A de-backpack costume power for Crab Spiders

[Steampunkette]

 

They're pretty clearly working on it, or something like it.

 

You can fire Wolf Spider gunshots from "Crab Longfang" packs that don't exist. You wind up shooting them out of your right fist, and grenades from your shoulder.

 

We may, soon, see Crab Spider Packs as a level 1 option for Arachnos Soldiers. And no-pack options for Crab Spiders.

[Krimson]

What if the pack was left in place but it was given a transparent texture to make it invisible? 

[Rudra]

14 minutes ago, Krimson said:

What if the pack was left in place but it was given a transparent texture to make it invisible? 

As long as the powers are rendered disabled, fine. Otherwise you are talking about making a weapon set weaponless.

[Krimson]

1 hour ago, Rudra said:

As long as the powers are rendered disabled, fine. Otherwise you are talking about making a weapon set weaponless.

I'm offering suggestions on how it could be done, for fun. Come on, you know suggestions never go anywhere. 

 

And if the Dev team wanted to customize it further, perhaps the attachment points for the beam weapons could be moved to a different location, then you could have more weapon options while retaining the same performance. 

 

Once again, posting for fun. Who the hell listens to me anyway? 

[TheMoneyMaker]

7 hours ago, biostem said:

Well, there should be at least an attempt at explaining why the pack isn't visible, but it need not be any more complex than "it has a cloaking device" or "you can summon it when needed" - the actual mechanism doesn't need to be explained in exhaustive detail...

No, because the discussion is valid without needing to explain how everyone might choose to explain it for their characters. Maybe it's invisible due to a stealth field, maybe it gets summoned in with a portal, maybe it's nano-tech forming it as needed. None of that is relevant unless we can actually get the option made available, and even if we do get it, it's only as relevant as a player that uses it chooses to make it. If someone chooses not to explain it at all and leaves it a mystery, then that's fine. YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW THE DETAILS. Period. End of story.

[biostem]

29 minutes ago, TheMoneyMaker said:

No, because the discussion is valid without needing to explain how everyone might choose to explain it for their characters. Maybe it's invisible due to a stealth field, maybe it gets summoned in with a portal, maybe it's nano-tech forming it as needed. None of that is relevant unless we can actually get the option made available, and even if we do get it, it's only as relevant as a player that uses it chooses to make it. If someone chooses not to explain it at all and leaves it a mystery, then that's fine. YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW THE DETAILS. Period. End of story.

I think you're confusing an in-game justification with an out of game one.  Out of game, sure, you can say "I just don't want to see the crab backpack", and that's fine.  In-universe, you bet there's going to be some explanation, and that's included with things like power descriptions.  They may not describe the exact how or why, just that it "does".  For example, take the description of the MM primary, Necromancy:

 

"Command the forces of Death. Necromancy allows you to summon undead henchmen to do your bidding. Some Necromancy powers can even grant your undead henchmen additional powers. Most Undead Henchmen generally have good resistances to Cold, Negative Energy, and Psionic damage as well as Sleep, Fear and Disorient. Undead Henchmen cannot be resurrected."

 

It doesn't explain the exact mechanism by which you "command the forces of death", just that you do.  Similarly, my explanation of the hidden backpack is that you are cloaking it or otherwise it isn't there when you don't want it there, and instantly available when you do, and if you could somehow travel into the world of the game and ask your character, they'd be able to offer some explanation, ("it's linked to a neural implant that senses when I need it and teleports it directly onto my back")...

Edited August 1 by biostem

[TheMoneyMaker]

2 hours ago, biostem said:

I think you're confusing an in-game justification with an out of game one.  Out of game, sure, you can say "I just don't want to see the crab backpack", and that's fine.  In-universe, you bet there's going to be some explanation, and that's included with things like power descriptions.  They may not describe the exact how or why, just that it "does".  For example, take the description of the MM primary, Necromancy:

 

"Command the forces of Death. Necromancy allows you to summon undead henchmen to do your bidding. Some Necromancy powers can even grant your undead henchmen additional powers. Most Undead Henchmen generally have good resistances to Cold, Negative Energy, and Psionic damage as well as Sleep, Fear and Disorient. Undead Henchmen cannot be resurrected."

 

It doesn't explain the exact mechanism by which you "command the forces of death", just that you do.  Similarly, my explanation of the hidden backpack is that you are cloaking it or otherwise it isn't there when you don't want it there, and instantly available when you do, and if you could somehow travel into the world of the game and ask your character, they'd be able to offer some explanation, ("it's linked to a neural implant that senses when I need it and teleports it directly onto my back")...

Nope. Because no matter what the in-game or out of game justification is, it changes as soon as the player decides to write it a different way. There is no in-game explanation for temporary power jetpacks to just appear on your back when you use them, they just appear. If someone chooses to explain that for their character with a story to validate why the game works that way for their character, then that's on them.....but there is no need to have an in-game justification to create an option to conceal the crab backpack when not in use and then have it appear when needed. Trying to force that as necessary to the discussion is just an extra step that is not needed. If you want one, then dream it up for your own use, but that's on you.

[Burnt Umber]

I'd definitely be in favor of a way to "de-backpack" a Crab Spider. Here are two examples why:

1. If I play an alt. build that uses the Bane path, I'm still stuck with the Crab backpack even though I'm using no powers that would utilize it.  It's an artifact of another build.
2. If I try to stay on the Wolf Spider/Huntman path, I would be stuck with the Crab backpack if I take Aim, Fortification, Serum, Spiderlings, or Omega Maneuver.  None of those powers utilize the backpack itself, but, because they come from the Crab path, would force the character to have the backpack anyway.

I would be fine with have such a toggle "grey-out" if a character had selected any power that uses the backpack to animate.  However, for the rest of the time, it would be a neat utility.

[Forager]

17 hours ago, TheMoneyMaker said:

but there is no need to have an in-game justification to create an option to conceal the crab backpack

 

But... how else are we supposed to argue with an idea that has zero negative impact on anyone or anything? That's not a need?

[Rudra]

5 minutes ago, Forager said:

 

But... how else are we supposed to argue with an idea that has zero negative impact on anyone or anything? That's not a need?

My guess would be the same way you argue about a person's response without actually bothering to know that person's position.

[Gerswin Jr]

I am for this just for ease of saving anf loading costume files.