Messorem wrote:<Xeno Hive>
I'm just going through this now and I'll point out stuff as it comes to mind during the reading.
- I'm the writer for the Xeno creature, though it's partially based on the Alien creature from Multiplayer. It is worth noting that it has some minor difference and changes from those from the movies. These guys are an infection 'inspired by' a different dimension's versions of those films, so things aren't quite the same.
- Having an unlimited series of fights for non-Xeno players at the entrance is a problem. This would then become an XP mine for anyone of sufficient level and also isn't quite reasonable. At some point, the player would be overwhelmed through sheer numbers. They're not going to politely wait and come at the player one at a time - they'd tear them apart from all sides. The player should instead be either a) chased off, or b) overrun when they insist on going in. The latter could be a scripted orgy scene with the player being thoroughly fucked, infected and bred before either being driven off or resulting in a special game-over outcome.
- It might also be advisable include make a continuous check to set off the Xenos if the player uses an infectious item or power while inside the hive.
- I'm rather confused by the sequence of possible events occurring in the Queen's Chamber. Can you explain this in more detail? It'd probably help if this were broken down into a sequence with its various options and possible outcomes.
- Similarly, how and when do Xera and Xoon come into being? When you say a rapid gestation, do you mean it's all one scene with them being added to the area afterwards or are you looking to have the player be pregnant for several turns. If the former, that'll require some special circumstances to explain it. If the latter, that'd provide more complications and require delicate adjustments of the pregnancy and birthing related code. Also, I see complications with this based on player gender/fertility/pregnancy status, etc. I'll have a better idea of what's involved when you go over the sequence of events.
- The life cycle of these Xeno are different from that of the movie creatures you're familiar with. As can be seen from the existing player loss scenes, the life cycle for these Xeno have them implanting their eggs into hosts, either vaginally or anally. As that scene closes, the eggs are expelled by the host to later hatch. Sometimes, one or more eggs might remain inside if the victim's womb is available for impregnation. This is a sex game after all, so you're looking more for sexual horror instead of gory horror. While that doesn't mean that the Xeno Queen can't be different, it should still be a similar theme.
- On the whole, the rewards for this quest (if I'm reading it right) seem to be incredibly large, especially given how there's no actual questing involved: a new special infection + domain, a kick-ass weapon, kick-ass armour, a kick-ass helmet and possibly a feat as well? That is, quite honestly, far too much. Any one of these would be a suitable reward for a more involved than this.
- Where do the high tech gauntlet and mask to originate from? It sounds like you're making them actual Predator items, but the Xeno creatures aren't real aliens - they're a movie-based infection. I'm not saying these things can't exist, but there should at least be some in-canon reason (even if unstated) capable of explaining their existence and presence there that doesn't involve actual aliens.
- Your idea of the gauntlet doing a bunch of fancy stuff and varied damage would require a considerable amount of alteration to the combat code exclusively for it. You can give different random messages for how the weapon is used from round to round, but its base damage should remain fixed.
- Armour works on a percentage reduction system, not a fixed value reduction. As well, when you mention the hunter mask working like the face mask, are you referring to how it is worn or its special hidden bonuses? Please refer to the post on clothing and armour for more details on how armour works.
- The system for upgrading weapons and armour is not item-specific. It is a fixed improvement of +1 to any weapon and a minor defensive increase to armour items. While it would be possible to create special cases for these items, this does add to the work involved and would be best done by an experienced coder.
- After the player gets the Xeno Queen infection, how would the other Xeno (roaming monsters) react to them? Also, the Xeno Queen infection might work best as a sub-variation of the Xeno infection rather than a separate infection of its own. I'll need to think on that.
Okay, and now getting to your questions:
- Is this project worth doing?
That'll largely come down to you and whether you're willing to put in the effort involved. From the sounds of it, there's going to be a whole lot to this beyond the coding. Honestly, I do think you're going to have to re-imagine, scrap or shelve some of your more ambitious (and thereby code-intensive) ideas, as you'll be relying on the experienced coders to do these things for you and they won't necessarily be quick/easy. Similarly, you've got a lot of big pieces that all seem to be inter-meshed. While this is good from making a rich and detailed end-product, it does make for a more difficult first project, as you can't easily build just one small section and add the other bits from there. You'll be asking a lot of yourself and anyone helping you with the writing/coding.
I know a fair bit of my feedback may seem like criticism, but it's mostly a matter of helping you keep your project more consistent with the game and to aim for more realistic and achievable goals. Once I can get a better picture of the chain of possible events, I'll be better able to provide feedback on the plans themselves.
- Will incest content be okay?
As I've said, I'm not quite sure how/when Xera and Xoor come into being, but as long as the content involving sex with/between them is purely optional, then it'd be fine. From the sounds of it, the player will know they're their offspring, so a direct warning likely won't be necessary as long as the scenes aren't spontaneous. The keyboard player would be choosing whether or not to partake in that content. Content-wise, this is an underused fetish in the game, so having another place to scratch that kinky itch would be good.