Hello Riftbreakers!
Thank you for sending in all your ideas for the Skill Design contest. Just like in the case of the Weapons Contest we have read through all of them and created a shortlist of the best suggestions. Now it is time for you to decide which one we are going to implement in the game!
Here are the candidates that we have preselected. The descriptions are just to give you a general idea of what this skill/consumable could work like in the game. They do not represent the final design, as that is likely to change during development. Take these descriptions as an ‘artistic vision’, rather than actual descriptions. As always, please take them with a grain of salt - we might not be able to implement them in this (or any) form, but we will do our best!
Up first - Decoy - suggested by: Arun, Ravick, Space Jesus, Sage - Blindpsyco, frognik, Stephan Burczymucha
This skill would allow Mr. Riggs to leave behind a device (a holographic projection, a cardboard cutout, you name it) that would take the enemy creatures’ attention away from The Riftbreaker and their base structures for a limited time. There is a lot of potential for upgrades here - we could make the decoy explode at the end of its lifecycle, or add a small tesla generator that would deal energy damage to creatures that get too close. The Decoy has the potential to unlock a lot of variety in combat, giving you the ability to divert groups of enemies.
Next idea - Directional Shockwaves - suggested by: Arun, Diminutive Jerrymson, Bonegrinder, Sage - Blindpsyco, Kaldo
Let’s say that you’re equipped with a Flamethrower and a Plasma gun. You’re peacefully exploring and researching a new area of Galatea 37. All of a sudden, the ground starts shaking and an enormous hostile alien emerges from underneath the ground. You start blasting, but alas - it turns out that the creature is resistant to fire and energy damage. The situation seems dire, but luckily, you have another trick up your sleeve! This new activated skill allows you to launch a directional attack imbued with the element of your choice, acid, for example. You press the button. KA-POW! It was super effective! The day is saved. Adding an easily controllable elemental attack that you could equip would help you prepare for creatures of varying resistances, making it an interesting choice.
The third one - Core Overcharge - suggested by: SenorRagequit, Beta_Krogoth, adder007usa, Denizan11, frognik
POWER… OVERWHELMING… This skill would allow Mr. Riggs to boost his Fusion generator, sending his sophisticated circuitry to absolute overdrive, temporarily increasing some of the weapon stats, such as rate of fire and damage. This skill would have a lengthy cooldown but might give you an edge while facing a horde that turns out to be stronger than expected. Cool visuals included.
Up next - Temporary Barriers - suggested by: Mirado, hebeach89, Darklight
This one goes out to everyone whose first reaction to the incoming flood of alien creature horde was to stack sandbags and seek shelter. These consumables would allow you to set up sizeable barriers that no one could pass through, increasing the complexity of the battlefield and giving you more options to outsmart the attackers. For example, if you see a horde trying to get through a narrow passage, you could block them off with a couple of well-placed, temporarry barriers. Simple, but effective!
The last one - Bioscanner Turret/Drone (TBD) - suggested by: Ravick, YamiryuuZero, Oddux, SenorRagequit
Exploring and gathering information is an important aspect of the mission for a lot of Riftbreakers. The necessity to drop all activities in order to go scanning the fauna and flora discourages a lot of more action-oriented pilots. These consumables are the solution to that problem. Just drop one of these devices in the field and it will automatically try to scan all the species within the radius of operation. This way, you can still gain research samples and the bonuses that come with them, while not giving up on other activities on Galatea 37. Win-win!
We hope that everyone will find something interesting in this selection. We believe that all of these would benefit the game greatly, so everybody wins regardless of which skill gets chosen. Plus, we are planning a lot more skills and consumables of our own, so stay tuned for more information on that!
Cheers,
EXOR Studios