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Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos


Barbed wire bombs.



Revolvers with like 24 rounds or something.

https://twitter.com/huntshowdown/status/976458147870146560

This fucker.


HUNT: SHOWDOWN




Platforms:

    Sorry console peasants users - PC only as far as we know right now.

What is This Game?
    Back in 2014 Crytek USA announced they were working on a game called Hunt: Shadows of the Guilded Age. It was destined to be a co-op Crysis / Darksiders like game. An FPS on rails, set in a gritty hellscape Louisiana swamp in the 19th century. This alternate-past is after some sort of event which introduced all kind of nastiness into our world - a very Resident Evil 7 vibe. As part of Crytek's restructuring, Crytek USA office shut down (save for support of the Cryengine, for such projects such as Star poo pooCitizen.) and Crytek: Hamburg since took over development of Hunt and changed it from an on-rails FPS to its current inception.

    It's hard to classify Hunt, but the best I can do is: survival team shooter open-world horror PvP RPG arena.

    Just watch the drat trailer:

    https://twitter.com/HuntShowdown/status/919956284878872576



Closed alpha ran in February and was lots of fun.

Early-access is currently available on STEAM.
:pcgaming:30 bucks, sweet Jesus what a deal!:pcgaming:

Gameplay

    quote:

    You and your partner are members of a secret hunting society that tracks and kills monsters. The bounties are high, but so are the risks. The smallest mistake will cost you everything—your bounty, your gear, your life, and your very soul. Some hunt for wealth, some for power. Some hunt to protect others, some hunt for glory. You must track your quarry through a dark and treacherous world. Winner takes all. Fail, and go straight to hell.

    Hunting for sport is child’s play. This is a different kind of game, one with high stakes and even higher rewards. You will face creatures that want to gorge themselves on your flesh and devour your soul. Everything and everyone is against you—even the earth itself. Make one mistake, and you will die in filth, forgotten. Succeed, and the bounty and the glory will be immense.

    You and your partner (partner optional - you can go solo) loadout your characters and spawn into the map. Your objective is to collect the bounty from the boss monster which is on the map in an unknown location. There are also several other teams of 2 (or solo guys) on the map with the same objective.

    You have an ability which allows you to sense nearby locations of clues. These clues can be collected and will eliminate portions of the overworld map, helping you narrow down the location of the boss. Once you find the boss you can kill him, then begin banishing him to hell. Banishment takes a bit to do, and when it is initiated every player will be able to see where the boss was, and where he is now being banished.

    After the banishing, you are able to collect the bounty from the boss and escape the map to victory - if you can. Players (who now know the location of the boss) will be hunting you to pry the bounty from your cold dead hands and escape with it on their own.

    There are several extraction points on the map, which you can use to bail out - either with a bounty or not. If someone manages to slip away with the bounty you can still roam the map and kill baddies / players at your leisure for a small amount of time.

    A lot of players play very passively and will bail after getting clues and killing NPC's without ever trying for the boss due to the PvP risk.

Monsters and Bosses
    There are lots of friendly NPC faces in the world of Hunt:Showdown - let's meet a few!

    Meathead

    quote:

    He calls them soul farmers, I think. Paxton's journal has an entry about a thing simply called Meathead. It must be the same creature. Terrifying thing...a headless and massive, almost bloated, humanoid creature with leeches for hair. The stuff of nightmares.
    Meatheads are very large, very powerful monsters you can find in a few areas. They sense their surroundings with nearby leeches, which can pick up on your movements if you get too close. They hit like a truck and take a lot to put down. Not generally worth engaging due to the inevitable noise you will make. Melee is not at all an option.

    The Hive

    quote:

    Scognamillo thinks it feels like an evolution of a simpler form; in this case a person possessed by some kind of insect spirit eventually turning the body into a hive itself. Harold Black's book includes pieces of a hunter's diary describing this thing.
    Hives are a big pain in the rear end. They launch a projectile of poisonous insects at you which obscure your vision and damage you over time. They are about as fragile as a zombie, except their head (critical hit zone) is off to the side and hard to get from some angles. They seem to have a higher agro range than any other NPC. Melee is a bad option due to the high damage output, unless you sneak up and take her down very quick.

    Infected
    Pretty typical zombie. They shamble around and lunge at you if you get too close or you kill their friends. Easy to sneak by, easy to kill. If they have a flaming weapon they can light you on fire which sucks - take them out with a decisive melee hit to the face for a fast, silent, and effective solution. They can be on the ground "inert" until you get close which can surprise you.

    Barghest Hellhound
    Big shithead dogs with glowing evil eyes and typically roam in packs. They take a fair amount of abuse and charge at you fast. If you are caught by a pack it's going to be death. They have a short "leashing" range which you can exploit. Best to avoid as there's no good way to stealthily take them down, melee is not an option unless it's a single one. Note that these guys make a ton of ambient noise, and can sound like they're on top of you even if they are 50 yards away.

    Armored
    Common, tough, and hit hard - these things are probably the most dangerous NPC mobs you will encounter. They behave similar to zombies, but they charge faster, hit harder, and take an incredible amount of punishment before dropping. They're relatively easy to sneak around, and highly vulnerable to fire. A single environmental lantern is your best bet for killing - or you're into the fight for a minimum of 3 full on shotgun blasts. Do not engage with small arms.

