Am I the only person seeing problem in applying the terminology "hack and slash" to futuristic shoot-''em-ups such as Crusader? (wery good game, by the by - need to grab that guy that has both of my cds...)


You usually hack and slash with an edged weapon, and as much as the concept of vibrosaws or laser swords (I just KNOW somebody will wonder why not sabres) may be appealing, a guy standing on the other side of the corridor with a gatling laser will probably have the upper hand...


Just picking on random people

Lukasz



I knows der earth is flat. Dere's practically books about dat!

I think, therefore... uh... I think that I am?


I think...

Well, perhaps this example isn't really the best one.
First: with kevlar armored clothes and a light MG (remember the Ares HV-MG? Nice one!) you probably stand a pretty good chance because:
1) the go-gangers probably can't handle their assault rifles as good as you can handle your weapon

2) they probably don't have any armor, so you can mow them down pretty easly.

3) Armor probably won't protect you as good as a big gun. You just gotta be faster.

4) Just keep moving (preferably with boosted reflexes) and you'll be damned hard to hit!

And by the way: In one of the Shadowruns i've experienced, me and my team really hack&slayed our way through a little corp HQ.
We were two trolls (a streetsam and a pyro) one human (a magician) and one Elf (a ninja/sniper mix; that was me).
Wile the mage helped from the astral space, the trolls used their light MGs and rocket launchers to keep the way free and I just came from the back, sneaking in and killing everyone I ran into fast and quietly. After our run, all that was left was a big pile of trash (we actually blasted the whole building. Unfortunately we couldn't keep our one troll from firing his mortar...)

And I called the genre just hack 'n' slay to create some relation to Diablo. Of course it would be more of a shoot 'em up.

Any more comments/ideas?

Edited by - MrSandman666 on October 24, 2000 1:30:44 PM

quote: Original post by Run_The_Shadows

I really don''t think the cyberpunk genre lends itself to wading through fields of enemies very well. With fantasy, the idea that you COULD possibly survive a horde of rabid orcs(i won''t lend myself to killing helpless goblins)all beating on you with clubs while you stand there with a long sword and full plate mail. In a futuristic setting, I really dont think any amount of armor will take a beating from a group of go-gangers armed with assault rifles.

Hey, RTS, you haven''t been hanging out in the future enough!

Look at the Terminator. Or think of being in mechanized body armor.

Your targets could be hordes of mechs, or mutants, rather than orcs and demons. I think it could work!


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Just waiting for the mothership...

I thought of that thing with the mechanic body armor too, but wouldn''t it draw unwanted attension onto you when you run around on the street in a mechanic full body armor? Those things would probably only be available for the military and only at incredibly high prizes on the black market. I don''t think that a player could wear these normaly. Only on the runs themselves and even that is critical. It would still draw attention if this mechanical beast (the player) jumps out of the back of this van and rushes into the Sony HQ with two light MGs mounted on the armor.
But still, it would be a considerable option.
I''m just not so sure what happens if the player runs into a bar without taking of his military armor and weaponary.
Any ideas on what to do in that case?


"Mr Sandman bring me a dream"

quote: Original post by MrSandman666

I thought of that thing with the mechanic body armor too, but wouldn't it draw unwanted attension onto you when you run around on the street in a mechanic full body armor? Those things would probably only be available for the military and only at incredibly high prizes on the black market. I don't think that a player could wear these normaly.

This is all dependent on your world fiction and what YOU want as the designer. Normal peasants didn't have chainmail, and tote around halberds. This was mostly the province of noblility funded warriors. But that little fact doesn't seem to bother medieval RPGs any.

quote:
Only on the runs themselves and even that is critical. It would still draw attention if this mechanical beast (the player) jumps out of the back of this van and rushes into the Sony HQ with two light MGs mounted on the armor.

You can flow with this, though, right? If you want. Now the player has to think about what he looks like and where he is. He has to drive into the alley before getting out. Or he has to wear a huge overcoat.

quote:
But still, it would be a considerable option.
I'm just not so sure what happens if the player runs into a bar without taking of his military armor and weaponary.
Any ideas on what to do in that case?

Bartender / authority figure yelling "Hey, you can't come in here like that!" If the player remains, trigger call to SWAT team. (Just like walking into a restaurant, ordering fries, and proping a shotgun up on the table). Of course, the player could wack the authority figure. This could lead to situations like in the Under Seige post I made.

The greatest asset you have when you move your RPG out of medieval fantasy is a greater sense of society and authority. Rather than an American Old West environ, where you could pack whatever you wanted, the law is a factor. I think this is cool!

Now, again, you're the author. The American Old West may be what you want. What if your city was like Old Detroit in Robocop? Run down, little law, armored gangs sporting armor and packing guns, equipped with armored hovercars... etc.

There's a third option, too: High tech is high stealth. Flexible metals and monomolecular manufacture have made for armor that looks like clothing. In fact, some folks have even armored their very skin... And there are even embedded weapons implants, like wrist-based flame throwers, and monowire hidden under thumbnails. (Great for those back alley meetings when the goons tell you to leave your weapons behind.)

Lots of possibilities!!!!




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Just waiting for the mothership...

Edited by - Wavinator on October 24, 2000 9:23:03 PM

Well, in medieval days, when some guy came iinto the pub with a rattling full body plate armor and a big halberd he WOULD draw a lot of attention on him but it wouldn''t matter. In fact he would probably admired for his richnes and equipment. Weapons were absolutely legal back than. And I mean ALL weapons.
And somehow I have a strange feeling by not restricting weaponary use by law. I mean, In my scenario the law would be as mighty as it is today, by far not everybody would obey it but no sane state would allow unrestricted weapon use. With the technology available. A litttle gang fight could turn into a war when rocket launcher, mortars, full body armor suits and heavy machine guns were freely available.

And about the bartender scene, imagine the following:
The player comes directly form a great run into his bar to relax and perhaps get some arrangements but doesn''t take of his armor and weaponary. So there he stands. Full body mechanical armor, two mid MGs mounted ontop of it, laser targeting system, internal automated medkits (everything illegal for a private person)... That way he could defeat any anti terror squad sent by the state. Who would seriously dare to tell him to take of his weaponary? Still, they can''t really leave it this way, cuz it is illegal and a big risk. When that guy goes crazy, he can destroy the complete bar with everybody in it.
Calling a swat team would probably result in the same situation.

And the high tech high stealth option would only be accessable for very rich runners. It is incredibly hard and expensive to find someone who could implant that and the technology itself wouldn''t be cheap either.

I''ll have a look at your at your ''Under Siege'' post.

"Mr Sandman bring me a dream"