I can't believe i'm saying this...

[Tidenburg]

I think the Proximity Detector could be in PS.
Not the way it was in DA but a nurfed version.
Here is how I picture it working.
You select the gadget from your inventory and it appears in your hand replacing your gun the device would be round with a red blob in the middle which blinks when it detects movement. The device can detect spies who are moving anything above the speed that a proxy mine would detonate for.
If the mercenary moves quickly then it will start going off very fast because of the objects moving around it, the way the merc would know when he's moving to fast would be that the light turns blue or some other colour. When he stops or slows it would function as normal again.
The PD would have the same range and markers which beep at different pitches depending on how close the object is. It would also be triggered by another merc teammate moving nearby.

By clicking the right mouse button the device can be dropped where it would rest on the floor. The light would project out the top so a spies proximity could be seen from a distance. Spies can then hack these devices with the option of removing them or by hacking them so they appear disabled. The taser would disable it temporarily (10 second) it would blink the same colour it does when the merc moves too fast so the merc knows a spy has disabled it.

When a merc activates the device the animation would be putting the gun in a holster, pulling out the device and twisting the bulb on top, the reverse for packing it away.

:EDIT:
If the device was placed behind a wall the spy would know its there because it would have a neutral beeping sound then they could just creep up to it and disable it.
I was also thinking that if I spy picks it up off the floor then they could use it to detect where the merc is (they'd appear on their map)
:END OF EDIT:
Dont. Kill. Me.

[Farley4Fan]

Hmmm... Interesting thought.  It depends how long it takes for you to switch back to your weapon or if you can berserk while holding the device.  Spies should also be able to hear it beep so they know if a merc has a PD out and if they are pinging it.  I don't understand what you are saying about placing it on the floor because I don't know what good it will do.  All mercs would need to do would be to set the device in a place where spies can't shock it ( behind a wall, in a corner, in a container ) and stand by the device to get an immobile version of DA's PD.

Interesting, you might want to explain it a bit more.

[Gawain]

detecting movement?? how about mt?
maybe a proximity detector would work as a gadget. it could be balanced if it takes a slot, makes the beep sound that gives away the merc's position, doesn't scan in such a high frequency and doesn't give you the exact range graphically.

[Tidenburg]

Sorry I thought where I said

You select the gadget from your inventory and it appears in your hand

Made it clear that I intended it to be a gadget
:)

[Farley4Fan]

PWNT  :D

[Tidenburg]

^ Even tho it totally was, I didn't intend it like that lol :D

Any other thoughts?

[Gawain]

stfu i was just repeating that it's a gadget because it's part of my idea of a balanced presence detector. the other stuff you suggest seems pretty dumb to me.
we should only think about a p.s. if stealth becomes too powerful.

[Farley4Fan]

Well, with possible destructible lighting, darker maps, better camo, and nerfed vision modes I can see stealth becoming the dominant form of playing once again.  It is a balanced presence detector, he suggested it that way.  But, it might need some changin.

[neth]

hmm, I dont think mercs are supposed to know where spies are. That would be very abusive. Imagine someone passing museum's corridor on ceiling. Mercs would know that instantly.

[Tidenburg]

Hmm, Maybe the sensor should only detect people at the same height or a certain distance above/below them.
Nerf the sensors verticality but keep the horizontal field the same.

[Farley4Fan]

Isn't that what spy traps are for though?  I don't think you should be able to put this gadget down.  I only think that you should be able to carry it in place of your gun.  BTW can you berserk/charge with this gadget out?

[InvisibleMan999]

hmm, I dont think mercs are supposed to know where spies are. That would be very abusive. Imagine someone passing museum's corridor on ceiling. Mercs would know that instantly.

Yeah a presence detector wouldn't work. At all. It basically means that you can just hover around where you hear the spy, like in DA. Takes all the tactics out of the game and just turns it into speed hack. In DA the entire game is just running around like a fool, ussing your speed to outrun the mercs and trying to get a few seconds on a hack, then leaving somewhere else.

Just keep moving because staying in the same spot is pointless against the PD.

[Gawain]

a pd with a very limited range and no clear range indicator<>low frequency scanning that takes an eq slot seems balanced to me as it encourages patroulling.

[Farley4Fan]

Now that I think about it this may not work.