I just got back from doing some playtesting. We did some weapon tuning, and played around with item placement a bit in some of the maps. I thought I'd take this as an opportunity to describe some of the weapons in the game, which is something I've only done in passing. In general, the weapons are fairly situational. Some of them are good when there's a direct line of sight, some of them are well suited for windy corridors, others are suited for area denial, etc.. There is even a weapon that is not good for anything at all!
Machine GunDamage: 17 to kill
Fire rate: 12 per second
Ammunition: unlimitedThe trusty machine gun is the default weapon. Every time we respawn or run out of ammo, we get one of these for free. This weapon's high velocity and decent damage per time make it one of the more reliable line of sight weapons. It is not at all uncommon for heavily armed opponents to fall to machine gun fire.
SpreadDamage: 6 to kill
Fire rate: 12, fanned, per 1.5 seconds
Ammunition: unlimitedAnother reliable basic weapon, this fires an arc of slow moving projectiles. It is best suited for close quarters, particularly around gravity lifts or when performing a drop in attack from above.
Bouncy Gun (untitled)Damage: 3 hits to kill
Fire rate: 2 / second
Ammunition: unlimitedThis weapon fires fairly large projectiles which ricochet off of walls. It works well for sustained firefights, and can often give a contestant the upper hand when the direct line of sight is broken. The bouncy gun has the dubious distinction of being the single weapon best suited for accidental suicides.
Actually that's debatable. There is a lot of accidental suicide in this game.
Sticky MineDamage: 2 hits to kill
Fire rate: 2 / second
Ammunition: 7Sticky mines are best as an area denial weapon, though they also have limited use in direct attacks. They knock back targets significantly, so it is often possible to rig a trap where the first sticky mine knocks an opponent into a pit or second mine.
BeamDamage: ~two seconds to kill
Fire rate: 60 / second
Ammunition: 666The beam is dangerous at any range, and is also the only hitscan weapon. The downside is that it can only attack horizontally, and that it is extremely dependent on a clear line of fire.
Grenade Launcher (untitled)Damage: undecided
Fire rate: undecided
Ammunition: undecidedFires spinning explosive canisters which arc gently through the air and bounce off of walls. The projectiles are affected by gravity lifts, and this coupled with the extremely long fuse length makes it possible for either a very good or a very lucky shot to kill an opponent all the way on the other side of a map. We're actually playing around with two alternatives for this weapon's tuning right now. One has a higher rate of fire and is effective for flooding areas. The other (which we favor) has a much lower rate of fire and is a single hit kill.
Orb CannonDamage: 1 hit to kill
Fire rate: One every 1.5 seconds
Ammunition: 5The orb cannon fires large white hot orbs which explode on impact. It is the easiest to use area effect weapon. The immense blast radius makes it unsafe to use at close quarters, but that doesn't seem to have a negative impact on the popularity of deliberately suicidal attacks. The projectiles are slow enough that it is fairly easy to dodge them in vertical combat, but it is extremely effective against targets on the ground. The orb cannon is a high value weapon with limited ammunition.
Plasma GunFire rate: 30 / second
Damage: 5 to kill
Ammunition: 180The plasma gun is a power weapon. It is hideously effective at close quarters and powerful anywhere there is a fairly continuous line of sight. Its rarity and the frequently high cost of obtaining one make them coveted items.
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