[suggestions] Weapons Stims and Armor Stims; persistent auras for FX

[BlackjackGT]

Dropped something on my head and had a Eureka moment :D

If implementing a weapons and armor upgrade system seems too much, how about introducing stims that boost/affect both in interesting, useful ways? Maybe some on the next use/shot; others for X number of turns.

Since the Jenna aura bug I ran into and explained elsewhere (her cool red "Beserk" aura got stuck in the "on" position and stayed on/animated the rest of a mission) suggests the game engine could support "persistent" animated aura FX, I think that could work hand-in hand with weapons/armor stims.

A few blathering ideas. I'm not saying all of this stuff should be in the game -- if I spray enough suggestions, something must make sense, right? :) Or maybe just fodder for a sequel, a "campaign pack," etc.

Weapons Stims

Chaotic Ricochet Stim
-Next alien projectile/beam that hits the character bounces off in a random direction -- it could hit another alien zombie, a friendly human squadmate or just harmlessly hit a wall.
-Not sure what color aura would be good for this
-Suggest the stim effect remain in place until the character is hit with a target (rather than only be in effect X # of turns)

Armor Piercing Round Stim
-perhaps Assault Rifle-only?
COUPLE IDEAS:
A) Next shot does extra damage to armor, BUT does zero damage to health/HP
OR
B) Next shot bypasses armor to directly cause HP/health damage

Piercing Round Stim
-Perhaps Sniper Rifle-only?
-Next shot passes through bi-ped aliens. Does regular damage to initial target and then reduced damge to the enemy behind (if there is one).
-Turrets can't be pierced

Double Shot Espresso Stim
-Perhaps Short Range-Pistols only?
-Next shot does double damage, at the cost of double expenditure of ammo.

Scattershot Stim
-Perhaps Short Range Weapon-only?
-Next shot splits upon impact on target, spraying fragments for less damage against enemies in adjacent grid tiles.

Retaliation Booster Stim
-Boosts the next Retaliation shot by X%

Sudden Impact Stim
-Next shot knocks the target backwards one grid tile -- could be useful for knocking enemies away from cover -- and stuns it (similar to Gia's paralyze ability) for a couple turns.

Immobilizer Stim
-Next shot immobilizes the target. For a couple turns the target can't move, though it can still fire its weapon (this would differentiate it a bit from Nia's Paralyze ability).
-Has no effect on Turrets - they can't move. :)

Ignition Stim
-Ignites target, which spreads minor Fire Damage Over Time to targets in adjacent tiles.
*A nice orange-red persistent aura might illustrate the effect.

Armor Stims
Ghost Stim
-Renders the character invisible to bi-ped aliens for X number of turns (maybe 2 turns?)
-A turret can still target the character, but at a reduced "percentage chance to hit."
*Maybe a dark color persistent aura indicating being "shrouded"

Decoy Stim
-Nanobots replicate a holographic clone of the character in an adjacent tile, lasting X number of turns (maybe 2-3 turns?)
-The decoy draws fire, but as a hologram, can't dish out any dmg
*A persistent aura to differentiate the clone from the regular character.

Squad Leader Stim
-Nanobots generate an aura that temporarily increases the aim stat of units within X tiles of the character for X # of turns. Characters lose the boost if they move out of that tile range limit.

Combat Medic Stim
-Nanobots generate a healing aura that provides a minor heal each turn to units within X tiles of the character for X number of turns.
*Maybe a green persistent aura indicating healing.

[seminus]

Hey BlackjackGT, keep the ideas coming. Even thought we not always have the time to comment on every post we do read them.

Cant promise what goes in Halfway but we take a look at every post made here and in the Halfway forum and evaluate everything.

If not in Halfway maybe in a next game, who knows. ;)

[BlackjackGT]

Thanks. :) I'm just trying to make conversation. I would love to see other players' suggestions for new abilities or "temporary stim-abilities" or whatever. :) To be fair, I don't know what is or isn't feasible/reasonable in terms of what the game engine can handle.

So hopefully I'm not suggesting anything "pie in the sky." :)

[BlackjackGT]

If my weapons stims idea don't seem doable in the current game, how about... (some of these riff on my ideas in this thread; others differ a bit. The names are just some random ideas :-))

Different Types of Ammo Magazines
-[Assault RIfles] Incendiary: Minor flame damage over time, couple of turns.

-[Assault Rifles] Armor Piercing: Extra damage against turrets, later armored enemies; but less effective on "squishies."

-[Sniper Rifles] Perforation: Chance to pass through a target and damage other target(s) past it

-[Sniper Rifles] Lethargy: Reduces target's tile movement range for X turns

-[Short Range Rifles] Buckshot: On impact with target, peppers enemies in adjacent tiles in any direction for minor damage.

-[Short Range Rifles] Stun: knocks target back one tile -- useful to push one out of cover -- and stuns, continuing through the following enemy turn.

These could maybe be very small rifle magazines (regardless of rifle type) so the player would need to be choosy about when to use them. And would want to test it to make sure it didn't wildly unbalance the game. I just think it could liven up our tactical choices a bit, and provide a bit more motivation to use something other than sniper rifles all the time. :)