Posted here, because certainly we can have topics for suggestions instead of just squeezing them in the suggestions topic, where we can't really discuss them anyway.
Anyway, no, the title isn't refering to you, or anyone else, who posesses uber-1337 skillz in Match mode. Nope, nothing of the sort. Actually, this is referring to every last enemy in the game.
Let's face it - not a single one makes a noise, apart from the odd firing here and there. And frankly, that's annoying at times. REALLY annoying, in fact. I'd like to know that there's an enemy about to sneak up on me that I just hadn't seen because it was off-camera. Some major offenders here are the (relatively) new Buzz enemies, Detons (oh LORD yes, the Detons), and occasionally the Jetty-syns (either variety). Frankly, I think the way they exist right now serve to severely startle the player, or sneak up on them and make a cheap kill (Silver Cavern, I'm lookin' at you), and really, I don't like that.
So what am I suggesting? Well, I recall that, in one of Blaze's earlier SASRB2 versions, he gave Detons this really loud "BONM BONM BONM" sound. Fine, so it still was kinda startling, but hey, at least you knew you were being attacked! And frankly, that's the sort of thing I'd like a lot of these enemies to have - some kind of noise, albeit a bit quieter than that so as not to be too startling, that informs you that some enemy has just spotted you and is in pursuit. I don't think the Crawlas need anything since they're pretty slow anyway, but something like this for Buzzes and Jetty-syns would be great.
Another possibility: hums. Simply put, when was the last time you heard a peice of machinery just run, completely and utterly silently? Usually, they have a slight hum to them that you can make out. My suggestion is that the enemies have distinct hums that you can make out, to give you an audio cue that an enemy is sneaking up and going in for the kill. Buzzes could have buzzing sounds - red higher pitched than gold, since they're faster. Jetty-syns could have something that suggests hovering; I can't really put a finger on it, but some of GUN's robots sort of have that kind of sound to them; maybe something like usage of the Noise channel on an NES, or the wind blowing by a flying jet. Detons just need some whirring sound that would get higher in frequency when they're moving. Things like that would greatly aid you in seeing your opponent, even when you can't see them.
Sure, some of you may scoff. "But the 2D games had silent enemies, and we never had any problems!", you may exclaim. And that's right. But that's one less dimension than we had, and frequently we can't make out all that much to our sides, like we could in those days, and we CERTAINLY can't make out much behind us. Besides, you must note, even Adventure had most of its enemies make noise of some sort. Some were slight, sure, but they were enough to let you know that enemies were in that area. That's generally what I'm getting at - letting you know enemies are about to sneak up on you. Certainly, by now I've beaten you 'round the head with it.
Anyway, if it's possible to do now, I might throw together a little somethin'-somethin' that shows precisely what I'm on - although knowing DOOM, it may not be too constant, and just play at random intervals, like the grunts and roars of all the enemies in that game. Time will tell, neh?
Anyway, no, the title isn't refering to you, or anyone else, who posesses uber-1337 skillz in Match mode. Nope, nothing of the sort. Actually, this is referring to every last enemy in the game.
Let's face it - not a single one makes a noise, apart from the odd firing here and there. And frankly, that's annoying at times. REALLY annoying, in fact. I'd like to know that there's an enemy about to sneak up on me that I just hadn't seen because it was off-camera. Some major offenders here are the (relatively) new Buzz enemies, Detons (oh LORD yes, the Detons), and occasionally the Jetty-syns (either variety). Frankly, I think the way they exist right now serve to severely startle the player, or sneak up on them and make a cheap kill (Silver Cavern, I'm lookin' at you), and really, I don't like that.
So what am I suggesting? Well, I recall that, in one of Blaze's earlier SASRB2 versions, he gave Detons this really loud "BONM BONM BONM" sound. Fine, so it still was kinda startling, but hey, at least you knew you were being attacked! And frankly, that's the sort of thing I'd like a lot of these enemies to have - some kind of noise, albeit a bit quieter than that so as not to be too startling, that informs you that some enemy has just spotted you and is in pursuit. I don't think the Crawlas need anything since they're pretty slow anyway, but something like this for Buzzes and Jetty-syns would be great.
Another possibility: hums. Simply put, when was the last time you heard a peice of machinery just run, completely and utterly silently? Usually, they have a slight hum to them that you can make out. My suggestion is that the enemies have distinct hums that you can make out, to give you an audio cue that an enemy is sneaking up and going in for the kill. Buzzes could have buzzing sounds - red higher pitched than gold, since they're faster. Jetty-syns could have something that suggests hovering; I can't really put a finger on it, but some of GUN's robots sort of have that kind of sound to them; maybe something like usage of the Noise channel on an NES, or the wind blowing by a flying jet. Detons just need some whirring sound that would get higher in frequency when they're moving. Things like that would greatly aid you in seeing your opponent, even when you can't see them.
Sure, some of you may scoff. "But the 2D games had silent enemies, and we never had any problems!", you may exclaim. And that's right. But that's one less dimension than we had, and frequently we can't make out all that much to our sides, like we could in those days, and we CERTAINLY can't make out much behind us. Besides, you must note, even Adventure had most of its enemies make noise of some sort. Some were slight, sure, but they were enough to let you know that enemies were in that area. That's generally what I'm getting at - letting you know enemies are about to sneak up on you. Certainly, by now I've beaten you 'round the head with it.
Anyway, if it's possible to do now, I might throw together a little somethin'-somethin' that shows precisely what I'm on - although knowing DOOM, it may not be too constant, and just play at random intervals, like the grunts and roars of all the enemies in that game. Time will tell, neh?
