#New Weapon [Spy]: Polaroid Camera

74 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

hollow robin
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(SFM posters by me)

A replacement for sapper that allows spy to trade his ability to sabotage buildings for... well, spying.

CODENAME: POLAROID CAMERA
*** CLASS: SPY
*** SLOT: SAPPER
*** BASE: SAPPER

* Primary-Fire: Snap a photo of enemies and buildings in front of you, causing them to be highlighted on the screens of your allies for up to 5 seconds
+ Alt-Fire: Snap a flash photo of enemies in front of you, stunning them for up to 1 second
*** Flash photo has a 5-second cooldown
*** Using alt-fire causes you to drop disguise
- Enemies stunned with flash cannot be backstabbed or tranquilized

Note: In both cases, the detection hitbox should be assumed to be roughly the same size as Pyro's airblast)

By granting spy the ability to relay enemy positioning to his team, it empowers the entire team to better react and respond to whatever the enemy team is doing at that time. However, the duration of the reveal is short, meaning that the spy will need to use the Polaroid Camera regularly in order to keep feeding information.

In addition, the Polaroid Camera can also serve as a getaway tool (or a support tool, in the middle of a firefight) for spy by allowing you to take a flash photo (this shouldn't actually hit people with flashbangs, for those of you worrying about that), stunning enemies in front of you for a brief moment while you take the opportunity to slip away.

I've always been of the opinion that Spy's sapper slot has potential for gadgets more imaginative in usage than simply different flavors of anti-building tools, and this particular idea is one I hope will sound as decent to y'all as it does to me.

sfm_poster_2_export_2000000.png sfm_poster_2_export_3000000.png Polaroid_Camera.png
latent horizon
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....not gonna lie

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This actually sounds pretty interesting

desert hatch
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this would fit very well for spy ngl

random gorge
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mm, i think the camera should stun at headshot

random gorge
latent horizon
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But honestly, yeah I feel like Spy has a lot more potential

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Something I always thought about for Spy was a gadget that disables any enemy mediguns

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If backstabs don't work

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But honestly this is a pretty neat concept

mortal prawn
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Stunning is not fun and making engie hardcounter spy is also not fun

formal forge
hollow robin
# mortal prawn Stunning is not fun and making engie hardcounter spy is also not fun

a) das why I made the stun timer really short, so you get control back nice and quick but still get disoriented from the brief interface screw (I could probs lower it from 1.5s to 1s, however (though for tunings that fine it'd really need to be tested to be sure it's actually meaningful)
b) the polaroid also reveals buildings, so it still offers some engi counterplay by making it easier for your team to push in and delete a nest (alternatively, I could write in that buildings specifically stay revealed for longer than players)

mortal prawn
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Can't wait for stun tranq shank

uneven dock
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I love the camera feature but a stun seems absolutely unnecessary

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maybe just flashbang them

mortal prawn
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No pls no flashbang

hollow robin
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Think of it more like a microstun — a brief jolt in mobility — than a full-on "mm yes you are no longer playing the videogame for a significant period of time"

mortal prawn
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Thats more than enough time for a free tranq n shank

hollow robin
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oh yea you right

mortal prawn
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It is already obnoxious

hollow robin
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I should rewrite "stunned players can't be backstabbed" to "stunned players can't receive crits" or someth along those lines

mortal prawn
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Or maybe not stunning in the first place

finite mirage
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Stop turning this game into a MOBA full of stun mechanics.

hollow robin
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I mean, pretty much every single weapon in the game can stun one's movement to at least some extent using nothing but bullet/explosive knockback
-# (to say nothing about Pyro's airblast)
what's so different about this?

finite mirage
mortal prawn
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Doing that with most weapons is actually avoidable and hard to do

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Pretty big difference

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This is just seven from deadlock

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(He has an ability thats literally just a free stun)

hollow robin
zinc basin
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aknockback camera would be funny but no.

Really free stuns is just a no to non moba games, without itemization

hollow robin
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In all honesty I am not 100% committed to the alt-fire being a mainstay; I figured I'd toss it on as a logical extra so that Spy has something extra to work with to compensate the opportunity cost of giving up the sapper

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I do think it's worth keeping it on the proverbial bill for the time being; I don't really share the universal hate everyone else has for stun/slowdown mechanics, so it is something that I think deserves a fair go in the testing chamber if this concept ever reaches that point

vestal quartz
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TF2 isn't made with stun mechanics in mind, there's a reason the Sandman in Live never got it back.

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That being said, I really like this idea. A tool that allows Spy to relay info to his team suits him like a glove.

deep hemlock
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it also had a really low cooldown

mortal prawn
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You can make a ballanced weapon with a stun but nobody likes stun so why add it in the first place

austere hazel
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Remove the stun and I can get behind this (I don't want stuns, gives me overwatch flashbacks)

uneven dock
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how to bully an enemy:
-tranq
-funny speed watch
-this

quartz summit
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I like stun

mqdefault.png
austere hazel
onyx oak
eternal wedge
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Does the alt fire also stun sentries?

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Otherwise this is pretty good

scarlet jacinth
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Maybe instead of the stun it could be a simple slowdown like the tranquilizer, stunning people is way too unfun on the receiving end

analog leaf
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Solid idea, this is pretty great

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Unsure about the stun, perhaps the stun should only apply to sentries?

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I have to say this is probably the best idea I’ve seen all year btw you knocked it out of the park

eternal wedge
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Its not often I like a sapper replacement idea

hollow robin
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Recent Revisions

1. Reduced stun time from 1.5s to 1s
2. Enemies stunned with flash are immune to tranq as well as backstab
  1. Felt like 1.5 seconds would be stretching it a wee bit too long in the middle of a firefight, so I rounded it off to 1 second flat
  2. My intention with the flash wasn't to enable kill combos for spy, so it also prevents being tranq'd for the brief moment the target(s) are stunned
mortal prawn
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I still think it's better off without stun

scarlet jacinth
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Honestly I think the tranquilized effect wouldnt be too bad

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Specially if it has a short range

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Make it so you can tranquilize enemies for a short bit to help your team or yourself kill them faster

mortal prawn
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Yea but then you have 2 weapons for the same effect...

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Kinda pointless aint it

scarlet jacinth
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True, true

vestal quartz
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Say, how about getting flashed applies a weak flashbang and increases pellet spread? If its intended use is to be a getaway tool, then it's only logical that it should make it harder for the enemy to land a shot on you.

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Weak flashbang as in, increased brightness for a few seconds or something like that.

eternal wedge
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Causing a significant increase in spread would be an interesting mechanic

zinc basin
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Honestly i think i prefer that, giving weapon imaccuracy than stun, they need to fire slower to not make their shots goo wide to try to hit you, giving you more chance to survive and escape

mortal prawn
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Me watching as a spy tranqs, flashbangs and crit stabs me

zinc basin
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Oof Ouch yeah (Maybe probbaly his debuffs cant over lap if thats the case)

uneven dock
mortal prawn
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Annoyance maxxing

uneven dock
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or scout!?

mortal prawn
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Scout is just a skill issue

raw quest