[WC] Lopata: Shadow. Detective. Bloodhound. - Evreyenn's WIP Sculpts - 1/30/2017

[Rhekemi]

Name: Lopata  (Bosnian/Polish for Spade)

Alternate Name Options:

 

Alternate name poll here.

Name of Original Operator: Talizuna Nur.

Gender: Female

Role: Tracker. (Detective and a specialist focused on stealth, infiltration, and misdirection. Capable of being The Heavy, hitting hard in the clutch.) 

Theme:  Shadows/darkness and hard-boiled detectives.

Inspirations for Theme, Gameplay, and Aesthetics: 
Pinkertons from 1800s and 1900s world history. 
Hard-boiled private detective archetype from literature, and later films etc. 
Bloodhounds. 
Shadows/Darkness.
Batman. Guilty as charged. (Shadowy detective who can beat the crap out of you with her bare hands. No gadget powers, but I have plans for a batcomputer/Alfred-like combat Cephalon.)

Artwork: All WIPs, sketches, and 3D Models by @Evreyenn

Current Sketch:

Lopata in a possible, dark default color scheme, and in Mirage's scheme:

Follow Evreyenn's Tumblr for the full post

Current Sculpts:

Spoiler

Older Art:

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Stats:                          Unranked (lvl. 0)   Max Rank (lvl 30)

Spoiler

HEALTH                             100                      300                    
SHIELD                              100                      300
ARMOR                              150                      150
POWER                              100                      150 
SHIELD RECHARGE           20                        30
SPRINT SPEED                  1.0                       1.0

Stubbornness (Passive): Lopata, stubborn as a bloodhound, resists 15% of all status procs. Includes shield depletion rate and power drain rate from any energy leech unit. (Stacks with mods.)
 

Abilities:

Route (1st Ability. Tap to cycle/toggle between True and False Route, hold to cast): 

True 
Lopata fires tendrils of shadow at a single, unalerted target. The target’s patrol pattern is highlighted with glowing, green rectangular footsteps for the duration of the ability. True Route procs confusion, and reset's enemy alertness levels.

False
Lopata fires tendrils of shadow at a single, unalerted target, selecting it for misdirection. Pressing primary fire, then dragging to an X meters destination within line of sight will highlight the enemy’s new patrol pattern with glowing, red oval-shaped footsteps for the duration of the ability. Target will follow the new route and stop once they reach the destination. 

Ability Notes and Synergy:

Spoiler

•    Energy Cost: 25
•    Cast Range (enemy selection): 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 meters
•    Cast Range (False Route misdirection): 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 meters
•    Duration: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 seconds
•    Strength: 0. True and False Route do no Damage.
•    Shapes of footprints (rectangle, oval) are meant to help distinguish the ability's states for colorblind players. As suggested by @Blakrana
•    True Route cannot be recast on an enemy unless their patrol pattern changes.
•    False Route can be recast on an enemy.    
•    True and False Route can be cast on Entities. 

Shadow Hound (2nd Ability) 
Lopata becomes darkness, and seeps into the shadow of a single target (alerted or unalerted, doesn’t matter). Lopata will follow the target for the duration of the ability at the target’s run or walk speed. Damages enemy health, and drains enemy health into Lopata while in Shadow Hound. 

Ability Notes and Synergy:

Spoiler

•    Energy Cost: 75
•    Range: 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 meters
•    Duration: 4 / 6 / 8 /10 seconds
•    Damage Strength: -5 / -10 / -20 / -30 enemy HP per second.
•    Surviving enemies slowed by 50% of Shadow Hound’s duration.
•    IE: If Shadow Hound was 20 seconds, they’ll be slowed for 10 seconds.
•    Slow Strength: -20% / -30% / -40% / -50% speed reduction.
•    Heal Strength: Lopata gains +5 / +10 / +20 / +30 enemy HP per second if injured.
•    If uninjured before Shadow Hound, Lopata gains an overshield at the end of the ability.
•    Lopata’s companions (kubrow, kavat, sentinel) benefit from / remain in Shadow Hound as well.
•    Lopata cannot gain health from health pads, or other warframe abilities while in Shadow Hound.
•    Can cast Shadow Hound on a target struck with True or False Route.
•    Can cast Shadow Hound on Entities. Will not heal Entities unless Augmented.

Entity (3rd Ability. Tap to cycle/toggle between Ally Entity and Enemy Entity, hold to cast):

Ally
Lopata emits tendrils of shadow forming an Ally Entity, then bursts -BAMF- into Cimmerian Form (her dark, incorporeal state), and gains a speed boost. Lopata regroups unseen, while her Ally Entity takes the form of the tileset’s enemy faction and walks among them. If Grineer tileset, Ally Entity takes on Grineer form. If Corpus, Corpus form is taken, etc.

