Scouter alternative

[Hellion_Blade]

In the show they could sense each others power and from much longer distances than you can see with the in-game radar.

I had an idea of making some sort of visible aura or distortion on the screen indicating where the other player is. it might be colored or appear differently depending on the character that the player is using and/or the power level of the player. maybe even more vivid if the other player is a higher power level than your own. If you or your camera is not facing the opponent/ally then you will have a color/distortion on the edge of the screen kind of pointing to said player.

I kind of feel that they didn't really have a radar in DBZ as much as just being able to feel where other people are or looking at their scouter to point them in a direction. Not really a map effect like the radar gives.

Anyone else got an opinion on this idea? I'm sure it won't be implemented because it could be abused. People may use it as an easy guide to where people are when they teleport behind you and for some players this is key to their play style. However if the other player isn't skilled enough to do anything they still wont be able to. Its difficult to say without seeing it really implemented. What do you guys think?

 

[Z Power]

Could work but will need a lot of playtesting. Radars are a tried and tested method of being aware of your surroundings and are thus easy to implement.

Probably depends on what the devs have to say on this.

 

[Grega]

And in a map of 10 people the entire edge of the screen is one big flashing colour.

 

[Damaera]

And in a map of 10 people the entire edge of the screen is one big flashing colour.

I think something like this would be better if it were to activate upon button press. Possibly have it cost ki to sense the location of other people?

I was thinking there could be something like four red and orange rectangles being on the edge of your screen flashing when you use the ability. It would most likely flash in all directions, but perhaps it could flash more aggressively and be bigger when someone in your direction is closer to you, and flash less aggressively and be smaller when they're farther away.

 

[Z Power]

Pretty much what Dam said. You could even limit the range so that only people within a specific radius would tip off the old noggin.

 

[Damaera]

And by button press, I mean something that would only work when it's being held down. No toggle or anything.

 

[Hellion_Blade]

And in a map of 10 people the entire edge of the screen is one big flashing colour.

The hud can and will be made so that it is easy to read but gives you the information that you need with or without something like this option or extra right? If the hud they had now looked horrid and took up the whole screen they would fix that so why wouldn't they make this feature easy to read as well?

Here's an easy fix for this. Allow multiple auras to overlap and the closest one is the one that shows on top. Each one on the edge will take about 1/15th of the edge. My thought would be that it will look like an arch or point shape. Triangular even with a flat side to the edge of the screen. It will definitely be transparent and maybe could even have a slider in the player's settings on how opaque it would be.

As far as a toggle or held press to activate it, Why not have both available? I really don't think it can be abused all that much like I said before. Its part of the hud not part of the game-play. To implement both options of reading a powerlevel and also seeing where people are around you the dev team implemented a combo scouter mode. If a player was highlighted it would show their powerlevel and class.

Make another combo mode similar or even make a check box area in the settings. Make options that will allow you to enable or disable: the ability to sense enemies/allies, have a scouter, and get a powerlevel reading when you highlight. Cycling through options could work too I guess but I think the check boxes would be a bit better.

Another option could be the opposite of having to activate it. When you are charging maybe your own energy would get in the way of picking up on other energies around you thus turning off the ability/indicator(s).

I don't really feel that its necessary to completely defend this idea but I would like to see what others think. What comes to mind when you think, "How can sensing other people be implemented into ESF?"

edit:

Check this out.

This is what I imagine though not made looking like it was made in MS Paint of course. As you can see, It wouldn't be all that harsh on the screen if anything it might catch your attention and allow you to intercept whats going on much better than the radar ever will. Now it wont have any text nearby like my screenshot edit does but the tooltips are there so you can see clearly what this feature could do to make the player even more in control.

 

[Didgy]

You know, you could just get some surround speakers or headphones. Then just listen.

I think you'd have an awful lot of big marks on your screen unless people actually start getting some 1080p monitors.

 

[Shonnie]

A lot of people have big screen monitors these days. At least my schoolmates have them (almost every single one). And headphones won't cut across map and certainly aren't accurate enough to take action in the precise direction.

 

[Hellion_Blade]

Yeah Shonnie makes a good point but either way, hearing is not the point because in the show, Frieza could hear but could not sense other people. That would be the point of this feature in my opinion. Adding something from DBZ that wont break the game and can even be useful. Heh, maybe certain characters can only use this ability. Give the characters that used only scouters throughout the series something similiar but with a different(more "tech") appearance.

Imagine you are looking for the enemy on a big map and they are hiding behind something and are out of range for the dragon radar to pick them up. You can activate this to highlight their direction on the map.

