Untelegraphed attacks

[pubby]

Most attacks in this game have a small warning before they happen. For example, if someone wants to tase you, they first have to pull out their gun and fire it. If someone wants to e-sword you, they have to pull the sword out and activate it. The window to react is small, but it does exist. You can run the moment you see their sprite change.

Historically, attacks that came without warning have been extremely unpopular. Stuff like parasting, ei nath, stun gloves, martial arts, and parapen are despised by many, and for good reason. There's no counterplay to attacks you can't react to. At least, there isn't besides running from anyone who stands close. To me, that's bad design.

What I wonder is two things.

1. Should the reaction window be increased slightly? i.e. should there be a short delay (.5 seconds?) buffered from the time you put a weapon in your hands from the time the first attack happens?

2. Should we "fix" some of the existing untelegraphed attacks in the game by making them reactible?

[Kryson]

Which are the current offenders?

Most if not all dangerous weapons should have an inhand sprite at least.

A related problem is the mech hydraulic clamp, many people don't notice they are attacked at first since it has no sound or attack animation. Since the firefighter is ungodly slow this isn't really a big issue but still feels kind of lame.

[obscolene]

Ei nath has an inhand sprite. It's the flaming hand sprite, what the cult spells derive from.

[Tlaltecuhtli]

Greg Tide draws a pen!

[zxaber]

Which are the current offenders?

Hiveminds can assimilate people with zero tells except if you notice them not moving, and the only real way to stop it is by avoiding everyone. Meanwhile, mind control can be used on vesels once the Hivemind has enough. This lead to the "Airlock Walkies" phenomenon, where people would just mind-control their vessels into fully stripping and just strolling out into space. (If you ask me, it's compounded by the fact that mind-controlling people and not killing them will lead to them calling out hiveminds so you're encouraged to make the vessel die.) This was "fixed" with a distance limit on mind control, but that really only narrows the problem a bit, and you could still just attack someone until they move in to put your vessel down and then hop out at the last second.

But apparently dying with absolutely no way to predict it and attempt to stop it is perfectly fine so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hiveminds can also force a heart-attact but IIRC there's a bunc of warning before you actually drop so it's actually okay.

[donutstation]

also there is detomatix, remote instant stun, delimb, 60 damage and more bad shit is retarded, please delete it

[Mickyan]

1. Should the reaction window be increased slightly? i.e. should there be a short delay (.5 seconds?) buffered from the time you put a weapon in your hands from the time the first attack happens?

This would be very nice to have, especially if it can be set up as being variable based on size so that there's at least some tradeoff to using big high damage weapons

You should be using a shank to take someone by surprise instead of a fire axe

[datorangebottle]

also there is detomatix, remote instant stun, delimb, 60 damage and more bad shit is retarded, please delete it

Or add a warning period with big red text, allowing you to at least pull your PDA out and throw it, if not draw the ID too. Similar to the traitor AI's overload program. "x's PDA buzzes and begins to glow brightly!" should be fairly noticeable.

Honestly, this almost makes it a good thing to the people most vulnerable to it- shaft miners. They can throw it and use it as a mining charge instead of getting locked out at best, and fucking murdered by megafauna/ash storms at worst.

[MisterPerson]

That change wouldn't make it fun though. In fact it would make it net less fun because now even the traitor has less fun than the minimal amount they already had. It's frankly just a failure of a concept to begin with.

[cedarbridge]

That change wouldn't make it fun though. In fact it would make it net less fun because now even the traitor has less fun than the minimal amount they already had. It's frankly just a failure of a concept to begin with.

The way you phrase this makes it sound like we don't have players clamoring over limited antag roles.

[confused rock]

If hivemind heart attack has any warning they're really fucking vague. definitely not noticable with how many healing viruses we get now (The worst shit in the game- on the upside you get free healing, on the downside your screen is flooded with messages)

[obscolene]

That change wouldn't make it fun though. In fact it would make it net less fun because now even the traitor has less fun than the minimal amount they already had. It's frankly just a failure of a concept to begin with.

The way you phrase this makes it sound like we don't have players clamoring over limited antag roles.

sounds like you forgot to read his signature

[PKPenguin321]

That change wouldn't make it fun though. In fact it would make it net less fun because now even the traitor has less fun than the minimal amount they already had. It's frankly just a failure of a concept to begin with.

The way you phrase this makes it sound like we don't have players clamoring over limited antag roles.

What? Even if he is, that's not even relevant to the point he's making at all