Well since my original post about this got lost in the move, I'm posting this again.
As many of you know, the current version of the strongest weapon in game, the Lucy, is better at killing dretches and promoting spam as well as camping rather then taking out large aliens.
My suggestion for a new weapon attempts to introduce a weapon with a sole purpose of taking out goons and tyrants.
While it can be use for all classes, the bigger the alien, the bigger the chance for greater damage.
My idea is an energy weapon that shoots 5 balls in a rather wide formation with no or very little spread.
Formation would be circular or star shaped, spaced so that only one ball can hit a dretch at one time. As useful in taking out bases as a shotgun.
Here are some stats:
-5 balls each doing 20 DMG
-refire rate a tad slower then shotgun (requires good movement and dancing thus preventing it from being overpowered)
-6 shots in a clip, fairly long reload time (promotes precision and prevents the weapon from being overpowered)
-after a set distance, the balls "poof" or explode, creating a 120dmg detonation point (sweet spot)
This range dependency makes the weapon extremely unsuitable for spam and camping but rather good at fighting tyrants and goons as well as defending in critical situations.
-Projectile speed is about 2.5x that of the pulse. (I'm very open about this; I want the projectiles to be very fast but not hitscan)
-Weapon is rather large and heavy, thus slowing down the bearer. Bsuit cancels out the weight.
-not affected by battery pack (set amount of shots per clip and clips per load)
One thing I'm unsure of is the amount of clips in a load.
If it's too few, it would discourage attacks away from base.
If it's too many, it might be a tad overkill.
Inspiration for this weapon came from the anti aircraft Flak as well as the Crylink from Nexuiz (some of you might be familiar with it; This is Crylink on steroids :wink: )
So to sum up:
Every ball in the round does 20 DMG/100 combined.
No spash damage.
The poof itself is a 120 explosion with no shrapnel. Not sure about the size yet.
So 6x100=600 per clip or 720 if you manage to ride the sweet spot which is highly unlikely.
Also, drethes have 25 hp.
This would allow a dretch to eat 1 ball and still live with 5 hp.
However, the larger the alien, the bigger the chances of all balls hitting thus dealing large amount of damage.
The spacing would make it very unlikely to kill a dretch in one shot.
As far as the poof effect goes as well as the range dependency, this is to discourage spam as well as make this weapon unsuitable for chases yet promote skill and a tad of luck in close combat. Chaiguns do a great job chasing. I personally don't wish to decrease the use and need of a chaingun.
The speed is very open to me. My goal is to make the projectiles very fast yet not hit-scan. I agree that only testing of the weapon will determine the correct, balanced speed for it. Nothing is set in stone :wink:
If the feedback is positive, I'll code it, attempt to model it and release it.
I'm not a sensitive person so don't hold back. I'd rather have constructive criticism but feel free to flame if you have to.
Go wild.
