A Mod Idea

[FrikaC]

I don't know when or if I'll ever get to work on this idea, but I wanted to present it here before I leave for my new job, so at least the idea is out there. The idea is not fully realized, I only had it a few days ago. It is a game similar in style to Valve's Portal or perhaps even harkening back to Lost Vikings. In short, it's a puzzle mod with (likely) no enemies.

There's a series of "weapons":

A portal gun that operates much like Valve's Portal
A translocator ala UT
A"boost pack" that allows you to jump higher
A freeze weapon that can extinguish flames (wall torches, flares), when fired into the water, it will create 'ice berg' platforms.
A flare gun that can illuminate an area.
The power hammer, that can smash certain obstacles and perhaps give you a slight boost if aimed at the floor.

And perhaps other items, I'm not totally 100% on the above list either. Each 'weapon' uses one of four types of ammo, the weapons and the ammos can be found as items on the level, so this will greatly rely on custom maps.

Dark Ammo: Operates portal and translocator weapons. Stepping into the light will instantly deplete all your Dark Ammo.

Blue Ammo: Operates the freeze weapon, perhaps another. (Air fist?) It is instantly depleted if you fall too far. This allows for Hurried Descent like sections.

Red Ammo: Operates the boost pack and flare gun. It is instantly depleted if you touch water.

White Ammo: Second rarest, next to the Dark Ammo, operates the power hammer and perhaps another. Instantly depleted if you enter the dark - thus you cannot have both Dark and White ammo simultaneously.

When "instantly depleted" ammo of that particular type may respawn or may trigger an event of some type - to allow you a second chance at a particular puzzle. The light based ammos will operate using DP's getlight function.

Puzzles may include a room with a crack in the roof that allows sunshine in a particular pattern on the floor, you must use the translocator to cross the bright portion, and later you may return and are required to follow the light on the floor to retain the white ammo you just collected.

Also moving platforms, funky animated lights, other jumping puzzles and timed/impending events will prevent it from being too stuffy a puzzle (it would get old fast that once if you solved the puzzle of the level, there would be no further point to play it).

Red and blue ammo mostly allows you to retain the others types:

The freeze gun will allow you to extinguish certain wall torches (switchable lights) that will then allow you to retain your dark ammo in that area. It can also create platforms when shot into the water, allowing you to jump across and not touch the water, allowing you to keep any red ammo you may have.

Similarly, red will offer the Boost pack which can soften your fall retaining the blue ammo you have, or operate the flare gun that will allow you to keep your white.

I'd like to get all 4 ammo types two weapons each, but as it stands, it's a rather tight system already. What do you think? Comments appreciated.

[CocoT]

[frag.machine]

[CocoT]

Hehe, yeah it's true they could combine...
There are unfortunately lots of reasons why it wouldn't really work out, though. I'm really a lone wolf and I have already a hard time finding ways to fit transloquake development into my own working schedule, so working with someone would really be a pain (for that other someone, mainly ). Transloquake is also pretty much done code-wise and, quite frankly, I think Frik and I have very different coding styles. Frik is a super-skilled, and (I believe) clean and efficient coder, while I'm more on the goofy, messy, hack-loving end of the spectrum... hehe
And hey, why look forward to ONE mod when you can be looking forward to TWO!

[TargetPractice]

Several queries to potential developers, or FrikaC if he feels the need to respond:

1. FrikaC implies that the flare gun can be used to light up areas; i.e. its projectiles glow (or do something to create light). Does this mean that, if you fire it, you autodeplete your dark ammo?
2. The 'Blue' ammo type, with the Freeze gun- is that usable under water?
3. FrikaC indicated that the blue ammo type autodepletes after a fall- based on what you've said, primarily from impact damage, not from self.velocity_y, and that the Airfist could use blue ammo. Does this mean that you could use the Airfist to prevent loss of blue ammo(i.e. sacrificing a little to save a lot)? Or would the Airfist be coded to prevent this(i.e. the player HAS to use the booster pack to keep blue ammo)?
4. Other than water and flames, what can the ice gun freeze?
5. If an Air Fist is incorporated, what will differentiate its use from the impact hammer?
6. Do Light and Dark ammos autoregenerate when the player is their respective luminosity levels, or do their ammo types spawn in the world(i.e. have to find flashbulbs and smoke capsules to use them)?
7. Would the red ammo be autodepleted by contact with lava? (i.e. "Oh **** I fell in the lava pit and my booster pack has died! I'm so hosed!")
8. Could you shoot an ice platform with the freeze gun to make it larger/taller?
9. (Expanding) Would you sometimes have to generate an ice platform in some damaging muck and use the impact hammer to knock it out of the pool to some desired goal?
10. Would the translocator be coded to prevent Skippy from teleporting to somewhere he'd be stuck at?(i.e. in a 4-inch-wide gap)
11. (Idea) Would it be possible to use the translocator to teleport things OTHER than yourself? (no need to thrive on slime to move the ice brick!)
12. Would coop maps be possible?(Not an important question, BUT I can see the appeal of having two people- or more- have to work together to solve a puzzle.)
13. Would Skippy HAVE to endure damage to complete any puzzles? (Alternately, would Grandmaster Skippy be able to solve the puzzles painlessly, while Noob Skippy found himself with regular scuff marks?)
14. How would a player know where blue and red ammo spawn in a given area? (Really irrelevant; they should be able to find it regardless)
15. How would the player be able to see minor-but-significant details in a dark-ammo-only area? (Cinema-esque blue lighting? Distinct light levels to differentiate 'dark' and 'light' areas?)
16. Would secret areas be present in puzzles, for the really good people to find?

Just food for thought. (No, not pork riblets. Or chocolate for that matter.)

[FrikaC]

[FrikaC]