Commanders no longer need non-commanders to build structures. They can control automated builder bots / nymphs to build and repair for them.
Maps are much denser. 6-10 rooms, each with a landmark to help players know where they are.
But this does not mean maps will necessarily be smaller, as KFS points out by overlaying a rough early concept of a new NS2 map over ns_eclipse
“We’re not talking about bunny-hopping – we’re bored of it. We have our own thoughts on it as well and I think our solution will appeal to most everyone. Details will follow at some arbitrary later date, not now.”[link]
“We haven’t decided exactly what’s happening here but we can all agree on a few things: Skulks should have skill-based movement and we don’t want marines jumping around like crazy. We’re still playing around but our goal is to make the game look and feel right for both casual and hard-core players.” -nsplayer interview
Power Grid resource system allows marine structures to be cut off and deactivated if they’re not linked back to a commmand chair. Similar to resource sectors in Company of Heroes. Also has a visual effect in that rooms will “power up” with lights flickering on, computers whirring to life, etc when they are linked back to the command chair as a resource tower is built.
“We’re not sure about vents but yes, all doors are now weldable …
This also means that we have less doors on the map (about 7-10). We’re currently planning on having the Commander do all the welding through his “builder bots” instead of players doing it from the ground, but that’s not definite …
One trick with doors is we have to be sure that even if all doors are welded, players aren’t trapped anywhere and can still access all the resource points and hive/command-station rooms.” -SHFTS interview (thanks locallyunscene)
Wall-running Skulks can drive their sharp leg spikes into crevices to walk on walls or ceilings as if they were the ground. It doesn’t cost energy nor does it slow you down, so it can be used to dodge gunfire, confuse enemies or hide. You can get a glimpse of wall-running in action with the Skulk running up the wall behind the Onos at 0:41 in our teaser video. [viewable in gif form here - thanks Rebel Blob from the SomethingAwful forums]
Bite With his powerful multi-hinged jaws, he can deliver a lot of damage very quickly. As in NS1, the Skulk player’s view is from inside his mouth (is this really that controversial or weird?). We’re still not sure what his alt-fire for Bite is going to be. We’ve talked a lot about a grapple type of attack where he could clench down on a marine and do damage to him over time, but that seemed too annoying from the marine’s perspective (and how would he shoot the skulk off of him?). Please give us some suggestions.
Leap The Skulk can leap short distances quickly, landing in a pounce and doing damage to its target. In NS1, leap appeared later in the game – now he always has it. Coupled with wall-running, leap allows good players to traverse the map without ever touching the ground.
Parasite has been removed, although the dev team are toying with a replacement ability to fulfill the function of ‘provoking’ marines in to attacking.
“Seedling”. A protective wall or “bony growth”. Unclear as to whether it applies to other players / hive / structures or whether it’s an obstruction you can build in the environment.
Spit As in NS1, the Gorge can spit a projectile that does damage to marines and structures. It makes a sizzling sound on enemies and glows, doing damage over time. It also obscures marine players’ screens a bit and slows marine movement for a short time. It shows up as a bumpy infestation on its target. Spit alt-fire is a shorter-range, slower speed, more potent version especially suited for structures.
Health Spray We’re keeping the healing spray from NS1 as well. This creates a cloud of healing bacteria that will heal all friendly players and structures within it. Using this he’ll be able to keep his teammates and precious structures alive and healthy. The area effect also means he won’t have to move his corpulence unnecessarily.
Damage Soak One new ability we’re giving the Gorge is a armored protection ability (name pending). By holding crouch, he can drop his cushy paunch to the ground, extend the armor plates on his back. Doing so will mean that he takes damage off his energy instead of health, as long as he can do so! Energy is like the equivalent of alien ammo, but it never runs out and is always replenishing itself. So if he goes immobile, he can soak quite a bit of damage without getting hurt. At some point though, he’ll run out of energy and he’ll need to be saved by other players or will need to get up and shuffle away. You can see this ability at 0:32 in the Gorge video.
Chambers Chambers and how they relate to alien upgrades represent the weightiest change for the Gorge in NS2. Now there is an Alien Commander building technology structures, so Gorge-created structures won’t unlock upgrades or abilities for other players. The unctuous chambers that the Gorge spits up will be purely tactical. These include the familiar Defense Chamber(automatically heals players or structures nearby) and the Offense Chamber (a kind of organic turret that shoots spikes, possibly renamed to Spike Plant). His overabundance…of abilities mean we’ll probably limit his structures to these two.
One last ability we’re considering is one suggested by the community – by holding shift he could Belly Slide along slick or downhill surfaces. Maybe as a quick escape down a ramp or just for fun?
Lerk
Will probably end up with short range spikes and no bite.
Cory: “We also discussed that we didn’t like how the spikes in NS1 allowed the Lerk to just sit and spike from a distance. While we may end up adding bite back in, we are first going to try and make spikes work in a way that is much more active and fun, forcing the lerk to be diving and swooping above and amongst the marines, more like strafing runs, rather then sitting back and spiking.”
“Instead of being just a bigger, tougher version of a skulk with a bunch of varied abilities, his role is now the “disruptor”. The Onos is designed to shake things up and stymie the marines and force them to react. All of his abilities were designed this in mind.” -dev blog
May get a stomp ability to disrupt marine structures: “Commanders would have their screen shake and go black for a second, resource towers would stall, infantry portals would stop spinning (part of their new design), etc.”
Gore: This is a basic melee attack, in which he bucks his head and gores targets with his horn. Instead of just doing damage though, he can fling targets around. With an effective attack, he should be able to knock back a few marines at a time, disabling them for a few seconds while they get back on their feet. Gore will do plenty of damage, but in the hands of a skilled player, the knockback should be the most effective aspect of this ability. Gore can also be used to smash through doors that have been welded shut, as shown in our teaser video.
Bone shield: The shield ability makes the Onos’ head blades extend out into a fan and the Onos crouches down, forming an impenetrable shield of armor that takes no damage from any attacks from the front. The head blades extend a bit behind his normal width to provide cover for other players or other targets. During this time the Onos moves slower and can still take normal damage from the side or back. We hope that use of this ability will allow aliens to break stalemates with entrenched marines surrounded by sentries and armories, as well as provide some needed defensive capabilities to the alien side.
Stomp: This ability lets the player stomp his legs on the ground and send out a shockwave in front of hit. Any structures that are hit by the shockwave are temporarily disabled – resource towers stop harvesting, sentries’ aim goes haywire and Commanders inside command stations have their view dim black and shake, temporarily hindering his support of his troops. Marines hit with a shockwave will likely have their aim disrupted as well (although we hope good players will be able to counter-act this to some effect, like recoil).
New (non player controlled?) units called “nymphs“.
