Ideas for engineer unlockable turret abilities

DreamThrall

DreamThrall

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Well you've probably all heard about the "unlockable" weapons and other stuff that is being planned for the medic... I've had a few ideas for the same for the engineer. I don't think any of them are particularly original, but let me know what you think:

Remote Controlled Mobile Turret
  • Level 4 Upgrade
  • Can only be moved within a certain radius of the engineer
  • Engineer cannot move while moving the turret (will be looking at a screen)
  • Due to the fact that the turret does not have the structural support to withstand the recoil from firing its weapons while in mobile mode, it will have extremely limited or no firepower (think seige tank in starcraft)
  • Docking/undocking time
  • Movement rate is the same as heavy/soldier

Additional Turret Models
  • "Warthog" - Very limited range, wider scanning field, much higher damage, slower firing rate, takes lots more ammo (eng will come very close to running out of ammo when refilling it from a full dispenser firing on an uber charged player, meaning that if the dispenser starts full, by the time the uber is done it will be nearly empty if the engineer was reloading the sentry the entire time)
  • "Slim" - much longer range, narrower scanning field, lower damage, fewer hp (ideal for warding off snipers and demomen charging their sticky gun)

Bombardment Turret - Powerful ability, but essentially takes 2 players out of combat to operate
  • Requires tracking from sniper (unlockable ability) - zooming in and locking on to a specific point using a laser (think ghost nuke targeting in starcraft)
  • Sniper can't do anything else while tracking
  • Engineer must sit in the turret
  • Sitting in the turret limits the engineer's field of vision and rotating radius (ie, blind spots like in a car, and he can't see directly behind him), but it shields him from backstabs and provides some cover against small arms fire
  • Both targeting sniper and eng take ff dmg if they're too close
  • If sniper stops tracking, the projectile will immediately self-destruct
  • Each projectile takes a large amount of metal (like 100-200)
  • Turret can only hold one projectile at a time
  • Very low chance of crit (like 1%)
  • Large splash dmg radius
  • Upgrading changes the munition from mortar (level 1) to artillery shell (level 2) to long range missile (level 3), providing increasing levels of damage and splash radius, and also requiring slightly increasing amounts of metal per shot

EDIT: An interesting note about the bombardment turret is that it would essentially change the turret from being a primarily defensive tool to being offensive.

Discuss!
 
I was thinking more along the lines of replacing the engie's wrench (used for defensive purposes only) with an unlockable ammo-case (used for offensive purposes) that works like the medic's heal-gun, but with ammo (and no uber). The stream would be a colour like brown or red instead, with bullet icons instead of health icons.
Of course this means he wouldn't be able to fix his turrets if he built any, but the entire point of it would be to change the Engie from a defense role into a charge role, following the heavy in while he's ubered, making sure he never runs out of ammo.
 
I'd like an engineer more focussed on support and aggressive play. Drop the sentry completely - more teleporters and a mobile dispensor, something he can run about with and carry on his back. It'll never happen, but would be cool.
 
I think a portable dispenser on an engie's back would be better than an ammo-gun. People wouldn't need that kind of ammo recharge unless it unly added like, two bullets a second.
 
I think both ideas are overly complicated. Why not simply allow the engineer hit teamates with his wrench to boost their ammo supplies?
 
Druckles said:
I think both ideas are overly complicated. Why not simply allow the engineer hit teamates with his wrench to boost their ammo supplies?
Click to expand...

Because he'll likely be tied to the sentry gun and not close to the people attacking. The engineer might actually be useful on certain maps if he could be near the front dishing out teleporters and ammo.
 
Warbie said:
Because he'll likely be tied to the sentry gun and not close to the people attacking. The engineer might actually be useful on certain maps if he could be near the front dishing out teleporters and ammo.
Click to expand...

That does not refute my point. The wrench would be exactly like before, but he'd be able to give players ammo from his metal supply. Similar to reloading the sentry. It's no different from having a gun or a "portable dispenser" except the fact it's simpler for the player and easier for Valve. Why bother adding the extra complicities? If you give him an ammo gun, he'll stand around 'healing' people much like the medic, which isn't like an Engineer at all. He's a builder. Hitting something makes much more sense to him. And the portal dispenser is just odd. :/
 
What's the portal dispensor? :)

I see your point - there's little difference between hitting someone with a wrench and them running up to you, seems a bit lazy though. I understand hitting something with a wrench to fix it, but hitting someone to give them ammo?

