Ludicrously Overpowered Weapons/beta

Ludicrously Overpowered Weapons, (LOW), is an incredible new 3rd person shooter for Nonadison Lmt.'s V.T. Volcano. It takes a real cast of friends, and accents their ethnicities while giving them stupidly powerful defenses against a Zombie invasion. Recently, after playing Gears of War 2, the style of the gameplay shifted from a more Halo styled game. The reason being, rather than kill humanoids, the targets would be a mix of semihumanoids, closer to the enemies in Gears of War, who are more fun to annihilate anyways. Zombies/monsters/animals/humanoids. Not trying to recruit you, not seeming too human, but intelligent enough to put up a fight. The game focus works out to be a tower defence/RPG version of Left 4 Dead, which averages out to Gears plus Bloons. Expect a sequel.

Intro
2012. Everyone said it marked the end of the world. That everything would be gone in December. They were right, but not in the way they expected.

2012, an indiginous company faced the problem of going bankrupt due to lack of innovation. The reputable area would be affected by any change made to the company. The people held their breath...

2012, a small group of friends were entering their senior year of high school. They were well known in their circles, for the various quirks, backgrounds and skills they had. Notably, they were gamers. And there was one with big dreams...

2012, Nonadison takes off in Ontario's Tri-cities, and quickly fills the area with its revolutionary console. One such way was to hold a contest for a group of winners in the region to participate in the gaming challenge of the century...

2012, Research Yields Momentum was bought out but a wealthy individual no one had heard of before. Nonetheless, he became famous almost overnight. With massive amounts of funding barely plausible, all RYM factories began producing phones the public had never seen before. With the best aesthetic, interface and features the world had ever seen, RYM remade its empire in a month. How could that be? It isn't just that the phones are invincible, but never run out of power, or that the run on the recently taken over combo of Rodge's and Bill's telecommunications...

2012, Nonadison's gaming challenge tested thousands from the region for every conceivable variable a game may need. Their search yielded 8 unique gamers, unusually from the same school. They went to Nonadison's facilities, to join in a game unlike they had ever seen before.

Continued
The 8 gamers entered a board room, and sat down at the table. After a few minutes, the Head of the Canadian Maple Service entered the room. She explained that the CMS was the Secret Service, CIA and MIB of Canada. She also began to recount the events of the past month. RYM rising from bankruptcy, and selling unusually ground-breaking phones. What the phones are made of, why everyone wanted them, and why RYM was offering them to everybody. As absurd as it sounded, the technology behind them was not available on the Earth previously because it was not developed on Earth. A murderous horde of alien TechnoZombies went to planets all over the universe to recruit the population, and obtain the resources to continue. Earth was selected due to its high population and love for technology. All that is known by the CMS is that the cellphones are remote controlled by the aliens to liquify, cover and meld to the user; recreating them as TechnoZombies. So, until they can figure out how to stop it, the group was chosen to train and protect Earth from the threat. That's why the 8 are there. Formalities close the meeting, and training begins.

After the training
2012. December. Doom approaches.

Nonadison finishes research with the military and CMS to use the batteries of the RYM phones and converts them into a viable power source for the experimental weaponry they were working on at the same time. Amazingly, the technology in the camera was also enough to scan complex objects, and replicate them onscreen. Now they can replicate bullets, guns and other objects. Even better is the safe downloading channels for the information. For the moment, most of the weapons are redone military weapons with more power and computing power added to them, but they are strong weapons nonetheless. No doubt, more research will be done when weapons come from Zombies to add to their conquest. The training is complete, and the group goes home to wait the week before the invasion may come.

First Level
They aren't disappointed. December 12, 2012 marks the end of an era. And few no it.

The day started normally. No one noticed anything. Massive discs in the sky? You stare at the clouds to much. Lasers shooting across space? ''What an imagination! Get back to work.'' Nothing happens until noon.

At 12:00, Southern Ontario changes immensely. A massive explosion is heard, an annoying after-ring, and the repercussions of billions of cellphones simultaneously malfunctioning and calling each other. Most owners of the phones whip them out to see what happened, and test them by calling or texting a friend. After spreading intense radiation to heads and hands, the phones overheat, melt, a burn the screaming owners of the new RYM phones. The goop spreads across the arms of the owners of the phones, who attempt to remove the devices. Their efforts are futile, as the TechnoZombies have the art down to a science. Now fully enclosed in a sticky black mess, the owners partly disintegrate and reform into the terrifying image of TechnoZombies. Some partly melted creatures have monitors replacing their heads; others have cables snaking up and down their body. The region has been corrupted. Brains lose potency to gain better communication with the group mind.

