Okay, i did the search, and have found things like this suggested before (not always seriously), but this is seperate in ways that will become clear.

As one who is big on preserving the feel and fun of natural selection (as anyone who has read my previous ideas can see) i like the idea of a marine facing a swarm of aliens. Now, this isn't possible normally, so i've been thinking of a way to make it work (coding difficulties aside)

So... imagine an egg, that a gorge could drop, like a structure. This egg would contain babbler-like creatures. As soon as a parasited marine moved nearby, they would break out of the egg (more than one per egg, not sure how many) and charge at him (climbing on walls and vents if coding allows). Making these like a new defensive trap, and another use for parasite.

I know its out there, but it could be really cool, so before everybody flames this, if there is a way to make it work, i'd like to hear your input.

*Crosses fingers/hides*

I like that idea. Nothing else i can say about it. But most people will probably say about how babblers aren't being put back in ever or something, but i think it's a decent idea.

I like the idea, I would love to see it work.

Lets talk about the problem.

Babblers use the snark AI system for tracking and the big reason babblers were taken out was because they crashed games alot. If they could fix that I'd love to see this in there.

Make the eggs cost 2 resources, and for each one put within 10 seconds of the first one, add 2 resources to the cost (you could drop 10 in 10 seconds, but for 110 resources...) make the babblers have 80 health, 0 armor, and make each egg have 3 babblers, which explode after 25 seconds (so its easier for the marines to kill it before it explodes). Really, this wouldn't happen too much, a parasited marine has to walk by a babbler egg...will happen a few times each game, but not enough to crash servers (unless a gorge puts a babbler farm...which would be expensive...of course thats 30 babblers, imagine each one charging marine base...)

I like it but I don't think having each gorge being able to put down a unlimited amount of these eggs, perhaps have a set limit per each gorge.

if there were 6-9 of them then they'd have to die really fast to be fair to the marines, and whats to prevent the aliens from spamming 30 of theese eggs in marine start and just parasite all the marines? I don't know if that'd be a balance issue but that'd be a whole new way to rush

I'm going to kinda hijack this thread.... Hey you in the back, you sit right back down.

Perhaps allowing a gorge to build a egg like you say (at 2 res a piece) but it wouldn't spawn a babbler or anything. It would spawn a PLAYER instantly when used by the gorge that built it. Now a player has to be in the spawn cue, but this way gorges could build a egg near where he is, and then use it when he hears marines approaching and having a skulk buddy pop up right there next to him! or perhaps a gorge in the building 2nd hive is suddenly all alone (everyone in spawn cue) he could build a few eggs to get a ambush setup for the spawn camping marines!

The problem with the babblers was the snark AI. It is perfectly fine for HLDM and even the most complex SP levels , but when you've seen a snark swarm on a custom Sven Coop map when playing online you understand the problem. No server can handle a large game plus dozens of snark AIs.

If the devs made a new , optimized AI for the babblers then it might be viable.

this really makes sense. Marines LIKE killing eggs. In paticular, they like knifing eggs. If the gorges could build a trap that looks like an egg, it would encourage that ALL eggs be treated as a potental danger and shot from afar, for example.

interesting idea, babbler traps
the parasite egg hatch thing, would make it difficult to use tho
how about just make it have the FOV of the gorge before it placed the egg
ex: gorge faces thats way
egg also faces <---- that way

should marines cross this FOV (it'd be a limited one, less than that of an OC) then the egg should burst open to release the bounty (about 3 babblers or so?)

i think it would add balance! marines have turrets, aliens have OC's. marines have armory stands that heal, aliens have DC's. marines have cheap mines, now aliens can have cheap trap thingys.

I like the idee as long the rines can get a sort of egg detector

if ur gonna put Babler eggs in there make sure the gorges can use them right away cuz marines can have mines in 30 seconds. and aliens should have eggs in a short time too.

change slot1 for gorges too heal spray
slot 2 as babbler eggs
slot 3 and 4 will be the same



Ahh i can see already see a being webbed and a laying eggs around him.

Cool idea. It will need to wait, though; Right now the devs are working on perfecting the current NS setup, not adding new features.

In the meantime, why not create a model for this new babbler-like creature? That would make it easier to implement this idea.

which was a skulk anyway..

bablers were NOT weak

not when you could make 2 per second with adren... fun to have em pour out of hte vent at ya... horrifying to have a REAL skulk leap out of the pack and chew yer head off! XD XD

I like this idea so far, but i've got a tiny little addition...

Ok, say when a trap is set off by a marine you have the babblers for 5-10 seconds...

I like the idea of a swarm of babblers mixed in with a skulk or two, so how about allowing a passing skulk to set off the babblers with parasite? They could last a bit longer (20-25 seconds) and would follow the skulk around as minions until they see a marine or enemy structure

The great advantage here is that it'd be a lot harder to hit the skulk because there would be multiple targets to choose from...they wouldnt need to do much damage at all, or have much health

and once the babblers are jumping around the skulk, it loses the stealth advantage, so it had better attack or run away

Maybe babblers could do 10 dmg/bite, 25 dmg for xeno (if they last that long), and 60-70 health, no armor

So:

Gorge: 150/40 health. 170 units/second. Costs 10 resources. Special Ability: The gorge can build structures. Hive 0 attack: Healspray: Heals 16 health to aliens, or does 16 damage to marines. Uses 16% energy. RoF: .67/second. Hive 1 attack: The gorge can lay eggs, which, inside hold babblers.

