Knockout

[Desolator2k]

It has always seemed that the neckbreak option is vastly better than the knockout option during a grab.
I know that if you neckbreak then they get equipment and that on some maps (orphanage for one) having them knocked out at the bomb means you can get upstairs before they get up as aposed to them spawning upstars.

I was discussing with SITHDUKE that I thought that neckbreak should be penalised but then he convinced me that nothing was actually wrong with the neckbreak, it was just that the knockout ability doesn't have much going for it.

So without doing any damage to neckbreak we thought that if a merc was KO'd that there wouldn't be any onscreen notification to the other merc and possibly disable the ingame mic/chat for the knocked out player, and that when the merc got up he would have no HUD for a few seconds so he would not be able to detect intrusions for 5-10 seconds. - Perfect Stealth tool, just the way it should be.

[Gawain]

i'm ok with the same effects like SS on head after waking up but disabling teamchat/voip is stupid.

[neth]

Not bad ideas. I think some of them were discussed before but im not sure where.

So without doing any damage to neckbreak we thought that if a merc was KO'd that there wouldn't be any onscreen notification

Notifications were discussed for sure. I think that there should be notifcations like: "X has been neutralized by Y", cause it takes away the depth and there is no one to send you that kind of information when your partner is hurt.

possibly disable the ingame mic/chat for the knocked out player

You mean for limited time or the rest of the game ?

and that when the merc got up he would have no HUD for a few seconds so he would not be able to detect intrusions for 5-10 seconds.

5-10 secs is too much for me, but its a matter of balance

[Desolator2k]

I meant just disable comms while you have a black screen - just as it adds stealth to it so you can't call for help straight away. The minute you get you you can spam the chat window like "OMGZ HELP PLZPLZL"

I just wanted to create the ability to make a swift silent neutralization with almost no warning till you start hacking while getting the merc down. Cams don't have notifications so why should a silent stealth KO?

Thanks for the feedback.

[neth]

notice that the time space between grab and hitting is enough to send help message

[InvisibleMan999]

notice that the time space between grab and hitting is enough to send help message

Yeah, I always felt like chat should cut out the moment you get grabbed, someone holding your neck is going to prevent you from calling for help. I advise cutting out all chat, including typing, while someone is grabbed. If you snap his neck, then there should be a kill message, and KO should not produce any message at all. That might help in encouraging people to KO mercs.

[neth]

Yeah but when you neck a merc then his partner wouldnt get "X has....neck" but something like: "Partner signal lost"

[Tidenburg]

I've always been a fan of proximity voice. Meaning that mercs can't hear each other if they're long distances away from each other. I just think it would add to the intensity not knowing if you're partner is just far away from you or dead. I always hated merc alerts in SC. IMO if the merc wouldn't be able to call for help in the situation he's in then voice, text and notifications shouldn't be sent.
Maybe when your teammate is in range and/or knocked out or dead then a a little circle in the top corner could turn from red to green. The reason for this would be A. knowing someone can actually hear you and you ain't talking to your self.
B. The suspense and anxiety of not knowing why you can't hear them any more.

Some of these ideas come from a really violent version me and my friends planned. It was meant to play out much more like a horror for the mercs and a predator thing for the spies.

[Farley4Fan]

Since he got knocked out it would be AWESOME if the merc's voice was distorted.  Like instead of "he's in greek he just knocked me out" it would sound like this " HIz INNNNN Grock SHe juzzst nuked maa ooooot!!"   :D

[Overstatement]

As a concept, it's cool. As gameplay, it's very stupid and will encourage the hell out of other voicechat programs that you all hate.

[Spekkio]

notice that the time space between grab and hitting is enough to send help message

Yeah, I always felt like chat should cut out the moment you get grabbed, someone holding your neck is going to prevent you from calling for help. I advise cutting out all chat, including typing, while someone is grabbed. If you snap his neck, then there should be a kill message, and KO should not produce any message at all. That might help in encouraging people to KO mercs.

I don't think KOing needs encouragement. The situations where using a KO over a neck snap are more rare, but they tend to give you a much greater advantage when used.

IE: You are on orphanage. You grab a merc in washroom as your partner just finishes that objective. You hold him for as long as possible before KOing him. You've now pretty much won the round, as you can both rush upstairs, grab the disk, and escape before the merc in washroom can get back into position.

[B1nArY_001]

Loosing your HUD after a KO I'm not sure would make much sense or even be needed. The voice chat while KOed should be disabled though. You're supposed to be knocked out... how are you talking? If those 4-5 seconds are enough for someone to use a 3rd party VOIP app then hell... let em if they suck that bad...  :-\

[Westfall]

I think the person should still be able to communicate with their partner when they are grabbed. This way, if the person is tuanting or holding, the merc can tell his partner this person is here, holding me, and about to knock me out or snap my neck. As far as KO-ing the merc, I thought comms went down when he was knocked out regardless. They can still type for a little bit though, so maybe that should be adjusted.

[Farley4Fan]

As soon as you are out cold you shouldn't be able to communicate whatsoever.  But if someone is grabbed then they can talk all they want until they die/go outcold.

[SITHDUKE]

Making the KO animation really short so you can escape really quickly would be a good advantage. I think what Desolator wants is for stealthy spies to benefit more from a KO like aggro spies from a necksnap.