Enemy
Lopata emits tendrils of shadow forming an Enemy Entity, then bursts -BAMF- into Cimmerian Form (her dark, incorporeal state), and gains a speed boost. Lopata regroups unseen, while her Enemy Entity takes the form of those hostile to the tileset’s enemy faction and fights against them. If Grineer tileset, Enemy Entity takes on Corpus form. If Corpus tileset, Grineer form is taken. 

Ability Notes and Synergy:

Spoiler

•    Energy Cost: 25
•    Cast Range: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 meters
•    Duration: 0. Entity is not duration based.

•    Cimmerian Form Duration: 3 seconds (cannot be modified)

•    Speed Boost Strength: 125% (cannot be modified)

•    Entity Health: 400
•    Entity Shields: 400
•    Entity Armor: 200
•    Damage Strength: 250 / 500 / 750 / 1000

•    Upon an Ally or Enemy Entity’s death, it will absorb all light in a 20 meter radius, throwing the area into 5 seconds of darkness. Stuns enemies. (Duration cannot be modified.)

•    Ally Entity:
•    Entity will be marked by an aura matching Lopata’s energy color. 
•    Entity also marked by glowing sigil on the Entities front and back (this is for colorblind players). 
•    Sigil will match player’s equipped sigil or default to the Lotus symbol. (Shout out to my friend, @Gamer_Jay as he basically created this idea for an alt helmet for my other concept.)
•    Route and Shadow Hound can be cast on Ally Entity.

•    Enemy Entity:
•    If it’s a Grineer vs Corpus Crossfire mission, Lopata’s Entity takes on Infested form.
•    If Corrupted tileset, Sentient, Grineer, Corpus or Infested Entities are randomly generated.
•    If facing Sentients, Corrupted Entities are generated.
•    Enemy Entity draws aggro while fighting.
•    Route and Shadow Hound can be cast on Enemy Entity. 
•    Shadow Hound will split damage received between Lopata and her Entity.

Cimmerian Form: (4th Ability)
Lopata explodes into a cloud of pure darkness, but retains mobility. In Cimmerian Form she cannot harm enemies, and primary weapon fire is disabled. However, during Cimmerian Form, she gains her custom Lato pistol and a unique, bare-knuckle melee stance. Using her Unique Stance melee attacks and her Custom Lato secondary weapon will drop Lopata out of CF for the duration of the engagement, allowing her to strike with darkness imbued attacks. 

Ability Notes and Synergy:

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•    CF drains energy.
•    Once injured, CF drains twice as much energy. (Encouraging you to not stay in Cimmerian Form 24/7).
•    Energy Casting Cost: 25
•    Energy Drain Cost: 5 energy per second while stationary. 2 energy per second while moving. 10 energy per second when injured regardless of Lopata's movement.

•    Speed: Lopata moves at her frame's sprint speed (ignores/cancels sprint mods, and speed buffs while in Cimmerian Form).
•    When dropping out of CF to engage enemies, drains are paused for the duration of the engagement.
•    Once enemies are engaged, they remain alerted to Lopata’s presence. (Ability is no longer stealthy.)
•    Primary weapons are disabled during Cimmerian Form.
•    Can only use melee and secondary attacks. (Press F or default weapon switch key to swap between melee and secondary.)     
•    Route and Shadow Hound cannot be cast during Cimmerian Form.
•    Entity can be cast during Cimmerian Form.

Custom Melee Attacks During Cimmerian Form:

Spoiler

Lopata overrides chosen melee weapon during Cimmerian Form with unique bare-knuckle combos. Combos belong to a new sparring stance, but most of your chosen weapon stats and mods affect its attack damage, speed and status effects.

•    Strength: 500 base damage for any individual, successful hit within a combo 
•    Strength: 500 x number of hits in successful combo. IE: 4 hit combo x 500 = 2000 damage

Melee Combos: (using basic PC controls and keybindings as an example)

•    Blunting Dusk:
•   Single tap E.
•    Lopata pistol whips a single target.
•    30% chance of knocking them out.
•    Enemies sleep until found by other allies and awoken, or until killed by Lopata/her squad.
•    Deals 1-hit combo damage (500)

•    Fist of the Noir Star: (Or Noir Fist.)
•    Hold E, release, hold E.
•    Lopata fires two right jabs, a left jab, and finishes with a right hook or uppercut.
•    Deals 4-hit combo damage (2000)

•    Eventide:
•    Hold right click, tap E, hold E.
•    Lopata launches into a flying knee. 30% knockdown chance.
•    Deals 2-hit combo damage (1000)

•    Midnight:
•    E, E, hold right click, E, E.
•    Lopata sweeps the enemy’s legs, spins up into a flip-kick, and lands with crushing force on the target’s neck.
•    Deals 4-hit combo damage (2000) + Finisher damage.

