Random Ideas

[Zeonix]

So I don't have an internet connection at home atm, so I've been playing with bots. Yeah, yeah, bots are horrible. I already know that, but they give me the opportunity to think while I play, and for that reason I love them.

1) The ESF Team is trying to make 1.3 an entirely new experience for both pros and everyone else. From what I've seen, chances are pros will still be pros and although I don't have a problem with that, I like starting over. Especially if that means I have to work my way up to the top again. My first suggestion has probably been suggested before, but I don't think many people realize how much of a difference it will make during fights.

ESF is built in such a way that most people move as if they're driving a car, and pros move as if they're riding a motorcycle. Considering flight is the most important aspect of movement in the game, I think it might be time to give us the ability to fly as if we were pilotting an f-16 rather than a car. What do I mean by this? Well, when this was suggested before, people used bfp as a source for their idea. Basically, you could move every which way you wanted. You could complete full vertical circles, turn completely upside down, etc. I remember someone saying something like it wasn't worth implementing. I believe otherwise.

At the moment, melee fighting is extremely linear. The only problem people seem to have is figuring out their opponent's altitude. When people want to get away, they just teleport or beam jump away. Thats good and all, but I'd like to see actual dogfights; fights where people had to use actual evasive manuevers to escape their opponents. I'd look for combat manuevers from previous wars for an idea of what kinds of manuevers we could use.

Not only does this idea serve us defensively, but many of those escape manuevers from ww1 and 2, if done correctly, could lead to leaving your opponent open to attack. I'd draw pictures and such, but I'm not on my own pc, so I'll have to pass for now.

How does this idea serve to make the 1.3 experience from all versions before it? It brings dog fighting to the next level:

1) No more linear fighting. You're able to travel however you'd like during a fight and you won't have to waste ki teleporting away, and you won't have to annoy your opponent by beam jumping away.
2) It requires tactics, and thus skill. A more skilled player will use such manuevers to outfly his opponent. Anyone unable to adapt will be crushed, just like in real life (THIS ISNT REAL LIFE ITS DBZ!!! This is a game, not a cartoon). New players will fly the way we're forced to now, but the more they learn, the better they'll fly and manuever, and the more dangerous they'll be. Learning these tactics would be something to work towards, and the team wouldn't even have to make any of them up as they already exist. We just need the ability to execute them.
3) It would look pretty sweet.

2) Hitboxes: Now, I don't know anything about modeling so this suggestion is probably garbage. Is there any way to decrease the size of hitboxes? In 1.2, you're able to hit someone from something like 5 feet away on the sides and 10 feet above and below the player. Stand next to or above someone ingame to figure out what I mean. 1.1's hitboxes seemed a lot smaller and although people say the box was "Easy mode", people always missed their target unless they were spot on.

3) Speaking of the box, I'd like that back. I've suggested this so many times, and CrackJack suggested it once as well, but it would be great to have a small box around our opponent so we know who we're fighting. It wouldn't do anything other than allow us to tell who is who. It wouldn't home in on our opponents or anything like that. It would also promote clean fighting. A lot of the time, people forget who they're fighting so they'll just attack a random person. That can get annoying, especially when they're nowhere near as good as you are and you're having an epic battle with someone.

4) Gen beam: Probably not a big deal, but I think they should turn quicker.

5) Kame torpedoes: I think they should drain ki once they're just standing in mid-air. Its one thing to charge ki, and its another to maintain that energy in mid-air while waiting to fire it at someone. Little to no chance of getting in-game, but its makes sense to me.

6) Is there a way to stabilize the crosshair or is that just HL? I find I never use the crosshair because it jumps all over the place. I have to use an imaginary crosshair in the center of my screen to aim.

