Remember that I mentioned a few times that I wasn’t able to comment on the Scottish Resistance (SR) because I didn’t have it yet? Well, weeks after the update it finally dropped into my lap (and I ashamed to admit that it required some idling to push my luck). More extensive testing pending this one suggested itself at first glance as another disappointment.
In theory it sounded quite interesting: A sticky launcher variation which can place almost the double number of stickies and is able to detonate them in groups rather than all at once. It was a promising feature, though perhaps mildly overpowered by the sound of it. The chance to cover multiple areas at once and handle them separately would basically be a nice addition to the demo’s repertoire, even if perhaps situational.
But I have to admit that the implementation didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
Yes, the weapon does exactly as advertised. Plant up to 14 stickies. Detonate only those which are “marked”. However, the practical side is a bit more sobering.
The way “active” stickies are marked is rather inconspicuous. They are rendered completely in the team’s colour instead of their regular texture. I admit I had hoped for something more distinct (and perhaps a bit more stylish).
But yes, you can recognize which stickies are marked, even from a distance (could have been better, but who’s picky?).
Far more interesting is the way the game determines how stickies are grouped together. Which is one of my major grips: You can’t really form groups of stickies, but only with a degree of control influence which stickies are part of the active group.
Before I thought that stickies within a certain proximity to each other would automatically constitute a group. So you could put a few stickies over there, another few over here and for good measure another 3 back there and you would have three groups. How naïve of me.
No, groups are determined by the way you look at your stickies. In a way you aim at the stickies. There is an invisible circle (at least I assume it’s a circle) in the middle of your screen (basically a large crosshair). Everything inside the circle becomes your selected stickies. Everything outside is not. Plant one sticky right and thirteen left close together and with careful movement of the cursor you will be able to group the right one and just a few from the left.
Silly enough, but it gets worse. Since active stickies is determined by that invisible selection area on your screen it means the further away you are from your stickies the more stickies will become tagged. Plant two groups of stickies well away from each other and from a distance you can still tag them all.
Consequently that means that if you can’t see your stickies none of them are selected (that I actually expected, though).
So basically the player can’t define “groups” of stickies, it is a fluid process, almost arbitrary by nature. Changing position, even changing line of sight changes the selected traps. If somebody engages the demo (e.g. a scout) the process of evading can already seriously hampering the demo’s traps.
In other words: Distract a demo and you (temporarily) disable his sticky traps. You don’t have to kill him, just make him look into a different direction.
Perhaps Valve considered that a counter-balance to the SR’s “power”. Basically I would agree to that, though I originally thought the increased priming time was the balancing factor. But the rather awkward and halfhearted implementation of that weapon is almost discouraging enough.
As with everything some people will adapt well to the SR (hey, I have met scouts which could really put BONK to good and effective use). But the awkward handling is IMHO too much of a downside to give it any preference over the regular sticky launcher. Even if in heavy defensive posture (which, let’s face it, would be the main right to exist for the SR) I’d rather go with one route booby trapped in a way I can control reliably than 3 routes stickied which will do nothing if I look into the wrong direction.
All the more shame since I guess it could have easily implemented in a more satisfying way:
Determine groups by proximity. Each sticky which is within, let’s say, 3 feet of another sticky forms a group. (And yes, that would require an additional procedural layer).
Selecting groups: If you look at a group (or part of a group) the whole group becomes selected. Only one group can be selected. If you want to switch selection you have to move your look clearly enough that the other group becomes selected (e.g. if two groups are relatively close to each other).
Groups are displayed in a clear and conspicuous manner (e.g. Make them all shiny – though that way you would no longer recognize crits – or surround the group with a shining loop or emphasize them with a shiny background, similar to the buff banner effect, or come up with another appealing effect).
It’s not a big difference, but IMHO would be easier to handle and be more effective on execution.
As it is the SR is highly situational. From the few attempts so far I freely admit it takes some time to become accustomed to it and the way it works (caught myself more than once right clicking and wondering why the frickin’ stickies didn’t go up just to realize that I shifted my angle of view and the selection had gotten lost ... also the source of a few failed sticky jumps).
In a way I think it’s best described that the SR is indeed a weapon you have to aim, which is of course a departure from its regular counterpart.
Perhaps my critic on the SR will soften once I have grown more accustomed to it.
But right now I can’t help but think this weapon could have been implemented better without making it less balanced.
But so far that only added to my general disappointment about the recent update.
Let’s hope Valve does a better job in the engy update ...
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