Adjustable Physical Attributes

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Kyle Kellahshehskee

[^..^]Kyle
Mar 3, 2004
228
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0
Metro Detroit, Michigan
Here is a suggestion for the Half-Life 2 incarnation of Infiltration.

ADJUSTABLE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
I’m sure some heads are already spinning just from reading the subtitle of this section. I’m not thinking of anything DRASTIC here. In real life, people have varying degrees of physical capabilities, so why not bring them into Infiltration to some extent? I was thinking that each player could be given three points to invest in four physical attributes. The first point of investment would raise any one of these attributes by 5%. Each attribute could have a maximum of two points invested into it. Perhaps if an attribute is boosted twice, the second point of investment would only raise it by 2%.

(1) Strength <SH> Boosting strength allows the player to carry more gear, and increases the amount of endurance a player has for moving about the map and handling equipment.

(2) Stamina <SA> Boosting stamina allows the player to make their stamina last longer. They’ve conditioned their bodies to be able to operate strenuously for a longer period of time. Note that people can be really strong, but they’re unable to keep up with someone who has less muscle mass yet is able to run a marathon.

(3) Speed <SD> Boosting speed increases the player’s ability to move more quickly. This only affects running and walking speed, and it does not have an impact on readying or putting away gear.

(4) High Pain Threshold <HPT> Boosting HPT allows the player to recover and better manage the effects of pain. If struck by a round, their bodies will spin around just as much as the next guy, but the flashing and obscuring effects of pain (or any other effect that may be introduced to the game, such as having a wounded arm interfere with one’s ability to aim) are reduced both in terms of severity and the length of time.

======================================================
Here are my REVISED descriptions for the Strength and Stamina attributes…

(1) Strength <SH> Boosting strength allows the player to carry more gear (a percentage of the gear’s weight would not be applied as a penalty to the stronger player), and interacting with found objects is quicker and surer (a stronger player could more easily slide a washing machine against a door, for example).

(2) Stamina <SA> Boosting stamina gives the player a slightly larger reservoir of physical energy, and it allows the player to make this reserve of stamina last longer. They’ve conditioned their bodies to be able to operate strenuously for a longer period of time. Note that people can be really strong, but they’re unable to keep up with someone who has less muscle mass yet is able to run a marathon.
=======================================================




It’s important to note that I have not included a health category here. I feel that allowing such an attribute to be raised could easily have a major impact on game balance. The attributes that I’ve listed here are primarily designed to have an influence on how one RESPONDS to their environment, rather than being immune to their environment and circumstances.

If anything, raising an attribute 5 to 7, or to 10 percent (or if one prefers, each point of investment is worth only 2.5%) may have just enough influence to be noticeable, but in the end the most important thing to playing INF is still one’s actual skill in the game.
 
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UN17

Taijutsu Specialist
Dec 7, 2003
675
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That's one aspect I liked in Strike Force. Each soldier had their own abilities. I played as Jim Lee... Wonder why. If such a feature does get added, it would definately be unique in an infantry game. Usually it's only Sci-fi games that have stats per character.
 

Kyle Kellahshehskee

[^..^]Kyle
Mar 3, 2004
228
0
0
Metro Detroit, Michigan
I'm happy to see that thus far this idea has met with a warm reception! :)

One of the aspects that I love about INF is its classless system. The whole "the more you take the more you weigh" relationship creates a solid structure that does wonders for game balance. It is also rooted in our real world experience. Those of us who have ever gone hiking know on an intimate level this simple reality.

Another aspect of it that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere, yet is entirely enticing to the players, is how this system creates a sense of ownership over their avatars. Each equipment kit that is built by the player is done with great care and scrutiny. This level of investment is addictive, and it is one of the reasons why those who regularly play role playing games love them.

Of course I'm NOT suggesting that that degree of role playing be folded into the next incarnation of INF (the balancing headaches that would create! Let alone all the whining it would generate!), but add just enough role playing via moderate attribute adjustments to reflect some realism, lend a little more believable variety, and at the same time increase the sense of ownership that a player has while playing the game. After all, if the sense of ownership is already high because one can tweak one's equipment kit, imagine how much deeper it'll be if one can refine their physical attributes as well.