Custom Lato. Innate Secondary Weapon During Cimmerian Form:

Spoiler

Lopata overrides the player’s weapon with her custom Lato. Weapon retains most secondary weapon innate characteristics and mods where possible.
   
     Animations and Firing actions:
•    While in Cimmerian Form, switching from melee to secondary with F selects her Lato.
•    Weapon information will be displayed in the HUD, but Lopata will not draw until the player aims/right-clicks.
•    Upon aiming, Lopata will drop out of Cimmerian Form, draw the Lato and take aim.
•    Custom Lato fire rate cannot be modified, but multishot mods and many others apply.
•    Taking the extra time and risk to aim (out of cover) reaps rewards. 

     Custom Lato Stats:
•    Fire Rate: 3 rounds per second (cannot be modified).
•    Accuracy: 30
•    Magazine Size: 10 rounds per magazine
•    Reload Time: 2 seconds (cannot be modified).
•    Maximum Ammo: 200 rounds
•    Physical Damage: 20
•    Impact: 2.0
•    Puncture: 4.0
•    Slash: 20.0
•    Critical Chance: 4.0%
•    Critical Multiplier/Damage: 2.0x on bodyshots. 3.0x on headshots.
•    Status Chance: 4.5%

 

PVE Ability Augments:

Hidden Route (True/False Route augment)

Spoiler

Pathways to non mini-map loot, and secret passages to other loot such as caches are revealed by a trail of glowing, golden diamond-shaped footprints that disappear and reappear at intervals. If within 25 meters of the rescue target, their location is revealed by a trail of glowing, purple triangular footsteps leading to that door. This ties into her nature as a bloodhound, and the ability to track fugitives and rescue/find people. 

Healing Shadow (Shadow Hound augment)

Spoiler

When cast on an ally, Lopata grants 30+ HP per second while in Shadow Hound. Works on Entities, squad members, companions, and organic and inorganic objectives. For allies, this stacks with health pads and other warframe abilities, but not for Lopata’s Entities.

Dark Allegiance (Entity augment)

Spoiler

Ally:

Enemies within 10 meters of an Ally Entity will follow the Entity to its destination and remain there for the duration of the ability. Enemies standing near an Ally Entity when it dies are infected with darkness, and permanently slowed by -50%. 

Enemy:

Any enemies within 10 meters of an Enemy Entity grant it +25 HP and 25% power strength per enemy. Reduces 7.5% of the Enemy Entity’s movement speed per enemy. (Stacking: Capped at 5 times/5 enemies = +125 HP, +125% power strength, and -75% movement speed.) 

Recovery Form (Cimmerian Form augment)

Spoiler

All melee kills during Cimmerian Form grant 7 HP and 7 energy per kill to Lopata and all squad members.

Secondary kills grant no HP or energy recovery. 

All squad members granted bonus critical damage on headshots performed with secondaries.

Ideal Play-Style: 

Spoiler

Track your enemies footsteps and remain unseen.

Control and troll their movement from the darkness.

Leech their lifeforce through shadows.

Divide their ranks with misdirection and subterfuge. 

Conquer all those who remain with decisive, unforgiving strikes.

PVP Changes: 

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Route:

    True Route will now highlight the enemy’s footsteps through walls, terrain and objects.
•    8 second duration. 
•    Enemy marked on minimap for 5 seconds after ability’s ends (5 seconds).

     Forgotten Route (formerly False Route) now clouds an enemy’s mind with shadows, darkening their way as indecision and doubt freeze them in place.
•    4 second duration.
•    Depletes enemy shield / armor by 50% each over the ability duration.
•    After ability’s end, enemy armor / shields restore to 100% (if no damage taken) in 8 seconds.
•    Increases enemy damage (to Lopata) by 75% for 4 seconds after ability’s end.

Shadow Hound:

     Second Ability is now duration locked, drains less health, and now drains enemy energy.
•    Increased casting time.
•    Can be interrupted by enemy weapons or powers during casting time.
•    5 second duration.
•    Lopata +6 HP per second (total 30). Enemy loses -6 HP per second (total 30).
•    Lopata leeches +6 energy per second. Enemy loses -6 energy per second. (Total 30)
•    Upon Shadow Hound’s end or cancellation, enemy is slowed for 2.5 seconds.

