I was thinking that it would be cool imo to implement the weld spots around the ns maps to give a small amount of res upon completion of being welded, like 5 res per spot. Although not terribly generous, the free res would certainly come in handy at the beginning of the game when the teams are hurting for res. This will encourage the commander to give the marines welders in the beginning of the game, which themselves encourages teamwork, i.e. welding each other, etc.

The aliens benefit strategically from this as well. Any player, experienced or noob, could quickly learn how to use the weld spots as ambush spots, as the marines are unable to defend themselves while they are welding. So the aliens can easy manipulate these spots to their advantage and rack up easy kills.

combine this with my "dynamic weld icons" idea adn i think it would be a positive attribution to the game.

The reward from welding is that it opens/closes/blows up something that is beneficial for marines. Giving a res reward on top of that would be unnecessary.

Indeed, I, myself, want to see far more weld spots on maps, this would lead to fewer because they become more of a balance issue... (As it is, they're simply map control balance. While this would move them into the realm of entire game balance.)


Also, I doubt aliens would rack up many easy kills because of it. Even the slowest of gamers would generally recheck an area that they'd been ambushed in before. It's the main part of what makes the Kharaa have such a higher learning curve than the TSA... Gotta figure out both how to work your abilities and outsmart the other player to get the kill.

well.. it was just an idea, and i dont think a horrible one...

i for one, still think the kharaa would benefit from this. despite players learning to "check the area" before welding, any player of even average skill is able to remain concealed from the enemy even when they suspect alien activitiy. plus you combine that with cloak/silence and you have a real problem for the marines....

my point is that even though the weld spots offer a somewhat beneficial reward for the marines, i still see them being ignored. nobody cares that it opens another hallway or closes a vent. the rewards are pointless becuase no one feels they are worth the 10 seconds it takes to weld them open. this idea of a small amount of res would encourage the use of these spots, whereas the current rewards are apparently not enough incentive.

I don't see the problem...
It's not because they can, that they should.

That's more because of the maps than the game. There are some popular weldspots though. Dbl in Veil, Industrial in Origin, Sat route and dbl in Tanith, a plenty of vents and the elevator in Lost to start with. The welding results aren't very different from each other though. One nasty thing about more complicated weldables is that anything that moves (elevators, platforms and ect. ) is quite bugged with the old hl1 engine.