 

[vector]

dont they have something like this in one of the dbz games .... all i remember is i didnt like it 0o. though radar is not pure canon to the series .... it still fits nice .... having something different just cuz some fighters didnt use fighters and sensed it doesnt seem like a good enough reason.

if anything have the scouter itself be more exact .... for example u have all the arrows and stuff go on that and when u move the arrows move .... and when u are looking at someone there is a big dot in the middle (depending on if they are higher plvl or lower plvl it is small dot or a big one, higher the pl the bigger teh dot) might b a little harder ... but could make things a lot easier. honestly with how big the maps are .... i think it would b a perfect idea. having a 3D scouter POV instead of 2D

of course if they are on ur screen u see em on ur scouter .... and if they are just out of screen it will have arrow. sooo imagine if u were far out and u see 4 ppl fighting in the distance, you will see all 4 dots on ur scouter and biggest one if the one with most pl and lowest is one with lower.

can even do color coded for low-high pl (or per fighter/character) and having dots being bigger or smaller indicating distance, but still have 3d view scouter

 

[Darth Revan]

This suggestion Sounds like the powerlevel sence from budokai 3

 

[McVries]

That sounds like a pretty good idea. If the devs decide to implement something like this, I think it would add a nice element to gameplay. Maybe players could have to option to sense PL or have the scouter, but not be able to use both?

 

[Lexis]

Just have a button named Sense Ki. If you hold it down , you see players in 2 colors. Red for enemy's and blue for allies.

The bigger the powerlevel the larger the "blur" would be around a player. Of course distance to that player should also be taken into account as we dont want huge auras one meter away from us ...

But I doubt this will get trough as the dev team probably have everything set up in terms of design .

 

[Damaera]

I was actually visualizing something more like this

except the effect would be fancier and the orange would have more of a red-ish tint to it.

The indicator on the bottom would show that an enemy is behind you and close, and the indicator on the right would show that there's an enemy to the right of you, but not as close to you.

 

[Z Power]

That kind of takes too much space, Dam. Blade's drawing is more minimalistic.

 

[Didgy]

Well, if you should have the ability to sense where people are hiding, then there should atleast be something to counter that. After all, hiding is an important part of losing.

 

[Prozac]

Check this out.

This is what I imagine though not made looking like it was made in MS Paint of course. As you can see, It wouldn't be all that harsh on the screen if anything it might catch your attention and allow you to intercept whats going on much better than the radar ever will. Now it wont have any text nearby like my screenshot edit does but the tooltips are there so you can see clearly what this feature could do to make the player even more in control.

I pretty much made the same suggestion somewhere around 2004. I think it would be perfect for the game. work with a specific class color and size related on position and powerlevel.
Something you can gaze at quick for a fairly accurate sense of your surroundings.

The influence on size should be range/powerlevel/position (Adding ability charges is interesting but could be a bit confusing. Though definitely should be tried by the beta testers if it gets in.)
People on screen, the closer they get, should have a smaller effect around their body. People off screen should get a bigger effect the closer they get. The effect should be bigger when the powerlevel is higher, and lower the other way around.

Sensing KI could be an extra skill to master while playing, especially while in close combat, while remaining easy to understand and use for newer players. Though, it should stay relative so it won't be a god like ability when you've mastered it. This is done by throwing in the variety of powerlevels. (In a sense always leaving it to your judgment how close someone is behind you) in one on one it's predictable, but in 10 vs 10 judging range around you will be harder because you're not up to date on everyones powerlevel.

The stronger you are, the less present the lower powerlevels are and vice versa. (this might be a little inaccurate when compared to the anime/manga but more should be a small advantage for new people who join the server. (which is something that's also needed!))

Well, if you should have the ability to sense where people are hiding, then there should atleast be something to counter that. After all, hiding is an important part of losing.

This holds true I suppose. Seeing as the effect, in my opinion, should have a direct relation to size in comparison to powerlevel. A hide your powerlevel feature would be of some use.
When you hide/lower your powerlevel, your sense gets better. The effect gets bigger, so smaller powerlevels are easier to detect, however the trade off is that when you get hit, you'll take more damage.

Still personally I would label this is optional at best. The usefulness is too specific a situation to warrant the teams time on, in my opinion at least.

 

[dbzrogue]

Idea for the 'hide' feature, could be the same as sensing, a simple button. Basically what it would do is stop you from flying, boosting or using special attacks(except perhaps small ki blasts) or tier attacks, you are also restricted to the simplest form of melee. In exchange for all this you would be undetectable, and maybe get the bonus described by Prozac.

Sound any good? :V

 

[Prozac]

Idea for the 'hide' feature, could be the same as sensing, a simple button. Basically what it would do is stop you from flying, boosting or using special attacks(except perhaps small ki blasts) or tier attacks, you are also restricted to the simplest form of melee. In exchange for all this you would be undetectable, and maybe get the bonus described by Prozac.

Sound any good? :V

Doesn't hold so true to the series, it's also rather off-topic.
Work it out and it make your own thread. Could be a interesting addition/discussion.