Medic HUD

The 20 AUG 2008 News post had a lot of information, but some of the most interesting information was only conveyed though screen shots. One of the most notable is the medic HUD.


The medic HUD in FAS displays a lot of information. The color of the symbol above the player's head, as well as the targeting text is green, showing that they are in good health. You could assume the green indicates the person is a medic, but Naota explains here, "the green has nothing to do with indicating fellow medics." The green targeting text and the color of the symbol is tied in with the target's health, turning yellow and red the more damage the player takes which StandingCow confirmed in this post.

Near the bottom of the screen is more statical information displaying their exact numeric health, if they are bleeding and if they can be treated. Lacking from past RC's is information about their leg being broken, or if it is possible to administer adrenaline to them.


In another screen shot, we can that medics receive points based on how much health they treat. Previous RCs gave a flat 1/2 point per treatment and you could only treat a person once a life. The fact that points based on how much a medic actually heals, not how many times, seem to indicate that medics can treat people multiple times in FAS.

I C U

The 20 AUG 2008 News post had a lot of information, but some of the most interesting information was only conveyed though screen shots. One of the most notable are player's rank displayed over their model.


This screen shot is the best example of player's rank over their models. The player in front of the person taking the screen shot is the lowest rank "Private". Also note that you can see the ranks though the map's geometry, as highlighted in the circled area. StandingCow wrote in the FAS News Forum that the icons "also lets you see who on your team is a medic or who has leadership" and "you won't see icon's over enemy players." The icons change color from green to red depending on how damaged the player is which he explained here.

The following is medic icon in detail.

This symbol could possibly be the leadership symbol, but it is to small to make out.


According to Naota, "the overhead icons is not tied to any particular skill, just to save people from any misconceptions. They are also toggleable via client-side cvar if they're not to your liking." which he said in response to this question.

There is no sekrat.... or is there?

Firstly, I would like to say thanks for reading the blog. It makes the endless hours trolling the forums mean something other than I have no life. XD I hope to bring some cool info to you all.

Without further ado...

I managed to corner Skitz and StandingCow in #firearms about how skills have changed in FA:S. As expected, they aren't allowed to say much, but it was revealed that the skills have more in common with their RC 2.5 variations than in the more recent releases.

Skitz> they basically function the same, but they actually can affect gameplay in this release...or so it seems.. a few minor changes to some things, but as i said, i can notice a clear difference in gameplay when we test and new skills get acquired... never really seemed that way in old fa

Not earth-shattering news by any means, though it is something to keep us occupied for now. Also, the two shared this comment with our intrepid reporter:

Skitz> dude, i want to tell you guys so much about the game
like how you can do that one thing?

StandingCow> good times
Skitz>and that one skill really helps you do that one thing betterer
StandingCow>oh that thing with the new gun? the one with that trigger thing?
Skitz>yea
StandingCow>and the muzzle flash
Skitz>oh, you can reload that one
StandingCow>it has a new sound, it goes bewm
Skitz>rofl

As you can see, there is a great deal of new features on the new weapons. XD

Until later, FA Fans!

-Z

More Than One Knife

Consider the following:

Hitman said in the FA:S Forums on the 1 June 2008 News thread "Yes. If you kill someone with a melee weapon or a silenced weapon, and you have stealth, the kill notice is "hidden". The person who died only sees that an enemy killed them (their name shows up as [stealth]), but they can't tell who it was. Nobody else on their team will see the message at all." (Bold is mine).

Hitman eludes to more than one melee weapon by not specifically stating knife in his post. If the knife was the only melee weapon, wouldn't it be more logical to say "with the knife or silenced weapons"? And "a melee weapon" applies more than one instead of "the melee weapon" if the knife was the only melee weapon.

StandingCow said in a thread in the General Section of the FA:S Forums "... and I am sitting here wondering if he will catch that hitman didn't say knife".

StandingCow confirms that we are supposed to realize that Hitman specifically chosen to say "melee weapon" not "knife".

Naota said in a thread in the FA:S Idea forum suggesting more than one knife "Mere words cannot describe how much I support this idea. I follow after it with a will. A terrible, sadistic will. Even if I have to model the larger, meaner knife myself, I will see that such a beautiful tool of murder falls into your hands, good sir!"

Furthermore, Naota detailed the benefit of a second knife (or melee weapon) in the same thread, "A second knife would definitely be an asset to Stealth players, seeing as our current knife has a very short range and isn't reliable at stealth-killing because it takes two hits even with all the trimmings, which usually equates to at least a full clip of ammo dumped into your face (maybe half if you crept up from behind a moving player). Something slow and large or just longer that complimented the double knife damage from Stealth would be perfect because its secondary swing would take something like 1-2.5 seconds to lift up before the (stealth only) killing blow, though the range would be much longer to guarantee that the attack could actually hit through buggy interp or lag. That would make CQC instagibs really difficult while making stealthy kills from behind worth a player's while and filling up that infamous leftover credit or two."

Lastly, in the same thread, thisismyname09 edits a post concerning two knifes, to which DsyPatch replies, "lol lemme guess, you that this was in one of the sekrat forums."

The thread in the Idea forum tells us that Naota thinks idea of a second knife would be a welcomed addition. He even goes so far to outline how it would function, its benefits to the stealth ability and game play as a whole. This is followed by thisismyname09's edited post, to which DsyPatch comments that thisismyname09's post was intended for the Testing/Developer Forum. This could only mean that the idea has all ready been talked about.

The thread in the Idea forum is two months old. If thisismyname09 was going to talk about it in the Testing/Developer forum it would be safe to say they have all ready talked about adding in a second melee weapon before the thread in the Idea forum was posted. This would give the FA:S Team over two months to create and implement a second knife - or melee weapon - for FA:S.

It is important to note that even with the above, melee weapon could actually be something besides a knife. A rifle butt, pistol whip, or bayonet would also be considered melee weapons as well. However, if you consider the above, it would be a safe bet that FA:S has a second knife in its arsenal by the time it is released.