    The Spider (boss)
    Not as tough as the Butcher, but harder to kill due to being harder to hit with fewer opportunities. This guy moves lightning fast around the boss area he is in. He will frequently skitter to the ceiling above you, drop down and try to bite you like some sort of nightmare from your childhood. He is vulnerable to gunfire, things like shotguns and the sparks pack a mean punch and send him skittering in the opposite direction. He can poison you - so some antidote shots are advisable.

    The Butcher (boss)
    This big guy doesn't gently caress around. He's fast, he's large, he's pissed off, and he is NOT kosher. He jogs around the boss arena and will aggressively charge to anyone in there with him. Shotgun blasts will make him recoil, most of the time. Anything less is like shooting an oncoming train. Kiting him is mandatory - and you cannot let yourself get hit. Should he hit you, you will be lit on fire and have to exit to patch yourself up. He will occasionally lob a ranged fire attack which stays on the ground for a while. Two guys pumping him with shotgun rounds will drop him relatively quickly - just watch out for his "dying breath" attack which can catch you by surprise. Explosives work too, it's just hard to land them given his speed.


Player Progression and Ranking
    There are two primary means of progression within the game. Your individual character experience and your bloodline experience. Each match you will accumulate exp from killing monster and boss NPCs, killing players, and completing the bounty / clue events. Escaping with the boss bounty is worth the most of all EXP sources - and is highly contested.

    • As your hunter levels up, he gains upgrade points which can be invested in traits such as increased health, improved marksmanship, etc.
    • At certain thresholds of EXP accumulation on your hunters, you will hit a "gate" which will dump EXP into your bloodline.
    • The bloodline is independent of your hunters, similar to an account level. Your bloodline rank will gain you access to higher tier hunters, new weaponry, new traits, etc.
    • Higher tier hunters come with darker/cooler clothing, better weaponry, increased stats etc. The idea is that if you see a hunter who is Tier 3 and you are Tier 1, you need to think twice before engaging. You can, and will, engage these players and beat them - but the visual cue is there to let you know this dude has been investing time into this game and will not go down easy.
    In addition, at the end of each match you will also be awarded a share of money. Money is derived from the same sources as EXP and is used to purchase equipment and recruit new hunters to your available pool - higher tier hunters and advanced weaponry costing more. If you wind up so terrible that you lose all your hunters and have no money - they will give you a "tier 0" hunter who can upgrade to a regular Tier 1 after you pull yourself out of the gutter.

    You share EXP and money equally with your teammate and the end of the match. Anything either of you killed or got money / EXP for goes to both of you. Nobody gets more, nobody gets less. You can also elect to go into a match solo, but once you're down that's it - no second chances from a teammate revive. There's also no additional EXP to be had - the advantage you get is that you don't have a second person making noise and having to co-ordinate with.

    Death is permanent. That hunter has died. His equipment is gone. His skills are tossed to the void. He is toast. He is gone, and you cannot get him back.

    So yes, you may have an elite badass with the best gear - but when you field him you are risking much. Your reward, and chances for it, may be great - but if you let your guard down you will lose, and lose big.

    Matchmaking will put you up against hunters equivalent to your bloodline rank - up to a certain point. Beyond that you will be lumped in with veterans and newer players alike.




Maps
    Bayou


    (more to come)


Screenshots and Videos

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Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
Making noise, IT'S WHY YOU KEEP DYING!

deported to Canada posted:

Reading through some of the chatter in discord last night, I think the biggest skill to learn for new players in the audio queues. There were some who simply didn't know what hit them or from where (it's not hackers, at least not yet). As a hunter, my main objective is hunting other hunters and every time I hear them before I see them. Here's a quick break down on some audio queues:


A murder of crows:

It's best to avoid these entirely. Once triggered they will squawk and fly away. These are some of the best clues to follow when looking for other players as they can only be triggered by hunters. The audio clue can be enough to locate but they can also be seen flying away over the trees at a fair distance. I always move towards the sound of birds.

You can get past them by crouching and keeping a distance of about 10m. If you trigger them, run and relocate ASAP, however make sure you don't just wildly panic and run at more audio triggers.


Dogs in cages/Chicken coops:

Like the crows, its best keeping a distance from these as once triggered they will go batshit for a few minutes and can only be triggered by hunters. They can be shot/set on fire to shut them up however making noise to stop noise is counter intuitive. If you see the kennel/cage (they look similar) just skirt round them, keep a distance of about 20m from these while crouched, they seem to see you better than the birds.


Horses:

These are noisy bastards and will continue to make noise while you are in their vicinity. They look like a sleeping (possibly dead) horse as you approach, although you will hear a breathing noise to signify its alive as you get close.

If triggered you can take them out with melee, but their noise travels. Overall best avoided by about 20m while crouched. Again, can only be triggered by hunters.


Doors/Gates:

Fairly straight forward, doors and their hinges make noise. When left open they can also let hunters know that someone has been in that area. Barricaded doors can be opened by hitting them with melee/explosives which also make noise.

Jump over gates instead of opening them, some doors will need to be opened to access areas but barricaded doors always have a way round (look for ladders, holes in walls, gaps under buildings).


