Boomshoot Best Practices Poll - Results (for real this time)

[jmpt16]

This poll btw: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDxWwuF_VMwWAVFN2O2fjq1TVQL04HWGbn2La18pIvrpv1Mg/viewform

(custom responses in italic)

How complex should the enemy AI be?

1. Low tier enemies shoot, move, repeat (a la Doom), higher tier enemies move, attack and react in unique ways
2. Low tier enemies shoot, move, repeat (a la Doom), higher tier enemies move, attack and react in unique ways
3. Good enemy composition is extremely key to making fun combat puzzles. It shouldn't matter about hyper-specific niches so much as it is adding tension to encounters with meaningful roles and placement. Let some tough enemies be one-trick ponies as well as some complicated. Give us a bit of everything, so long as they fit in well enough to keep the player second-guessing.
4. Enemies move, attack and react in unique ways
5. Low tier enemies shoot, move, repeat (a la Doom), higher tier enemies move, attack and react in unique ways
6. Low tier enemies shoot, move, repeat (a la Doom), higher tier enemies move, attack and react in unique ways

 

ok, I don't know who answered what, but number 3 went a bit off topic. Yes, enemy placement is important, but in this scenario, I was asking about enemy AI. The general response was "basic enemies first, complex enemies later".

Should an enemy be programmed to drop loot, what should they drop?

1. Weapon (if player has the weapon, give him ammo)
2. Weapon (if player has the weapon, give him ammo)
3. Weapon (if player has the weapon, give him ammo)
4. Ammo (weapon found separately)
5. Weapon (if player has the weapon, give him ammo)
6. Weapon (if player has the weapon, give him ammo)

 

This is funny, because when I did a poll here on Doomworld, I got the opposite result. A majority of people favored dropping ammo instead of weapons. Now, since this was a Google Forms poll, I didn't ask why they answered the way they did. Given some of these answers are from Civvie's Discord (you know who you are), take that into consideration.

Should switching weapons be animated?

1. Yes, it adds an extra layer to combat.
2. Yes, it adds an extra layer to combat.
3. No, weapon switching should be immediate (a la Quake).
4. Yes, it adds an extra layer to combat.
5. Yes, it adds an extra layer to combat.
6. Yes, it adds an extra layer to combat.

 

I noticed that, even in modern boomshoots, this isn't set in stone. Dusk has instant weapon swapping; Ultrakill doesn't (mostly). I suppose most of the answers are from movement shooter fans more than strictly boomer shooter fans.

How complex should the weapons be?

1. Shoot + altfire (may be aiming)
2. Shoot + altfire (may be aiming)
3. Shoot + altfire (may be aiming)
4. Shoot + altfire (may be aiming)
5. Shoot + altfire (may be aiming)
6. All three. (shoot + alt + aim)

 

Yet another 5 to 1 ratio result. I only specified what "aiming" could be in the next question, so if the order was reversed, the results might have changed. I know "altfire (may be aiming)" seems like an obvious improvement to just aiming, but remember, not all guns would have aiming. A sniper rifle with a scope would, but a rifle with a grenade launcher would have that as an alt. Honestly, I don't know how a boomshoot could have all three, number 6.

If a weapon has an aim function, how should it be handled?

1. Fully aim down sights/scope
2. Just zoom in
3. If it has a projectile arc, give us a relative arc trajectory while scoping in.
4. Just zoom in
5. Fully aim down sights/scope
6. Toggle options

 

A rather split result here, even if number 3 probably falls under "aim down sights". Also, I don't know how "toggle options" might work. Like, a toggle in-game or in the setting menu?

How should "exotic weapons" (read: futuristic, alien, fantastical, or otherwise non-human weapons) be handled?

1. They should work a bit different (read: not just a hit scan or projectile shot)
2. They should work a bit different (read: not just a hit scan or projectile shot)
3. They should work a bit different (read: not just a hit scan or projectile shot)
4. They should be OP
5. Both of the above
6. Both of the above

 

When I say "exotic weapons", I mean stuff like the BFG or the Shrinker. While both of those are pretty OP in their own way, I don't think all exotic weapons should necessarily be OP (see: most weapons in Heretic 1 or Hexen 1), but the results show they probably should. Overall though, almost everyone agreed that weird weapons should work in weird ways.

Should the final weapon be OP?

1. Yes
2. Yes, but not necessarily a one hit kill
3. It should be fun to use, demanding creativity with meaningful versatility behind it.
4. Yes, but not necessarily a one hit kill
5. Yes
6. Yes, but not necessarily a one hit kill

 

I'm gonna file number 3's answer under "no", since they don't explicitly say "yes" (in fact, I think that description suits "exotic" weapons, not final/OP weapons). Thai being said, yet again, 5 out of 6 agree: the final weapon needs to be powerful. However, only 2 out of 5 agree it should be a one-hit kill. I'm more inclined, however, to agree with the other 3; remember, even the BFG is only a quick death machine if used right (ironically, kinda like what number 3 said).

