Topics

1

General / Lockpicking and Hacking, How High is High Enough?

« on: May 13, 2015, 02:44:15 am »

I've recently gotten back into Underrail, since we're drawing close to the final release date, and I've been trying out all sorts of different character builds. Since I tend to map out my builds well in advance, I'm curious about the upper threshold of usefulness for certain skills - chief among them, Hacking and Lockpicking.

There's no denying that both Hacking and Lockpicking are useful skills, but there has to be a point where you've reached the maximum useful skill value. I've only actually played up to a bit past Junkyard, but the highest difficulty I think I've seen for any locks is 90. Are there locks that are 100 difficulty? 150? 200? At what point have you invested enough points into those skills, sufficient to get you past the most difficult locks in the (current) game? This is, of course, keeping in mind that you can theoretically boost your Hacking and Lockpicking up to +22 with other in-game items (Jackknife, Haxxors, Lockpicks).

EDIT - A quick glance at the wiki states that 100 is enough for most locks, both electronic and mechanical, but that 'most' part makes me even more curious. It does seem to imply that there are a few other locks out there that have even higher requirements.

2

Suggestions / Groin Guard and Dirty Kick

« on: May 13, 2015, 02:11:59 am »

I know the Groin Guard is just kind of a "silly" belt-slot item, but it seems a bit odd that it doesn't provide immunity to the Dirty Kick maneuver. I'm pretty sure I've seen some enemies use the Dirty Kick move in the past, though I could be mistaken on that.

Just a thought.

3

Suggestions / Classify Throwing Knives as "Light Weapons" for Dexterity Purposes

« on: May 13, 2015, 01:57:40 am »

Pretty much what the subject says. I recently started putzing around with a high-stealth knife build, and there's some natural synergy between using both thrown and hand-held knives. The issue is that Throwing Knives are considered grenade-like weapons, and as such they appear to have a fixed AP cost (15). The main appeal of knives is that they're fast weapons, especially when you're stacking Dexterity - but even at default values, the slowest knife (12 AP) costs less Action Points than it takes to throw a single throwing knife.

This isn't really game-breaking, of course, but it's something that really jumped out at me during my current test-run. Throwing knives certainly benefit from the scaling damage that increases with your Throwing skill, but their slow speed and limited utility makes them a bit sub-par as even secondary weapons. Ripper + Fatal Throw can certainly be a fun feat combo when it comes to finishing off badly wounded foes, but that soaks up two feat slots AND can't be acquired until Level 10. Pinning is certainly interesting, but is far from reliable (35% proc) and has a very short duration (1 turn). Split Spare is probably the best of the throwing feats, but it's also somewhat unpredictable (since it randomly selects your "secondary target"). Having all four feats can, of course, make throwing knives much more appealing - but again, that requires using up four of your precious feat slots, all to buff up a sub-par base weapon.

I think the ideal "fix" might be to simply have Throwing Knives follow the current Dex-based AP reduction scheme. Unless my math is off, that means that by Dex 10, it would cost about 11AP to throw a knife. Not a huge difference, but a notable one that makes sense from an in-game logic standpoint. It might also be ideal to have Tabi Boots reduce the AP cost for using throwing knives by 1AP (the same way it currently reduces the AP cost for melee attacks), since the link between ninjas and throwing knives is fairly obvious.

An alternate solution might be to introduce a feat that reduces the cost for using Throwing knives, though by itself it might not make for a very appealing feat (some secondary effect might be required to make it more appealing). It would also add to the already hefty investment required to currently make throwing knives more "usable", since it would be a fifth feat stacked atop the other four. A feat that reduces the AP cost to use all throwing utility items might be ideal, though, since then it would be appealing to all throwers (Nets, Grenades, Caltrops, Knives) rather than just knife throwers.

EDIT - An different "simpler" alternative might be to introduce a new "Knife Strap Belt", akin to the Bullet Strap Belt that already exists in-game. It could even have near-identical effects - one extra utility slot, +5 to Intimidation, and then an AP discount for using throwing knives (and their poisoned counterparts) in place of the reloading bonus.

