Xenome Patch

[UB_]

It's SkaarjAssassin1, not SkaarjAssassin0 (who is coop-only).

[UB_]

And once again I win

Difficulty = 3
Gamespeed = 115%

[Limbo.Limbo]
damageScale=0.700000
HealthScale=1.000000
GroundspeedScale=0.750000
ProjectileSpeedScale=0.800000
AirspeedScale=0.850000
WaterspeedScale=1.000000
SightRadiusScale=0.000000



Wow, holy shit. This has been now really fucking badass. I know that the Limbo mutator definitely changes part of the enjoyment (it should be a default for Xenome, seriously, but I guess not everyone has the time to play something at that difficulty nowadays); before, I always considered Xenome a Dispersion Pistol slideshow, now it is a glorified SkaarjLord slaughterfest, which is found on a proper world of awesome.

Not going to talk about the build, we all know it speaks for itself. But the gameplay, you took what was wrong and thrown it away. The item placement is perfect. There's tons of close-up action, not one second of sleep; yeah sure, on the higher difficulties you will have to fight almost 5 to 8 Skaarj of different variety per room. Can be frustrating but I don't know, I was raging happily because it is always cool when Skaarj are actually a threatening force that doesn't fuck around. So you want to be a badass and kill them all. And at the same time you want to do your best to finish the game. The only parts that I found over the top (they are probably easier without Limbo, but still...) is the Skaarj Lord duo at the end of Map 1 (one is enough for a first map), and most of Disposal - the problem with this map is the presence of green goop, which is too high (or deal more damage than necessary). You're forced to run backward to escape from the enemies, but there are too many damaging zones so it's obvious people are going to step on them in the middle of the battle. Not to mention, enemies aren't damaged by the green slime, because the Triggers can only be activated by the Player (try PawnProximity, should affect enemies too. This counts for all the slimy floors - not SlimeZones, mind you - in the entire mappack).

Yeah, so I really enjoyed Xenome this time and I have nothing to complain about. I can see purists who loved the first version not being that happy with the new gameplay changes (and I like to be proven wrong) but all what you did is for the better.

[jazz]

It's SkaarjAssassin1, not SkaarjAssassin0 (who is coop-only).

Ahhh... Now i see, it seems that dude's trigger was set up wrong

As for the difficulty, i'm assuming that unreal level 3 is supposed to be a slugfest as opposed to the lower levels. I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to mapping for gameplay (i usually go for medium which is my default level). Being a one man band is also a bit of a handicap because there's no-one else to say yay/nay on how things are supposed to be.
I though the item placement was the main concern in the way of health, weapons and ammo. Playing on the highest level, on which i died many times, was the template i looked at in regards to the placement of enemies/items etc. As long as the player had enough of everything to play the game without running out of things, then the pawn count i found was sufficient.

Never though about the green goo issue though, will look into it. Cheers UB.

[salsaSkaarj]

...
Yeah, so I really enjoyed Xenome this time and I have nothing to complain about. I can see purists who loved the first version not being that happy with the new gameplay changes (and I like to be proven wrong) but all what you did is for the better.

Glad you enjoyed it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the unpatched version but I'm not against it being beefed up still, as long as it remains fair (and there's no surplus of ammo and health, but not absence either).
Anyway, I still have the original unpatched version so even if it doesn't live up to my (high) expectations, I can just consider it an extra difficulty level.
Coming Wednesday is X-day for me (and if I read UB's post correctly I might just start on Medium).

[jazz]

It's ok Salsa. Playing medium on the patch is roughly equal to that of the unpatched, although you will find more health,ammo and weapons to play with as these have been un-filtered.
The biggest change i found is with the duel enforcers.
Just be careful of those kill spots that UB mentioned ( which i'm sorting out now ).

[UB_]

Easy and Medium are easier. Hard and Unreal have higher amount of enemies per battle.
Inventory scattered around should be the same for all difficulties.

Also jazz how are you going to plan the transition between episode 1 and 2? It will continue from the last map or it will be a separate thing? (that means losing all your weapons, etc..)

[jazz]

Where you end in EP1 is exacly where you'll start in EP2 and yes, you'll start with all the weapons you ended with.

[Darkon]

That screens looks fantastic!