How complex should the plot be?

1. "Shoot the bads because [REASON]"
2. "I am [MC] and I must defeat [ANAGONIST] because [REASON]"
3. An immersive and involved story with multiple characters & motives (think HL1)
4. An immersive and involved story with multiple characters & motives (think HL1)
5. "Shoot the bads"
6. "Shoot the bads because [REASON]"

 

Mixed results here: a few want a more complex story only really seen in later 90's shooters (HL1 is there as an example for a reason), but most want simpler plots. Even then, though, it's not all equal: number 4 pretty much doesn't care who "the bads" are or what they do, 1 and 6 want Doom 1 & 2 complexity in plot, and 2 wants Duke Nukem complexity.

If the game has NPCs, should you be able to kill them?

1. Yes, unless they matter to the plot
2. Yes, with consequences
3. Yes, unless they matter to the plot
4. Yes, with consequences
5. Yes, without consequences
6. Yes, with consequences

 

Kinda worrying that no one answered "no"... Also, I should clarify that when I say "with/without consequences", I don't just mean plot-related consequences. They could have gameplay consequences, whether indirectly and later on, or directly and immediate (think D3D).

Should exploits in the game, when not intentional, be fixed?

1. No
2. No
3. Only if it's too easy to exploit / makes the game too easy
4. No
5. Only if it's too easy to exploit / makes the game too easy
6. Only if it's too easy to exploit / makes the game too easy

 

Admittely, "exploit" could mean anything like b-hopping and CSGO style surfing, to level skips or even skipping straight to the end; that is to say, it's kinda vague. This might explain the 50/50 split.

How should the game autosave?

1. On checkpoints
2. On checkpoints
3. On checkpoints
4. On checkpoints
5. On checkpoints
6. Never; manual saves only

 

The remaining options were "After a level is over" and "After a chapter is over". Not suprising that checkpoins sounded better than these, but remember: a level may only have one checkpoint at the beginning of a level. Dunno why number 6 chose manual only tho, could be a mistrust of checkpoints.

On death, how should the player respawn?

1. At the last checkpoint / save, with the same equipment
2. At the last checkpoint / save, with the same equipment
3. At the last checkpoint / save, with the same equipment
4. At the last checkpoint / save, with the same equipment
5. At the last checkpoint / save, with the same equipment
6. At the last checkpoint / save, with the same equipment

 

The alternative was "At the start of the level, pistol start", a la Doom. Clearly though, this was unanimously unpopular.

Assume a baseline "Normal" difficulty. How hard should it be?

1. Doom 1/2 on "Hurt me Plenty"
2. Blood on "Lightly Broiled"
3. Doom 1 on "Hey, not too rough" and gradually into "Hurt me Plenty."
4. Duke Nukem on "Come Get Some"
5. Doom 1/2 on "Hurt me Plenty"
6. Doom 1/2 on "Ultra Violence"

 

Number 3's answer is sorta weird to me; "Hey, Not Too Rough" shifting into "Hurt Me Plenty" sounds like quite a dificulty spike. Generally, however, I think there are two camps: those who like their game challenging but not too hard, and those who like their game to kick their ass.

Assume a "Hard" difficulty. How hard should it be?

1. Doom 1/2 on "Ultra Violence"
2. Blood on "Well Done"
3. Blood on "Lightly Broiled"
4. Blood on "Well Done"
5. Doom 1/2 on "Ultra Violence"
6. Blood on "Well Done"

 

I didn't put Blood on Extra Crispy or Doom on Nightmare because I thought that might be too much, but these answers make me consider some of you would actually want that! However, I consider UV to be a 6/10 in difficulty, while "Lightly Broiled" is a 7/10 and "Well Done" and 8/10. Do the math, that averages out to about 7.2/10. So, "Hard" should be "very slight above Blood's Lightly Broiled"

Assume a "Nightmare"-equivalent difficulty. What should it have to make it harder than "Hard"?

 

This was a multiple choice question, so here are the results given that fact:

4 selected More enemies

3 selected Extra enemy damage

2 selected Ammo / Weapon / Item Starvation

1 selected Special Enemies on places where they not show normally

1 selected Encounters/Gear Location should be different. Resource starvation in higher tier enemies but using lower tier weapons. I.e. shotgun vs Demons (yes that's all a single answer).

 

Suprisingly (I think?), no one wanted Respawing enemies; make of that what you will.

