Engineer Upgrades

Engie upgrades:

Pistol: Rivet Gun - Acts like the medic gun with no bullet drop. The damage is about 1.5x the medic gun, but no crits. Furthermore, unless you're next to a dispenser, you'll run out of ammo in no time (20 round magazine + only 20 in reserve).

Shotty - the Tool Belt - While not an offensive item, you can drop up to 3 medium ammo boxes for you or your teammates. When you die, all your ammo boxes also drop, so you better make sure you don't die near the enemy.

Wrench - The Auto Drill - Lets you build buildings 50% faster, and when used to attack, deals damage as if you were getting constant hits with the Syringe Gun. The problem is that it has a recharge time, which acts much like the Spy's cloak recharge time, which you CAN'T reload manually.

Sentry - Force Field - This will repel enemies (same thing as if they were ubered and being shot at by a sentry). A level 1 FF generator will work like a Level 2 sentry. A level 2 FFG will work like a lvl 3 sentry with slight damage (really small, like 2 health per second), and a level 3 FFG have 1.2x the range of a level 3 sentry and do slightly more damage. Does not work through walls.

Dispenser - Medical Tower - 2x heal rate. Teammates will take metal from it as if it were an ammo box, even if they're not engies. Must be manually reloaded by the tool belt.

Teleporter - Rush-o-porter - 1/2 the recharge time and can teleport BOTH WAYS. Must be manually activated by the engineer.

These upgrades ought to make engies busy even if they're finished building. Don't know about the FFG though, it sounds too hard to code.

Thoughts?

Doesn't sound too bad.  I think the dispenser upgrade should be handled by the melee weapon instead of the tool belt since it give the player more options.  The tool belt idea sounds like a better replacement to the dispenser than the shotgun IMO.

I think that they should replace the teleporters with two tripwire points that a thin lightly glowing blue wire would run between them then if any class runs through they slow down and take about 30 damage, exept for spys who lose their cloak or disguise instantly and cannot reguise or recloak for about 90 seconds.

I really like the sound of the dual-way portals personally. Tool belt could be expanded a little to drop specific things, like 2 med ammo boxes and 2 med health packs but would it replace the pistol? or shotgun? or what?

Some further ideas for alternate engie loadout:

Cloaked portals - Cost more metal to construct, but remain invisible until used. While the teleporter entrance is charging, both do not have the energy to maintain cloak (both are visible while entrance recharges). Cloak works like a spy's cloak (enemies can see them if they run into them, damage them, ect.)

Security Camera and screen (Replaces dispenser) Allows the engineer to set up an inconspicuous, wall mounted security camera to spy on an area. Can be destroyed by enemies. The engineer can also mount a screen on any wall, which both he and his allies can view by pressing the "use" button. (or it can provide a live image). This gives the engineer a recon style ability (Possibly the camera can see cloaked spys?) which allows him to peer around corners, view his defense from a much better vantage point, forwarn teammates as to incoming enemy threats (medic/heavy combos, spys, ect.)

Alternate add-on for the sentry gun: (instead of rockets)

Spotlight - Focuses on enemies and deals no additional damage, but obscures vision. Does not blind, but makes vision very glary (makes use of the engine's High Dynamic Range). Affects other enemies also in beam.

Flamethrower - Self-explanatory powerful short range stream of fire. (primarily anti-spy)

Overload Shield - When sentry gun hits a critical amount of health (e.g. 50% hp) a 8 second shield emits that gives the sentry gun immunity like that of an ubercharge. (designed to counter an ubercharge, by lasting as long as they do). Can still be killed if it is brought from over 50% hp to dead in one go. The shield recharges every 25 seconds.

Infra-Red Detector - The sentry gun gains the ability to see cloaked enemy spys (but will not attack them) in a 45 degree angle from where the muzzle of the gun is currently pointed (this area shifts as the sentry gun pivots). Revealed path is illustrated by a tracking beam reminiscent of sonar.

Another possibility would be a simple modification to the whole sentry gun itself. Reduce its pivot from 360 degrees to a narrower 90 degrees, but increase its range.

What is with these Engineer ideas countering Spies? Really, please tell me, I am baffled on why you would take one of the primary strengths of a Spy, which is to take out sentries. Here is a good upgrade for the Engineer. It catches Spies, reflects rockets, stickies, and grenades, and attacks sentry blind spots. Pyros.

The Engineer should get a man-cannon, requiring no exit, and is able to transport or send teammates to the general direction of the battle, or, if used more precisely, can send teammates to high points that they couldn't reach unless they were Scout/Demo/Soldier.