4

Suggestions / Blades and Spike Mods for Other Armors

« on: May 13, 2015, 01:34:46 am »

I know we're pretty late in development now, but I was wondering why Spikes and Blades aren't available as armor mods for other types of armor. I can understand not having it for something like the Tactical Vest, given the lack of surface space to cover with pointy bits, but sticking spikes or blades on leather armor or riot armor wouldn't be too far-fetched - heck, at least a few of the stock character portraits show folks wearing leather jackets with spikes on them.

From a balance standpoint, it's easy enough to just toss in a slightly higher armor penalty when attaching those mods (I think +3% is the standard penalty for sticking them on boots and metal armor). About the only minor balance concern I can think of is that it might give one more source of bleeding wounds to a moderately armored Bleeder-build (Evisceration, Taste for Blood, Vile Weapons), but since the associated Feats were all toned down over the past few patches I'm not sure if that's something to worry about too much.

5

Suggestions / GMS Station Vault

« on: October 15, 2013, 07:23:30 pm »

Minor Spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

This popped up in a separate thread, but I figured it was worth getting it's own topic. A minor point of criticism, but the risk/reward ratio in the optional Burrower Caverns is way off. The foes there are quite possibly the deadliest in the game, next to the Mutants in Junkyard, and the rewards offered are very minimal.

After fighting their way through wave after wave of Burrowers, the player is rewarded with a single lootable corpse (for me, it had mediocre equipment) and a few Burrower parts (looks like a 15-20% drop rate on those?). Definitely not worth the ammunition, explosives, health hypos, and psi-boosters that I had to burn through to clear the place out.

If the intent is to teach the player that its not worth exploring every area, then its working as intended. Otherwise, there should probably be a bit more loot hidden in there somewhere.

6

Suggestions / Dense Blocks of HP

« on: October 15, 2013, 12:38:42 am »

Just a minor point of criticism, but enemy Health/Hit-Points should probably be reassessed at some point. Unless the player is supposed to get NPC companions to help him somewhere along the line, the current format turns most battles into a long-winded war of attrition. By the time the player reaches Junkyard, most enemies seem to have hundreds of Hit Points, and even lowly dogs can absorb entire bursts of Assault Rifle fire before collapsing.

I can certainly deal with the difficulty curve using some roundabout tactics (choke points, tactical trap placement, and regular retreating) but some battles quickly become absurdly deadly (the Burrower cavern in GMS Station comes to mind, where you're set upon by dozens of foes simultaneously). I'm all for a difficult game, but I dread to think what will appear later down the line given the current rate of enemy growth. I don't relish the thought of fighting enemies who have to be hit dozens of times before dying.

7

Bugs / Pistol Scopes

« on: September 28, 2013, 12:31:14 pm »

I'm sure it's already been pointed out, but the Scope enhancement cannot currently be used when crafting a pistol. I'm not sure if this is an error, or simply because there are currently no 'Scoped Pistol' art assets.

8

Bugs / Zone Transition Failures

« on: September 28, 2013, 09:51:55 am »

I know this has been reported before, but I've noticed that I'm getting more and more Zone Transition Failures the longer I play the same character. They were rare at first, but now that I have a Level 10 character tromping around in Junkyard, I've started seeing them with greater frequency.

At the moment, I can't enter the 'Back Alley' area of Junkyard (preventing me from finishing Grover's optional quest), and I can't exit Junkyard back into the Hopper Caves (forcing me to use the Ferry to get back to South Gate Station). Not insurmountable, but mildly annoying.

EDIT - Upon returning to South Gate Station to visit the vendors, I've encountered more Zone Transition Failures. I can no longer visit Floors 6-8 (Medical, Engineering, and Agronomy).

EDIT x2 - Or the Hopper Caves.

9

Suggestions / Silent Isle [SPOILERS]

« on: September 28, 2013, 09:04:50 am »

There are absolutely spoilers for a minor quest in this post. Read at your own risk.