Entity:

     Third Ability is now a single cast (non-dual mode) ability. 
•    Duration based. 8 seconds. 
•    Entity deals 50 damage per successful hit
•    Entity will redirect damage within 7 meters of itself to Lopata’s enemies. 
•    Lopata’s Cimmerian Form burst remains unchanged.
•    Upon the Entity’s death, it will absorb all light in a 12 meter radius, throwing the area into 3 seconds of darkness. Stuns enemies.

Cimmerian Form:

•    CF drains energy.
•    Once injured, CF drains more energy. (Encouraging you to not stay in Cimmerian Form 24/7).
•    Energy Casting Cost: 15
•    Energy Drain Cost: 12 energy per second while stationary. 8 energy per second while moving. Drains 20 energy per second once injured, regardless of Lopata's movement.

•    Speed: Lopata moves at her frame's sprint speed (ignores/cancels sprint mods, and speed buffs while in Cimmerian Form).
•    Primary weapons are disabled during Cimmerian Form.
•    Can only use melee and secondary attacks. (Press F or default weapon switch key to swap between melee and secondary.)     
•    Route and Shadow Hound cannot be cast during Cimmerian Form.
•    Entity can be cast during Cimmerian Form.

Melee Combos: (using basic PC controls and keybindings as an example)

•    Strength: 40 base damage for any individual, successful hit within a combo 
•    Strength: 40 x number of hits in successful combo. IE: 4 hit combo x 40 = 160 damage

•    Blunting Dusk:
•    Single tap E.
•    Lopata pistol whips a single target.
•    30% chance to stun.
•    Deals 1-hit combo damage (40)

•    Fist of the Noir Star: (Or Noir Fist.)
•    Hold E, release, hold E.
•    Lopata fires two right jabs, a left jab, and finishes with a right hook or uppercut.
•    Deals 4-hit combo damage (160)

•    Eventide:
•    Hold right click, tap E, hold E.
•    Lopata launches into a flying knee.
•    30% knockdown chance.
•    Deals 2-hit combo damage (80)

•    Midnight:
•    E, E, hold right click, E, E.
•    Lopata sweeps the enemy’s legs, spins up into a flip-kick, and lands with crushing force on the target’s neck.
•    Deals 4-hit combo damage (160) + 10% of total damage.
 

   Animations and Firing actions:
•    While in Cimmerian Form, switching from melee to secondary with F selects her Lato.
•    Weapon information will be displayed in the HUD, but Lopata will not draw until the player aims/right-clicks.
•    Upon aiming, Lopata will drop out of Cimmerian Form, draw the Lato and take aim.
•    Custom Lato fire rate cannot be modified, but multishot mods and many others apply.
•    Taking the extra time and risk to aim (out of cover) reaps rewards. 

     Custom Lato Stats:
•    Fire Rate: 3 rounds per second (cannot be modified).
•    Accuracy: 30
•    Magazine Size: 10 rounds per magazine
•    Reload Time: 2 seconds (cannot be modified).
•    Maximum Ammo: 200 rounds
•    Physical Damage: 20
•    Impact: 1.0
•    Puncture: 2.0
•    Slash: 15.0
•    Critical Chance: 2.0%
•    Critical Multiplier/Damage: 1.0x on bodyshots. 2.0x on headshots.
•    Status Chance: 2.0%

Unsure about these weapon stats. Melee damage seems okay for Conclave, but the Lato stats seem off. All the same, I tried. PVP is still the devil. I rebuke thee.

 

Codex Blurb: 

Spoiler

A master of darkness, Lopata moves in and strikes from the shadows. Tracking, infiltration and subterfuge are her hallmarks.

Lotus Blurb: 

Spoiler

This is Lopata, Tenno. Born from darkness, she follows fugitives like their own shadows, uncovers secrets, and strikes with precision.

Ballas Blurb: 

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Revolution: Fantasy of replicated laborers, 

Of merchants clinging to familial vestiges. 

These kubrow hatchlings pine for freedom with no regard for social order. 

We needn’t exterminate these valuable cogs for their dreams. 

Nor must we spoil them. 

Like an antiquated patriarch, I will not spare the rod. 

As agent provocateur, she will entice them to organize, 

And shatter their spines, their will. 

As sleuth, she will make them distrust their shadows. 

When day is done, and drudges bed down in squalor, 

They will glimpse a hint of gold, movement in the dark, 

But dare not speak her name: Lopata.

