Question: Followups!
This week we're cleaning up a few follow up questions from previous Questions of the Week.
1. Knockdowns? Oh boy. My question is: How long is a "very short time"?
A few seconds, usually 1-3. This is going to be adjusted as we reach our final game balance, but when we say "very short time" we mean it. Any sort of debilitating attacks (stuns, knockdowns, immobilizes) will have timers on them to prevent them from being used continuously. Furthermore, most players will be able to use these abilities only a handful of times before running out of stamina or gamma, and there are very few ways to restore stamina or gamma quickly. More powerful versions of these abilities generally will not increase the duration, but will make the power harder to resist.
2. So, assuming that you have to aim at someone to target them, and that you have to keybind an ability to use it while you have someone targeted, won't we be overwhelmed with numerous keybinds? Is there a way to use these abilities without keybinding them?
While players may have lots of abilities available to them at any given time, most players will probably stick within using the same 8-14 abilities in most situations. So it can be a lot of keybinds, but we don't think it will be an unreasonable amount.
3. Particle Effects
Okay, so it's not a question, but it has been mentioned as a concern. Generally speaking, we're going light on particle effects. Particle effects are primarily found on mutations, but even then we're not doing a lot. Skill-based abilities instead have animations, like giving hand signals when using Group Tactics.
4. Respeccing
As soon as we make a final decision, we'll let you know. Currently nothing is set enough to announce publicly.
5. Killbots?
Yes. Oh god, yes. But you won't see them for a good long while.
6. Hit Location
All I can say is that we're working on it.
7. Rifle and Pistol Subtypes
Crossbows and shotguns fall under the rifle skill. Shotguns are better for close combat than other rifles, doing more damage but having much shorter range. Their rate of fire is not so good and they still suffer the normal Evade penalty for rifles. Still, if you want high damage, shotguns are where it's at. Pistol users also get sawed-off shotguns and submachine guns.
8. Dual Wielding?
Yes, you can. It's not a huge advantage, because you don't attack any faster; the main reason to dual wield comes from having two pistols full of ammunition before reloading, or swinging different damage types at your opponent (such as a rolling pin and a boot knife).