Ditto!

[salsaSkaarj]

I managed to free up some time yesterday evening to start my quest. Difficulty is Hard.
First impression = double enforcers: great, and they are needed for the encounter in the Administration area. I almost got caught there (yes there was a surprise ) but managed to scramble upstairs where I gathered my wits and proved that humans still clobber Skaarj. I'ld say the increased difficulty + extra weapon and ammo are perfect.
Lines of communication: There's also a slight surprise in the beginning but previously learnt strategies still pay off, I'm still saving ammo for later (and probably more close) encounters. Unfortunately I soon meet up with 2 Skaarj carrying the psychedelic blue bolts rifle. The encounter poses no threat but I'm feeling some kind of regret because of getting an extra weapon so fast. And as I feared, the next encounter (after getting the power cell) proves to be a walkover (I didn't even have to use the new weapon).

This encounter which, in the unpatched version, was a masterpiece (going head to head was very very dangerous and preparing the escape route/avoidance strategy ended up being the logical thing to do) has now lost its value/function.

I'l keep this short, I've finished Oppresive Metal. I couldn't remember much of enemy placement but had the impression that it was harder than before and got into a few tight situations, but never in real danger of dying.

Overall up to now I like the extra enemies and the extra ammo + health, BUT one of the most interesting battles just doesn't have it anymore because a) too muich ammo + the extra weapon). Basically that situation on Hard patched is now easier than on Easy unpatched.

So ... (I know, this isn't going to sound good), I suggest to the give those 2 skaarj outside the Power Cell building Dispersion Pistols but no other weapon. And perhaps also slightly reduce the enforcer ammo for the picking before starting Lines of Communication (I actually never had a shortage). In later maps, the extra weapon + ammo shouldn't spoil the broth, things get really heated and it will avoid frustration. But for me the strength of Xenome was in setting up a couple of (early) encounters which really put the player in a seriously disadvantageous position unless the player had understood the hints in the level and realised that brute force would probably not work.

For the rest: no complaints and I hope to be able to continue this evening (Problems with Static).

[UB_]

Current inventory placement should be just untouched or at least filtered for Hard. Give the player more weapons to play with, not the opposite - basically what people suggested for the patch.

[salsaSkaarj]

Current inventory placement should be just untouched or at least filtered for Hard. Give the player more weapons to play with, not the opposite - basically what people suggested for the patch.

That's the general principle with which I agree, however shortly before the now pointless scuffle, the player fights 4 Lords? with only DP + double enforcers (and I didn't even use the marines), then he gets the pulsegun in a very cheap way which results in the next battle (scuffle) posing no threat at all, which in turn makes that building lose the wow-factor (gameplay, not the visual part).
All I'm suggesting is not to introduce the pulse gun before having to kill the Skaarj (put the pulse in the room where he came from or in the next area outside), and give less enforcer ammo before starting Lines of communication. It is supposed to be Hard after all.
It's a suggestion, jazz asked for criticism (negative and positive) so I'm giving my opinion (with explanation as to why).

What are other players' thoughts about that situation?

[UB_]

Make the game Hard, but not boring. Who wants to go in an area with almost 8 Skaarj (the machinery area in the second map after that building) when you have just a DP and double Enforcers? Dispersion Pistol slideshow again? You want to cause havoc, not exploiting the AI and try to kill groups of powerful enemies with guns that take ages to kill them.
We're even talking about the Pulse Gun which is not useful at all for SP and the secondary fire can also gets you killed.

Games like Serious Sam on harder difficulties never have weapons and ammo removed earlier and they are still extremely challenging and fun. Even Unreal did almost the same thing.

[salsaSkaarj]

Make the game Hard, but not boring. Who wants to go in an area with almost 8 Skaarj (the machinery area in the second map after that building) when you have just a DP and double Enforcers?

UB, read my post properly!

...
All I'm suggesting is not to introduce the pulse gun before having to kill the Skaarj (put the pulse in the room where he came from or in the next area outside), and give less enforcer ammo before starting Lines of communication. It is supposed to be Hard after all.