Glass/Tin cans/Chains/Puddles of water:

At first glance these just look like inert parts of the map, however you should always be conscious of what you are walking over. These all make unique noise that varies depending on factors such as running, walking or crouching. For example running over broken glass is LOUD but crouching as you walk over makes significantly less noise. Again running through water makes more noise than creeping through it.

Sometimes these triggers can't be effectively avoided, especially around built up areas. You can always limit the noise you make by how you approach and traverse them. Be aware that these CAN be triggered by infected, so the noise you hear may be a walker crossing glass/hitting chains.


Wood (Floor boards):

Walking over wood increases the noise of your footsteps. You can hear hunters inside buildings creeping around from outside, even when crouching.

This is difficult to mitigate as throughout a game you are going to have to cross wood at some point. Just be aware that you are making more noise than you think you are/can hear yourself. Which means you are louder than you can hear. The best way to explain this is when you have a partner, if you are both crouching and walking through the forest you will hear your partner making more noise than you. You may think you are being quiet, but they hear you making that same amount of noise. In other words, sometimes you think you are creeping silently and you really aren't.


Water (in general):

Crossing water is noisy, it can also be slow depending on the depth of the water. Sitting by water you will be able to hear a gentle flow/swish of the water around you. This can sound like someone in the water but I guess its just the wind. Infected in the water also make noise as they pass though it.

Water noise takes a little bit of getting used to. The sound of an infected walking in water is different to the sound of a player. Unfortunately its a little difficult to describe but its is essentially down to the persons stride and the noise that makes. You will learn the difference in time.

Extraction points:

If more than once team is close to the extraction points then the boats/horse will start making noise. The boat engine will turn on and start pumping out black smoke or the horses pulling the carriage will start going nuts. This means someone else is extracting/camping.


Gunfire:

For me, the only acceptable time to shoot is at other players or the boss monster. For everything else if you can't kill it with melee, then avoid it. If you trigger it, run like a bitch. Once you have the bounty then feel free to light everything up as you are glowing like a Christmas tree anyway.

If you hear people shooting, go get em girls. Scratch their eyes out.


I think this is most of them, if I can think of any more I'll add to it. Hopefully this helps some of you.

Edit* Also hunters don't cough, only the infected make that noise.


Weapon Damage, IT'S ALSO WHY YOU KEEP DYING!

The weapon damage in this game takes some understanding in order to effectively kill the other hunter mans. The relative damage each weapon does is listed on the loadout screen. You may be asking: "But Tinfoil, this dude shot me twice with a Winfield and I went down, but it says it only does 30 damage on the loadout screen!"

Well sonny boy let me tell you about your vital organs:

Damage Locations
  • The Limbs: A good shot to your limbs is going to sting, a little. This location is defined as the legs and arms up to the point where they connect to your torso. The damage inflicted here is roughly the listed damage on the loadout screen. Note: You can shoot through the model of the characters gun, it does not count as a limb shot.

  • The lower Torso: This location will apply a multiplier to your shots. Perhaps not equal to twice as much as listed damage, but much more than a limb shot. Front / back irrelevant. "But isn't my liver here?" Yes, but so are your kidneys and you only need one of those so.

  • The Upper Torso: This location will hurt like a bitch. Getting shot here will severely damage you, and a few solid hits will take you down. If you're bad at headshots like me, aim here.

  • The Head: You're dead! Well... mostly. A "within range" hit from a gun will kill you.


Range:

Weapons in this game have an effective range. Beyond that and the damage you deal will start to drop off. The amount of drop off depends on the distance, weapon, and type of ammunition used. As a general rule of thumb the damage will drop off faster for compact ammo, then medium ammo, then long range ammo. A long-distance shot from a Winfield with compact ammo might have a penalty applied to it, while the same shot with a Mosin will not.

This formula is the reason why it IS possible to survive a headshot from very long range.


Melee fun!

Q: "Tinfoil, why would I bring a melee weapon into this game of shootymans?"
A: *stabs you with a sabre, you die*

Melee weapons are good. VERY good. Let me explain: (For all intents and purposes we are speaking of "charged" hits when we talk melee. There is no reason not to do this so long as you have stamina.)
  • They are silent and effective for taking down zombies, armored, and hives (sneak up on these)
  • They do incredible amounts of damage to other hunters. The formula is a bit different than guns, but a charged hit to the torso will down a hunter with basically any non-knife melee weapon which occupies a weapon slot. (Axe, Machete, Sabre, picked-up sledge, picked-up axe)
  • Charging another hunter with melee often times causes them to panic and run, or fire their Winfield wildly trying to hit you. Most times you will tank a single body shot and down them in turn. (If they pull a revolver / fanning or shotgun on you this plan can go awry)
  • If you sneak up on another hunter group you can quickly dispatch them before they realize what's happening.

I would estimate over half of my kills are with melee weapons. Do not underestimate these things, and at a MINIMUM you need to bring a knife into every game.



(Weapons and items below are WIP)
Weapons and Items

Hunt: Showdown has a bunch of unique and cool guns and items to use in your murder spree of infected hellspawn and fellow Hunters. In honor of my love for the dead, dumb game Friday the 13th and Jason Vorhees, I have put a ":murder:" next to the weapons I find to be exceptionally good at it.

