Enemy Action Cues

[Nighthawk]

Ever been annoyed that spitter acid appears around your feet instantly and shocker static suddenly paralyzes you with no warning?

I know I have.

I suggest that some enemies give cues before using special attacks. Similar to the way turrets give you their little “beep beep” for 1 turn before unloading ten metric tons of lead into your body, I think other enemies should give warnings too. It probably wouldn’t be too hard to add sound or action messages for shockers and spitters, informing you 1-2 turns before they shock you/melt your socks:
To the south you hear electrical crackling!
To the north the spitter prepares to spit!

It would also be nice if hitting the enemies for enough damage during this grace period (after the attack cue but before the actual attack) interrupted their action.

This would add some depth to combat and make spitters, shockers and the like a bit less… unfair.

Discuss.

[StopSignal]

This would be really cool! And it would indeed add a lot of depth to combat, and strategies too. Awesome idea!

[TheFlame52]

SHOOT SPITTER IN FACE, STOP SPITTING ATTACK

I LOVE IT

[Valpo]

They are not unfair !
Give the z sniper rifles and let them hide on rooftops from where they snipe you without you beeing able to ever reach/detect them. well thats unfair.

And concerning fair. If your vised by a deadly rare enemy like the tankbot and shot down thats bad luck…
If you find the same tankbot in the night by chance thats also bad luck (for it).

Life may not be fair but it generally is the same asshole to everyone .(But if this is suposed to be a game maybe fun should be the premise? hmmmmm)

And If your unhappy about the lack of the abillity to avoid a shockers lightning attack. welll i don t think you should be able to (and if you didn t tweak the spawn settings a lot you wont see 10 of them in the same spot often xD) A lone shocker isn t a problem at all even in meele . you ll very likely get hurt… but not much.

The spitters?
Well they are annoying troll zs… I love them… and you can abuse theire spit in various ways. Also: In theire case a preparation of a few secs might be justifiable …yet if you interupt them while they are at it by like stabbing them wouldn t they explode in a shower of acid on you? Seems fun lets do it.

[StopSignal]

Well yeah, maybe it’s unfair, but I think it’s good because it forces to attack them from near in early when you tend to run from them. Also, they generally shoot you before you are next to them so unless you are a good melee warrior you won’t see a difference. I like that.

[Valpo]

Oh right you can shoot shockers through wire fences. n they can t do jackshit about it… ain t that unfair?

[StopSignal]

Well, the shock IRL would stay in the metal wire fence, so yeah, it’s unfair but it’s how it should work.

[Valpo]

Well, the shock IRL would stay in the metal wire fence, so yeah, it’s unfair but it’s how it should work.

And thats great.

[Jakers]

Sounds fair enough. I always would like a warning from spitters so they don’t ruin my damned shoes! ARGH!

Shockers could use some sort of warning. Like ‘The shocker crackles!’ or something so I can be warned before I get a lightning bolt sent up my ass. God, have some courtesy before you whip away a chunk of my health!

As for turrets, the only time I’m legitimately pissed off with them is when you randomly find one in a science room. All like “I WONDER WHATS IN HERE” BLAaNlaMalabALa,ml[NAalbLAmalaBaLMa ded. Otherwise, I just always take note of the positions of turrets - I even mark them on my map - to make sure they don’t get me. I don’t see how else an automatic turret could warn you other than ‘bleep bleep’, unless it instead has some guy going “next turn your arm is going to be shot off - lol!”

Tankbots? WHAT THE FUUU- BOOOOOOOOOM What Valpo said: they’re basically a very rare death sentence.

But yeah I’d like a few warnings too so more strategies can be developed. I do like me a strategy so I can say “Just as planned” afterwards.

[Valpo]

Yeah they are evil ^^ My survivor shoes don t care most of the time though… With these id have to stand in the acid for the whole duration to risk destroying them. and then i can just patch them while surrounded by zombies . Bossmode sewing. Not as hardcore as extreme scarf knitting though.

