Hey everyone, hope your day is good or gets better! So I was thinking more on what else can be added for gameplay, and I figured a few for both sides that can help and make things more interesting for everyone.
Visibility based movement: I understand that when running or walking at a quick pace, you’ll make your self more visible to the Fireteam and that’s ok, makes sense. However, what would help so much is visibility correlates with the speed of your motion. It would encourage and bring forth new ways of stealth gameplay if the visibility of cloaking while moving in a crouched position would lessen greatly such as 25-40% then what it currently is. As of now you can see a cloaked crouch walking Predator easily as a running Predator, and the three second window is enough for Fireteam to put the spotting on you. With the addition of Predator having vocalization so precise and so often that with just a good headset, you can pin point the location of a Predator like bats using echolocation hunting flies at night.
Zoom in/out: Previous games involving Predator allows the player, due to the nature of the bio-mask, to scope out the terrain for their prey for better preparation of what to do next. AVP, AVP Gold, AVP2, and AVP2010 are such examples of how this feature functions, it just allows you to take a peek of what’s going on over there without the risk of others spotting you too soon. Due to this being Predator: Hunting Grounds, it makes sense to fulfill the sense of being the Predator, stalking your quarry before you go in for the kill. Other games that encourages stalking and planning before moving is is the Batman Arkham series where you look at where the gangs are positioned before you move in to take them out with stealth, gadgets, or even free-flow combat. It enhances and encourages stealth tactics that many people will appreciate to have.
Expanded Fireteam mobility: The Predator already has great mobility options, such as the Predkour system and the ability to jump far distances, to catch up to Fireteam. Taking some cues from other FPS games, having more options to move around the jungle is a great way to make gameplay much more engaging for both sides. The ability to vault over or under objects is a great way to move over objects to escape the Predator or a sudden swarm of Stargazer soldiers. Snipers that normally have low health and less resistance to damage would appreciate the ability to be in a prone position for optimal concealment.
Stamina toll for Parry: Nothing is more satisfying than going in 1v1 single Fireteam and Predator combat. Where either the sole survivor avenges his buddies with the final blow, or the Predator long claims the last one for being a worthy foe. However, when one side can block any incoming blows without issue while the other drains stamina very quickly leaving the Predator vulnerable to anything, then there is an issue here. A stamina toll for Fireteam will put them in a position where they must be quick with how and when to parry and when to attack just like the Predator is forced to think when and how attack the skilled Fireteam without getting drained of stamina.
Some weapons SHOULD NOT be unblockable: Now, I love me the new melee weapons Illfonic has given us, I’m not going to complain about that ever. The Norse Ax and Hammer are great weapons that can do plenty of damage on Fireteam. Problem is that some of these weapons that are very large and heavy that it has its understandable drawbacks. When DPS can easily send a Predator into Second Wind before they can even finish the combo, that’s already a risk taking factor for trading speed for raw power. Which is why the Axe, Warclub, and Norse Hammer, should not be able to be parried by a small combat knife. Those weapons are already slow enough for Fireteam to dodge and open enough for Fireteam to unleash bullet hell on a Predator before even finishing the first blow, why weaken them even more by making them blockable? Little wonder that players would discard these weapons for long range tactics or even quicker ones like the katana, as there is too many drawbacks for these three weapons. If the Predator player uses this slow weapon at the risk of getting killed quickly for the high raw damage, then the Predator player should be rewarded for making the blows. If Fireteam can dodge this slow weapon in time, you have an opening that can make you the hero of the match, otherwise its on you that you cant dodge this fairly slow weapons that are easy to dodge. Making the Axe, Warclub, and Norse hammer unblockable would make them enticing to use again, enforcing the high risk, high reward balance these weapons are set out to be.
Pig Spawn near Fireteam = instant death: Plenty of them spawn now for a Predator to use for the match. Helps stay in the fight longer and make the matches more engaging. Unfortunately, any semi-skilled Fireteam can just run to where the Predator is feasting very nearby, which is just mere seconds away from a Fireteam’s location and just send him to Second Wind. Pigs spawning in other areas farther away would help greatly for Predators to make a safe escape and recovery elsewhere.
This is all I have for now. This felt long but I do want to see this game grow and get better. if you made it this far, thanks for reading and share your thoughts! For the devs at Illfonic who see this, I hope you can consider these options or at least understand these points. Either way, see you all later!