Babblers: 60 health. Attack: Bite: Does 20 damage/bite. The Babbler will explode within 10 seconds after it gets shot.

The babbler eggs inside hold, randomly, 1-5 babblers. If a marine succesfully kills them all, the marine team will be awarded 1 resource (to discourage extreme egg-spamming). It costs 65% energy to lay a babbler egg. They will activate when a parasited marine, or a marine within an aliens LoS, passes a babbler egg. The RoF is to lay an egg is .5/second. Hive 2 attack: Bile Bomb: Uses 22% energy. RoF: .63/second. Does 200 damage to structures, but does 0 damage to marines. Hive 3 attack: Webs: Same as now.

(I think I kept all of the gorge stats the same except for babbler eggs).

I see possiblity of overpowering the alien force. Sure marines with decent weaps wouldn't be too worried by this, but the begining of the game with babblers thats just not right. 4 gorges and 2 skuks could lock down marine options to leave their base with that idea. I can see it now on the map ns_tanith. Marines are in their base at the begning of the game and half the team rushes out to get rts the others guard and build up the base. Eventually the marines that left are killed by skulks or they live for a bit then die from lerks (or a res (censor) that has gone fade). Now while they die 2 skulks are harrassing the marine base with parasites, while 2 gorges on each side build up massive babbler colonies. Marine attempt to leave their base, either server crashes from sever stress (which could happen from babbler farming) or the marines that left the base died and those near them die from all the mini-xenoing. This leaves the base defenseless, skulks walk in kill the ips. Game Over.

That just doesn't seem very sporting.

So here is a thought (if you don't mind me stating/explaining it): Web+Babblers

You heard me right, webs and babblers together. Heres how it would work: At the third hive gorges gain webbing. After constucting a 4 piece web (2 diagonal, 1 horiizontal in the middle, and one vertical down the center) a babbler egg appears in the center of the web. The egg after about 35 seconds explodes and sends out 4 babblers onto the web, one for each piece of the current web. The babblers then constuct a very articulate web (just a new sprite), that includes about 12 pieces of webbing. The babblers then go into hiding on the web. Once a marine (non-parasited) walks into the web the babblers attack (unless the web is cut, or the marines use a scan sweep and kill the cloaked babblers). If the marine is parasited, 1 babbler rushes off the web and attacks the marine, then explodes leaving behind a smoke of spores. If the marine dies the spores take his flesh and re-animate the babbler onto the web, which if the marine had reached it would be repaired, (and if the system could do it, a piece of the marine will hang on the ceiling and fall when the web is touched (which, admit it, would be creepy).

Just my thoughts on the subject, because as you said you want the babblers to be defensive, I just seem to think that a combination between the web and babblers would make a perfect late game defenisve tactic for aliens giving them a chance to actually slow down HA trains and JPs (as they would be caught in the webs then killed).

Its actually really funny. It sounds good in theory. It would really be a nice addition, and quite nasty in combination with webs.

But it's highly doubtful that the devs will consider this because it definately does not justify the amount of time and manpower it would take to implement this and make it run stable and smooth.

Plane and simple, there are more pressing issues that require the devs attention. Balancing, DMS , the weakly onoses, graphical improvements (glow, dettex, climbing animations for all lifeforms....) netcode issues (hitbox lags etc.), the BUS....

I don't want to discourage you, as I said, I like the idea, really, but there are more important things to do atm.

I like this.. in a weird sorta way...

There would have to be something impemented that would allow comms to drop a new item... after a period of time after receiving this dropped item the parasite disappears.

ALSO, we could use the idea of you not knowing your parasited. and only the teamates and comm know you are. Therefor if you knew the egg was there, you'd have to ask your team if you were sited =P.


Have the little bots cost 1 or greater res =D.


^_^boy ... wow.. talk about thinking indepth... Your idea is just a little too farfetched.

Why don't we just get off of the hive giving just one ability ... gorges can get the little eggs at say, 2 hives, as well as bilebomb.

I really like Trevelyans idea of having gorges able to build eggs as one use remote spawn points. Keeping a few of those in reserve somewhere would allow a swift counter attack against villainous spawncamping marines. Of course, you would need to have a living gorge around to spray the eggs with "hatching bacteria" (heal spray) gives it a great twist.

If you want to pursue this idea and not hijack too badly, you could always start a new thread.

Have a babbler limit, similar to the web limit. Preventinig the use of babblers once there are so many on the field. And with the babbler eggs, dont make the babblers too easy to kill but instead when a marine comes close it plays a nice big soundfile and 'begins' to hatch, which may take 10 seconds. Then the marine can shoot the egg before guys come out.