7) Stop punishing aggressive players. What I mean by this is defensive players have a huge advantage over aggressive players because of the way things like HOW work. I discussed this in the ZR forum and Rayne helped with this idea. Basically, people who run are able to swoop from 10 "Feet" away into their opponent and create a HOW, regardless of how long the other person was swooping. Basically, I think HOW's should only be possible from "x" distance. If the person running swoops anywhere below x, they get hit. As it stands now, HOWs will work unless your extremely close to your opponent. My logic is the person who has been swooping longer is traveling at a faster speed, and since he has more momentum he should roll right through the person who swooped from 10 feet away (since he was unable to reach maximum velocity).

The speed at which people swoop backwards should also be lowered, and they shouldn't be able to go from traveling back at full speed to traveling in a completely different direction at full speed in a split second.

Thats about it for now.

 

[Sandstorm]

I like these ideas.

Although, for the box, I had a follow-up idea. Have the scouter be an over-the-eye (half the screen) green tint, rather than a little box in the corner. This would make it seem more like a real scouter, AND, you could use this to display your box. Of course, if your opponent is on the left-hand side of your screen, you won't see the box.

 

[Zeonix]

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I mean like this. The circle and stick in the middle is the opponent. The box is around the opponent, much like the way it was in 1.1.

 

[sub]

All good ideas I support

About the box thing, I think if it automatically initiated it would be nice. For example, I hit someone, a bot automatically surrounds that person, instead of one having to click fiercely at an opponent [like in 1.1]. There would be two color boxes, one for the person you just hit, the other for the person before that hit. When you or the opponent dies, the box goes away.

Simple and automated. For those who don't like the box, there should be an way to turn it off in options.

 

[Zeonix]

I like the automation, but I'd probably forget which box means what, and so the random hitting would continue.

Something occurred to me. What if the color of the box worked in conjunction with your opponent's general health? Standard green, yellow, orange, red colors would work. I don't know how one would make that work though.

 

[Sandstorm]

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I mean like this. The circle and stick in the middle is the opponent. The box is around the opponent, much like the way it was in 1.1.

Oh I knew what you meant. But, if it was due to the scouter, it would make more sense, rather than just having a box appear out of nowhere.

 

[KidMan]

Zeo, you make great suggestions as usual. I think Esf should make their flight more maneuverable, as it would make things more life like then they are now. I know DBZ isn't real, but putting real life aspects into a game makes it more appealing.

 

[Raeku]

I like the ideas, I like em a lot.

The flight idea is actually a great idea and would give you millions of extra moves and options in battle. Although I would like to see more ground action as well.

Hit boxes: Agreed in full. Its silly to hit a guy when hes 5-10 feet away from you.

Boxes: It would make things simpler, which is why it should be just that. Simple and one color.

Aggressive players at a disadvantage. I HATE fighting someone, as in all out epic battle of all time, and then they just swoop back, swoop forward and HOW!!

 

[Kama]

I agree with you with the lock on box, and we have something like that in 1.3. So yay.

I don't agree with any of your other points, so I apologize for that. I decided that I should at least respond though, if nothing else but sarcastically to let you know that regardless how much the team dislikes certain fans, we still litsen.

I think it might be time to give us the ability to fly as if we were pilotting an f-16 rather than a car.

As far as "free flight" goes. It won't be in ESF, not because it's "not worth implementing" but because it just wouldn't work out properly. Combat animations would look screwy if someone was upside down blocking a high hit.

Basically, picture mortal kombat with sub zero fighting scorpion, and scorpion was upside down. The animations just wouldn't sync up and it would look ridiculous. It's a matter of logistics not worth.

So, as fun as it would be to fly in a complete circle, don't expect to see it in ESF.

 

[Rayne]

I agree with everything, theyre all improvements to think about, but i cant come up with any useful evasive manuevers, other than a short swoop boost. Increase of speed over a distance shorter than one teleport, not to overpower someone in an HOW but kind of like a quick dodge... well ill try to come up with some others later.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

All of your ideas are great, especially flight and the crosshair idea ( it should remain still like in Half Life, the esf one gives me a head ache because its so jittery ), except i disagree about the kami torpedoes. They are already useless, because of the long charge time it takes to do and crappy homing they have, and the ki drain would make them even worse. I think you should be able to charge them two at a time.

