I would like to discuss the zed spawning system in KF2. Can we know something about it at this point?
I guess I'll point out here the main issues that we have in KF1 to make sure they are being addressed in the coming sequel.
Line of sight check
Well, let's face it, spawning system in KF1 is just utterly broken. Zeds appear in places that they should not be able to reach, for example in a closed room/corridor without any entry points or right behind the corner you were looking just the second ago. Upon rapid turns, you can actually see them appearing mid-air out of nowhere two meters behind you. Simple line of sight check just doesn't cut it, as even crouching behind a barrel or a mailbox enables zeds to be spawned just on the other side of it.
I understand that spawns happening outside of the main spawn areas (and by main spawn areas I mean behind barricades or in places that players cannot see / access directly) are supposed to add more fluidity and difficulty to the combat, but I think that things described above cannot be really justified in the current-gen games, for the sole reason of game-world consistency. Not to mention putting an unfair disadvantage for players that check their backs, see totally clear area going for half a mile, turn away and get slashed by surprise 4 gorefasts two seconds later that just dropped from clear skies or plain concrete ceiling behind.
I guess some kind of radial area around players would work better than los check, also, some kind of an accessibility check would be needed. For example, before spawning zed squad in the given area, program should check if there is an unobstructed path from the nearest main spawning point to the said location.
Falling from heights
Next issue is drops from above. Crawlers and stalkers spawning in the vents and dropping from ceiling like in bioticslab are totally justified, no problem here. However, zeds jumping from rooftops or three stories+ with no falling damage are different matter entirely. I suppose normal falling damage wouldn't even do the trick because it could be exploited by players, and also zeds do have tons of health compared to player characters, so they would still be able to survive any fall. I guess what is needed is better pathing that would make zeds appear like they have some basic self-preservation and prevent them from jumping from unreasonable heights. Also, animations of zeds recovering from a fall from a greater height would be nice.
Squads and wave dynamic
I guess squad-based spawning with limited number of special squads per wave is there to stay. The general idea behind it is good, however, it leads to predictability. After a while people pretty much know at which zed count to expect a fleshpound, etc. Also, there are very limited squad variants in KF1, so I guess we need more variety and a bit more randomness here.
Of course if anyone wants to point out something else or has any ideas on how to improve spawning system and overall gaming experience related to it, please share them here
I guess I'll point out here the main issues that we have in KF1 to make sure they are being addressed in the coming sequel.
Line of sight check
Well, let's face it, spawning system in KF1 is just utterly broken. Zeds appear in places that they should not be able to reach, for example in a closed room/corridor without any entry points or right behind the corner you were looking just the second ago. Upon rapid turns, you can actually see them appearing mid-air out of nowhere two meters behind you. Simple line of sight check just doesn't cut it, as even crouching behind a barrel or a mailbox enables zeds to be spawned just on the other side of it.
I understand that spawns happening outside of the main spawn areas (and by main spawn areas I mean behind barricades or in places that players cannot see / access directly) are supposed to add more fluidity and difficulty to the combat, but I think that things described above cannot be really justified in the current-gen games, for the sole reason of game-world consistency. Not to mention putting an unfair disadvantage for players that check their backs, see totally clear area going for half a mile, turn away and get slashed by surprise 4 gorefasts two seconds later that just dropped from clear skies or plain concrete ceiling behind.
I guess some kind of radial area around players would work better than los check, also, some kind of an accessibility check would be needed. For example, before spawning zed squad in the given area, program should check if there is an unobstructed path from the nearest main spawning point to the said location.
Falling from heights
Next issue is drops from above. Crawlers and stalkers spawning in the vents and dropping from ceiling like in bioticslab are totally justified, no problem here. However, zeds jumping from rooftops or three stories+ with no falling damage are different matter entirely. I suppose normal falling damage wouldn't even do the trick because it could be exploited by players, and also zeds do have tons of health compared to player characters, so they would still be able to survive any fall. I guess what is needed is better pathing that would make zeds appear like they have some basic self-preservation and prevent them from jumping from unreasonable heights. Also, animations of zeds recovering from a fall from a greater height would be nice.
Squads and wave dynamic
I guess squad-based spawning with limited number of special squads per wave is there to stay. The general idea behind it is good, however, it leads to predictability. After a while people pretty much know at which zed count to expect a fleshpound, etc. Also, there are very limited squad variants in KF1, so I guess we need more variety and a bit more randomness here.
Of course if anyone wants to point out something else or has any ideas on how to improve spawning system and overall gaming experience related to it, please share them here
