MedHUD for Aliens

[Pilcrow]

Summary: Pretty self-explanatory - ayys get a medical hud (or the ability to toggle one).

Benefits: For one, it would push us just a little closer to how aliens are confirmed to work in the games (capable of seeing how healthy a creature is, usually explained with pheromones) and would let aliens see at a glance who is dead/chestbursted, who is too injured to be kept as a host (or to target in engagements) and additionally give them an effective status report on how well their attacks are working (which should give some feedback to acid spit and tail attacks and therefore allow newer people to learn their functions easier)

Details: It's simple and clear-cut: Aliens either get a verb that allows them to toggle medhud functionality, or have it on permanently (preferably using a color-coded 'overlay' to make it more in line with how the vidya xenomorphs see it)

Implementation: This one I'm not too sure on, since I haven't fucked with huds myself - but seeing as the functionality is present in ghosts, and knowing that xenomorphs already use HUD elements to track infestation status, I doubt it will be particularly hard to adapt this stuff to that. Feel free to correct me on that, though.
It's probably just a matter of adding a switch to the xenomorph hud that checks the mob's health, and then applies an appropriate image depending on health level (or none at all, if they're dead)

Maybe I'll check out xeno code on my end and come back to give a more substantial suggestion on how this could be implemented later.

[DMAN]

+1, would be really useful.

[Burt]

+1 makes sense and would be useful

[Steelpoint]

A actual pheromone system akin to most games where you play as a Alien would be preferable, but this seems as a fine alternative.

[TopHatPenguin]

This is actually a great idea because if you integrate it so that the aliens can see infected icons next to infected mobs it completely dissolves the issue of not being able to see the infected icon until it's too late or just not being able to see it in the first place.

[Reznoriam]

+1. Living or dead at least would be very nice. I wonder what the conversation will be like though when the aliens first find someone with appendicitis...

[MauroVega]

+1 Love the idea

[Wickedtemp]

+1

There have been many instances of Xenos nesting dead hosts. Sure, we have the "check pulse" ability, but nobody wants to go through like 20 bodies and check every single one. It's nothing but a hassle and could instead be made easy and quick.

[TheSlapDoctor]

+1, I have nothing useful to add, it's all been said above.

[Egorkor]

eh, neutral because of playing them like a damn fiddle with the deathgasp.

[TheSlapDoctor]

eh, neutral because of playing them like a damn fiddle with the deathgasp.

Deathgasp and knife in the boot makes me frustrated I can't maim downed marines.

[Pilcrow]

+1

There have been many instances of Xenos nesting dead hosts. Sure, we have the "check pulse" ability, but nobody wants to go through like 20 bodies and check every single one. It's nothing but a hassle and could instead be made easy and quick.

That's another point - 'Check Pulse' always feels silly to me, especially when I see the queen or something counting some monkey's pulse.
I'm sure somebody else gets the same kind of feeling.

[Snypehunter007]

Mhmm, I am neutral on this one.

Does anyone still want this?

[Helgraf]

I mean, I don't think it's really needed anymore.

[Swagile]

What function was added that allows Xenos to see a humans condition to make this redundant?

I do attest to not playing Xeno a lot, but when I have, there was no viable way to check a humans health much like a health scanner.

If people think its too overpowered or something, you could give it only to sentinel and drone castes, as they require it the most (knowing if your hosts are still alive, protecting the hive) than the more offensive castes; it would also bring about a interesting amount of teamwork with spitters calling out injured marines for combat castes.

Thats if its balanced to only be put into those castes only.

[Snypehunter007]

What function was added that allows Xenos to see a humans condition to make this redundant?

I do attest to not playing Xeno a lot, but when I have, there was no viable way to check a humans health much like a health scanner.

If people think its too overpowered or something, you could give it only to sentinel and drone castes, as they require it the most (knowing if your hosts are still alive, protecting the hive) than the more offensive castes; it would also bring about a interesting amount of teamwork with spitters calling out injured marines for combat castes.

Thats if its balanced to only be put into those castes only.

You can always check their pulse.

[Swagile]

You can always check their pulse.

As said somewhere above, this doesn't tell you their precise condition; only if they are alive or dead, last I checked.

Knowing a marines precise condition allows for better hive building / general defense of the hive and will also allow you to tell other xenos to screw off if you find humans in your nest being damaged.

[Snypehunter007]

As said somewhere above, this doesn't tell you their precise condition; only if they are alive or dead, last I checked.

Knowing a marines precise condition allows for better hive building / general defense of the hive and will also allow you to tell other xenos to screw off if you find humans in your nest being damaged.

If nested marines are being slashed, that is a rule break problem. But I am pretty sure that by letting xenos see the marine' precise health isn't going to make for better hive building. Also, hive defense should just be the sentinels really.

As a xeno, all you really need to know is if they are alive and dead.

[TopHatPenguin]

Seeing marines precise health means that there will be more "I'll just slash them until they reach x health for the easy paincrit nest" which imo would be a big problem.

[Swagile]

Seeing marines precise health means that there will be more "I'll just slash them until they reach x health for the easy paincrit nest" which imo would be a big problem.

Why hasn't this been fixed then?

Im curious, it seems like a very glaring problem at the moment. Could easily just make it so if you have a burster in your chest, there are massive debuffs to damage added to xenos that attempt to hurt the "carrier", so its not worth the while to just sit there and slash them for 5 minutes and instead would be up to sentinels to actually guard them with their precious neurotoxin.