However, the group mentioned was in the forest at the time, left their RYM phones at home and brought their old phones instead. Wearing the weapons given to them a week ago, they come across a field with a crashed alien ship in the middle of it, belching smoke out of the top. With a few weapons littering the ground in the area, and health packs around it, the group decides to make an assault plan.

After
The obtain better weapons, and prepare to defend. Minimal cover is available, and minimal cover can be made. They find a weak configuration to make cover, but some is better than none.

Later on, they have better communications, have more powerful tools and weapons, and are better at defending themselves. Eventually purchases can be made (after achieving communications), to improve the time and variety of defenses to build.

Eventually, the take over the RYM facilities, and establish their control over the region. The TechnoZombies know their true enemies, and bide their time before starting another attack. How soon could that be?

Sooner than they think

Characters
Not sure what names to give them. Real names? Code names? Right now, identifiable by their initials. Weapon names may be changed in the future.

Each of these characters are based off of a group of friends. However, these ones may be altered (sometimes, quite a bit), to match the game. Each of the 8 wears an exoskeleton, and a weapon that can scan others and reform.

Weapons and Specs
There are many crazy weapons featured in this game. As such, inspiration will be marked. It used to be marked with asterisks (*), but there are too many epic weapons, so each is marked by name.



User Weapons
Primary weapons are all formidable guns starting from military grade and going to interplanetary warlord. The first are the most used, longest ranged, and most dangerous to the enemies. The second is shorter range, but still deadly. The last is some sort of pistol weapon. Useful, but no always used.

Locations

 * Waterloo Public Library
 * CIGI
 * RIM (most of them, though unnamed)
 * 99 Erb st. West
 * Perimeter Institute
 * 650 Laurelwood Dr (SJAM)
 * Retirement home opposite 375-601 Erbsville Rd.
 * 375-601 Erbsville Rd.
 * The Forest
 * The Lang Tannery
 * Grand River Hospital
 * Across from 15 Westmount Rd South
 * Generic Farm of Doom
 * Generic Sewer of Doom

Gameplay
Game play is heavily based off of Gears of War (2). Active reload, curb-stomping, reviving downed allies and auto regaining health return in this game.

Gunplay
In this game, everyone has one base gun, with a separate pistol and a dispenser. The base gun comes equipped with a dispenser that provides unlimited ammo supply, but needs recharging. The longer you use a gun, the longer the battery takes to recharge bullets. Switch guns with some regularity. The gun itself has a computer that allows it to transform into any of its set configurations, but can replace them with weapons around the battlefield. It can hold the form of three large weapons, and a special melee weapon. The pistol has limited ammo, with its own reloading system. The separate dispenser gives access to grenades. Weapons scattered may be picked up to fund or replace held weapons.

Controls for changing weapons may be adjusted to match the players expectations. One setting is making the buttons correspond with range, (high, medium, low), and the other is an even distribution (two grenades for one button, two primaries for one button, two secondaries for one button).

As the ammo supply can provide for any type of gun, and needs recharging for use anyways, ammo for types of guns are from one pot. That supply can be changed to give more to the gun you prefer. Note that as bullet requirements for a gun change (machine gun to rocket launcher), ammo supplies when transferred change as well. Guns scattered or picked up may be harvested for direct ammo of the same gun that is held (with a bonus), harvested for indirect ammo of same type, picked up to replace current gun. There are also ammo restock boxes scattered, or held by enemies that will provide ammo to all weapons (but more to the ones that need them).

In terms of speed: Changing types of guns (primary to secondary/long to medium range) > changing within type/ range > Successful active reload > running away > reload > failed active reload. Even Gears sticks to that ranking.

