If this really is a big deal, why not have the ships drop them somewhere slightly far off, and have them travel through a combine field to prevent seeing the apparentally important animation of them exiting the ship
I think just having them drop out would be the best/easiest options.
I agree with the whole add extra entrances and have soldiers rappel down idea.
Hell, the sides of the dropship look like they could be adapted into sliding doors, and the combine can shoot while rappelling so it would solve the whole issue of having dropship troops defenselessly piling out 1-by-1 as you slaughter them.
[QUOTE=DONOTWANT;42601878]
Are you saying to make it like the soldiers & osprey from HL1?[/QUOTE]
ye
I think making them rappel out the sides is the best solution of the several proposed, ala the Phantom in Halo 2 or, indeed, the Osprey in HL1.
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;42602806]Still missing the point. You can stand beside the dropship container and shoot combine in the back as they come out. They can't react at all and the turret can't hit you there. It's pretty broken.[/QUOTE]
You could always rack up the turret damage so it will totally destroy you if you try to go near it.
The turret is meant to be a deterrent to the player, not an enemy.
It would simply be easier to separate the player from the dropship in the first place, either by:
1) Giving the player too much ground to cover without getting utterly destroyed the the turret, forcing the player to take cover and giving time for soldiers to disembark and move away (The player could still get a lucky shot off, but the chances are they'll get railed by the turret for sticking their head up too - the combines could then start flanking while the dropship is still suppressing the player.)
2) Completely separating the drop off point from the player and having the combine solders enter together.
Option 2 would be more effective for the coast road, it would be really [i]really[/i] easy to fix that scene. As for LP you have a bigger issue due to the layout of the place.
You could add metal gates to the front of the Lighthouse Point road so once the player brings the car in they close (Like the gate that opens at NLO) and have the first dropship land behind that where the player can't get to.
Not sure why people are suggesting putting two turrets on the dropship, a big part of the Combine's 'bag' is asymmetry.
Because it would benefit gameplay. Making the guns symmetrical is a pretty minor change compared to most of the other suggestions & well worth changing if it means making the combat less one-sided.
[QUOTE=ViralHatred;42606822]You could add metal gates to the front of the Lighthouse Point road so once the player brings the car in they close (Like the gate that opens at NLO) and have the first dropship land behind that where the player can't get to.[/QUOTE]The only problem with that is all of the other dropships. Rather than focus on fixing each dropship landing individually, it would make more sense to have one fix that works for every encounter.
I think you you should just eschew the animation all together, and have the soldiers spawn normally inside the container. Then they can just use their normal AI to walk out of the dropship without being completley defenseless. Though I'm not sure how you'd make the container so that npcs can traverse it as a normal surface.
[QUOTE=Snood_1990;42607120]Not sure why people are suggesting putting two turrets on the dropship, a big part of the Combine's 'bag' is asymmetry.[/QUOTE]
I really cant stand how asymmetrical their stuff is.
[QUOTE=Snood_1990;42607120]Not sure why people are suggesting putting two turrets on the dropship, a big part of the Combine's 'bag' is asymmetry.[/QUOTE]
True enough, but it still seems, at least in this case, like it's a pretty serious design flaw.
So's the turret's poor balance, but if it didn't have that they'd play completely differently. Change in play is what we're going for here, since it's a little broken.
[QUOTE=Nukedrabbit95;42608011]I think you you should just eschew the animation all together, and have the soldiers spawn normally inside the container. Then they can just use their normal AI to walk out of the dropship without being completley defenseless. Though I'm not sure how you'd make the container so that npcs can traverse it as a normal surface.[/QUOTE]
They could make a $concave pod model, spawn all of the combine as soon as it lands, and open the door, letting them run out while all shooting at you if you're in their sight.
While we're on the subject of the container, is it just me or would it make more sense upside down, like this?
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/WppeQ3A.png[/IMG]
It'd have a reasonably flat surface for people to stand on and the little arms even look like shock absorbers at this angle.
[QUOTE=Tweevle;42608921]While we're on the subject of the container, is it just me or would it make more sense upside down, like this?
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/WppeQ3A.png[/IMG]
It'd have a reasonably flat surface for people to stand on and the little arms even look like shock absorbers at this angle.[/QUOTE]
holy dingle berries it was supposed to be upside-down all along.
[editline]sd[/editline]
get this man on the team asap, maybe more models need flipping.
just make the dropship land at an angle that allows the turret to hit the player.
here's a highly sophisticated demonstration image
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64365913/gunshipthing.png[/img]
i honestly don't see how this idea is dumb. it's simple yet it works :v:
remove the dropship altogether delete mod ban thread
have odessa cubbage fly in with all the combine piggybacking on him
then they jump off and he flies away
[QUOTE=endorphinsam;42608965]get this man on the team asap, maybe more models need flipping.[/QUOTE]
He's been on the team for quite some time now already, ever since his train station modifications were posted. :v:
[QUOTE=From the OP;40376301]Tweevle -Mapper[/QUOTE]
Replace Dropship pods with dumpsters
[t]http://combineoverwiki.net/images/7/7f/Beta_d2_coast_070000.jpg[/t]
[QUOTE=Uncle Bourbon;42609105]just make the dropship land at an angle that allows the turret to hit the player.[/QUOTE]So it's supposed to perch on a ledge [I]every[/I] time units are dropped-off? Even in maps without ledges, like the metrocops in the canals?
[QUOTE=DONOTWANT;42609880]So it's supposed to perch on a ledge [I]every[/I] time units are dropped-off? Even in maps without ledges, like the metrocops in the canals?[/QUOTE]
For the canals originally the turret pummelled your airboat keeping you at bay until they had all gotten out.
If you can't fix the turret, you could just rotate the dropship around and have them exit in the opposite direction.
[QUOTE=DONOTWANT;42609880]So it's supposed to perch on a ledge [I]every[/I] time units are dropped-off? Even in maps without ledges, like the metrocops in the canals?[/QUOTE]
yes
Maybe just add a helicopter or gunship as an escort for the dropships? It'd maybe keep the player occupied and less eager to sit out in the open whilst the troops are being dropped off, then if it's not destroyed have it just leave with the dropships.
Another thought: Maybe split each wave into two dropships with half the soldiers inside. Then they can land facing each other, so that one dropship's gun will cover the other's blind spot, and vice versa. And even if you do camp behind one where the other can't shoot you, there will still be soldiers from the other dropship who can attack you.
[QUOTE=Nukedrabbit95;42611131]Another thought: Maybe split each wave into two dropships with half the soldiers inside. Then they can land facing each other, so that one dropship's gun will cover the other's blind spot, and vice versa. And even if you do camp behind one where the other can't shoot you, there will still be soldiers from the other dropship who can attack you.[/QUOTE]
Not enough room on the coast road for that, or in the canals.
Enough room for all 4 dropships to land simultaneously at LP but they're separated for gameplay reasons to give the player breathing room between each group of soldiers. Originally the gun shot you at all ranges and kept you at bay so you usually had to take cover in the buildings or flank around to attack the soldiers, hence the abundance of supply crates and ammo crates around LP.
Let the gunship land on higher ground and then make the soldiers rappel down the cliff like in Lost Coast. It's a bit illogical though.
make it so that if you hide in the corner blindspot, the gunship will hit you with it's eye thing.
Half-Life 2: Enhancement Mod (V5)
