Beam weapons - a plea for insanity
Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:57 pm
I've been hoping for many years that Pioneer might supercede FFED3D, so i could finally upgrade from that venerable old stalwart...
I've tried almost every update of Pioneer over the years, but the one thing constantly preventing me getting into it is the absence of laser combat.
Laser combat (ie. especially with fixed beams) is such an integral part of the forbears' spirit, without it the game is lacking an essential ingredient.
I've tried using the projectile 'plasma bolts' (?) in Pioneer and it's just utterly illogical, naff and tedious, when it should be rip-roaring chaos.
That searing, sickening sweet zing of laser fire licking your hull as its outer layers boil away, the view outside your cockpit a hectic maelstrom of criss-crossing laser beams, exploding ships and roiling trails of debris, ripping desperately-aimed chunks out of a better-armed, larger ship as you roll and floor it on three axes trying to keep fire on the target whilst dodging salvos of missiles spiraling up to greet you.. (ideally, perfectly set to the music of Mussorgsky and Grieg..)
In a word, 'furballs'. Furballs are composed of a few essential elements - a large and expendable supply of ships, a confusing sharknado of high-energy death-beams coming from all directions, plus missiles, ECM's and shields. And debris. Lots and lots of debris.
This is what makes a satisfying gaming session. It's the crack cocaine of arcade action. Strafing and rotating with 6DoF, banging the ECM and deploying your own missiles at just the right moments, dodging the ones you can't counter-measure, using your own offensive weapons to maximum effect, sifting thru the debris and remnants for anything worth scavenging...
I do like all the navcom enhancements.. you've got the valium. Got it down pat. We need the meth amphetamine!
Combat in Pioneer is a sadly anemic and frustrating affair, inevitably leaving me throwing my hands up in despair - at the squandered opportunity, so much as the bumbling, irrational, lame, 'plasma bolt' tedium. "Why oh why oh why?"..
You have explodable ships, smoke effects, shields etc., so all that's needed is missiles, ECM's, and beam weapons. That, and hordes of attacking AI. None of this quisling 1-on-1 Queensbury-rules kiss-chase! Combat should be fast, visceral, hair-raising, loud & lairy, twitch reflex stuff. Epic violence, interspersed with moments of serene calm and profundity. Or the other way round, depending on your playstyle. That's surely the fundamental essence of 'the game' - of what it wants to be. As for now, an unfulfilled promise..
Point is, we've got the yin, but we're still waiting on the yang..
Whence the yang, Pioneer devs!? This game could (and should) be HUGE! Potentially worth a serious income... if only you'd realise and fully capitalise upon its potential.
The current 'plasma-bolt' inanity is worse than a placeholder mechanic - it's positively off-putting, when combat could so easily become a main attraction... without in any way compromising the pacing of those who prefer the quieter life (ie. just avoid dangerous systems, or run/hyperspace away from attacks etc.)..
Check out some of my FFED3D combat vids for an idea of the kinds of fun Pioneer is currently missing out on:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrny-y ... shelf_id=0
Plasma bolts - projectiles, generally - as an exclusive weapons platform, are excluding the greatness bubbling just beneath this game's surface.. you could unleash something awesome with snowballing popularity and support.. a real, viable antidote to all the other half-games currently populating the genre..
Provide beam weapons, missiles, ECM's, jazz up the kabooms, make vids showcasing the action scenes (i'll certainly do so, and spam 'em everywhere)... build it, and they will surely come..?
I've tried almost every update of Pioneer over the years, but the one thing constantly preventing me getting into it is the absence of laser combat.
Laser combat (ie. especially with fixed beams) is such an integral part of the forbears' spirit, without it the game is lacking an essential ingredient.
I've tried using the projectile 'plasma bolts' (?) in Pioneer and it's just utterly illogical, naff and tedious, when it should be rip-roaring chaos.
That searing, sickening sweet zing of laser fire licking your hull as its outer layers boil away, the view outside your cockpit a hectic maelstrom of criss-crossing laser beams, exploding ships and roiling trails of debris, ripping desperately-aimed chunks out of a better-armed, larger ship as you roll and floor it on three axes trying to keep fire on the target whilst dodging salvos of missiles spiraling up to greet you.. (ideally, perfectly set to the music of Mussorgsky and Grieg..)
In a word, 'furballs'. Furballs are composed of a few essential elements - a large and expendable supply of ships, a confusing sharknado of high-energy death-beams coming from all directions, plus missiles, ECM's and shields. And debris. Lots and lots of debris.
This is what makes a satisfying gaming session. It's the crack cocaine of arcade action. Strafing and rotating with 6DoF, banging the ECM and deploying your own missiles at just the right moments, dodging the ones you can't counter-measure, using your own offensive weapons to maximum effect, sifting thru the debris and remnants for anything worth scavenging...
I do like all the navcom enhancements.. you've got the valium. Got it down pat. We need the meth amphetamine!
Combat in Pioneer is a sadly anemic and frustrating affair, inevitably leaving me throwing my hands up in despair - at the squandered opportunity, so much as the bumbling, irrational, lame, 'plasma bolt' tedium. "Why oh why oh why?"..
You have explodable ships, smoke effects, shields etc., so all that's needed is missiles, ECM's, and beam weapons. That, and hordes of attacking AI. None of this quisling 1-on-1 Queensbury-rules kiss-chase! Combat should be fast, visceral, hair-raising, loud & lairy, twitch reflex stuff. Epic violence, interspersed with moments of serene calm and profundity. Or the other way round, depending on your playstyle. That's surely the fundamental essence of 'the game' - of what it wants to be. As for now, an unfulfilled promise..
Point is, we've got the yin, but we're still waiting on the yang..
Whence the yang, Pioneer devs!? This game could (and should) be HUGE! Potentially worth a serious income... if only you'd realise and fully capitalise upon its potential.
The current 'plasma-bolt' inanity is worse than a placeholder mechanic - it's positively off-putting, when combat could so easily become a main attraction... without in any way compromising the pacing of those who prefer the quieter life (ie. just avoid dangerous systems, or run/hyperspace away from attacks etc.)..
Check out some of my FFED3D combat vids for an idea of the kinds of fun Pioneer is currently missing out on:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrny-y ... shelf_id=0
Plasma bolts - projectiles, generally - as an exclusive weapons platform, are excluding the greatness bubbling just beneath this game's surface.. you could unleash something awesome with snowballing popularity and support.. a real, viable antidote to all the other half-games currently populating the genre..
Provide beam weapons, missiles, ECM's, jazz up the kabooms, make vids showcasing the action scenes (i'll certainly do so, and spam 'em everywhere)... build it, and they will surely come..?