Given that Doom 2 is about 7 hours long, how long should a boomshoot be? (assume relatively equal quality between chapters)

1. 8-9
2. Around 10 hours
3. Episodic, 4 hours each per X amount of episodes.
4. 8
5. No more than 10 hours.
6. 8

 

Sticking to the Doom 2 comparison, since Doom 2 has 3 "chapters" (not counting secret levels), that puts 3's answer at a whopping 12 hours. This means the average is 9.4 hours (or 9 hours 24 minutes).

What other requirements or best practices should a boomshoot have?

1. Have kickass music
2. Bunny hops and good secrets
3. Giving the player more diverse tasks to accomplish rather than just sending them on key hunts. It can come down to solving puzzles, hacking terminals, or giving the player extra routes to get into another room (a la immersive sims).
4. [blank]
5. Powerful weapon sounds and a blazing fast soundtrack loaded with electric guitar shredding.
6. [blank]

 

Retrospectively, I did forget to include music questions or level design questions...

 

I might do a part 2 if I get more answers, so please, sign my petition (or I'll follow you home and kill your dog).

 

Edited September 23, 2023 by jmpt16
Fixed link

[jmpt16]

Oh, also, if you want to add any questions, feel free to post them here.

[jmpt16]

Fuck it, put too much work on this to let the thread die. Self-bump.

 

Also, please sign the petition.

Edited September 23, 2023 by jmpt16
please sign the damn petition

[Murdoch]

Sorry but i am a bit lost. That's a lot to read. What are you actually trying to accomplish here?

 

Also don't tell me to sign "damn" anything. Especially a petition that i have no idea what it is. I see no petition link in your post.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

1 hour ago, jmpt16 said:

Fuck it, put too much work on this to let the thread die. Self-bump.

 

Also, please sign the petition.

I mean, what exactly are we supposed to say? Most of these questions have already been talked about in-depth many times over. A survey with very general questions and short answers from half a dozen people doesn't provide much insight. There's no link to a petition (I'm guessing that's what the broken link is supposed to be) and I believe you are confusing a petition with a survey anyway. And why can't you just make a thread on Doomworld about these things? Why do we have to go to another website when the whole point of Doomworld is to talk about Doom?

Edited September 23, 2023 by TheMagicMushroomMan

[Daytime Waitress]

If you're conducting a survey, you really should disclaim the purpose of that survey to participants.

And then make a functional link to that survey.

[jmpt16]

fuck fuck fuck didn't know link was busted. Just in case

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDxWwuF_VMwWAVFN2O2fjq1TVQL04HWGbn2La18pIvrpv1Mg/viewform

[jmpt16]

Will answer further questions tomorrow, sorry again for broken link!

[Murdoch]

You missed what i said completely.

 

What is the point of any of this? You're analysing the hell out of this. Why?

Edited September 23, 2023 by Murdoch

[jmpt16]

Quote

Why am I doing this?

I have plans to make a boomshoot in the future and I wanted to know what people prefer when it comes to certain aspects of boomshoots.

 

10 hours ago, Murdoch said:

 Also don't tell me to sign "damn" anything

 

9 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

There's no link to a petition

It was a Postal 2 reference. Indeed there's no petition, just a Google Forms survey (that had a broken link, oops!)

 

10 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

Most of these questions have already been talked about in-depth many times over. 

Do you have any links to those? I'm not kidding, I'd really like to know the results of those threads.

10 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

And why can't you just make a thread on Doomworld about these things? Why do we have to go to another website when the whole point of Doomworld is to talk about Doom?

1) I was going to make a poll here on Doomworld, but this site only allows 3 questions per thread.

2) I wanted percentages and data so I could easily see what answers were most picked, hence Google Forms 

3) tbf I posted on Everything Else

 

Is it too late to make another thread with these questions?

[Daytime Waitress]

I wish you all the best, OP - you seem very number/detail oriented, but I would suggest at some point that you step back and question the efficacy of statistically quantifying exactly what everything else has done right. It's a great idea to get feedback on what is liked and disliked, sure; but what you've shown so far seems like, without any code down, you're already trying to cater to what everyone else wants from a classic-styled FPS. Dusk didn't come from a formula, nor did Hell Denizen, and they're both fun as fuck. What I'm trying to say is: brah, what kind of game do you enjoy playing and what kind of game do you want to make?

[jmpt16]

3 hours ago, Daytime Waitress said:

you're already trying to cater to what everyone else wants from a classic-styled FPS. Dusk didn't come from a formula

Yeah, this survey isn't a must-follow recipe to making a boomshoot, let alone a good one. While some of these are questions that I wasn't sure what the best option was, some I already have a solid opinion of, even a few that go against the results. 

[jmpt16]

There have been 2 more answers, should I update?

[jmpt16]

propah b8 here, m8