Name Inspiration: 

Spoiler

Why does her name mean "spade"? A nod to Sam Spade, an early (but not the first) prominent hard-boiled detective in literature. Created by Dashiell Hammett, novelist and former Pinkerton. Overall, it’s an homage to the genre pioneered by Carroll John Daly, author of popular crime, pulp, and detective fiction.

Additionally, seeing as the purpose of a shovel is to uncover what's buried, or hide something in more dirt, it fits her gameplay and backstory/lore.

Personally I became interested in this idea at this point, and it's the reason she'll be born nine months to that day.

Background information and other random author notes as they come to me:

Spoiler

Hi. 

I've developed my idea for a shadow/darkness warframe. I've aimed for unique, badass, but hopefully not an edgelord or something that's been seen before.

There are countless ideas I've never read in this forum, so someone may have beat me to it. Even though the original thread subtitle (The Darkness Within) was a play on the wait for TWW, it has absolutely nothing to do with TWW. Except that I'm now releasing it in parts. Unintentional. Amusing. But I promise I won't delay her launch.

Several months ago this year, I had an idea for my third (and what might be my last) warframe concept. It'll debut fully a month after my second, which came out a month after my first. I still like the game, the community, and being a concept creator and helping others. It isn't that I don't have more ideas. My issue is I don't think I have the time to devote to turn those ideas into quality concepts. Quality over quantity is a big factor for me. I've also got less time to play the game. 

That said, I'm dropping this teaser now to motivate me to complete the concept. Once I've committed to it publicly, invested in you fine readers, I'll have to follow through.

Either way, I will release everything I have, and the warframe will be born on November 3rd, 2016. 

UPDATE: In order to keep myself on track, I'll try to add something every week, leading up to her birthday, November 3rd (exactly 9 months after her idea was originally conceived). This puts pressure on me to get it done, yes, but it's now or never. I've been holding off on this for months. Live updates are in gold, pending are in red. 

UPDATE: Please note that I'm not confusing bloodhounds with attack dogs and I'm aware bloodhounds really, really like humans. Even the fugitives they track down they're really unlikely to ever hurt. But this is Warframe. Butterflies have razors. I repeat. Razor-butterflies. So while Lopata is partly inspired by a very human-friendly, even tempered animal, she's still a warframe.

Update Schedule:

Spoiler

October 6-7: 

• Name 
• Role 
• Theme
• Inspirations 

October 13:

• Codex blurb
• Lotus blurb
• Ballas blurb
• Abilities and augments

October 20:

• Passive
• Playstyle
• PVP changes
• Energy costs, durations, range

October 27:

• Lore/short story Failed to get this done on time.

November 3:

• Artwork Still underway! But it's not ready for viewing yet. I'm certainly very happy with the artist's work so far, but it's very much a WIP. Doesn't help that I'm not communicating my vision as well as I could. That's a WIP, too. So, uh, soon!

Lore (Short Story): Conceptualized. Incomplete.

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Rhekemi

[Rhekemi]

Updates:

• Added a weekly schedule leading up to Lopata's birthday (Nov. 3rd)
• Name added
• Inspirations added
• Theme added

And then it hit me that I'm actually following DE's part-by-part release. Unintentional and amusing.

[Rhekemi]

Updates and changes:

• I've swapped around her update schedule.
• Tomorrow, her Codex, Lotus and Ballas blurbs go live.
• Her abilities and augments will also go live tomorrow.
• Next week her passive, PVP changes, playstyle, energy costs, durations, range and go live.
• I've pushed her short story back two weeks because it will take me the longest.
• Artwork is underway! But It will still be the last update, or come after Nov. 3rd whenever it's ready. I do not rush artists.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Rhekemi

[Rhekemi]

Today's updates are now live. Feedback appreciated. 

[Rhekemi]

After a Reddit session, it seems naming her after Sam Spade in Bosnian was an unintentionally hilarious decision. (Often read as "shovel", and in Russian Lopata apparently stands for a "failed joke".)

Here are some alternate names.

Votes on a better name and feedback overall appreciated.

[Krion112]

I have bigger feedback to provide later; in depth, game-design stuff.

On the name, I have a two-fold recommendation: first, just name her 'Spade', it's a reference to uncovering the truth, its a reference to that detective, and it can reference playing cards. And with that, my second is for part of her theme to be playing cards, like Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, etc.

Reason being: I feel like playing cards would make an excellent expression of her abilities. Plus, it might just be me, but I often associate detectives and the like with playing cards. Don't know why.

