Denied Make headcrabs activate TBC on hit.

[Chris]

With most other NPCs it is fine since they are slow moving or generally move slower. However with headcrabs they move so much faster jumping around and walking it's such a jarring experience compared to TBC.

Having them trigger TBC would be semi-realistic as well. Since if a headcrab jumps you. You would need to stop what you doing whereas a zombie might lunge but you can dodge out of the way.

It just really annoys me not being able to hit the things when if it was TBC I would have no issues beating them. They arguably a greater threat than zombies due to how this mechanic works.

 

[Equinox]

I honestly feel like Headcrabs have lost the "danger" that made them so insidious. They are ambush hunters. They aren't meant to just crawl in front of someone and get shot up. Their effictiveness comes from the fact that they need only one jump onto a skull to end a life. Without this, we have what we have always had in HL2RP, a low tier NPC threat that simply can't compete.

I don't know if it is possible, but if this suggestion were to be accepted, I think it'd be cool to implement a mechanic in which, should a headcrab deal damage to you and you aren't wearing a helmet, there is a small chance (emphasis on chance) it locks you into place as well as the headcrab, blinding your character. If your character can't pass a strength check in the character's next turn (and the headcrab is not killed by another player before that character's turn), it's an instant death and the headcrab is removed, followed by a zombie spawning on the spot (or not, up to the devs). Have the chance to lock onto the head increase if it's from a headcrab initiating combat, as this means it got the jump on someone or the first strike. Fast Headcrabs have a lower chance of doing so (but often attack faster) while poison headcrabs have the highest chances (they attack the slowest).

This would make headcrabs a very real terror, and something that admins would not have to spawn often, as just one headcrab is a significant threat to ANY individual, especially those without a helmet.

 

[Mr. Hang man]

I honestly feel like Headcrabs have lost the "danger" that made them so insidious. They are ambush hunters. They aren't meant to just crawl in front of someone and get shot up. Their effictiveness comes from the fact that they need only one jump onto a skull to end a life. Without this, we have what we have always had in HL2RP, a low tier NPC threat that simply can't compete.

I don't know if it is possible, but if this suggestion were to be accepted, I think it'd be cool to implement a mechanic in which, should a headcrab deal damage to you and you aren't wearing a helmet, there is a small chance (emphasis on chance) it locks you into place as well as the headcrab, blinding your character. If your character can't pass a strength check in the character's next turn (and the headcrab is not killed by another player before that character's turn), it's an instant death and the headcrab is removed, followed by a zombie spawning on the spot (or not, up to the devs). Have the chance to lock onto the head increase if it's from a headcrab initiating combat, as this means it got the jump on someone or the first strike. Fast Headcrabs have a lower chance of doing so (but often attack faster) while poison headcrabs have the highest chances (they attack the slowest).

This would make headcrabs a very real terror, and something that admins would not have to spawn often, as just one headcrab is a significant threat to ANY individual, especially those without a helmet.

This is actually a very cool idea, this would add on to the danger factor within the sewers/slums since it would be a PK area once you step in. I have one complaint though with this suggestion.

I have seen at the very least 6+ people pked in the sewers to barnacles alone. This would make admins have to stay down in the sewers and ensure a PK for any deceased player from the mobs more often then we already do.

You should make this a separate suggestion from this thread though, being honest here.

With most other NPCs it is fine since they are slow moving or generally move slower. However with headcrabs they move so much faster jumping around and walking it's such a jarring experience compared to TBC.

Having them trigger TBC would be semi-realistic as well. Since if a headcrab jumps you. You would need to stop what you doing whereas a zombie might lunge but you can dodge out of the way.

It just really annoys me not being able to hit the things when if it was TBC I would have no issues beating them. They arguably a greater threat than zombies due to how this mechanic works.

On to the main suggestion. IMO TBC should be turned on regardless of the NPC in question.

