Havoc FPS

It has been a while since I've done any game development. But I'm back, and I've just gotten started on HAVOC, a 3D multiplayer online shooter game, with a big focus on customisation. You'll be able to select weapons with tonnes of attachments, and equipment, too. The arenas you fight in will be built by players in a powerful level editor, and then these arenas will hopefully feature destructable terrain, too!







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Here's the current (tentative) list of weapons to be included. Note that I'm trying to get a variety of relatively UNIQUE weapons, hence the varying power, RoF, accuracy, recoil, etc of the weapons. A player will go into battle with ONE of the following weapons (or TWO dual wieldable weapons).

• Assault Rifle (fires a three round burst)
• Battle Rifle (marksman's weapon - single shot selective fire)
• Sub Machine Gun (high RoF, but inaccuracte)
• Heavy Machine Gun (powerful, high RoF, but unwieldy)
• Pump-Action Shotgun (chick chick BOOM)
• Rapid-Fire Shotgun (same as the above, but at a much higher tempo, and without the pump action)
• Dual Weapons (any combination of 2: Pistol, Revolver, Machine Pistol, Sawn-Off Shotgun e.g. dual pistols)Each weapon will also have attachments (except the dual weapons). Attachments fall into 3 categories - Magazine, Sight and Barrel. As such, you can pick one attachment from each category. The current list of attachments I have compiled:
  
  
  • Magazine
    Extended Magazine
    Dual Magazine
    FMJ Magazine
    JSP Magazine
    Magazine w/ Tracers
    Buckshots
    Slugs
  • Sight
    Iron Sight
    Reflex Sight
    Telescopic Sight
    Thermal Sight
    Laser Sight
  • Barrel
    Suppressor
    Muzzle Brake
    Extended Barrel
    Foregrip
    Sling
    Grenade Launcher
    Breaching ShotgunThe reason I have listed all of these weapons is to ask a number of questions. Note that the aim is for a lot customisation with UNIQUE weapons and parts. Each part, weapon, configuration should fill a different role or suit a different play style. If you think there is an issue with this system, say so! If there is a role that needs to be filled or a weapon you'd like to suggest, say so in your reply. I'd like more attachment ideas and more weapon mechanics for the game. Should I include attachments for the dual weapons, such as a Snub Nose for the Revolver or a Folding Stock for the Machine Pistol?
    
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    Next point: equipment. Pressing E will toggle between Equipment and your Weapon. For example, if you have your 'Battle Rifle w/ JSP Rounds + Thermal Sight + Suppressor' and you press E, you will put the weapon away and bring out your frag grenades, ready to be thrown or even cooked and then thrown! Other equipment ideas that I've had:
    
    
    • Fragmentation Grenade
    • Stun Grenade
    • Flash Grenade
    • Smoke Grenade
    • Remote Explosive
    • Triggered Explosives
    • Knife
      How does that list seem? Should there be a seperate melee button, or should knife be part of the equipment? Should you be able to forgo equipment for body armour, say, or some other passive equipment? Do you have ideas for more equipment?
      
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      Next: The level editor. The world, as you can see from the above screenshots, is a voxel one. In the level editor, you'll be able to place and remove these blocks. I've also thought of including a tool in the 'Toolbox' that allows you to select 2 points in the world and it will fill the region bounded by these points with blocks, so that you can quickly add a wall or floor. Do you have any other ideas to make the level editor more user friendly or more powerful?
      
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      Finally, being a multiplayer game, it's not going to include a single player mode. As such, I would like to include some sort of progression system. The idea at the moment is to include an experience system. Getting kills, assists, streaks, killing a good opposing player, completing objectives, avenging a team mates death, saving a team mate from death, playing an entire match, winning a match, winning a streak of matches, etc will net you experience points. These points will go to putting up your rank. The plan at the moment is to organise players into 'groups' of experience. I'd find the highest experienced player, and their experience. For example, lets say they have 10,000 experience. Any players with 0-250 XP will be Privates. 250-750XP will be Corporals. 750-1500XP will be Sergeants. And so on. The issue with this is that new players will have trouble levelling up if one person has been playing for much longer (most likely, that player will be me, or a regular play tester). So how would I solve this issue? Is experience even the best way to go? Would ranking players by a ratio, like experience per game, be a better way of doing things?
      
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      So in summary, I need your input on: weaponry, attachments, equipment, the level editor and progression. If you have any other ideas for the game - particularly ideas to differentiate the game from other shooters - then don't hesitate to comment here! As a developer - as I'm sure you are aware - any feedback is valued and appreciated.

Is there a problem? What do I need to do to get responses?!

And how is this different from Call of Duty?

I think this thread is suffering from a combination of 'TL:DR syndrome', and lack of focus - you're asking for feedback regarding at least three completely separate and unrelated game mechanisms. You would probably have more success with a handful of separate posts dealing with each subject separately and concisely rather than trying to combine them all into one gigantic megapost.

And how is this different from Call of Duty?

Unfortunately, all FPS games are going to be compared to Call of Duty and Halo. Although I think this is more like the Crysis weapon system than the Call of Duty one, as soon as you introduce class mechanics or different loadouts, and people rather ignorantly say "COD CLONE!!".

I think this thread is suffering from a combination of 'TL:DR syndrome', and lack of focus - you're asking for feedback regarding at least three completely separate and unrelated game mechanisms. You would probably have more success with a handful of separate posts dealing with each subject separately and concisely rather than trying to combine them all into one gigantic megapost.

Fair enough. Although I thought I categorised it pretty well and summed it up nicely in the end?

Actually, by reading the title I was 90% sure it was about the HAVOC physics engine -- no idea why I though that in the design forum O.o Maybe people do not check this thread due to the misunderstanding?

I'll reply to your weapons and equipment query -- you ever played the game Zenoclash? (or was it Xenoclash?) It's weapons were... unique, in model and ammunition alike. The same thing in the latest Oddworld: The Stranger. My point is, leave those modern boomsticks alone and think up preposterous mechanics for weaponry that would suit the game world (whatever it would be). If you want to stand out in a crowd wearing bussiness clothes, it's not the bling on your watch or the lastest IPhone that draws attention. It's wearing a hundred ties on your chin and going around screaming "HAIL TO LORD CTHULU, MORTAL!".

Examples:
Let's say that in your world gunpowder was never invented. You just swallow up projectiles and spit em out at your enemies. You have to be carefull tho, keeping those spiked balls in your mouth for too long is hazardous!
You can also extend the capabilities of your "weapon" by adding an auto-feed hat that shortens the reload time, or a tube mounted on your lips for greater precision or range

Need something more serious? Go ahead and experiment with mind powers -- mount a special device on the heads of people that allow easy inserting of "flavoured" cartridges. Each such "flavour" is a deadly element, such as volcanic fire, sub-zero frost or hurricane wind. Each player, by modyfing various elements of his mounted weapon, can achieve different effects, such as frost balls, tiny frost needles firing at high speed, hazardous frost traps etc.



Go ahead and try it yourself

Thankyou for your reply! Much appreciated. And you've obviously got a tonne of really creative ideas.

I'd like to stick to bullet weapons if possible. But I'd very much like to implement something slightly out of the norm, so if you have other ideas, keep them coming!!