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SPEAK YOUR MIND
"Does the distance one travels from center make one more free
to move?"
"No. Freedom has two parts: potential and resolution; as
metaphor has two parts: form and interpretation. Of course,
the two are intertwined. Metaphor lines the road to freedom,
as symbols and words are the bricks and mortar of meaning.
Freedom is being the bricoleur, the mason."
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Marathon: Resurrection Forum
Critique: weapons part 2
Posted By: Captain Bob
Date: 2007.9.28.01.42
In Response To: Critique: weapons (Captain Bob)
Shotguns: the model looks like the original. For the texture, the stock and forearm always looked wooden to me, but they're black plastic or metal in M:R. The original weapon-in-hand sprites use a siginificantly darker finish, but the lying-on-the-ground sprite is closer to the bright shiny metal used in M:R. They're still an excellent close-range weapon. I could take out targets significantly farther away than in Marathon, so I think the spread (inaccuracy) is smaller. It was very hard collecting enough ammo to try firing both at once, but that's a map design issue. The reloading sound starts slightly before the reloading animation.
Like the pistols, the primary trigger fires the right shotgun, and the secondary trigger fires the left shotgun. However, these days people use mouselook, and hence primary trigger is left mouse button and secondary trigger is right mouse button. It would make more sense, then, to make the left mouse button fire the left shotgun, and the right mouse button fire the right shotgun. The fists are already set like this. It ultimately doesn't affect gameplay, but I would switch the triggers when you have a two-handed weapon.
KKV Flechette: This is another weapon that seemed like a combination of two incompatible types of weapons in Marathon, at least in name. In practice, it was an ammo-guzzling submachine gun that, unlike other weapons, worked flawlessly underwater.
I didn't like the M:R Fletchette very much. It doesn't seem true to the original, mostly because it's blocky. The magazine, for instance, is hexagonal (pentagonal in the weapon model). But that's not only a matter of keeping a low polygon count, because the texture *emphasizes* the helical shape, and it's not a regular hexagon either. It ends up looking like no type of magazine I've ever seen; I even looked up helical magazines but they don't look like that. I think it's clear Bungie intended for the Fletchette to have a drum magazine, and I think the magazine should be a basic cylinder, approximated as at least an octagonal prism.
The gun itself also has sharper features. In particular the sight looks too angular. I think it's definitely worth it to revise the gun and clip to look rounder, likely using more polygons.
Behavior-wise, it's fine. It fires into, out of, and within liquids, while other weapons don't. You can fire single shots, whereas in Marathon they made it fire 2-round bursts as the only way to increase the firing rate over the AR. I see that as an improvement.
Flamethrower: Marathon's flamethrower has never looked like I'd expect when you carry it. I'd expect little more than the end of a hose with a nozzle, and a valve controlled by a trigger. But in Marathon you hold this contraption in your hands which pushes out huge, visibility-limiting clouds of fire. The M:R flamethrower is green, and appears to be a compact design that uses a single canister, whereas Marathon uses a backpack with 2 canisters. It still burns enemies in seconds, and they appear to burn by blackening and shrinking until all that's left is a smoldering corpse.
I'd like to mention Return To Castle Wolfenstein, because I think it does a flamethrower the best. In RTCW, the flame comes out in a liquid-like stream, like a garden hose with a nozzle. The flaming aerosol stays in the air for a few seconds before dissipating. This means the area is unsafe for a moment after the user stops firing, and anyone, including the user, can be caught in the flame. If you're caught in the flame, your body is set on fire, and you take damage repeatedly for several seconds. There's a blue pilot flame always coming out of the nozzle, and it's even affected by 'wind' when you whip the gun around.
I don't think all this is necessary for M:R's flamethrower. It still has the right range and damage. What it doesn't do is last as long. In Marathon a flame canister lasts for 7 seconds of continuous fire (this is mentioned in the manual, and of course 7 is an important number in Marathon), but in M:R it lasts 5 seconds. I hope this will be changed back to 7 seconds. I was also hoping for a more uniform flame pattern; more like burning liquid fuel than flames coming off a solid fuel. Also, the kickback is pretty high, and the firing sound doesn't repeat over itself, so it sounds like distinct 'shots' instead of a continuous burst.
Rocket Launcher: this has the essentials: 2 rockets per pack (in dull green instead of eye-catching red and white), slow to ready and reload, high recoil, and an almost guaranteed kill. Aesthetically, it looks like it took influence from Halo's rocket launcher more than Marathon's (basically the same weapon, just a different look). Because UT has proper explosive damage falloff, it's more likely now to damage your enemy without killing him, something which only happened in Marathon if the enemy had extra shields. But that just encourages better aiming; nothing needs to be changed about this weapon.
Alien Weapon: this weapon looks radically different. In Marathon 1, which is the version like which the M:R gun behaves, the alien weapon is an organic blob which fits snugly around the shoulder and ribs. In M:R, the gun is held entirely in the hands, and has a comparatively boxy profile. While not true to the original, it's an interesting style, and I wonder how the team decided on that design.
The gun still behaves like in Marathon 1, which is like UT's minigun, except for the very useful quality that it has much more error horizontally than vertically. This means you lay down a scatter-shot of fire, clearing out a whole arc ahead of you. The ammunition seems to be explosive, since in both M:R and Marathon the shots make tiny explosions or fireballs when they hit.
In Marathon 2 and Infinity, the alien weapon looked more like a rifle, and fired slow-moving fireballs. What I liked about that version was that the projectiles would make flammable enemies catch on fire (though it damaged inflammable targets too), such as Enforcers. This meant you couldn't run through an alien ship using the alien weapon exclusively, because you'd fry the Enforcers that drop the weapons in the first place, and fried enemies don't drop weapons. Although I liked Marathon 1's alien weapon better in genral, I liked the added tactical challenge presented with the Marathon 2 version.
Pfhor Staff: here's a weapon that wasn't in Marathon at all, but it makes sense to include it, and several Marathon mods have already added it to the player's arsenal. It's a good weapon, so I'm glad I found it in the Pfhor ship levels. First trigger is a melee attack, and second trigger creates an energy ball. Both of these behave just like their corresponding attacks from Pfhor fighters.
Adding the staff may upset the balance more than any other weapon, because with it, you have an infinite supply of ranged projectiles for the first time. Playing through the singleplayer campaign, in many areas I spammed an area mercilessly with staff bolts until the aliens were dead, knowing I'd never run out ammo. On the other hand, it does appear late in the game, enhances the idea of 'living off the land,' adapting to the surroundings of the Pfhor ship, and felt in a way like a secret weapon since finding it is nonessential. So I'd say keep it where it is, but others may disagree.
Whew, long post. That's a wrap for now.
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