Your character has two weapon slots. By default you can either equip one large and one small weapon OR two medium weapons. The "Quartermaster" perk will allow you to take a large and medium weapon.

Large Weapons
  • Winfield:
      The Winfield is your bread and butter rifle. Respectable damage and good accuracy combine for a great all-rounder. Most of your Tier 1 hunters will come with a Winfield, and a headshot with it can drop even a full 150 HP hunter from range. You will be using this gun - a lot- so learn to use it effectively. Variants:
    • Compact
    • Talon

  • Carbiner
      Solid mid-tier rifle. A bit more damage than the Winfield and people really like the sights on her. Not my personal favorite but a lot of Hunters love it as a cheaper option than the Mosin or Sparks.

  • Sparks
      The Sparks is a high powered single shot rifle. She has a longer range, better accuracy, and higher damage than the Winfield - but only has one round in the chamber. A body shot can critically wound or outright kill a lower health hunter. Two center mass shots will down a hunter. Make your shots count and you can tip the scales with this monster. :murder:

  • Mosin-Nagant
      The monster in the dark. The death-dealer. The game-ender. This beast deals massive amounts of damage, with a Winfield like rate of fire and a fast reload. Eats ammo but you can put down 8 hunters and still have a few to spare. Expensive, loud, the be-all end-all to long range combat in this game. :murder:

  • Nitro Express
      For those moments when you think the Mosin isn't powerful enough and would rather have a gun which can put a hunter down with a single chest shot, be heard throughout the entire map, and make most of your enemies extract when they hear it go off. The issue is that you HAVE to land your shots because ammo is limited, and it's expensive as hell.

  • Romero
      Standard high-powered single shot shotgun. Monstrously lethal at close range, less effective at medium - long ranges. One close range blast is lights out for a hunter. Variants:
    • Sawed-off (Medium size)
    • Hatchet/Sawed-off (Medium size) :murder: - This is a very good low level option. Fun fact: The hatchet has the highest melee damage in the game, even a limb hit will kill a hunter.

  • Caldwell Rival
      My personal favorite weapon in the game. It's a side-by-side double barrel, each with enough horsepower to down a hunter. The two shots make all the difference in the world when you miss your first, or you have two hunters to put down. Cheap, powerful, reliable. :murder: Variants:
    • Sawed-off (medium size)

  • Specter 1882
      You might get excited to unlock this because it's a shotgun with pump action. Let me save you the disappointment: It's bad. The shotgun takes WAY too long to pump between shots and the damage output is worse than the Caldwell Rival per shot. Don't waste your money.

  • Crown + King Auto 5
      Now we're talking. Imagine fanning with a shotgun. It's instantaneous DPS might be a bit lower than Caldwell Rival, but you have 5 shots and can out so much pain so fast that you will likely win whatever fight you bring it to. If you have the money she's a nice one. :murder:


Medium Weapons
  • Nagant Precision
  • Dolch Percision
  • Romero sawed-off
  • Caldwell sawed-off

Small Weapons
  • Caldwell Conversion Pistol
      Standard issue revolver. Moderate damage with fair handling and accuracy. Holds its own but nothing particularly exciting without the variants. Variants:
    • Chain: (Gives you a shitload of rounds in the chamber, takes forever to reload, fanning fun! Combined with fanning this weapon is a thrill to use against the butcher or other close-range hunters.)
    • Uppercut: :murder:(Turns it into a 45, basically. A smaller brother to the Sparks.)

  • Nagant
      Higher power revolver, slightly more of a punch than the Caldwell but still nothing special. Decent sidearm in a firefight. Variants:
    • Brawler: (Gives a pair of brass knuckles for melee usage - neato!)
    • Precision: (Adds a rifle stock for improved control. A solid substitute for the Winfield which can be put in the secondary slot, although with a bit less effective range.)

  • Dolch
      Strong semi-automatic pistol with great damage and RoF. The sights aren't my favorite, but a lot of people like this one. Variants:
    • Precision: (Adds a rifle stock for improved control.)

  • Machete
    • Powerful melee weapon, good cheap option.

  • Axe
    • This is getting added, I don't know how it's functionally any different than the machete.

  • Cavalry Sabre
    • Civil War sabre re-purposed for slaying zombies and hunters instead of Union boys. A very powerful melee weapon, can one-shot all hunters on a charged hit. My favorite melee weapon. This one has the ability to "pierce" meaning that if your enemy is standing sideways to you, you will go through their arm (not a lethal hit) and instead render damage to their torso (a lethal hit). (This dichotomy is why *sometimes* the machete doesn't one-shot them when you think it should have.) It also has a long reach compared to other melee weapons. Take a stamina shot and rush in with this to make a pile of Tier 3 hunter corpses at least two high. :murder:


Tools
  • Electric Lamp
    • For those times when you just need to scream to the world "HERE I AM, PLEASE SHOOT ME!" Seriously, I have never had a use for this thing. If you play night, it MIGHT come in handy if you are up against the spider in a dark room. Otherwise it does more harm then good.
  • Medkit
    • Medkits can restore lost (not removed) health bars. Use them as if you are aiming then "fire" to start healing yourself or partner. After 5 seconds you will regain a lost bar.