Controls
Controls for the Diamond controller


 * swipe i to iW/iW - Pick up weapon/health pack
 * swipe i to iX/iX - Melee/(with s) Special melee attack // Defuse traps
 * swipe i to iY/iY - Jump (oh, yes)
 * swipe i to iZ/iZ - Check locations of allies / Cancel \ Agility
 * i - Interact (based on prompt) / Accept / Continue current agility moves // (if aimed at a defense) - highlights the object, (in sA is pressed while holding i) - build more of that object


 * swipe/press +R left/right - Reload (Double click for active reload. Complete with bonuses and gun jamming. Even though reload, technically means recharge for the latter half of the game)
 * +L left/right - Hold to run / (with mPad direction) - roll / tap - Agility move \ Check ally locations
 * sA - Select/change Long range\Primary weapon // Select/change building tool
 * sB - Select/change Short Range\Secondary weapon (+ pistols) // Select pistol
 * sC - Select/change Medium Range\Projectile weapon // Access expansive build interface
 * sD - Select/change Attack control/Defense control sets (changes to controls marked by "//")
 * s - Pick up weapon as type ammo/half of the combination for special attacks


 * mPad - Move, run when moving is a generally consistent direction / mPad down Drop, if edge grabbing
 * m - Duck (can crawl if a direction is pressed)
 * m, direction on the mPad - Jog / (with +L) - roadie run / (if edge grabbing) climb up
 * lPad - Change camera angle / (Tap if executing an enemy) Look away before the blow connects
 * l - Scope zoom/cancel


 * Swipe toward player beside xR/xR - Fire Weapon/(with s) Special weapon attack // Use tool / fire pistol if selected.
 * xL - Aim
 * Slide on oR/oR - instant turn right
 * Slide on oL/oL - instant turn left


 * Aimer - Special Aim

Changes from GoW

 * Curb stomping can be less violent if gore is turned off. Characters will use their special weapons to eliminate downed opposition. Plus, if pressing l during or before the finishing move, the character will line up the blow, then look away at the last second. With gore, there may be a tiny bit of blood splattering even while looking away.
 * Rather than dying from blood loss, characters have auto-injecting anesthesia before it sets in. Relatably, if two allies are downed but not dead, they can help each other up using the connection feature. They go close, combine a half-battery of sorts, which produces a bar similar but faster than the blood loss meter. Speed advantage decreases with difficulty, meaning less chance of redemption from a downed ally. There is also a small bonus for allies reviving each other.
 * The characters can jump (Yay!) And can also edge-grab. You can also choose to roadie run, which is faster and safer than a normal run.
 * Up to four can play on offline. The characters wear robotic enhancement suits, so they don't pant as hard when they run, and they can jump. A more useful suit than the one in Halo, minus the shield. Similar to Metroid, rather than swimming, they are able to walk through the water. However, most suits merely filter the air, which means staying underwater will eventually drown them.
 * Not quite like GoW in strategies. Though you still are hiding most of the time, this game features a higher appreciation for the facility fought in, and more customization as well. Protection of the building is somewhat optional, but it allows for a higher success rate, so it is encouraged. Arming it better is also recommended. Luckily, because of the time it takes to make repairs to the entire level, there are sandbox gaps in levels to allow rebuilding of the fortress.
 * Quick repairs are rather safe to do, and allow for a small weapon in defense. However, if you want to build something new, and like window shopping, they character will not hold weapons when building, and you may not last long enough to complete what you want.
 * Shopping can be done with invincibility, or without. The interface gives you a view of your character to monitor, as well as the option to renew shields to continue shopping.
 * If one player pauses the game, the character will sheath their weapon, and run around with glowing handcuffs. This distracts enemies, who may shoot at them, but will notice that they're weaponless, and continue what they were doing. If the player returns, they cannot instantly rejoin and shoot again, as that may be unfair (e.g. They ran into the enemy base). In this case, they can either continue running around, or teleport back to their original spot immediately. When killed, one may notice that ghost cams are actually ghost cams. You can fly if you want to better help your remaining allies.
 * Certain enemies are notably limited on ammo supplies. Suspiciously and somewhat cruelly; weaker enemies who rely on their pistol may find it running out.

Points of Interest for this title
LOW 1: putting the Weapons into Ludicrously Overpowered Weapons.
 * Combining building from C&C/TD games into a shooter.
 * Making the heroes maneuverable and quick
 * Allowing double-teaming and other moves that allow and help cooperation.
 * Enemies don't have unlimited ammo