» Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:22 pm Multiplayer
We all know bethesda is REALLY good at character customization. Would it not be awsome to build your own assasin, and pit them into dunwall to see how things worked? Build your face, select atire, color and a mask? We thought of some modes that would work really well, and how to work around supernatural abilities that would break multiplayer combat. Firstly, there is obviously deathmatch. There are something like 10 assassins, 2 teams, and each is pitted against others to fight for a certain amount of time. Ammo would be scattered about, and to make things really interesting, there would be npc's. You would only get points for killing other assassins, but you could use npcs to your advantage. Why stick your neck out against an enemy with full heatlh when you could just throw a bottle at them, and poof! Overseers are all over them.
Another awsome gamemode would be an escort mission. One team of something like 7 asssassins protects a noble traversing the city, while another team of something like 3 tries to ensure their demise. It would mean serious teamwork, some assassins useing dark vision to look for spring razors placed in the path, or scrambling across rooftops to keep watch while someone on the ground knocks out the local weeper population.
Another mode, the one that first came to mind- co-op. Why wouldn't this be included? 4 or so assassins go out to take down a target, using the environment together.
As for bend time and possession, these could be easily worked around. There is a team base right? And Npc's? So slow time would work to full effectiveness against npc's, but have reduced effectiveness against player enemies. It would never stop them, and would only work on them for half as long, meaning the WILL speed up faster than the npc's still actually helping them. It helps you more, but doesnt guarentee their demise. As for possession, if you were to possess and enemy assassin, I think a clever thing to do would be to have frequent fighting for control. The possessed player must excorsize the possixr. So say the possessed needs to press 20 correct buttons. A random x button will pop up, and the press it, then a b, so on and so forth. After hitting 20, the possixr is excised. This number would obviously increase with higher level possession. Also, I was thinking darkness vision would show that a person who is possessed sort of has 2 people moving in one place. A sort of yellow distortion coming from them.
As for how this is incorporated into both storyline and multiplayer, the story could be more... intense. I was thinking something along the lines of the outsider is being threatened by the overseers. They have actually found a way to take him out kind of thing. So he's building guilds of followers, each guild led by a single player. The main player would have 5 main assassins in their guild, allowing them to have a class type system. They would have an armory, allowing them to store excess ammo and different kinds of weaponry (ill get to the weaponry thing) along with bone charms and the like. I was thinking either A, they have a stronghold located on a remote island, or B, the outsider allows them access to the void.
Now I was thinking about how to incorporate the storyline of dishonored 1 with multiple endings into this game. I couldnt think of a way in which dunwall is destroyed, saved, or turned dark could all come down to a similar outcome. And then it hit me. The outsider is clearly a 7th dimensional being, based upon his knowledge of how things MIGHT happen (look up multidimensional physics, or "string theory" if you're confused). So why not include multiple begginings and endings? It could be an inevitable eventuality that the abby finds a way to destroy the outsider in all variations of that universe, so maybe you come from one world where corvo chose to be unchaotic, and then through the void are sent to other locations and eventualities to collect items, or take down key individuals who also are capable of traversing the multiverse. Maybe the abby has built some machinary to make this possible. This multiverse time changing would also take away what I consider to be dishonoreds only flaw- replayability. There is very little. Sure, you play thourgh 2 or 3 times, but say I want to go back and pick up that sokolov painting I missed or something? Once you beat the game, that playthrough is basically over. With this, you could take one of your assassins, and send them back to levels you've already visited, complete with the same assassin targets. You would go back in time, meaning the only people who would not be affected, are those who also influence the void and the eventualities therein. This way, you could also go in the starting area, where there is no plaugue, just the city watch. Then you go to a parallel version, where you run through the same area, only in the ending where corvo was chaotic, meaning the plaugue persists, and the city watch is more influential. Then there is basically hell. You could go through the exact same levels, only the buildings are in ruin, weepers are everywhere, the only survivors being rougue and rival assassins, or small camps of city watch. This could lead to very insteresting game settings, because you could go through the same level, but in one everything is fairly pristine, one everything is grimy, and one where the buildings are collapsing, and society is gone. Im also thinking that since the runes are part of the outsider's power, if you already have collected one, you cant collect it again. No farming runes people. Just maxing out your persons potential. I'll get to bone charms.
Okay, abilities and weapons I'd like to see. Some of this would be considered OP, so, please, constructive critisism, I need to know where Im wrong.
Tools-
Rope- This is so easy. And so very plausible. You go up, you tie a rope down, you, friends and such can now use it. If you were playing as a character with less stealth and movement capabilites, more health and weaponry, then this would work well for you. You cant reach a certain height, so you tell a buddy who is good at moving to just drop you a rope. I would also like to see 3 tiers of upgrades for abilities rather than just 2. So maybe one upgrade is the rope has electrical capabilies, zapping foes who try to follow you up. A third level would be a spike at the end fo the rope, allowing you to stab it into almost any location, rather than having to tie it up to a rung, or hook it onto a ledge.