  • Decoys
    • Little throwing things with a long range. Can distract enemies, set off crows, and confuse the hell out of hunters.

  • Knife
    • Solid melee weapon, can stab zombies and hunters in the head.

  • Dusters
    • Brass knuckles for all your swampboxing needs. The best way to use these are to sell them and buy a knife instead.


Consumables
  • Dynamite stick
    • Ka-BOOM!! Classic Trinitrotoluene stcik for all your hunter killing needs. This little firecracker has a very good radius and can obliterate hunters stuck inside a structure, or even out in the open / behind cover if your throwing arm is on point. Great bang for the buck and one of the best low-tech ways to dominate a hunter several thousand dollars more invested than you are. :murder:

  • Dynamite bundle
    • More is better? A modest increase in explosion radius with absolutely lethal damage. For what it's worth I don't see the value over a single stick, or even two single sticks. You could use it against the butcher (near impossible vs. spider given his speed) but why bother?

  • Large Dynamite bundle
    • A hugely powerful explosion - but hardly worth the price tag.

  • Frag Grenade
    • Big radius grenade which sets them to bleeding, if they survive. Pricey-er than the dynamite stick but the larger radius can help score some kills more easily. A great opener to a fight.

  • Vitality Shot
    • Quick 3 second shot which restores all available health bars. Mandatory.

  • Stamina Shot
    • Infinite Stamina mode for unlimited sprinting or melee havoc for a short period of time.

  • Antidote Shot
    • Cures poisoning and makes you immune for a short time.

Tinfoil Papercut posted:

The Most Dangerous Game

This is a PvP game at its core - which means you need to get good at it in order to secure your rightful money from those bounties. Learning how and when to initiate a fight is key in ensuring your hunter's survival and to increase your odds. Learning how to deal with a fight that gets initiated on you is also important. Below I will try to include some tips on how to PvP effectively and not get your poo poo pushed in every game.

WEAR HEADPHONES
Self explanatory. If you're not wearing headphones, you're going to miss a lot of noise cues and their direction, and you're going to die more often and miss chances to kill people.

Checking Spawns

One of the first things you need to learn is the spawn points and how other hunters are likely to approach your position. This information alone can improve your game drastically.



Most higher level hunters will, right off the bat, begin checking the nearby spawn points in an attempt to catch someone else unprepared for an early fight - and to remove the immediate and future threat. Downing other hunters within the first minute of the game gives you a great advantage, as the local population is "thinner," reducing your odds of being jumped during clues - in addition it removes a potential future threat and gives you information the other hunter teams don't have (that a team is dead) At the very least, you should be aware of the direction other hunters are likely to approach a clue from.

5 Teams spawn on the map, for a total of 5-10 players. (there's a very rare exception where it may be 11 people and 6 teams) The spawns are randomized, everyone can be on one side, everyone can be spread out, you have a corner to yourself.

Typical early hotbeds of fighting include: Fish + Sons, Catfish Grove, Davant Ranch, Blanchett Graves. The other areas certainly can be - but the nature of the spawns at the above areas usually leads to early fights.

Be aware of your surroundings

This seems like common sense, but the number of times I've seen people be completely oblivious to what's around them is staggering. Know the fastest and most reliable way to kill a hunter? Shoot near the pack of hellhounds he's sneaking by in the open field.
  • Know where the nearest resupply caravan is
  • Know the nearby spawns and how many teams are likely to remain on the map.
  • Take note of the health packs you come across as you're moving through an area. It can, and will, save your hunter's life sometime.
  • Keep note of the monsters surrounding you. If there's a meathead south of you, it's very unlikely any hunter is going to sneak up from south of you.
  • LISTEN for noise. You need to learn and understand something as subtle as the sound a zombie makes when he's interested in a noise (i.e. not even aggro'ed) Same with hives, leeches, etc.
  • Red barrels can blow up! Don't sit near them, and feel free to detonate them when an enemy hunter is sitting on one.

Fight on Your Terms

So you've spotted another team and have a chance to engage them. Great, but how do you do it? You need to consider where you are, where they are, and where either team might wind up.

  • Learn the sounds of each weapon and listen for what they're using. A Winfiled, Mosin, and Carbine all sound different. A Caldwell double-barrel is both distinct and lethal.
  • If there's a nearby resupply caravan, you need to put that behind you so it's YOUR retreat point. There are always health packs there for instant heals.
  • If you're engaging from range, consider what's behind you for cover. If you have a backdrop of trees / shrubs - that's great for cover and so it's harder to sight you if you're in front of it.
  • Don't shoot from water, don't retreat or chase through water. Stay out of the goddamn water.
  • If you have a shotgun or other close range weapon, try to get within effective range. Downing a hunter right off the bad heavily tips the scales in your favor to kill the remaining partner.
  • Wait until they are fighting an armored or hive and are otherwise distracted. If they are fighting another group, let it play out for a minute or two before you clean up.
  • Don't engage if they have a tactical advantage such as a large structure or height.
  • If you are within range, open with some explosives. You are likely to get one or both and it's always worth the price tag.