However I could see why the developers/owner would turn it off for this specific enemy since they would be a very easy/low effort kill if TBC was turned on as a result of their low health pool.

Still, this is very annoying for fast headcrabs in particular since they move so fast in a dark environment where vision is already limited. +support

 

[Chris]

This is actually a very cool idea, this would add on to the danger factor within the sewers/slums since it would be a PK area once you step in. I have one complaint though with this suggestion.

I have seen at the very least 6+ people pked in the sewers to barnacles alone. This would make admins have to stay down in the sewers and ensure a PK for any deceased player from the mobs more often then we already do.

You should make this a separate suggestion from this thread though, being honest here.


On to the main suggestion. IMO TBC should be turned on regardless of the NPC in question.

However I could see why the developers/owner would turn it off for this specific enemy since they would be a very easy/low effort kill if TBC was turned on as a result of their low health pool.

Still, this is very annoying for fast headcrabs in particular since they move so fast in a dark environment where vision is already limited. +support

Equinox's suggestion could be easily (partially at least) implemented without admin oversight. A check just needs adding to say:

If gas tick up = true

PK on death

Since headcrabs and zombies only really spawn in the sewers anyway. Staff can focus on the slums like they already have been.

The functionality is already there with thr perma death at max gas so it shouldnt be too hard to implement.

 

[TheDeNuke]

I don't know if it is possible, but if this suggestion were to be accepted, I think it'd be cool to implement a mechanic in which, should a headcrab deal damage to you and you aren't wearing a helmet, there is a small chance (emphasis on chance) it locks you into place as well as the headcrab, blinding your character. If your character can't pass a strength check in the character's next turn (and the headcrab is not killed by another player before that character's turn), it's an instant death and the headcrab is removed, followed by a zombie spawning on the spot (or not, up to the devs). Have the chance to lock onto the head increase if it's from a headcrab initiating combat, as this means it got the jump on someone or the first strike. Fast Headcrabs have a lower chance of doing so (but often attack faster) while poison headcrabs have the highest chances (they attack the slowest).

So long as Vortigaunts can't get affected by it (since that would make Freed Vortigaunts literally hell and beyond un-fun). I'm... sorta fine with this.

I mean. I don't think having even more ways to get randomly PKed is a good idea. That's just going to cause a tide of PK appeals. At least Gas is a slow thing and anyone that gets killed by it wins a darwin award.

 

[Robert]

I will keep this in the most simple explanation possible:

NPCs don't trigger TBC because that would get annoying. Many people don't want to be stuck in fights and would rather run away and have a chance to escape rather than be stuck with 20+ NPCs in the underground. Because the moment you get spotted in the underground, the new NPC logic and pathing that GMOD added some time ago makes every single zombie on the map converge to your location.

I watched a player trigger one zombie and get stuck in TBC while all of a sudden 7 fast zombies who were on the other side of the sewers came charging at his location after 30 seconds into the fight.

While this makes the NPCs and fights more dangerous, it also risks pissing a lot of players off since NPCs cannot care less about "timescale" or any form of combat rules, so you are basically getting fucked over regardless of how sneaky one may be trying to be. So maybe... but maybe not. I am a bit reluctant.

TBC only triggers player attacks at the moment.

We can look into it, but I am just mainly giving my thoughts and the facts of why the system is set as it currently is.

 

[Chris]

How about an alternative system where NPC zombies in TBC can trigger headcrabs to burrow out of the ground from set locations, mostly xenian gunk and join the fight so the zombie gets a fighting chance if it is solo and headcrabs simply aren't removed entirely.

 

[Atle]

This will add a bunch of work to development for a system that I find very questionable. As Robert said, having NPCs start TBC will very quickly become annoying for players and a hassle to implement as we'd have to the check if any NPCs hit players (not just players hitting NPCs) which adds extra weight to the calculations

Because I find this a tad unnecessary, although the idea is good, i'll be denying this for the time being

DENIED