*edit:

Spitters are the bain of any attempt at extreme scarf knitting so weed them out befor you start.

[Wanderer]

But yeah I’d like a few warnings too so more strategies can be developed. I do like me a strategy so I can say “Just as planned” afterwards.

Maybe levels of cues could be tied to your Perception? So, your boomed survivor wouldn’t realize that the brute is going to slam him away, but a very perceptive(and morale-boosted) survivor would not only perceive the oncoming slam, but also where the zombies next to him will move next, or if a zombie will destroy that broken window instead of passing by it.

[StopSignal]

[quote=“Jakers, post:9, topic:8186”]But yeah I’d like a few warnings too so more strategies can be developed. I do like me a strategy so I can say “Just as planned” afterwards.

Maybe levels of cues could be tied to your Perception? So, your boomed survivor wouldn’t realize that the brute is going to slam him away, but a very perceptive(and morale-boosted) survivor would not only perceive the oncoming slam, but also where the zombies next to him will move next, or if a zombie will destroy that broken window instead of passing by it.[/quote]

Well, that’s a whole new suggestion there! And quite cool.

[Jakers]

[quote=“Jakers, post:9, topic:8186”]But yeah I’d like a few warnings too so more strategies can be developed. I do like me a strategy so I can say “Just as planned” afterwards.

Maybe levels of cues could be tied to your Perception? So, your boomed survivor wouldn’t realize that the brute is going to slam him away, but a very perceptive(and morale-boosted) survivor would not only perceive the oncoming slam, but also where the zombies next to him will move next, or if a zombie will destroy that broken window instead of passing by it.[/quote]
Me gusta.

[Nighthawk]

On the subject of Shockers:
While it is realistic to make shocker lightning unavoidable, there are a number of unrealistic things in CDDA… so to the realism argument I say meh.

Actually, to the realism argument I ALWAYS say meh.

What is real is the fact that, due to the paralysis ability of the shocker lightning, it’s basically luck of the draw how much damage you take when a shocker decides to blast you. Sometimes you get hit by a shocker and only lose a little bit of health. Other times you get unlucky, the initial attack paralyzes you, and you spend several turns unable to move while your character takes more damage, leading to the loss of a fourth of your health on every body part. I’ve had this happen to me, and it’s not fun.

Yes, a lot of game elements are random, including damage itself, but the variance of damage from enemies is generally not very large. Zombie slaps will typically hurt you around the same amount every time (provided armor and stuff doesn’t change). Shockers on the other hand, can range from minor nuisance to major annoyance to DEATH SENTENCE if there are deadlier foes around you and you suddenly get paralyzed.

Whether it’s fair or not is debatable, but I see no reason not to give the game added depth by supplying the player with warnings.

On the subject of Spitters:
I have only one thing to say about Spitters: they are a nuisance. They do minimal damage, hit a part of your body that is not very often hit, and damage clothing that is often a pain to repair (due to shoes generally not being made out of cloth). They’re not even a real threat - they’re just seriously annoying, and a melee-focused character (or a character that simply hasn’t acquired a good ranged weapon) is forced to go “oh well” and watch their footwear disintegrate before they can reach the Spitter. I don’t think a warning is too much to ask.

I like the idea of Perception affecting how much your survivor notices. How hard it would be to code, I don’t know.

[Valpo]

Every Mechanic ingame has the set goal to be realistic(As much as possible) … and i support that goal.
Your right theres still lots of unrealistic things but i would love to see them change in a way that makes them plausible.
Its like oh lets light this tree on fire cause the other trees over there are burning too! No douse them ! Safe the woods !

[Coolthulhu]

Every Mechanic ingame has the set goal to be realistic(As much as possible)

If this was true, we wouldn’t have any zombies in the game. Or most bionics. Or books that let you learn skills without practicing them once. Or mutations. Or leveling up skills over the course of days.