I got jumped

Congratulations, you weren't paying as much attention as the other guy. As a general rule of thumb, you don't want to turn and try to win the firefight, especially if you're injured already. By the time you LOCATE exactly where they are, they're usually sending their 2nd or 3rd shot, both of which could be lethal.

  • Find good cover immediately. Get into a thick treeline or a large structure if nearby. Fences or small structures can obscure vision, but don't hide behind it. Get somewhere where you can heal and break LOS.
  • Heal as soon as it's safe. Unless they're actively sprinting after you, get a health bar back with a shot or medkit.
  • Use dynamite / frags for cover or for a counter. After they go off, they give a nice area of smoke for a few seconds which obscures vision.
  • If they've downed your partner and lost you - they are going for a lantern. Now is a good time to retaliate before they burn your friend.
  • Don't pick up your partner until it's safe - you're asking for a headshot. If you tagged them with your weapon and they backed off, that can provide a window to pick your friend up.
  • If things are looking grim, better to retreat and live then fight and die.

Aiming Down sights
Advantages:
  • More accuracy at range
  • Depending on sights can facilitate targeting of body parts (head, upper chest)
  • Gives some zooming
Disadvantages:
  • Slower movement speed while ADS
  • Lower peripheral vision for incoming shotgun psychos
Best used on: Mosin, Carbine, Nagant / Caldwell pistols and variants (non-fanning), Nitro

Hip Firings
Advantages:
  • Good suppression fire
  • Good peripheral vision
  • Faster movement speed
Disadvantages:
  • Lower accuracy
  • No zoom
Best used on: All shotguns, fanning pistols, Dolch, Auto-Mosin

Tinfoil Papercut fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Aug 21, 2018

Sticky Nate
Jan 9, 2012

looks rad

So Icey Seifuku
Dec 26, 2007

Since this game has "perma-death" I wonder what occurs if you don't secure the bounty but also don't die.

Would it essentially allow for your hunter to continually live to fight another day but you'd receive either a substantially diminished reward or nothing at all, or over time would your character slowly succumb to some illness/madness caused by the "piece of hell" inside themselves due to their constant inability to secure the loot.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

So Icey Seifuku posted:

Since this game has "perma-death" I wonder what occurs if you don't secure the bounty but also don't die.

Would it essentially allow for your hunter to continually live to fight another day but you'd receive either a substantially diminished reward or nothing at all, or over time would your character slowly succumb to some illness/madness caused by the "piece of hell" inside themselves due to their constant inability to secure the loot.

This stream talks about progression and character development. I don't know if it answers your specific question - but it seems your characters have their own rank, but also your account will hav it's own overarching progressions called "bloodline." I haven't finished watching, but once I parse it I will add a subsection above.

Something tells me you're going to like their community manager as well. :mmmhmm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZocb_Xk-Yk

Edit: they said you will get EXP from killing NPCs and you will get cash from collecting clues. It will feed into your character / bloodline progression. The bounty is a massive reward, however. Also everything is evenly shared between you and your partner at the end of the game.

Tinfoil Papercut fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Jan 3, 2018

So Icey Seifuku
Dec 26, 2007

Tinfoil Papercut posted:

This stream talks about progression and character development. I don't know if it answers your specific question - but it seems your characters have their own rank, but also your account will hav it's own overarching progressions called "bloodline." I haven't finished watching, but once I parse it I will add a subsection above.

Something tells me you're going to like their community manager as well. :mmmhmm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZocb_Xk-Yk

Edit: they said you will get EXP from killing NPCs and you will get cash from collecting clues. It will feed into your character / bloodline progression. The bounty is a massive reward, however. Also everything is evenly shared between you and your partner at the end of the game.

Regardless, I feel that going after other players first and then killing the boss off at your leisure will be the optimal strat.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

So Icey Seifuku posted:

Regardless, I feel that going after other players first and then killing the boss off at your leisure will be the optimal strat.

No... going after the players who are going after the players who are going after the boss!

Doorknob Slobber
Sep 10, 2006

by Fluffdaddy
this reminds me of that one game with the monster and the hunters, but with a less lovely implementation of the monster

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
Updated OP with info I gleaned from their stream on progression + development of your account and characters.

Perestroika
Apr 8, 2010

Looks pretty interesting, though I'm wary on the semi-permanent leveling. Usually whenever you have a game where mechanically better options are tied to progression outside of the current match, it tends to end up being more frustrating than anything else.

So Icey Seifuku posted:

Regardless, I feel that going after other players first and then killing the boss off at your leisure will be the optimal strat.

Depending on the map design, the opposite might also end up happening: Ignore the boss and other players for the most part, and just camp out near the closest exit(s) to pick off whoever's left in the end.

marshmallow creep
Dec 10, 2008

I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

Yeah, the competition with other players for the bounty feels like it could be the most frustrating part, and distracting from what otherwise could be a fun bug hunt with a buddy. That has me wary of being too interested.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

marshmallow creep posted:

Yeah, the competition with other players for the bounty feels like it could be the most frustrating part, and distracting from what otherwise could be a fun bug hunt with a buddy. That has me wary of being too interested.

From what I understand, there's nothing stopping you from doing said bug hunt and extracting without the bounty while everyone else murders themselves over the additional EXP.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
Seems like they are moving toward ensuring they have their prelim streamer population in place - it wouldn't surprise me if alpha drops in the next week or two.

