[Suggestion] NS Sonic Cannon for MAX!

Discussion in 'MAX' started by William Ledo, Feb 25, 2016.

  1. William Ledo

    Hi everyone!

    I've been playing this game for years now, having tons of fun (as well as frustrating moments) and I'm very happy to see how much this game has improved over time. Now, there are some areas that are still in need of some love, and one of them is MAX balancing and new toys. MAX units are my favourite infantry class, and I play with them on all 3 factions. I would love to see more weapons and equipment options for MAXes, and I've seen very nice suggestions here and around the Internet. I've combined some of those with my own ideas to propose something I hope will be an interesting and fresh option for MAX units from all factions.

    Enough introduction, let's go!


    Nanite Systems MAX Sonic Cannon

    Summary of features:
    - Manufactured by NS. Available for all factions.
    - Shoots a continuous stream of sound that deals damage over time to all units, while slightly scrambling them. Comparable in role to the Basilisk (all-rounder), with the added disruption and some limitations in comparison.
    - Damage and disruption start to decrease at a certain distance, becoming zero at long range.
    - Could be a two-handed weapon!

    Let me expand these points.

    - I conceive this weapon as an all-rounder, like the Basilisk. It can be used against all units and effectively deal damage to all of them, both infantry and vehicles, but not as efficiently as specialized weapons (just like the Basilisk). This means the Sonic Cannon (SC from now on) would have a bit less DPS as the Basilisk, to compensate the increased precision and utility. I picture the stream to cover a small area, so that the resulting damage volume would be similar to that of a shotgun (a cone) with low dispersion (kind of like the Jackhammer), or a straight cilinder.

    - However, there's no point on just having an accurate Basilisk on MAXes. We need something special, with a clear role on the battlefield. And that role is disruption, something not really common in PS2. This is how I picture it. Any units hit by this weapon will experience some static in their HUDs which difficults reading and orientation (similarly to EMP grenades, but you keep the HUD active but scrambled). Additionally, performing actions such as aiming and reloading are done slower than usual, and aiming could be slightly impaired. Vehicles would have their weapons affected in a similar way. To avoid "stunlocks", SCs don't stack together in their disruption effect, or have a low "ceiling" for stacking. Keep in mind the purpose is to disrupt the enemy, not keep them from doing anything: nobody likes stunlocks.

    - As described, the SC would have standard weapon dropoff: maximum damage and disruption up to close-medium range, linear decrease over distance, zero damage and disruption at long range.

    - Two-handed MAX weapons have been suggested many times and I would much like to see them ingame, but they would need to be special in some way and not just improved versions of their one-handed cousins. I think the SC would qualify as a good candidate for a two-handed MAX weapon, but it would also work as a one-handed one without issues. It's just cooler if two-handed! :p

    Again, let me point out the purpose of this weapon. It is not an über-DPS machine, neither an insta-kill one. It is neither an EMP or flash grenade. It is an all-rounder weapon, capable of softening up any target like the Basilisk, with an added utility designed to disrupt is targets, helping your team to overcome the enemy. You might not get many kills with it, but you should be earning assists. In fact, I think EXP should be earned by disrupting (a new source of EXP).

    Now, how does this thing look like, and most importantly, how does it sound like? I have some examples:

    [IMG][IMG][IMG][IMG][IMG]
    (yes, that is a REALLY big sonic cannon!)
    [IMG]

    About sound, I imagine the SC sounding like a deep hum, kind of like a very deep dubstep bass, although clean and continuous: the same tone all the time, what sound designers call a "drone". Volume does not have to be high and it shouldn't, to avoid players feeling sick after a while, but it should be as clearly hearded as any other weapon, to help locate the shooter.

    This song is a good example of what a "sound drone" is: a monotonous, uncomfortable tone.



    Well, that's it. I hope you like it, and that it makes it to the game eventually! Please comment and critic, so we can polish the concept!
  2. Liewec123

    i don't think they'd add it, mostly because Bursters used to work like that (damaging everything) but they were deemed too flexible.
    so i don't think they'd add something that works kinda like they used too :)
  3. William Ledo

    Well, Basilisks still work that way, and are pretty balanced: they are there for softening up targets, more than collecting kills. I picture the Sonic Cannon to work the same way, but with slightly less damage in favour of utility. Wouldn't it be interesting to see MAXes in a more support-oriented role?
  4. Liewec123

    it would be interesting to see a support max, as to my comment about doubting they'd release a "jack-of-all-trades" weapon it seems they're going ahead with the HMG after all!

    (skip to 2:22)
  5. William Ledo

    Those are great news! Thank you for the vid :) Looking at those HMGs, the SCs could be kind of like a sidegrade to them...
  6. Tormentos

    Disruptor weaponry?
    I get a C&C vibe here...
    [IMG]

    That aside, I'd like to see a MAX wielding a single vulcan gun two big for any man to handle, but enough for the MAX. If a MAX enters the battlefield, normal infantry should tremble in fear and not much causes more fearfactor than a big, fat minigun.