Wasn't going to put up another suggestion tonight, but that was before I died twenty times on Silent Isle. I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but the doppelgangers really need to be toned down. As it currently stands, the quest is almost impossible to complete for a PC that doesn't have Thought Control.

Given the placement of moderately difficult enemies (Rathound Alphas and Psi-Beetles), the player can't rush to pick up the Lost Cargo on the northern shore. In the time it takes to maneuver and fight through, at minimum, two packs of Psi-Beetles, the player is set upon by the doppelgangers.

As they currently are, the invincible doppelgangers can easily outrun the player and still inflict three unavoidable electrical attacks that cause an average of 10-15 damage per strike (or upwards of 25 on a crit). The doppelganger fades after three or four turns, but that still gives them time to inflict an average of roughly 100-150 damage to the player before they vanish - more than a single Health Hypo can heal. Then, before the cooldown on the Hypo is even finished, another Doppelganger will appear to finish the job.

I can understand the presence of the Doppelgangers to protect the Monolith at the center of the island, given the potential power of the Bi-Location ability, but they're a bit too daunting for the cargo recovery. They either need to be toned down (maybe a longer cooldown between Doppelganger appearances?), or the cargo needs to be placed closer to the zone entry point for faster recovery.

At the moment, 'in and out' isn't a very reliable strategy, because the Doppelgangers will swarm the player to death before they can escape.

EDIT - I managed to push my Gunner/Trapper through the quest eventually by using hit and run tactics. I ran in, killed a group of enemies, then ran away (ie, left the island entirely) to let the 'Strange Feeling' debuff fade (and to let the cooldown on the Health Hypos finish). It took a total of five trips and twelve Hypos (plus two bandages, which were inconsequential) to kill the Rathound pack, and two of the Psi-Beetle groups. I think I was attacked by roughly eight Doppelgangers during that time.

10

Suggestions / Thoughts on Traps (And Grenades)

« on: September 28, 2013, 08:09:18 am »

So I've started running with my sixth character (Medium Armored Gunner with a focus on Crafting, Stealing, and Traps), and it's given me time to formulate my thoughts on the current state of Traps.

Personally, I almost entirely ignored the Traps skill on my first few characters - at least until I reached Junkyard. At that point, after exploding a dozen or so times, I re-evaluated my need for the ability to disarm traps. Given the curve, the Traps skill is still forgiving enough to be used as a lower secondary skill (I think you can disarm most of the mines encountered with a skill of 50-60).

At the moment, there are only three types of traps (EMP Mines, Frag Mines, and HE Mines) in five grades of quality. All three are craftable, with fairly simple recipes that closely resemble the recipes used for grenades (albeit with larger quantities of explosive required). Properly assembling mines requires a mixture of Mechanical and Chemistry skills (or Electrical when crafting EMP Mines).

Using traps gets a little trickier. It either requires foreknowledge of where a patrolling enemy will be going, predicting where a stationary enemy will move once combat begins, or using a high level of Stealth to plant a mine near an enemy. A secondary concern is, of course, moving away from the mine quickly enough to avoid being caught in the blast radius. For most light-to-medium armored PCs, a single mine of the lowest grade can often mean instant death.

With that in mind, the first thought is to increase the variety of traps for other tactical situations. As it currently stands, there are no low grade traps - Mines are expensive and dangerous for a beginning character, and they aren't encountered at all for the first three or four story missions. A good starting point might be something like a 'Snare' or 'Bear Trap' type of trap.

A snare-trap would be single-target with a temporary immobilizing effect, but causing no damage. A bear trap would be similar in concept, causing a temporary immobilizing effect in ADDITION to causing damage (and possibly bleeding?). The added benefit of a bear trap would be that, from a crafting standpoint, there are already scaling components (ie, Serrated Blades) that could be used to make varying levels of bear traps (with higher qualities causing more damage or immobilizing for a longer time?).