I loved ZOOMAR's idea of a Rivet Gun and I kinda like the Auto Drill. Well thought out, creative, innovative, and balanced. The rest... not so much.

Quote:

What a GREAT fucking idea. Let's take a sentry gun, which is already rediculously overpowered when several are deployed in an area, give them the ability to become UBERED for 8 seconds every 25 when the sentry is under attack. This means that all but one effective counter to a sentry gun are now useless.

You see, there's this little thing called balance. Funny word, I know, but it means that your favorite class is not unquestionably the BEST class.

As for the infared detector...ummm....what exactly is the disadvantage to this? And what the hell are you doing? Hey guys, let's give the Heavy goggles that allows him to see any and all snipers on the map, even through walls! And let's give him a spy proximity detector, so he's never vulnerable to backstabs or headshots! Oh, and when he reaches 150 health, he becomes invincible for 8 seconds! But don't worry, he can only do it once every TWENTY FIVE SECONDS!


But your last idea I like a lot. That's balanced. The rest of your ideas.....not so much.

PHOENIX!  RELAX!!!  (I know your new but if your consistent with that attitude your going to get yourself banned eventually)

I like the idea of losing the shotgun in order for bonus metal; but perhaps instead of dropping ammo-boxes (unbalanced/easy to grief if the enemy can get them) perhaps give the engineer extra ammo-capacity (another 50 probably); and the ability to manually give teammates ammo in a medigun type of way.

Hope your not going to feel offended by this, theres a reason why Valve balanced all of their classes weaponary.

All of them sound really balanced. Of the OP's at least. The dual teleporter would givew spies an advantage. A round trip ticket to your base. He comes in. Saps the crap out of everything, maybe backstabs some people, then teleports out.

The shield would not be hard to program. They have those in garrysmod. To take it down you just shoot the crap out of it. Or sap it...

I don't like the tower having to be replenished by the tool belt. It makes on unlockable dependent on another unlockable.

A lot of the other posts are unbalanced, like Twilight Mage's idea, xerxes is very unbalanced and unfair in every way, most of lambert's are unbalanced, and the spotlight would not work if you have HDR disabled.

Love the man cannon idea. It is very balanced. (And lots of fun)

I also like the reduce angle and increase range.

Now my ideas.
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 Laser Pistol: Pistol With a laser pointer on it. (For cloaked spies)

Adv: Can detect cloaked spies when the laser passes over them. (The laser refracts)

Disads: Have to manually aim the laser. The laser has a battery that much recharge. It can stay on for 30 or so seconds before having to recharge. Max recharge time is 10 seconds.
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Shrapnel Shotty: Shotty that shoots metal instead of ammo.

Adv. More damage (but not as much as the scattergun). Wider spread. No reload time. Total of 25 shots. (if no dispenser)

Disads: Runs off your metal. Longer time between each shot (about 1 shot per 1.5 seconds). Much lower rage. Costs 8 metal per shot.
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Auto Wrench: Faster wrench

Adv: Hit your or an ally building with your wrench once and it will build as fast as if you were constantly hitting it with your wrench. Swings faster so repairs are faster.

Disads: No crits. Less damage.
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New Sentry feature: Power to range ratio. 3 choices (comes up after you select sentry in the build menu)

1: Low range, Double power. (Low range is from the two doors of one base on 2fort.)

2: Normal sentry

3: High range, Half power, rockets are not insta-kill. (High range is back wall of sniper deck to beginning of opposite deck to sniper deck on 2fort.)

Advantages and disadvantages are situational.

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New Dispenser Feature: 3 Different options (comes up after you select dispenser in the build menu)

1: Only dispenses health. Dispenses health twice as fast.

2: Normal dispenser.

3: Only dispenses Ammo. Dispenses ammo twice as fast.

Advantages and disadvantages are situational.
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New Teleporter Feature: Single or double teleporter (comes up after you select either teleporter in the build menu)

1. Single teleporter: Normal teleporter.

2. Double teleporter: Can teleport two people at one time. Useful for medic wanting to build up an uber, and troops getting to the battlefield quicker. Longer charge, both teleporters charge together, not individually. (meaning you can't teleport one person one second and the teleport another 1 second later. They must both be on it at the same time.)

These changes would make engineer a much more challenging and strategic class. A good engineer knows where to place everything, but a great engineer would know what kind of building to place where and when. It would be much easier to determine noob engineers who copy where other engineers place things from good engineer who know what kind.