Gas Masks

[Loco52]

Gas masks are useless, trust me. Won't do much when you in the middle of the acid blob.

[Kineem]

Gas masks aren't really helpful most of the time. They're okay if you want to walk past a cloud because they'll negate a little bit of damage/toxin but you'll probably get husked if you tried to stay inside of a cloud for more than a couple of seconds. The one instance masks are useful in is for neurotoxic gas because you won't immediately start dropping your grabs or weapons, so you have a short period of time to run into a neuro cloud and grab a marine who's unable to fall back for whatever reason.

They're weak and are in need of a bit of a buff to be relevant, but I still carry one around if I can spare the inventory space.

[Dolth]

they help. rarely, but they do.

No. I'd better use a breathmask with a pocket oxygen to NOT have the view nerfed rather than having a barely protective gasmask.

[Combine]

That's a good point. Have the pros of one and negate the cons of the annoying stupid view restriction at the price of a pocket slot. Oh well!

[Bulaven]

Gas masks, in my experience, unless I get hit -Directly- by the blob, have saved me from gas clouds many, many times. Before they cut the line of sight down so sharply, it was a permanent fixture upon my face.

Now? I generally only use it if I am boxed in, or in CQC.

[Steelpoint]

I just find it odd how wearing the gas mask blocks your vision yet the sprite for it is a clear see through design that should not be blocking your view.

[Bulaven]

I just find it odd how wearing the gas mask blocks your vision yet the sprite for it is a clear see through design that should not be blocking your view.

One cringe-worthy word: Balancing.

[Radio Controlled]

Is there a reason one can't keep the gas mask on the suit slot the way one can store a weapon there? That'd maybe make using it viable, but right now having to grab it from the satchel just takes too long, and wearing it permanently just opens you up to getting killed by another xeno cause you didn't see it in time (or cause FF).

[VentDuctConspiracy]

Gas masks in thier current state would require a "fogging up" mechanic, which would make it harder to see the longer it is on, starting with perfect vision for the start.
This would make them actually useable albeit for short peroids during boiler spits without just gimping your combat ability and without making them a "must have" for every marine.

[Vispain]

Currently gas masks are so clunky that even when they ARE needed for things like acid gas either A. Nobody has them or B. nobody puts them on.

Issue 1: they affect sight too much. Wearing one legitimately is too closterphobic IC and OOC.

Issue 2: putting them on is too clunky.
Meaning by the time you get it out of your bag it is too late for the gas.

Issue 3: space wise you'd be better ditching it.

Issue 4: it doesn't even fully protect you.

In short, I love em and I used to wear em always but now they are a near useless, inefficient item that have vety little use.

If we had chemical weapons in the game ( like the kind UPP have in their bases but last I heard don't work) or longer lasting boiler gas attacks (plz no) then maybe the gas mask would have important usage in warding off gas attacks.

Nevertheless, one starting fix I'd say would be make gasmasks fit in webbing and / or armor

[Dirt]

A thing I always wondered about the mask is "Why make it restrict your sight, when using it in the middle of a gas or neurotox cloud would restrict it anyways?"
Seemed like it would've limited itself, imo

[RobBrown4PM]

We need atmos back in game for them to be useful

[Bulaven]

We need atmos back in game for them to be useful

Wait.

They took atmos out of atmos simulator?

[Steelpoint]

I don't miss old atmo. It caused massive lag and was screwy. You'd puncture a hole on the Sulaco and the entire deck would be depressurized and all the Humans would die to suffocation or pressure.

Not to mention the Engineering memes of someone superheating the phoron to the point it would instantly kill Xenos that so much as gaze in the general direction of Engineering. A xeno would force open a door and would drop dead the next tick.

[Bulaven]

Gas masks in thier current state would require a "fogging up" mechanic, which would make it harder to see the longer it is on, starting with perfect vision for the start.
This would make them actually useable albeit for short peroids during boiler spits without just gimping your combat ability and without making them a "must have" for every marine.

Shouldn't be too hard to get a foggy effect.

Unless you put some Johnson's 'No More Tears' in there. Then you're fog-free.

[RobBrown4PM]

Wait.

They took atmos out of atmos simulator?

Unfortunately yes. It caused a ton of problems on the server.

[Dolth]

No offenses, but the game itself has IC devices and machinery to prevent depressurizations and oxy-loss.

It was still playable, just required real experienced MT.

[Bancrose]

I take a Gas Mask for the M56D and holding the front cade with shotguns.

You will survive a little longer in the Acid Clouds. Neurotoxin just makes you drop ship, but you won't go deaf or blind. So honestly. Its not as bad as you'd think.

Comes in handy when we holding Fort Chad and have to stay on the MG's.

[Combine]

I'd suggest changing the view restriction by making it like on a particular server with a post apocalyptic theme where it is a general feature.

Difference: only apply it to the gas mask. The gas mask shown in game seems to have a wide visor. It should not even restrict view range or distance.

Perhaps make it so that you cannot look to the far aides anymore like tunnel vision as the mask could limit peripheral view. Maybe make it so that you go "blind" behind you and partially to the sides unless you turn into that direction. This adds further game play use because if you then also buff the masks a bit they become viable with a twist and you could even "sneak" up on one if they were not looking.

I'm against applying that field of view in general though, should only be a gas mask thing.

How tricky or hard it may get implementation-wise, I dunno though. I take tunnel vision any day over how it is now.