Instruments- this would open up a slew of new abilites. an instrument would entirely replace your sword (don't worry, stabbing still happens). The disadvantage too using any instrument, is your sword fighting capabilites are hindered (not gone, HINDERED). You would do less damage, and be incapable of counterattacking.
The Violin- This would allow you to play 2 different songs, each with different abilities. The first is easy- enemies with power to use the void cannot do so while within the musics range. Upgrades to the violin would make it so enemies would be pressed away, and would take damage if too close to the musician. A curved blade would be on the back of the bow, meaning a player could block and stab.
The flute- This would give the player 2 songs as well. The first would make a song that causes enemies listening to it to be incapacitated while under its influence. They would kind of collapse, holding their ears and screaming. Think of it like a dog whistle for, you know, people. And dogs. Also rats. The second ability would be to call rats. Both around you protecting you, and they would also follow where you point, meaning you could direct a swarm towards enemies. A blade on the bottem of the flute that would flip outward when not being played, could make the flute part a long hilt to a sword, while still along you to stab people and block.
Smoke bomb- Okay yes maybe this is slightly unorigional. But lets face it, any good assassin has smoke bombs. Im thinking high levels would cause enemy npc's to freak out and fire into it. So place it around one of their buddies, and they'll pull out their guns and shoot into it. While inside, you cannot see either, unless you have darkness vision active. the third level would have a supernatural component, making anything inside stop making noise, and causes it to slowly drain the health of anyone inside. Take out those pesky overseers with thier stupid music boxes, and watch as their friends fire like madmen into it. You can of course use it to escape yourself, but thats why it gets shot at. If youre using it to escape, get out as soon as you can, or eat lead.
sticky grenade update- am I the only one that thought sticky grenades were way better than normal grenades and made normal ones kinda obeslete? Maybe increase the blast radius for normal ones, but not stickies.
powers-
Mad dogs- a summon dogs spell. Similar to summon rats, except these dogs attack anything. Anything anything. You included, so it would be a bit more strategic. Upgrades would increase the number from 2 to 3, and would make it so once the dogs where finished with all enemies in the area, they would go after each other. This would mean that if you were patient, in the end, you would have one weakened pup to deal with.
Whale blood- This would control the whale oil, manipulating machinary. You have to target a specific machine. Low levels would involve you holding your cursor on the machine and holding down the button, slowly draining mana, but keeping the machine off. Level 2 would do the same thing, except instead of shutting off the machine, it would turn it to your side while under your influence. Level three would make it so you just shoot the machine once, and for a limited time, it was on your side. Unlike one and two, you wouldnt have to hold your cursor on it, just on tap will do. After that, the machine would send out a burst, depleting its oil reserves, and shutting it down until the whale oil tank is replaced.
Distortion wall- This would be an excellent ability in my opinion. It would be an ability you have to at low levels drain out. While holding down the button activating your supernatural abilites, in front of you would be a curved wall of invisibility, cloaking you, or allies close to you. Enemies could still see you from behind. Also, the wall would make noise, meaning you would have to use it tactically, not just spam it. Second level would lower the noise level, expand its size to four or five feet to your left and right, and make the wall curve over you as well, making tallboy escape easier. The third level would make it passive. You hit the button once, lose a large chunck of mana, and the wall goes up for about 10 seconds.
Possession update- anyone else hate that you cant actually fight while possessing anyone? Take into account that if you are killed while possessing someone you die, and possession actually takes a pretty big chunk out of your mana bar. Enemies have low health. This means you take a single bullet and blamo youre gone. Also, the city watch cant freerun or anything, so youre abilities would still be inhibited. Its not quite as OP as people seem to think. I think being able to fight while possessing someone would be really good.
Bone charms- since dunwall is being raided by thousands of assassins, across thousands of multiple dimensions, finding bone charms aint gonna be easy. So I was thinking, maybe you find symbols in books or on destroyed pieces of bone charms (i seem to remember a note about an overseer freaking out because the abby was smashing bone charms). Then, you could visit whaleing ships, and buy whale bone. You could then hire an artist in dunwall to enscirbe the runes into the bone, and get someone knowledgable in this black magic to finish the enchantment. I was thinking something along the lines of each rune has a different ability, and you can put up to 3 runes on one charm. You could also carry up to 3 charms on your person. This way, if you wanted to put 9 runes into making a single apple fully heal your health, or making it so you move faster while sneaking than while running, so be it.
You would only be able to keep one weapon, 3 bone charms, 1 grenade type, and either springrazors or rope on you. You can reequip your arsenal in between missions at your base, and you can pray to the outsider at a shrine in your base to change what supernatural abilities you have. This way, you can change what powers you have in between missions, rather than making a whole new character if you don't like what descision you've made.
Let the flames begin.