If you're interested in playing alpha, head over to their website and sign up for the lotto. You won't get the full game, but you might get into the pre-release testing phases.

https://twitter.com/HuntShowdown/status/951151887809736705

turn off the TV
Aug 4, 2010

moderately annoying

Tinfoil Papercut posted:

From what I understand, there's nothing stopping you from doing said bug hunt and extracting without the bounty while everyone else murders themselves over the additional EXP.

Except that the other players murdering each other are going to be trying to murder whoever gets the bounty first and foremost. It seems to me that matches will probably just boil down to all of the players camping the bounty or extraction points.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

turn off the TV posted:

Except that the other players murdering each other are going to be trying to murder whoever gets the bounty first and foremost. It seems to me that matches will probably just boil down to all of the players camping the bounty or extraction points.

But remember you get EXP and cash from killing baddies around the map - not JUST from the bounty. Once the banishment starts everyone can see where it's happening.

If you want to avoid that shitshow you can go elsewhere and shoot things - or you could just leave immediately with what you managed to earn up to that point - or you could lay low for a bit and kill things after someone else has left with the bounty.

The gameplay design seems very much based around risk / reward - and there is nothing to stop you from taking very few risks.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
They're apparently doing a "stress test" today which they organized on their official discord. I find their advertisement of this to be lacking at best, as well as the knowledge of their official discord.

(https://discordapp.com/invite/huntshowdown)

Either way, more evidence to suggest that alpha access is dropping in the near future. Be sure you sign up on their website.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
https://twitter.com/HuntShowdown/status/954005464538378240

:pcgaming:

Vakal
May 11, 2008
I'd like to think that who ever made this game played 15 minutes of The Order: 1886 before throwing it in the garbage and setting out to make a good version of it.

Zaodai
May 23, 2009

Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.



Threw my signup in. :getin:

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
I'm not going to condone signing up multiple times with multiple e-mail accounts - but if I happen to get a few extra codes I will gladly share them with goons.

Zaodai
May 23, 2009

Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.


Tinfoil Papercut posted:

I'm not going to condone signing up multiple times with multiple e-mail accounts - but if I happen to get a few extra codes I will gladly share them with goons.

Completely unrelated to the above, but a friendly reminder that gmail allows you to append stuff with a plus sign to your email address and have it come to the same address, and many signup systems see those as different addresses, so you could do "myaddress+1@gmail.com" and it would come to your myaddress@gmail.com account. :pseudo:

Zaodai fucked around with this message at 18:39 on Jan 18, 2018

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

Zaodai posted:

Completely unrelated to the above, but a friendly reminder that gmail allows you to append stuff with a plus sigh to your email address and have it come to the same address, and many signup systems see those as different addresses, so you could do "myaddress+1@gmail.com" and it would come to your myaddress@gmail.com account. :pseudo:

:yum:

Orv
May 4, 2011

So Icey Seifuku posted:

Since this game has "perma-death" I wonder what occurs if you don't secure the bounty but also don't die.

Would it essentially allow for your hunter to continually live to fight another day but you'd receive either a substantially diminished reward or nothing at all, or over time would your character slowly succumb to some illness/madness caused by the "piece of hell" inside themselves due to their constant inability to secure the loot.

I didn't realize we had a thread for this already, I was planning to make one come Early Access but on this point in particular; you can extract at any time, with or without a bounty. This preserves your hunter (gear, character XP, bloodline gate progress) and gets you the XP and cash from any clues you got immediately. Since you have to earn a certain amount of XP before it gets banked to your bloodline, if you want you could farm mobs and clues and then extract.

The trick is that as the game is currently set up, unlike say DayZ or Tarkov, there's not a ton of incentive or reason to keep a hunter around for all 50 (their current per hunter cap) levels. This is all from stream watching, but guns are pretty lethal, even pistols will one shot headshot from close in, and a good repeater rifle is relatively cheap comparative to how much a bounty gets you. Since you're not extracting gear from people you've killed (at least currently, no idea on their plans there) it's basically all about getting enough XP to bank a bloodline gate and then you're home free to die and just buy another hunter and the gun you want. The permadeath is there and will definitely heighten the risk/reward and tension, but you're not really losing anything by dying aside from a little time, provided you're not complete poo poo at the game.

TL;DR - Right now it seems more like a session objective game that happens to have character permadeath than anything really persistent.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

Orv posted:

I didn't realize we had a thread for this already, I was planning to make one come Early Access

:69snypa:

Let me know if there's anything critical I missed that you would have included, most of what I have is gleaned from streams.

Orv posted:

but on this point in particular; you can extract at any time, with or without a bounty. This preserves your hunter (gear, character XP, bloodline gate progress) and gets you the XP and cash from any clues you got immediately. Since you have to earn a certain amount of XP before it gets banked to your bloodline, if you want you could farm mobs and clues and then extract.