Then there are potentially other types of traps that cause damage other than mechanical. We have EMP Mines for use against Sentry Bots, but there's no reason you can't run further with the idea of specialized explosives. Incendiary or Napalm Mines would be easy to implement (as would Incendiary Grenades), using the Magnesium or Napalm C items from a crafting standpoint. The potential utility would be for a grenade/mine that causes less immediate damage than a Frag/HE explosive, but has a high chance for causing ongoing Fire DOT with the attached Fear/Panic effect.

On a similar note, there might be some potential for a Molotov Cocktail type of grenade (using the Gasoline component, and maybe a Flask?). It might be used as a low-damage grenade that leaves a small, lingering field of fire (similar to the Acid effect seen on Mutated Dogs). From a cost standpoint, a single unit of Gasoline and a Flask might be too low, so multiple units of Gasoline (or maybe a few units of Fabric Scraps) might work better.

Beyond that, there's the potential for other exotic traps or grenades (along the lines of the Chemical Blob Trap, which I completely forgot about). Poison-spraying traps. Flashbang Traps. Freezing Cryo-Traps. Shrapnel Traps (causing bleeding damage?). Maybe even some kind of psi-negating traps, that damages or blocks the psi-abilities of those caught in the blast?

There's also some potential for alternate components. Maybe an Optional Slot on Mine Blueprints, where different types of detonators can be fitted. A proximity detonator might allow a mine to go off when an enemy passes within two or three spaces, instead of moving directly adjacent. A timer might disable the adjacency trigger entirely, causing the mine to go off after five or so seconds instead. A camo tarp (or something similar) might make it harder for an enemy to detect the trap - although I've yet to actually see an enemy try to avoid or disarm a trap.

In regards to Feats, there's also a few potentials that spring to mind. At the moment we only have the Trap Expert Feat, which allows the PC to plant traps more quickly (with a reduced detection chance). Other potential Trap-oriented Feats might include:

Catch! / On The Fly: An active Feat that grants the ability to plant a trap during turn-based combat mode. Allows the player to drop a trap to cover their retreat, or to go out in a blaze of glory. High AP cost and/or Cooldown to prevent abuse.

Cautious / Watch Your Step: A passive Feat that increases the player's trap-detection skill, or that gives them a set percentage chance (maybe scaling with their Agility or Dexterity?) to not set off a trap when they stumble onto it. Provides an option for avoiding traps more efficiently, even without sufficient skill to disarm them.

Demolitionist / Precision Placement: A passive Feat that improves the damage or grants a crit-chance to traps the player plants. Effectively a similar Feat to the 'Three-Pointer' Feat, but used with traps/mines.

Duck and Cover / Hit the Deck: A passive Feat that increases the player's Resistance/Threshold against damage caused by explosive Traps and/or Grenades. Maybe it prevents the player from setting off his own traps, or provides an additional degree of resistance/threshold against their own traps?

Finders Keepers / Waste Not: A passive Feat that decreases (or eliminates) the additional difficulty to Traps checks in regards to recovering a disarmed trap. Maybe it applies a fixed percentage chance of trap recovery, to prevent an excess build-up of cash from disarming. An alternative might be recovering components instead of a full trap (mine case, explosives, etc.), when disarming with insufficient skill to recover the trap intact.

Red Wire, Blue Wire: A passive Feat that allows the player to disarm traps more quickly, in addition to another minor effect. Maybe it prevents a critical failure from detonating a mine? Maybe it slightly reduces the disarm difficulty?

As a final note, I would suggest a new component for Goggle/Helmet crafting. Polarized Lenses. Fighting Sentry Bots can be a huge pain, due to their Flashbang grenades, so an optional component that increases resistance to Flashbang-induced incapacitation would be welcome.

11

Suggestions / Thoughts on Melee

« on: September 27, 2013, 09:34:35 am »

Just bought the game last week, and (apparently) I've already logged over forty hours into it. I must say, it's been a pleasantly addictive experience, and I look forward to eventually getting my hands on the final product.