Just my suggestion, carry on.

[Rhekemi]

Thanks for the suggestion. It's a good one, but not quite right for this concept for a number of reasons.

I do like the idea, though.

Much appreciated, and I look forward to your feedback.

Edit:

@Krion112 , oh, man. This is what happens when I am working, responding from the phone and not taking the time to read, digest and then respond.

Naming her Spade did not register as intended. I didn't even see it.

My earlier response was based solely on the theme suggestion.

The history of the word spade and its usage kind of goes Shovel > Black Person > Playing Card. (Though the last two may have happened simultaneously.)

I will find you a link on it later, but regarding its dated meaning referring to Black people, it doesn't bother me so much. It's just still a part of the world's history. (Was used positively and as a slur.)

I will keep Spade in my back pocket, though.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Rhekemi

[Unus]

Are ye sure you wanna just dump her like that namewise? I mean you didn't pick it for the Russian, you picked it for the Bosnian translation, that's all that matters in my book. In any case, I'll stick a vote in, if only just as a backup.

[Rhekemi]

1 hour ago, Unus said:

Are ye sure you wanna just dump her like that namewise? I mean you didn't pick it for the Russian, you picked it for the Bosnian translation, that's all that matters in my book. In any case, I'll stick a vote in, if only just as a backup.

I am not sure. Not at all. I still prefer it. But I am not inflexible, and Reddit and the forum helped me rename Ushtar.

I think what convinced me I at least need one alternate name for Lopata was when reading her Ballas blurb, and translating her name as shovel in my head. It really is quite funny when read that way.

The redditors' reactions were genuine.

Shovel, without knowing she is named after Sam Spade (or why/who he is) takes the wind right out of the lore piece.

[Unus]

36 minutes ago, Rhekemi said:

I am not sure. Not at all. I still prefer it. But I am not inflexible, and Reddit and the forum helped me rename Ushtar.

I think what convinced me I at least need one alternate name for Lopata was when reading her Ballas blurb, and translating her name as shovel in my head. It really is quite funny when read that way.

The redditors' reactions were genuine.

Shovel, without knowing she is named after Sam Spade (or why/who he is) takes the wind right out of the lore piece.

I see, very well then. Just wanted to make sure is all. I have a zero tolerance policy for forced-change hecklers for artists. Reminds me to much of the old papal declaration of chiseling off all the wangley bits on the roman statues.

Also, your welcome!

Edited October 15, 2016 by Unus
Clarification= Complete

[Rhekemi]

Much appreciated. :)

[Rhekemi]

Updates and changes:

• Passive added
• Playstyle added 
• PVP changes added (iffy)
• Energy costs, durations, range (feels a bit iffy here 'n' there)
• Clarified some ability language
• Added more descriptions to mechanics where needed
• Existing numbers from previous updates tweaked (up/down where needed)

[Rhekemi]

Minor update:

• Health adjusted from 375 to 300 (at rank 30)
• Reasoning for change: will make using her healing powers tougher, her ultimate riskier.
• Acknowledgement of an additional inspiration for Lopata: Batman. It came to me after I'd conceived her, but affected her bare-knuckle style.

[Rhekemi]

Postponing tomorrow's update. I don't see myself finishing the short story between this evening and tomorrow.

I've added Lopata's original operator's name, and a bit more about a backburner concept that will feature in her lore. You'll find that under the Inspirations section and it goes in-line with her Batman inspiration. Unsure if it will be in her present-day abilities.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Rhekemi

[Rhekemi]

Lopata tweaks based on subreddit feedback:

Passive reduced from 20% resistance to 15% resistance.

Path now procs confusion and resets enemy alertness levels (to make Path more useful and maintain stealth).

When casting Entity, Lopata now bursts into Cimmerian Form with a 125% speed boost for 3 seconds (cannot be modified). Her original teleport gave the player no directional control.

Cimmerian Form no longer drains health, but now drains twice as much energy when injured. I may revisit the energy costs to ensure it's not easy to bypass the drains and remain in CF. Health drain is gone because it was punitive on a 'frame without a huge health pool.

Thanks again to the Warframe redditors for catching these issues.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Rhekemi

[Rhekemi]

For all intents and purposes, Lopata is now complete (save for lore and artwork!) 9 months to the day she was conceived.

Artwork will be ready when it's ready, as will the lore. 

[zptc]

It's cool to see my ideas integrated :) and it would be nice to see another take on a stealth frame in-game.

[Rhekemi]

They were good ideas (and addressed issues I hadn't even noticed). Thanks again.

