Nexuiz Team Fortress / Classbased Design Ideas

[admax88]

So I've been making some small modification to the nexuiz-classbased codebase. I've fixed up the class selection menu. Class specific weapons are now working as expected. And each class can have their own class specific maximum hp.

My changes have been merged or are in the process of merging with psychcf's branch so look to his tree for updates. You can follow my branch at http://github.com/admax88/nexuiz-classbased/tree/master, but I really see psychcf's branch as the master for this mod and all my changes aim to be incorporated into his tree.

There's another thread going about concept art, but I think we should use this thread to brainstorm ideas. How do you envison the different classes functioning?

Will the medic heal using a medic gun that slowly regenerates health like in TF2, or will the medic heal in health burst like they're giving out medkits?

What sort of deployables can the engineer build? How does he build them?

What abilities will the covert ops have, or the field ops?

[Mizu Kitsune]

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i dislike the class idea. use it if you want, and if you need anything let me know. i just don't think it'll work out well.

[tundramagi]

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i dislike the class idea. use it if you want, and if you need anything let me know. i just don't think it'll work out well.

It's a (proposed) mutator. Nexuiz has many of them. It's not replacing anything.
It's just another option.

[Flying Steel]

So I've been making some small modification to the nexuiz-classbased codebase. I've fixed up the class selection menu. Class specific weapons are now working as expected. And each class can have their own class specific maximum hp.

Sounds good. What would be really useful next is to add code for class-specific physics settings, to affect the movement of different classes. Acceleration rates, friction (deceleration rates), air friction, top speed governor, jump power, gravity influence, etc., basically anything that affects player mobility.

Currently (unless I am very mistaken) these things affect all players symmetrically, at least outside of the Rune gametype (perhaps its code could be worth looking into for this), it would be most helpful if different values for these things could be assigned to specific character classes.

Then, allowing assigment of the Mutator mode Grapple Hook and Mutator mode Jetpack to specific classes would be next on the todo list.

Finally comes what will probably be the hardest part, creating totally new features (like deployables, such as deployable turrets) which in turn can be assigned to character classes.


BTW, are you chatting and staying in sync with Psychcf so that you don't both end up effectively duplicating the same code independently?

[tundramagi]

So I've been making some small modification to the nexuiz-classbased codebase. I've fixed up the class selection menu. Class specific weapons are now working as expected. And each class can have their own class specific maximum hp.

Sounds good. What would be really useful next is to add code for class-specific physics settings, to affect the movement of different classes. Acceleration rates, friction (deceleration rates), air friction, top speed governor, jump power, gravity influence, etc., basically anything that affects player mobility.

Currently (unless I am very mistaken) these things affect all players symmetrically, at least outside of the Rune gametype (perhaps its code could be worth looking into for this), it would be most helpful if different values for these things could be assigned to specific character classes.

Then, allowing assigment of the Mutator mode Grapple Hook and Mutator mode Jetpack to specific classes would be next on the todo list.

Finally comes what will probably be the hardest part, creating totally new features (like deployables, such as deployable turrets) which in turn can be assigned to character classes.


BTW, are you chatting and staying in sync with Psychcf so that you don't both end up effectively duplicating the same code independently?

Deployable == just spawing a turret with the correct team color set.
Shouldn't be too hard.
Also apparently you can spawn other maps into the map.
So like if I or anyone else made some buildable building maps, those could be spawned (think Savage: the battle for newerth), as a mutator option (for builder class). Could even have a tech tree maybe.
I'd be happy to make various buildings.

[Mizu Kitsune]

So I've been making some small modification to the nexuiz-classbased codebase. I've fixed up the class selection menu. Class specific weapons are now working as expected. And each class can have their own class specific maximum hp.

Sounds good. What would be really useful next is to add code for class-specific physics settings, to affect the movement of different classes. Acceleration rates, friction (deceleration rates), air friction, top speed governor, jump power, gravity influence, etc., basically anything that affects player mobility.

Currently (unless I am very mistaken) these things affect all players symmetrically, at least outside of the Rune gametype (perhaps its code could be worth looking into for this), it would be most helpful if different values for these things could be assigned to specific character classes.

Then, allowing assigment of the Mutator mode Grapple Hook and Mutator mode Jetpack to specific classes would be next on the todo list.

Finally comes what will probably be the hardest part, creating totally new features (like deployables, such as deployable turrets) which in turn can be assigned to character classes.


BTW, are you chatting and staying in sync with Psychcf so that you don't both end up effectively duplicating the same code independently?

agreed. i can try to work something like that out. i shall help. .helps.