If anything, giving the engineer a backpack type ammo dispensor would give Valve a excuse to make a cool model. It'd make more sense too.
 
Well, the things coming are weapon loadouts, so I doubt they'll change something about the turrets. I bet they'll just replace the toolbox (for turrets/dispensers/teleports) with a new weapon/tool. And I have to agree with Warbie, something that will give the engineer mobility and frontline support at the cost of his stationary firepower / defense will be good. Actually, it would be perfect, on the pubs the engineer with his turrets will the better choice, but for clanmatches where the engineer is currently unfavored, his new mobility would make him wanted. It would make TF2 a better competitive game without hurting the pubs at all.
 
Warbie said:
What's the portal dispensor? :)
Click to expand...

Someone mentioned a portable dispenser. You'd stick it on your back, I believe.

I see your point - there's little difference between hitting someone with a wrench and them running up to you, seems a bit lazy though. I understand hitting something with a wrench to fix it, but hitting someone to give them ammo?
Click to expand...

It's as sensible as a blue beam coming out of a gun and tracking someone. Or hitting something to build it. Or wearing a cardboard cut-out and flawlessly pulling off the enemy. TF2 isn't particularly realistic :p

And as to laziness, it would be the Engies job, similar to the medics to ensure that people have their ammo. If they needed ammo, they'd still be able to run up to you and ask for a hit.

Plus it's rather funny.

If anything, giving the engineer a backpack type ammo dispensor would give Valve a excuse to delay further. It'd make more sense too.
Click to expand...

Fixed :p
 
Warbie said:
If anything, giving the engineer a backpack type ammo dispensor would give Valve a excuse to make a cool model. It'd make more sense too.
Click to expand...
I just had a thought. I don't know if you've played FF: Crystal Chronicles for the gamecube, but imagine an unlockable where the engineer could build something like a dispenser, then press E and pick it up, carrying it on his back dishing out ammo and supplies. Of course he couldn't fix the dispenser unless he set it back down (with e again) but that'd make him more useful.
The allusion to CC I made was imagine being able to build a sentry, then pick it up, holding it over your head, and just charge into battle. Of course you'd be really slow, but if you were ubered with a medic, and there was another engie behind you fixing your turret and re-stocking it, then it'd make the engineer a much more viable choice for assault.

Another way it could work is that you could literally pick up your sentry and sit it back down closer to the 'front-lines', giving good push gameplay.
 
dekstar said:
but imagine an unlockable where the engineer could build something like a dispenser, then press E and pick it up, carrying it on his back dishing out ammo and supplies.
Click to expand...

That's a cool idea. Not sure about the mobile sentry, though - sounds painfully overpowered /o\

Druckles said:
It's as sensible as a blue beam coming out of a gun and tracking someone. Or hitting something to build it. Or wearing a cardboard cut-out and flawlessly pulling off the enemy. TF2 isn't particularly realistic
Click to expand...

Naw - the beam is a healing beam, it heals people. Wrenches fix things and masks can be a disguise. These aren't realisitc, but make sense. Hitting someone with a wrench to give ammo makes no sense at all - it's weird!
 
Maybe one of the upgrades will be bigger ammo capacity. They've just nerfed the Demo and Soldier, but that might be in preparation for the unlocks.
 
Citrus said:
Maybe one of the upgrades will be bigger ammo capacity. They've just nerfed the Demo and Soldier, but that might be in preparation for the unlocks.
Click to expand...

I wondered the same thing. Perhaps faster firing rockets that do less damage?
 