I know that the in the next area the extra gun is needed/useful/wanted. Although I didn't use the pulse gun there (on Hard there are only 6 Skaarj there I think).
Another point is would like to emphasise is game progression. Create more and more difficult situations until the player thinks: damn I could use a stronger weapon if it gets any worse than this. That's the right moment to introduce a new weapon. Don't give the player a surplus from the beginning. The double enforcers are justified (the battle in the administration area is justification enough), I actually PMed jazz about double enforcers way back already.

Another way to bring the Power Cell batlle back to life could be to put a second enemy (weaker) blocking your way as the Skaarj comes through the door. Then the extra weapon would be justified. As it is now (on Hard) it's overkill (for me, so you probably walk through this section blindfolded).

[UB_]

Don't use the Pulse Gun, maybe?

Having the Pulse Gun a battle early is barely a surplus; if anything the Pulse Gun is dead weight unless you hope for a Skaarj to jump and fill him of bolts before he lands. It isn't a Shock Rifle or a Rocket Launcher, it's a very bad weapon, and any regular player wouldn't even know how to kill things with it; but look, it gives players choice! I did somewhat the same error in G59 before the patches because enemies had loads of health and there were not many items; what happened is that you had to waste more time killing an enemy, or even running really short of ammo because I decided to put an incredibly low amount of pickups in Map X. This isn't good gameplay design. In Map 1 I placed almost the entire EXU2 arsenal and tons & tons of health and while at the first mistake you get heavily screwed up, the player can think for more strategies on how to deal with opponents. I know it's EXU2 but it is still built upon the Unreal gameplay foundations.

Though you seem to actually complain about a battle being easy when you didn't even use the Pulse Gun itself. You may want to finish Xenome first because the ammo you conserve means a lot until the end of Map 9.
Xenome Map 2 was one of the toughest, especially the part with the Skaarj Lords attacking after you get the power cells.

[salsaSkaarj]

Don't use the Pulse Gun, maybe?

I didn't because I wanted to find out the difference in difficulty as compared to the unpatched version. And like I said, the double enforcers already make this specific fight a one-sided affair.
The thing is that my difficulty level (generally speaking) is Hard and this specific battle has changed from Hard (unpatched) to Easy(patched)

Though you seem to actually complain about a battle being easy when you didn't even use the Pulse Gun itself. You may want to finish Xenome first because the ammo you conserve means a lot until the end of Map 9.
Xenome Map 2 was one of the toughest, especially the part with the Skaarj Lords attacking after you get the power cells.

Seriously, I have played Xenome (unpatched) on Medium, Hard and Unreal. I know how difficult it can become. I know that saving ammo is crucial for the later stages and I am expecting hard battles. In fact in Oppresive Metal there was a section (can't pinpoint exactly which one) which I only passed on my third try, and the extra weapon (AFAIR I also had the shockrifle by then) was needed

As for the open area with the Skaarj Lords (after opening the gate when installing the power cell): to me it wasn't though at all, yes it was more difficult than unpatched but that gate slows them down so much that I was able to spam the DP as they filtered through and hardly used any enforcer ammo (and still no pulse gun). But my point (once again) is that Xenome unpatched had some iconic battles and the one with the Skaarj immediately after getting the power cell was truly iconic because after couple of tries (and most players will die numerous times) it sinks in that there are moveable boxes over there for a reason (I won't expand on this because it's a spoiler which can take away the fun for someone playing this for the first time). But, getting back to my point, with the current arsenal available I doubt that any player who reaches that far would have difficulties in getting rid of the Skaarj, hence very few players will look around in that area and see the other possibility (which is a gem). One way to make this battle iconic again is to provide less ammo (+ no pulse gun), or to add another enemy which will make running backwards and killing the Skaarj within 10 (maybe 5) seconds impossible. (just thought of another way: make that specific Skaarj stronger, faster and inflict more damage, then the inventory doesn't need changing)

Still, I realise that this is my opinion whcih is why I am asking for other players' experience with this section (especially those who have played Xenome unpatched). If jazz decides it should stay as it is, that's fine with me but at least he'll have heard (read) some opinions.

This discussion now forces me to play that section on Unreal difficulty (this evening). Perhaps your experience isn't the Unreal expercience as it was meant to be implemented because you use the Limbo mutator +115% speed (in which case perhaps the extra weapon + ammo are perfectly justified).