That said, I figured I'd join in on the Suggestion bandwagon. I've played five different character types, and that's given me a few thoughts on things. That said, I'll start with melee (and knives in particular).

I've had a lot of fun messing around with melee, and its interesting to see the 'categories' of melee weaponry. Knives are the quick-attacking low-damage option, and sledgehammers are the slow heavy hitters. Unarmed kind of straddles the line between the two, given the option of leather or metal gloves.

From a character-building standpoint, there are a number of Feats that apply to melee-users that can influence their growth:

Hammers: Bone Breaker, Cheap Shots, Pummel
Knives: Cheap Shots, Crippling Strike, Cut-Throat
Unarmed: Bone Breaker, Cheap Shots, Deflection, Dirty Kick (kind of), Heavy Punch, Lightning Punches

There's some synergy with other Feats, too, like 'Opportunist' (especially in relation to Cheap Shots) and 'Recklessness'. Cut-Throat is incredibly powerful, of course, but it requires an exceptionally high Stealth skill (and appropriate equipment). All told, the current feats for melee weapons are more or less balanced - although Unarmed does get a bit of extra love, not that I'm complaining.

From an equipment standpoint, though, it falls apart a little. Hammers and Unarmed are more exceptional here, especially when custom-building equipment, due to the potential for special attachments. Shock and Piston attachments can significantly increase damage output, at the cost of energy/recharge upkeep, and blades add a nice (but relatively inconsequential) bleeding damage debuff.

Knives don't really match that, though. At the moment, there are three types of knives that come in two different materials - with no options for attachments. Ignoring weapon quality, the average Tungsten Dagger/Knife with about 7-12 damage with an AP cost of 12. That allows for four attacks per round, with an average of 10 damage per hit (discounting crits). At the moment, I believe the best knife is a quest reward, and it comes with a small bonus to defense.

With that in mind, it might be nice to see a few knife mods enter the scene. Maybe some kind of molecular sharpening mod (bonus damage/crit at the cost of durability?), or a custom/weighted grip (bonus to accuracy?). The shock mod for Unarmed/Hammers might be a good fit as well, and some kind of poison or venom mod might also be appropriate (either a low but persistent 'poison' damage modifier, or something that requires periodic reloading).

More Feats are always fun too, of course - although I realize that there are already more on the way. A few potentials spring to mind:

Aim for the Gap / Penetrating Strike: Triggered knife (and possibly unarmed) attack that partially mitigates armor. Provides some extra damage potential against heavily armored targets.

Batter Up / Swing for the Fences: Triggered ability granting bonus damage with a Sledgehammer, at the expense of a boosted AP cost (effectively making it a single attack for the round, given the 25AP attack cost on most hammers). Equivalent to the 'Heavy Punch' Feat for Unarmed. Possibly with a knock-back, knockdown, or stun type effect? Not sure if knock-back or knockdown is something that can be coded in the current engine. Seems redundant to suggest incapacitate or stun, given that those effects are already possible with the Cheap Shots Feat.

Follow Through: Passive ability, granting a small number of bonus Movement Points after a successful melee attack? Allows for maneuvering between strikes, or for a hasty retreat after several successful hits. Synergizes well with Hit and Run.

Go for the Eyes / Eye Gouge: Triggered unarmed attack that does minor (or no) damage, but reduces a living target's combat stats for several turns. Effectively a single-target version of the 'Yell' Feat, but with a focus on Melee instead of Intimidate. Might also apply to knives (although stabbing someone in the eye with a knife would probably do more damage ).

Hamstring: Triggered knife attack that slows a target (possibly with bleeding damage?). Effectively a 'knife' version of the Kneecap Feat. Provides a potential route of retreat for injured melee-fighters, and works well with 'Opportunist'.

Razor's Edge: Passive ability, granting a small bonus to critically hit with knives - or maybe a percentage chance to cause bleeding damage (maybe on a crit?). Grants a persistent buff to knife-type weapons, matching the persistent buffs offered to Hammers and Unarmed (Bone Breaker, Deflection, Lightning Punches).