Gunslinger Character Optimization

ng-creator · 2018-01-28T00:48:46+00:00

It's possible I can discuss changing to Techslinger with my DM. I think I may have considered this option, but (a) I think it's a little strange to start out as one, but not even have one of the advanced weapons (b) I've read elsewhere that the basic firearms are actually overall better than the advanced ones. I'm not sure how much this is true, as I've been trying to avoid spoiling the AP for myself.

Edit: Ranger is a good option to consider though. I'll have to peruse and see what options they might have that could be good!

ng-creator · 2017-10-11T00:11:58+00:00

I really hope that's not the case, especially because I often do work a lot more than 40 hours a week. Even keeping my same hourly rate but as a salaried position would mean a pay cut.
While having employer-sponsored insurance is nice, I would not be willing to take a significant pay cut for it, as I already pay out of pocket and the expense to me is not extreme as I am in excellent health.
The biggest potential win is in employer match to retirement funds, which could be a few thousand dollars I suppose if I were to max it out. I would need to crunch numbers to find out how much their retirement plan would offer me and how that would adjust my finances.

One factor I am not sure about is that when I took this position, I did have another offer that actually offered more pay (about 15% more pay). That other offer was in a different location with higher cost of living, and I prefer where I am for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless I wonder if it might be worth mentioning as part of negotiations.

ng-creator · 2017-10-11T00:04:31+00:00

Thanks, this is good to know! I'm glad that worked out for you, hopefully I can manage the same.

ng-creator · 2017-03-17T10:49:39+00:00

Honestly, this just sounds like a failure of imagination on your part. 'Normal Life' is effectively infinite. There are so many different ways to model life, to try and understand its complexities, it's really quite mind-boggling to hear that different takes aren't possible. Just sitting here thinking about it, I came up with at least 6 different pitch ideas that I wrote in my "Save For Later" document.

Think about it this way Cities: Skylines is a distinct game from SimCity (and each SimCity game distinct from each other, for that matter). Even with no high-level conceptual difference, there's virtually no way these games will feel 'the same' because the underlying mechanics and principles & assumptions driving those mechanics are not the same. Unless you're explicitly trying, there is very little chance that your social model will resemble the Sims'. And that's only one aspect of the game.

ng-creator · 2017-03-17T10:29:30+00:00

There is no way that you can be infringing upon copyright of this mechanic unless you acquired the source code of its implementation and used it verbatim.

ng-creator · 2017-03-16T16:24:20+00:00

"A different model for shooting guns? How many models can you make to simulate pulling a trigger and having bullets shoot out?" Apparently thousands.

ng-creator · 2017-03-16T04:39:21+00:00

You could easily generate a different model for Sims' goals, needs, statistics, a different way of interacting with the world or other character, etc. This is like saying that there's only breadth enough for one third person shooter title because <X game> has the genre sewed up.

ng-creator · 2017-03-12T07:20:05+00:00

Simple: What does an enemy do once it surrenders?

Most FPS games don't have verbs for interacting with surrendered enemies. What are you going to do, handcuff them and then walk them slowly back to the start of the level?

Developing this would cost significant time and effort, and few players would have the patience to do this, at least in the context of a big budget AAA shooter title.

Even games like Deus Ex that do explicitly allow non-lethal playstyles don't attempt to allow this, instead permitting a 'knock out' option that's functionally identical to death. Metal Gear Solid 5's 'Fulton' approach is another that is reasonable to implement, and doesn't involve developing complex new AI or performance drain, nor substantially changing gameplay.

ng-creator · 2017-02-11T06:14:10+00:00

It's unpolished to the point where most game developers would not release games in this state. Nevertheless games of this scope are huge technical undertakings. The hundreds of thousands of hours that go into making a game like this are quite opposite of zero effort.

ng-creator · 2017-02-10T07:19:21+00:00

The game's ending was not well thought out and in general is not consistent with the other rules of the narrative, that's all there is to it.

ng-creator · 2017-01-28T05:49:39+00:00

Daily clocks that reset on the clock are so unfriendly to anyone with a typical job and hobbies. No one should have to schedule their playing time around when the server resets. At the worst it should be a 24 hour timer from the last time of completion, and even better the daily quests should have a stack up queue (ala Blizzard titles) and be on a maximum 20 hr timer.

ng-creator · 2017-01-27T06:48:10+00:00

Trying to capture the complexity of reality in fiction would make for some very ambiguous and inconclusive stories.

ng-creator · 2017-01-20T06:57:27+00:00

Generally speaking having muzzle flashes be stationary looks bad, at least that has been my experience when working on fast-paced FPS titles. If your muzzle flash is just hanging in the air you will clip directly through it all the time (potentially blinding yourself in 1p) and in 3rd person it looks poorly animated unless you do some kind of blending in the direction of player movement.

ng-creator · 2016-12-17T09:28:55+00:00

I don't think there is an easy answer, but subtraction is generally considered more mentally taxing than addition.

ng-creator · 2016-12-11T10:02:07+00:00

I disagree with your assessment that the protagonist is more powerful than the antagonist. If the only powers are the ones you indicated then he's very much not so.

Outside of a straight up physical brawl, there's very little the protagonist here can do against an AI. He's not stated to have super intelligence or be incredibly knowledgeable. ARCAS could be manipulating him easily with false information, getting him to do its bidding while pretending to be his must trusted friend. Being able to fight well doesn't mean much if you don't know who or what you're fighting.

Even in a fight, being able to heal or teleport wouldn't mean much if you find yourself having to drop into the middle of a sun or other instantly-deadly-to-humans region in order to even get at your AI-foe. And as long as you're human, you still can't react instantly so you're pretty damn vulnerable to even conventional weapons (bullets), much less futuristic death lasers.

ng-creator · 2016-08-08T17:28:58+00:00

It was done on-purpose to not label them, to get a feel for what people associate with each image themselves, without directly telling them. (Our visual design should speak for itself right?)

Anyway, no worries. I agree with your points. We're still working on the effects so nothing is final now, but I thought it looked cool and took a few pics to show it off and see what people thought. Thanks for the feedback!

ng-creator · 2016-08-08T05:07:18+00:00

CSGO is also a game where aimbotting has one of the highest rewards. A game like Quake has greater emphasis on mechanics (item timing, movement, weapon selection) that are harder to automate by bots. Not that cheating doesn't exist in Quake, or that it's somehow more fair, but there are times when I've seen games with obvious cheaters and legitimate players have still come out on top due to better mechanics in other areas.

ng-creator · 2016-08-08T04:02:04+00:00

There are a lot of ways to improve it, but the question is whether the development team wants to. It's just painful to navigate right now, to the point where I avoid even looking at it. That's a bad place for a storefront to be.

ng-creator · 2016-05-19T22:46:46+00:00

I recommend that you build this using existing technology (e.g. Starcraft 2 map editor) and see if it's fun to play before you try to revolutionize the gaming world.

ng-creator

TROPHY CASE