[Blakrana]

Having had a look over, for the most part it seems an interesting idea honestly, and a distinct play off of the idea of investigation/misdirection.

As it stands, I can see it being sort of akin to Ivara in some ways; where Ivara manipulates the environment to benefit herself and allies, Lopata flips it to manipulate the enemy for their benefit instead and is more...direct? Main problem I see would be how to make Path: False function with those who use a Controller in a satisfactory way (Though I suppose 'Trigger power, creates a beacon set like a waypoint' which you can slap down and the system just directs from there would be effective?)

Makes me think of Corvo Antano of Dishonoured overall, especially with some of his elusive spells. Good times...

I can't really say so far as Stats go (I am quite prone to under cook numbers per my GMing time), but it's at least compelling to me as someone with a penchant for Stealth roles...though that does mean that I have a measure of bias all the same. Overall, the concept strikes me as a twist on the Assassin. Rather than waiting for your marks to split away you can make them break up, which leads to a more ideal situation to execute them one by one. Predator challenges in Arkham, in a sense.

Also, nice that you actually considered the smart way to identify things for Colourblind players with Symbol use. Guessing it'd likely use the ability symbol itself? Or Mind Control style 'Lotus aura'? Either way...Symbols > Pure colour. Good show.

Something of an aside, I think I see where they came from on the 'Card' motif as the dual nature of Lopata's abilities call to mind, at least for me, the Tarot Arcana and their normal or reversed iterations; whether that's my own lack of a decent reference pool though is another question entirely. All the same, Spade is derived from the Sword suite of the Tarot, which kinda works with the Cimmerian form's more melee approach? Apologies, just musing somewhat.

Not too sure what I can offer on input outside of already noted usability functions, really. Good luck all told.

Either way, apologies for going on, as always.

[Rhekemi]

12 hours ago, Blakrana said:

Having had a look over, for the most part it seems an interesting idea honestly, and a distinct play off of the idea of investigation/misdirection.

First, thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

12 hours ago, Blakrana said:

As it stands, I can see it being sort of akin to Ivara in some ways; where Ivara manipulates the environment to benefit herself and allies, Lopata flips it to manipulate the enemy for their benefit instead and is more...direct? Main problem I see would be how to make Path: False function with those who use a Controller in a satisfactory way (Though I suppose 'Trigger power, creates a beacon set like a waypoint' which you can slap down and the system just directs from there would be effective?)

I had thought of her like a dark version of Limbo, but I see the Ivara similarity, too.

I've tried to use my Logitech F310 with Warframe, but abandoned it in frustration. FPS and TPS requires I use a keyboard and mouse. I would like to find the easiest way to draw the path with a controller, though. I like the beacon idea only I'm not sure how the AI would find its way to that beacon (whether it would take a long, winding path, or a shorter idiot-proof path). I suppose it doesn't matter as long as the enemy gets there.

I like the waypoint idea. Think I'm going to keep it. If you have more concerns with controller issues, please point them out (Cimmerian Form or anywhere where there might be a problem).

12 hours ago, Blakrana said:

Makes me think of Corvo Antano of Dishonoured overall, especially with some of his elusive spells. Good times...

I've only ever watched CinemaSins Jeremy drunk play it, and didn't get a proper sense of his skills from that joke-play. Looking him up now, I have to agree.

I like the idea of a dark operative, working in the shadows and being generally feared as some kind of thing that goes bump in the night (as opposed to a demi-god coming down from the sky in a bolt of lightning, and vanishing--still scary to the people of Warframe's world, but we have so very many of those archetypes already).

12 hours ago, Blakrana said:

I can't really say so far as Stats go (I am quite prone to under cook numbers per my GMing time), but it's at least compelling to me as someone with a penchant for Stealth roles...though that does mean that I have a measure of bias all the same. Overall, the concept strikes me as a twist on the Assassin. Rather than waiting for your marks to split away you can make them break up, which leads to a more ideal situation to execute them one by one. Predator challenges in Arkham, in a sense.

Glad to hear it appeals (stealth wise) to you and zptc. (I'm also biased toward stealth, just wish we could do more of it in more interesting ways than turning invisible.)

(Incidentally, that's another game on the to play list--which means I probably won't--but I'm more familiar with it's style from YouTube.)

12 hours ago, Blakrana said:

Also, nice that you actually considered the smart way to identify things for Colourblind players with Symbol use. Guessing it'd likely use the ability symbol itself? Or Mind Control style 'Lotus aura'? Either way...Symbols > Pure colour. Good show.

