Some new attacks for the Nihilanth?

Black Mesa Archive Suggestion Box
#1

I think that the Nihilanth encounter in the original HL is a bit too simple. Ok, the Nih can teleport you and can launch electrical bolts, but it’s too simple anyway!

The Alien Controller (https://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Alien_Controller) has a kind of attack the Nih has not: sometimes, the controller opens his head a shoot an orb to you. Why don’t you give the nih a similar attack? In the moment that you crack its head open, it will make an orb that does something (AoE attack? electrical charge? destroy/disable your equipped weapon? shoots randomly in your direction? anything!)

That makes the encounter a little more complicated in the moment it needs something to maintain the climax. What do you think?

#2

Personally I found the final encounter with the Nihilanth a bit of a letdown after such an awesome game. BOSS FIGHT! END. Just seemed a bit of an ‘easy’ way to end.
I wholly endorse the idea of making the end battle more involved.

#3

Perhaps more vort’s should spawn in the fight. That made it interesting to me, and it complicated things right when I was trying to jump up to throw satchels in the Nihilanth head.

#4

no way I’m gonna throw satchels in the final moment: a true gordon freeman always jump on the enemy’s head and use his trusty crowbar! (and yes, it really works on nihilanth :slight_smile: )

#5

Agreed. The original Nihilanth battle wasn’t very challenging, especially for an end-game. Here is my normal strategy:

  1. Spawn and immediately camp behind a big pointy rock
  2. Take out Nihilanth’s regeneration crystals
  3. Move slightly to the right… now I can shoot Nihilanth, but he won’t attack me (and therefore, no supporting vorts spawn)
  4. Aim hivehand at Nihilanth
  5. Place something heavy on mouse button to maintain constant fire without having to hold it
  6. Get coffee
  7. Check on game
  8. Make sandwich
  9. Check on game
  10. Eat sandwich and drink coffee
  11. When Nihilanth’s regen orbs are finally gone and his head open, trampoline up and toss whatever explosive ordinance I have left into his brain pan
  12. Accept g-man’s offer
#6

LOL! There should be Gargs or some shit guardin’ the regen crystals. You should have to beat on his head 3 times too. Like you manage to leap into his head and deal enough damage and it propels you out and the regen crystals kick in again. RINSE, REPEAT! Each time could get moderately harder, I guess.

#7

The Nihilanth fight was the most boring and choresome boss fight I have ever played. It is a black spot on what I consider my favorite game of all time.

A long time ago, I suggested that he have a telekinetic attack using those many floating rocks around him, but most of the devs said it would be too much of a departure. But he does have arms, maybe he can throw them, or have his energy beams smash the scenery into flying deadly debris.

And the Nihilanth’s chamber was too simplistic. I understand that you don’t want the scenery to be stealing the scenery from the final objective, but it seriously looked and felt as if some kid who just learned how to use Hammer put that together as his first map. By the time we reached the Xen levels, VALVe was running out of money and were pressured for a speedy release from Sierra. Nowhere is this more apparent than the Nihilanth boss fight.

#8

I hope they add a great deal more complexity to the arena, too. I mean, the original is just so damn simple, not counting the other places. I’m talking about the main room.

It would be more interesting for Nihilanth to spawn a shitload of enemies, thus forcing you to take cover in one of multiple ‘secondary’ rooms or corridors. And if you spend too much time hiding in there, I’m sure the devs can use the Cinematic Physics to simulate Nihilanth blowing up the whole damn room around the player.

So, you would have a temporary place to hide from substantial groups of enemies that spawn when you do some critical damage, which becomes a privilege that you can’t abuse unless you want Nihilanth to simply use his mind powers to tear it all down and force you to dodge falling rubble.

That alone would make the boss battle more interesting.

#9

I always found that it looked weird when he opened his head and there seemed to be nothing but an energy ball inside of it.
The opening itself looked very strange too. Hopefully the BM Team will do better on that scene. I’m looking forward to it.

#10

Yeah, maybe he could do a roundhouse kick too :meh:

#11

Nice suggestion from the OP. And I agree with Xappy and DoctorWee about the boring final battle.

Put more vorts or other enemies to support the Nihilanth is an option, but also would be nice to see the Nihilanth using some kind of attack based in the physics engine (and/or you using a thing based in physics from the ambient against him). Will be great to see BM taking full advantage of the Source features in that battle.

For example rocks falling from the ceiling over you, platform obstacles or whatever… I can’t imagine anything right now, but it could be a nice addition and give to the player a good surprise challenge.

#12

Yeah, he’ll get right on that with his legs-- owait.

#13

I guess now we know what happened to his legs :lol:

#14

A simple idea to prevent big pointy rock camp: make those rocks desctructible, after some attacks of the annihilanth in a rock, this rock will break, and then you need to take cover in another one.

#15

Well, destructible rocks are ok, but I’d rather prefer a cinematic scene in the moment you destroy a crystal: roundhouse psychic kick from the nihilanth, angry for what you did :jizz:

#16

He should be more scary. A giant levitating foetus just doesn’t do the trick for me.

#17

this has been suggested a thousand times but he should use psychic attacks similar to the advisors, perhaps when you’re in his brain? actually I was reading a fanfiction version of half-life (it was fantasic) and the nihilanth shows him a vision of the combine and how they had destroyed his home, and advisors etc.

#18

Maybe if you’re getting too close to the Nihiltanth he takes you with his brain and throws you at the wall so you get certain amount of damage, that makes the fight or the desctruction of his brain not too easy. You can only shoot his brain from a distance.

#19

I think the gene worm from Oposing Force was even worse. The Nihilanth fight isn’t too bad, the only problem I have is that its just too easy to avoid damage, sometimes I flung myself into a teleport orb just to liven things up.

#20

Yeah, the Gene Worm was the most boring and by-the-numbers boss fight in any HL game :frowning:

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