:)
 

Harrm

I am watching porns.
Oct 21, 2001
801
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Porns
clanterritory.com

7.jpg
VS.
predator.jpg

Personally, I'd get John Madden to voice it.
"N-n-now, you see, if the Predator's got mud on the front of his battlesuit, n-now that's good. If h-h-h-he's got mud, now you see here, on the BACK of his Jersey, w-w-w-well, you see folks, that's just not good at all. And that's how you play football, ladies and gentlemen."

--Harrm
 

Mercie

Member
Jan 18, 2005
115
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I was seriousily thinking about AVP for some time now. You know, a mutie. One person spawns on one side and everyone else on the other. The lone person has to have the "Predator Loadout" which consists of the gun with 3 LAMs, his knife deals, the disk that rocochets (like the saw balde launcher in normal unreal) and then the med kit. Of course, it is one vs marines with whatever. It would make sense, not be too hard to make (some mutie coding then the predator weapons) and would make for great games. Heh... I pity those that want realism.

On topic... I like this idea. I would go well with equipment and everything. Granted, these might be relatively to hack or whatever, but you know... Who gives a **** at this point in time.
 

Kyle Kellahshehskee

[^..^]Kyle
Mar 3, 2004
228
0
0
Metro Detroit, Michigan
Upon reflecting a bit more about the attributes and what they could modify, I’ve changed my feelings on two of them, Strength and Stamina. My new feelings will be added within ==== lines, and then editing them into the first post. There’s no need to scroll up to read it, as it’ll be repeated in this post verbatim.

======================================================
Here are my REVISED descriptions for the Strength and Stamina attributes…

(1) Strength <SH> Boosting strength allows the player to carry more gear (a percentage of the gear’s weight would not be applied as a penalty to the stronger player), and interacting with found objects is quicker and surer (a stronger player could more easily slide a washing machine against a door, for example).

(2) Stamina <SA> Boosting stamina gives the player a slightly larger reservoir of physical energy, and it allows the player to make this reserve of stamina last longer. They’ve conditioned their bodies to be able to operate strenuously for a longer period of time. Note that people can be really strong, but they’re unable to keep up with someone who has less muscle mass yet is able to run a marathon.
=======================================================



I’m strongly tempted to add the following line to the Strength descriptor, “…makes handling cumbersome equipment easier (for example, one can get a slightly quicker and steadier aim with the SAW or a Robar RC50 while in the crouched or standing position)…” BUT such a bonus seems too unbalancing to me, and opens up a whole string of logical conundrums. After all, why would a stronger player only get the benefits with “…cumbersome equipment…”? Wouldn’t they also be able to maintain a steadier aim with ALL of their weapons, since the recoil would be better managed due to the extra strength? Whether such ability is applied solely to “cumbersome” weapons or not, it just seems too powerful an advantage when applied to any kind of firearm. While it may be more believable, I’d probably recommend such a weapons-advantage being left out entirely.

I also feel that enabling one’s strength level to directly affect how one can interact with found objects to be a tempting, neat and utterly believable “little” feature. My fingers are crossed that the next incarnation of Infiltration will make REGULAR use of all kinds of readily found objects, especially since it’s being created with the much vaunted Half-Life 2 engine, and all of its fancy physics. After all, I’d rather get hit in the head by a can of vegetables thrown by a weaker player than one who’s stronger. Of course, if fighting came down to that, well…

I removed Strength’s ability to boost endurance for one simple reason: while strong people DO have more energy, time and time again I’ve seen strong people who’ve lost races to those who were trained to run long distances. They just ran out of energy, probably due to the fact that the more muscle one has, the more energy that’s required to make said muscle work. Not only do I think that this alteration makes the description more believable, but it also simultaneously distinguishes Strength and Stamina more strongly from each other, thus also closing a potential “loophole” where players would’ve been tempted to exploit the closer relationship between the old Strength and Stamina descriptors.



I feel that the reasoning behind the changes I made to the Stamina descriptor are easily discernable, so I’m not going to spell them out here unless someone wants them to be.


That’s it for now!

:)
 

N'kEnNy

New Member
Aug 1, 2003
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I live here, Really.
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Navy Seals Covert Operations has an EXP system and stats for various soldier attributes. There are many other games that feature similiar systems. (Ghost Recon, infact the entire Rainbow6 series)

The thought insn't really unique, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't fit in Infiltration. Infact with its player defined Loadouts and customized players (voice/headstuff/face) it could fit very well.

Question is wether or not it could be done for UT:Infiltration.