The trick is that as the game is currently set up, unlike say DayZ or Tarkov, there's not a ton of incentive or reason to keep a hunter around for all 50 (their current per hunter cap) levels. This is all from stream watching, but guns are pretty lethal, even pistols will one shot headshot from close in, and a good repeater rifle is relatively cheap comparative to how much a bounty gets you. Since you're not extracting gear from people you've killed (at least currently, no idea on their plans there) it's basically all about getting enough XP to bank a bloodline gate and then you're home free to die and just buy another hunter and the gun you want. The permadeath is there and will definitely heighten the risk/reward and tension, but you're not really losing anything by dying aside from a little time, provided you're not complete poo poo at the game.

TL;DR - Right now it seems more like a session objective game that happens to have character permadeath than anything really persistent.

Yeah, it seems like if you were looking to do a few low-risk games for some light cash + prizes then you absolutely could.

Zaodai
May 23, 2009

Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.


I'll probably just play it like I play PUBG: Go in with the goal of ruining as many people's games as possible before I die.

Roll in as a hobo with a shotgun, blast some guy to deny him his fancy safe lootin' and XP, die from having revealed my position to a billion people.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

Zaodai posted:

I'll probably just play it like I play PUBG: Go in with the goal of ruining as many people's games as possible before I die.

Roll in as a hobo with a shotgun, blast some guy to deny him his fancy safe lootin' and XP, die from having revealed my position to a billion people.

Player Class: Hobo
Weaponry: Shotgun, Fists, Dynamite
Mission: "Ruin as many games as possible"

Hunt: Showdown - GOTY 2018

Regrettable
Jan 5, 2010



Zaodai posted:

Completely unrelated to the above, but a friendly reminder that gmail allows you to append stuff with a plus sign to your email address and have it come to the same address, and many signup systems see those as different addresses, so you could do "myaddress+1@gmail.com" and it would come to your myaddress@gmail.com account. :pseudo:

Adding periods in places before @gmail.com works on a lot of sites, too.

Orv
May 4, 2011

Tinfoil Papercut posted:

:69snypa:

Let me know if there's anything critical I missed that you would have included, most of what I have is gleaned from streams.

I was mostly just waiting until mechanics and stuff were locked down, you've got everything I'd have put in there.


Zaodai posted:

I'll probably just play it like I play PUBG: Go in with the goal of ruining as many people's games as possible before I die.

Roll in as a hobo with a shotgun, blast some guy to deny him his fancy safe lootin' and XP, die from having revealed my position to a billion people.

One of the streams showed a break action double barrel shotgun for $4 and as of the last stream each clue was cashing out 10 or 15 bucks, so you could roll hip deep in shotguns forever. Dynamite is, understandably, somewhat more expensive.

Orv fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Jan 18, 2018

my bony fealty
Oct 1, 2008

Looks real neat. Love the southern aesthetic. Shades of STALKER which makes me wanna buy this immediately.

This and Escape from Tarkov are giving me good reason to get a new PC

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

my bony fealty posted:

Looks real neat. Love the southern aesthetic. Shades of STALKER which makes me wanna buy this immediately.

This and Escape from Tarkov are giving me good reason to get a new PC

There is something about the deep south swamps that hits all the creepy buttons for me. This and RE7.

It's some primal fear of being out there alone and getting a leg stuck in deep mud.

Orv
May 4, 2011
There will be at least one more stress test next week and they reopened the form for joining it, make sure you're in the official Discord when/once you sign up. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdG1ASqzXj_U3CTcQBTr76Duf01fUQFVepE982sCZvh4A5Qvw/viewform

Be aware that it is very much a stress test.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos

Orv posted:

There will be at least one more stress test next week and they reopened the form for joining it, make sure you're in the official Discord when/once you sign up. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdG1ASqzXj_U3CTcQBTr76Duf01fUQFVepE982sCZvh4A5Qvw/viewform

Be aware that it is very much a stress test.

Timezone's suck - I probably won't get to partake unless something drastic happens at work, like a federal government shutd....... :woop:

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
https://twitter.com/HuntShowdown/status/956225342829719552

How do you NOT want to shoot people and/or hellspiders In the face with a shotty?

Rifles are more popular than I give them credit for, I guess.

Orv
May 4, 2011
If you signed up for that second stress test wave it's starting today at 9AM PST/12PM EST/6PM CET, make sure you're in the Discord, talking or not.

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
Stupid timezones and employment. :argh:

Tinfoil Papercut
Jul 27, 2016

by Athanatos
There is a strict NDA in place for the stress-test alpha. Here is what I can safely share:

Orv
May 4, 2011
Closed Alpha keys went, they're doing waves so the typical if you didn't get one this time etc. Anyone who signed up for those stress tests gets automatic continued access to the Closed Alpha stage.

Game good.

deported to Canada
Jun 1, 2006

Yeah it sucks I signed up with a couple of emails and was poo poo out of luck. Devs aren't saying how long its on for which is a shame, I'm bound to miss it.

Orv
May 4, 2011

deported to Canada posted:

Yeah it sucks I signed up with a couple of emails and was poo poo out of luck. Devs aren't saying how long its on for which is a shame, I'm bound to miss it.

It's looking like multiple months before Early Access the way they've been talking. I don't know that everyone will get in but it'll probably be a decent portion of sign ups.

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Skoll
Jul 26, 2013

Oh You'll Love My Toxic Love
Grimey Drawer
I got in for a stress test but haven't had a chance to play yet. Are we gonna organize play in the Showdown discord?

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