 

[Zeonix]

I agree with you with the lock on box, and we have something like that in 1.3. So yay.

I don't agree with any of your other points, so I apologize for that. I decided that I should at least respond though, if nothing else but sarcastically to let you know that regardless how much the team dislikes certain fans, we still litsen.



As far as "free flight" goes. It won't be in ESF, not because it's "not worth implementing" but because it just wouldn't work out properly. Combat animations would look screwy if someone was upside down blocking a high hit.

Basically, picture mortal kombat with sub zero fighting scorpion, and scorpion was upside down. The animations just wouldn't sync up and it would look ridiculous. It's a matter of logistics not worth.

So, as fun as it would be to fly in a complete circle, don't expect to see it in ESF.

Damn, thats a little disheartening. Have you guys actually tried it or is it purely speculation? This is me just using my imagination, but wouldn't it look pretty much the same, just upside down? I suppose it might look like person a was blocking person b with his face, kinda, but if blocks only occur in the center of the torso then it should still kinda work out.

A work around to the upside down thing could be to automatically set you right side up when you come to a complete halt. This way you're still able to perform these manuevers, and the models won't look stupid blocking with their necks.

I think just being able to move in said way would add a lot of depth to fighting, and would add "skill factor".

 

[LionHeart]

lol who would care of a skill facor of fighting upside down ? :laff:

 

[Zeonix]

Again, you're not fighting upside down. Being able to do the manuevers are what matters. I'm not trying to have one guy right side up and the other guy upside down trying to shoot ki blasts at each other.

 

[LionHeart]

still i think it would be most anoying

 

[Skiwan]

I think it'd be perfectly possible in basic melee since you never really see much of a precise response during the impact, it wouldnt matter if one player was upside down. For advanced melee to be initiated, it could be tricky, but i think it'd work if when its initiating- one hit spins the upside down player around before they go at it, or they separate and both rotate back to being up rite. Like you said the halt thing makes sense too. I like the idea personally, split-s and stuff would be really cool to have, shame you cant adjust your throttle though... The only problem with this, is movement in 1.3 already is quite different, with the focus being taken away from swoop =/ well... It's not gonna be the same as if you were going to implement it into 1.2, though I think it's worth at least trying.

I think hitboxes are going to be reduced in 1.3, and the lock on thing, isnt gonna quite be lockon, but it will indicate the player you're fighting, Not too sure yet though on what else it will indicate, maybe health would be a good idea, or powerlevel but It might just make it a little easier for beamers to pick off the people with lower health.

Not sure about the crosshair, i think it has something to do with playing in the 3rd person, but I cant be sure.

Number 7 I agree with completely, will have to bring that up sometime.

 

[Zeonix]

Bleh, I forgot about that charge swooping thing...

"Not too sure yet though on what else it will indicate, maybe health would be a good idea, or powerlevel but It might just make it a little easier for beamers to pick off the people with lower health"

I don't think that'd be much of a problem because they'd have to actually hit someone before the box would show up. The box would stay there until one of you died (or if you guys made it so, until they were out of range of each other). Either way, it would be faster to charge a kame and shoot into a crowd than individually select people and shoots beams.

 

[-=[EEF]=-Ghost]

And might I add that when the box is around your opponent, his dot should change to a more significant color in the scouter so that he can still be seen off-screen.

 

[|Overlord|]

I agree with most of these ideas. Back when I was still able to play at my peak it was really annoying how some people lost track of exactly who they were fighting especially if a lot of people on the pub/server were the same class. I also agree that velocity based dependence should be taken a little more into consideration.

 

[Adaptus]

Fighting upside down would be pretty sick and awesome. o/

I loved it in BFP and I think it'd be cool to have in ESF too.