[Fnilp]

I would leave Sniper and Spy out. Seriously, although I guess I'm pretty alone with this. Snipers only *really* interact with other snipers, and spies are totally useless against humans (invisibility is lame, and disguise < spy check), so that leaves them as sentry killers, and I'd rather see "fully fleshed out sentry combat" than cat and mouse games between engineers and spies. I'm not sure what "fully fleshed out sentry combat" actually means though.

I guess I'm all about the action aspect of it. Teamplay, yes, of course - but in fractions of seconds, teamplay that works mostly by "who moves where and shoots what". I think it's great to move in packs with a good mix of classes, but I'm not so hot for "first the spy takes out the sentries, then the pyro sets the minigun on fire, then the engi removes the pipebombs with a EMP nade, then the scout wooshes by and caps".

For the scout... WolfTactics and Urban Terror had/have "ledge grabbing". TF2 has a pretty neat double jump. Unreal Tournament has dodging and wall jumping.... so I say, let's have ALL of this. Also make the scout self-heal! Yes, this needs to be wisely tuned, BUT: the idea is that it's very easy to kill a scout, but if you just damage them slightly and they get away they're nearly as good as new. Even if you hate all the rest, consider this: make the scout an acrobat, rather than just a fast runner.

I don't know where I have this from (it was somewhere), but: if the engi builds lots of stuff, let other classes modify them? Dunno, along the lines of "can build a healing station with the help of medic". Or, the supply station can be upgraded to heal faster by a medic, a sentry can be upgraded in the respective departmens by minigunner, soldier or grenadier, a scout can make a sentry aim slightly faster... okay, maybe these ideas are daft, but the general idea is, don't just let the engineer play with his sentries while the others play with the enemy.

Since it would be really cool if the engi could build dozens of things, either all other classes need lots of toys, too, or they need to get involved in the engi fun. How about "battle stations", which can be upgraded a few levels.... and are not very good at fighting automatically, but can be manned...and depending on what class is using it, it transforms into something slightly different?

Hmm, enough random ideas for now

[Flying Steel]

So I've been making some small modification to the nexuiz-classbased codebase. I've fixed up the class selection menu. Class specific weapons are now working as expected. And each class can have their own class specific maximum hp.

Sounds good. What would be really useful next is to add code for class-specific physics settings, to affect the movement of different classes. Acceleration rates, friction (deceleration rates), air friction, top speed governor, jump power, gravity influence, etc., basically anything that affects player mobility.

Currently (unless I am very mistaken) these things affect all players symmetrically, at least outside of the Rune gametype (perhaps its code could be worth looking into for this), it would be most helpful if different values for these things could be assigned to specific character classes.

Then, allowing assigment of the Mutator mode Grapple Hook and Mutator mode Jetpack to specific classes would be next on the todo list.

Finally comes what will probably be the hardest part, creating totally new features (like deployables, such as deployable turrets) which in turn can be assigned to character classes.


BTW, are you chatting and staying in sync with Psychcf so that you don't both end up effectively duplicating the same code independently?

agreed. i can try to work something like that out. i shall help. .helps.

Cool, thanks.

But as you do, don't forget to stay in communication with the other coders working on Psychcf's class-based branch, so you can get the most bang out of your effort.

[tundramagi]

I would leave Sniper and Spy out. Seriously, although I guess I'm pretty alone with this. Snipers only *really* interact with other snipers, and spies are totally useless against humans (invisibility is lame, and disguise < spy check), so that leaves them as sentry killers, and I'd rather see "fully fleshed out sentry combat" than cat and mouse games between engineers and spies. I'm not sure what "fully fleshed out sentry combat" actually means though.

No need for the classbased mode then. Vanilla CTF and domination suffice. Thank's for the input .

Cancle the mod everyone .

But yes, I agree, with spycheck the spy is absolutly _useless_.

Maybe don't allow spycheck?
You will only know it's a spy if he attacks your team? (If you attack him you'll hear the "attacked teammate" sound)

Perhaps the builder could build buildings. Apparently bsps can be loaded onto a map so I could make various utility buildings the builder could make.

[Psychcf]

BTW, are you chatting and staying in sync with Psychcf so that you don't both end up effectively duplicating the same code independently?

Yes, he forked my codebase, and we're pushing code back and forth between the two repos. (This is why I love git)

For the record, I was planning on making the mod more ET like, rather then TF. TF is fun, but I think the ET style of gameplay is more fitting. ET:QW does have deployables, so it would be pretty cool to see that (we'd need to animate them somehow though). ET gives the covert ops a sniper rifle, so it's sort of like a combination of the sniper and spy classes in TF.

We can always just blend the two styles together though, I'm just throwing my thoughts out there.