Realism is a nice bonus, not the ultimate goal. If it’s realistic but adds nothing to the game, into the trash it goes.

[StopSignal]

[quote=“Valpo, post:15, topic:8186”]Every Mechanic ingame has the set goal to be realistic(As much as possible) … and i support that goal.
Your right theres still lots of unrealistic things but i would love to see them change in a way that makes them plausible.
Its like oh lets light this tree on fire cause the other trees over there are burning too! No douse them ! Safe the woods ![/quote]

Well, this is a thing that would make the game a bit more realistic. Why our are against it if you like it so much?

This must be of the few realistic and at the same time fun suggestions.

[Nighthawk]

[quote=“StopSignal, post:17, topic:8186”]Well, this is a thing that would make the game a bit more realistic. Why our are against it if you like it so much?

This must be of the few realistic and at the same time fun suggestions.[/quote]

I was going to point out the hypocrisy, but you beat me to it.

But yeah, this suggestion is reasonably realistic. If you were up against a real life Shocker zombie, it wouldn’t shamble toward you and then suddenly BAM! - a lightning bolt just blasts right out of its body to hit you. It obviously directs the attack, so there must be some visible cue as to when it’s going to shoot its electricity. Same with Spitters. Acid doesn’t just come FLYING out of their mouths spontaneously and get automatically directed at you. They aim and spit at you.

[Valpo]

[quote=“StopSignal, post:17, topic:8186”][quote=“Valpo, post:15, topic:8186”]Every Mechanic ingame has the set goal to be realistic(As much as possible) … and i support that goal.
Your right theres still lots of unrealistic things but i would love to see them change in a way that makes them plausible.
Its like oh lets light this tree on fire cause the other trees over there are burning too! No douse them ! Safe the woods ![/quote]

Well, this is a thing that would make the game a bit more realistic. Why our are against it if you like it so much?

This must be of the few realistic and at the same time fun suggestions.[/quote]

Eh i am against it?
What am i against?
Against the preparation/interupting abillity you mean? I never said i am against it. I most specificly said it would probably be reasonable with the spitter.

Or did i defysome other suggestion? Which do you mean?

But yeah, this suggestion is reasonably realistic. If you were up against a real life Shocker zombie, it wouldn’t shamble toward you and then suddenly BAM! - a lightning bolt just blasts right out of its body to hit you. It obviously directs the attack, so there must be some visible cue as to when it’s going to shoot its electricity. Same with Spitters. Acid doesn’t just come FLYING out of their mouths spontaneously and get automatically directed at you. They aim and spit at you.

I actually support it not beeing able to direct an electric arc at all. I find it more realistic if it was either only static or emmiting electricity all around it.

How am i hypocritic?

for the spitters i am going to quote myself incase you overread that part :

[quote=“Valpo, post:4, topic:8186”]The spitters?
Well they are annoying troll zs… I love them… and you can abuse theire spit in various ways. Also: In theire case a preparation of a few secs might be justifiable …yet if you interupt them while they are at it by like stabbing them wouldn t they explode in a shower of acid on you? Seems fun lets do it.[/quote]

You broke my heart.

[Hardluck]

[quote=“Valpo, post:15, topic:8186”]Every Mechanic ingame has the set goal to be realistic(As much as possible) … and i support that goal.
Your right theres still lots of unrealistic things but i would love to see them change in a way that makes them plausible.
Its like oh lets light this tree on fire cause the other trees over there are burning too! No douse them ! Safe the woods ![/quote]

While realism is a solid guideline, it’s good to acknowledge that strictly speaking only the outcome has to seem realistic/plausible. Reality is way too complex to be worth accurately simulating for entertainment purposes. I’m pretty sure the game doesn’t check your relative orientation, date and the time of day, to determine the position of the sun to figure out if it is bothering your aim, every time you fire your weapon.

Regardless what you’re doing, you end up simplifying. Might as well not bother too much how you achieve the end result.