I remember those colorblind topics from a while back (and the YT video), but I actually didn't know you were colorblind. Ability symbol is a nice alternative to the MR symbol (and would streamline for less errors/processing, I think).

12 hours ago, Blakrana said:

Something of an aside, I think I see where they came from on the 'Card' motif as the dual nature of Lopata's abilities call to mind, at least for me, the Tarot Arcana and their normal or reversed iterations; whether that's my own lack of a decent reference pool though is another question entirely. All the same, Spade is derived from the Sword suite of the Tarot, which kinda works with the Cimmerian form's more melee approach? Apologies, just musing somewhat.

I didn't know this. That's another vote for Spade as an alternate name, then.

12 hours ago, Blakrana said:

Not too sure what I can offer on input outside of already noted usability functions, really. Good luck all told.

Either way, apologies for going on, as always.

Thanks again, and glad you liked Lopata.

[Blakrana]

4 hours ago, Rhekemi said:

I've tried to use my Logitech F310 with Warframe, but abandoned it in frustration. FPS and TPS requires I use a keyboard and mouse. I would like to find the easiest way to draw the path with a controller, though. I like the beacon idea only I'm not sure how the AI would find its way to that beacon (whether it would take a long, winding path, or a shorter idiot-proof path). I suppose it doesn't matter as long as the enemy gets there.

I like the waypoint idea. Think I'm going to keep it. If you have more concerns with controller issues, please point them out (Cimmerian Form or anywhere where there might be a problem).

Each their own. I'm a very firm advocate for 'use what's comfortable'.

And for the most part, I can't see in this iteration anything else that'd have particular sticking points on a Controller, though those errors tend to be a 'need to use it first and see'. Really, it just comes down to 'how would the path be worked'. I guess an alternative could be to use the reticule and aim the route via analog and then slap the marker down. It's not impossible, but could take a bit of getting used to.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

4 hours ago, Rhekemi said:

I remember those colorblind topics from a while back (and the YT video), but I actually didn't know you were colorblind. Ability symbol is a nice alternative to the MR symbol (and would streamline for less errors/processing, I think).

Yeah, Red-Green. One of my constant questions on Devstreams is if we'll get labels for colours within Palettes, so we can hover/highlight a cell and it tells us what it is. Guild Wars 2 does it, and it severely improves my ability to be fabulous. Add in we've seen it with the Dojo Polychrome swatch, and there's potential it could be a thing. I did try to make a Colour palette cheat sheet, but that's kind of fallen in the 'I really need to get back to work on that' bucket. (Dojo palette was added, and working on getting the HTMLs for better presentation. Woo...work...)

Still, yes: when it comes to Colourblindness proofing, Symbols that are clear and informative are very nice, and essentially serve as a failsafe/redundancy for conveying information. Take the lockers: used to be a regal nuisance getting confused on what could open, but now they've got those snazzy bar differences, casing a set of lockers is much easier. Though as for the 'attempt' with the doors...so far, I'm not finding it very clear on which doors aren't open, as the lights being off doesn't change much. Apologies...Different argument and all that.

[Rhekemi]

I downloaded the file (different phone at the time / wouldn't let me view it in a web page), and I think a hover tooltip with those color names (or something similar) would be great for colorblind and non-colorblind folks alike.

There are a number of UI changes that I'd like to see DE implement. This would be one of them.

EDIT: Small update. Path is now Route (and its variations True Route, False Route, Hidden Route, Forgotten Route.) This change is with respect to @Archwizard 's concept with an ability of the same name, but different utility. 

Edited November 6, 2016 by Rhekemi

[Archwizard]

4 hours ago, Rhekemi said:

EDIT: Small update. Path is now Route (and its variations True Route, False Route, Hidden Route, Forgotten Route.) This change is with respect to @Archwizard 's concept with an ability of the same name, but different utility. 

I appreciate your consideration, sir! (It wasn't really necessary since the ability is "Twisted Path", so yours could coexist... but the fact that you took measures to make sure they could coexist is quite flattering.)

And a very unusual concept you have here...

Edited November 6, 2016 by Archwizard

[Rhekemi]

2 minutes ago, Archwizard said:

I appreciate your consideration, sir! And a very unusual concept you have here...

Yeah. You had the name first. I just didn't remember. Felt weird keeping it.

But unusual is good (and intended!). Thanks. 

[Archwizard]

Just now, Rhekemi said:

Yeah. You had the name first. I just didn't remember. Felt weird keeping it.

Know that feeling. _{^{Chrono and Aeon taken by every Time frame...}}

I'll have to remember to give your work a bit more of a run-down when I wake up...