> Black Site Vaults
IO L5 - Lockdown
Awards
CRI Star (bronze cluster) (+25)
* 25+ kills without taking damage
Conqueror Ribbon (+100)
* Completed all encountered special levels
He killed 627 out of 723 enemies.
1 former CRI soldier
26 former soldiers
17 reavers
24 ice fiends
2 corrupted soldiers
32 turrets
78 exalted soldiers
31 exalted fiends
10 armored ravagers
6 plasma ravagers
5 siege ravagers
8 security drones
10 CRI bots
3 CRI marines
36 exalted ravagers
17 fiends
16 fire fiends
68 exalted reavers
7 toxic reavers
2 CRI guards
4 former grunts
30 ravagers
5 former guards
19 archreavers
4 former CRI grunts
1 former heavy
6 corrupted commandos
22 CalSec sentrys
5 corrupted sergeants
6 security bots
7 corrupted heavys
14 former commandos
4 kerbeross
11 former sergeants
15 security sentrys
1 military drone
14 CalSec bots
25 exalted kerbeross
1 former CRI sergeant
14 cryobeross
1 toxiberos
14 rocket turrets
6 combat drones
11 cryoreavers
Traits
Skilled L2
Furious L1
Hellrunner L2
Ironman L2
Sustained fire L1
Bloodhound
Field Medic
Angry Motherfucker
Running
Incoming!
Trait order
Iro->Iro->FMc->Ski->Hr->SF->AMf->Hr->
Inc->Ski->Blo->Fur->Run
Equipment
Slot #1 : AV2 7.62 assault rifle P
Slot #2 : AV2 rocket launcher P
Slot #3 : AV2 12ga auto-shotgun P
Body : AV2 combat armor PB
Head : - NONE -
Utility : AV1 auto AMP
Inventory
energy cell (x51)
rocket (x10)
rocket (x8)
12ga shell (x14)
7.62 ammo (x92)
.44 ammo (x24)
EMP grenade (x2)
krak grenade (x3)
smoke grenade (x3)
military stimpack
military stimpack
large medkit
12
Bug Reports / Re: No Accessible Exit Spawned In Level
« on: July 03, 2020, 05:01 »
I frequently break down vault doors. It's often preferable to have control over when the monsters inside come out.
13
Post Mortem / [0.9.1|U|AoB|Sc|YASD] My best scout berserker so far...
« on: June 16, 2020, 23:17 »
I've been trying to win Angel of Berserk for the last little while, alternating between all three character classes. Of the three, I think Marine has the easiest time, thanks to the damage boost from Rip and Tear, which makes it a little confusing to me that the Scout got his abilities nerfed. (Reduced energy from Energy Leech) Still, I really wanted to see if I could play sneaky, sneaky style with a Ghost build. This means wasting a level on Eagle Eye, but I think it would have been fun. (I was so close to getting it!)
Unfortunately, I found the difficulty ramped up faster than my abilities. When I was facing Cryoreavers and Ravagers in Europa, they were able to survive two critical hits each, and I didn't have energy to spare, so all my sneaky tactics weren't enough to prevent me from taking lots of damage and I depleted my resources pretty quickly.
Still, this run was notable for the fact that I was able to conquer Calsec Central, so that was pretty cool. :) And when I played the next level, and faced all the shut down bots, I was still able to leech energy off them, so that was also pretty cool. :)
I did encounter what seemed to be a bug, though. The Av3 Machete I got from Calsec Central had Disrupt 3, so naturally, I used it against mechanical enemies, (even though it took four hits against everything, because of the slash damage) and I discovered that if a Calsec Sentry starts chainfiring, it continues firing, even if it's disrupted. At first, I thought maybe they just mindlessly fire in the same direction, like they're stuck with their finger on the trigger, but when I moved, the supposedly disrupted bot was still able to track me with its weapon as it continued firing.
Unfortunately, I found the difficulty ramped up faster than my abilities. When I was facing Cryoreavers and Ravagers in Europa, they were able to survive two critical hits each, and I didn't have energy to spare, so all my sneaky tactics weren't enough to prevent me from taking lots of damage and I depleted my resources pretty quickly.
Still, this run was notable for the fact that I was able to conquer Calsec Central, so that was pretty cool. :) And when I played the next level, and faced all the shut down bots, I was still able to leech energy off them, so that was also pretty cool. :)
I did encounter what seemed to be a bug, though. The Av3 Machete I got from Calsec Central had Disrupt 3, so naturally, I used it against mechanical enemies, (even though it took four hits against everything, because of the slash damage) and I discovered that if a Calsec Sentry starts chainfiring, it continues firing, even if it's disrupted. At first, I thought maybe they just mindlessly fire in the same direction, like they're stuck with their finger on the trigger, but when I moved, the supposedly disrupted bot was still able to track me with its weapon as it continued firing.
Tormuse, level 6 Scout, killed on
Refueling Base by a archreaver.
He survived for 4547 turns.
The run time was 1h 35m 8s.
He scored 1722 points.
He was ULTRAVIOLENT!
He was an Angel of Berserk!
CALLISTO L2 -> Mimir Habitat L1
Mimir Habitat L3 -> CalSec Central
CalSec Central - cleared
EUROPA L4 -> Refueling Base
He killed 148 out of 228 enemies.
2 ravagers
10 exalted soldiers
14 fire fiends
22 CalSec sentrys
2 security bots
3 turrets
18 former soldiers
4 former heavys
3 military drones
4 cryoreavers
4 former grunts
15 fiends
4 security sentrys
17 former commandos
16 CalSec bots
5 former guards
4 former sergeants
10 corrupted soldiers
2 combat drones
1 cryoberos
10 security drones
2 corrupted heavys
Traits
Skilled L2
Eagle Eye
Energy leech L2
Trait order
Skl->EnL->Skl->EnL->EE
Equipment
Slot #1 : AV3 machete
Slot #2 : combat knife PBA
Body : blue armor
Utility : - NONE -
Inventory
multitool (x1)
14
Post Mortem / Re: [0.9.1|E|Sc|YAAM] Gunslingin' Tourist
« on: June 11, 2020, 18:17 »Not sure why I ended up with a whopping 359 out of 349 kills...
Thelaptop, you cheater! Are you taking lessons from 2Dev? :P Seriously, though, I'm not sure why it would do that; as far as I know, extra kills from the Summoner or from the Gateway don't count toward your kill count. (At least they didn't in my own runs)
I got an early AV3 9m pistol that had EMP/frenzy powers, and an AV2 9mm pistol that had vampiric/bleed powers.
So you had one pistol for the squishy targets and another for the... er... clanky targets. :D Sounds like a fun game. Congrats on your victory! :)
15
Post Mortem / Re: [U|ArchAoRA|83%|YAVP] Quartermaster Angelic Badge
« on: June 08, 2020, 16:29 »
Hey, you used my build! :) Very cool, congrats on your victory! :D This is an interesting challenge, since it requires a very different playstyle than usual, but it can be a lot of fun once you get that Gunrunner/Shottyman combo going. :)
And yeah, I had a similar experience that I was well below 80% kills for most of the run, but the equipment and extra levels of late-game were needed to put me over the top.
And yeah, I had a similar experience that I was well below 80% kills for most of the run, but the equipment and extra levels of late-game were needed to put me over the top.