I'd like an SG that explodes when it's sapped, killing the spy instantly! That'd be a bitchin' upgrade ^.^
 
How about mini support turrets? Like the class one turret, but with a higher firing rate, lower force and dmg, and you can put down 3 at a time. (And less health) That way the engi can become more useful to an offencive role, and an engi using a classic turret formation has some support in setting up his own little base. :D

Also, for the soldier, cluster rockets that home in on things. They all attack different things, and only 2 at a time can attack the same thing. There's a little larger ammo supply, and the damage is reduced to about 1/7 the original rocket strength, being that cluster rockets are usually in a seven formation, this could be the triple turret bane. I should work for Valve. XD

(That was a joke. A very, very non serious joke.)
 
What about a Sentry Tower that detects cloaked and disguised Spies, as well as any other nearby enemies, but is unable to attack directly?

It would also be able to see anything a player could see from its position and swivels 360 degrees, effectively giving it more visual range than a normal Sentry.

Level 1 can detect only non-disguised players in its visual range
Level 2 can detect disguised Spies as well, but not cloaked Spies.
Level 3 can detect all enemies.

Of course, to balance this out, the Sentry would only give an alert to the Engineer that built it, and possibly an alarm when an enemy gets too close. A crafty enemy could sneak past it while it's looking in another direction.

To make up for not getting any kills from it, the Engineer that constructed it would either get a Kill Assist when an enemy dies in its range, or the Engineer gets half a point for every enemy it detects.
 
It would be cool if the Engineer could setup a dispenser that detected spies instead of distributing health, ammo, and metal.
 
How about the engineer could have 3-4 droppable ammo packs that he can restock at his dispenser, kinda like the Lt's ammo packs in RTCW/ET, so he could run ammo to the team and keep the heavy and such restocked as they advance, its not much of a trade off for a sentry gun, but maybe he could have a Lvl-1 sentry that deployed alot quicker, but couldnt be upgraded.
 
Pesmerga said:
It would be cool if the Engineer could setup a dispenser that detected spies instead of distributing health, ammo, and metal.
Click to expand...

A deployable mounted spotlight where cloaked spies can be seen when lighten up would be a cool 5th building imo.
 
That would make it pretty impossible to play as Spy.
 
Balance-wise, they can't just have the radar slap a big fat target on a Spy.

It'd have to be more like an automatic "There's a Spy creepin' around here" that activates when it sees a Spy. It doesn't point out where the Spy is, just that it knows he's somewhere close by.
 
Steveio said:
Balance-wise, they can't just have the radar slap a big fat target on a Spy.

It'd have to be more like an automatic "There's a Spy creepin' around here" that activates when it sees a Spy. It doesn't point out where the Spy is, just that it knows he's somewhere close by.
Click to expand...

Well then a 5 foot radius. That way you can still hear the "Spy's sappin mah radarz!" :)
 
Upgrades for dispenser

lvl 1 same as dispenser now
lvl 2 stronger dispenser with a shield on its back that reduces damage to it and players who duck behind it
lvl 3 gets a robotic arm that can be used to repair sentry guns (but slower than a real engineer

shotgun sentry: another sentry with a 4 barreled shotgun so that one engineer can build up more of a base (shotgun sentry has shorter range than normal sentry and does more or less damage depending where enemy player is)
 
Meh.

I really hope valve starts making night maps soon.

Cause I like my spotlight idea :>
 
CLIKKY said:
Upgrades for dispenser

lvl 1 same as dispenser now
lvl 2 stronger dispenser with a shield on its back that reduces damage to it and players who duck behind it
lvl 3 gets a robotic arm that can be used to repair sentry guns (but slower than a real engineer

shotgun sentry: another sentry with a 4 barreled shotgun so that one engineer can build up more of a base (shotgun sentry has shorter range than normal sentry and does more or less damage depending where enemy player is)
Click to expand...

How do you build up dispensers now?

I'd rather have something that greatly the increases range of a sentry but makes it so it can't shoot behind itself.
 
Stigmata said:
That would make it pretty impossible to play as Spy.
Click to expand...

This. You would lose, as an engineer, all dependence you had on Pyros. Two engineers would be practically invulnerable. One with this "detector" and one with a sentry. Oops, I walked within 10m of this sentry gun, I'm dead.

.
 
Some people don't seem to grasp that the unlockable weapons are not better versions of the same gun; they're supposed to be alternatives that are not better or worse, just used differently.
 
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