SnickerPuffs
New member
Hubabuba's "Detonator" concept opened my eyes to how easy it was to mod custom heroes into the game, even with the restriction of not being able to make any 'new' abilities. I've spent the weekend practically in a fugue state, feverishly trying to rework the scrapped hero Thumper into a more cohesive and ready-to-use state, learning as I went along.
The mod isn't fully feature-complete (which I'll elaborate on below), but it *is* playable! Download link, with instructions, will be at the bottom of the post.
(1) Shatter Cannon
This ability is changed the least from it's in-game equivalent. According to some members of the modding community, this ability is bugged on some level, so I decided to restrict my changes to a few minor value adjustments. The final upgrade is meant to have synergy with Thumper's new gun-- since you need to reload his entire clip before firing, one shot at a time, having a built-in way to speed this process up will help the gun feel more usable during the early game. Sadly, I wasn't able to get this to work in my mod, so this feature is just flavor text for now.
(2) Boundin'
This is the first new ability to Thumper's kit, replacing one that spawned a powerful tornado that pushed players around. Codewise, Boundin' is a heavily-modified version of Abram's ultimate ability "Seismic Impact", but Majestic Leap item is closer to how this ability should feel and function. In either case, a mobile and leaping ability seemed apropos for a rabbit hero.
(3) Fortification Ward
This is the second new ability to Thumper's kit, replacing one that dealt minor damage-over-time to a target hero while highlighting them. With my new lore for Thumper giving him employment as a civil engineer, I wanted to give him a "construction-y" ability without invading too much into McGinnis' niche. Most of her abilities revolve around offense (automatic-firing sentries, a wall more intended to trap people in than shut them out, her "Rocket Barrage" ultimate), so to contrast I wanted to make an ability for defense. Using her "Medicinal Specter" as an base, I geared it towards preventing damage instead of recovering from it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get this modified version of McGinnis' "Medicinal Specter" to function in my mod. Instead, the base ability is used as a placeholder.
(4) Spike Strip
Another holdover from Thumper's original kit, this ability has been given MASSIVE reworks-- originally, it was his second ability, but did even more damage over an even larger range, and with a much shorter cooldown. Paired with his original ultimate ability, the tornado ability I mentioned above (and it's mind-boggling eight-second recharge), you could deal a NASTY amount of damage VERY frequently. It was unfair.
A few heavy whacks with the nerf stick later, and I think this ability is in a much better standing. It's still very strong, but now the victims caught in it's grasp have a fighting chance at survival without being instantly deleted.
Installation and Disclaimers
(Keeping this the same as Hubabuba's instructions)
1. Download the included ZIP file, and unpack it
2a. Install the VPK file, following the method for installing skin mods
2b. Navigate to 'resource/localization/citadel_heroes' folder in your Deadlock install, and replace the 'citadel_heroes_english.txt' file with the one included in the ZIP
3. Done! Load up your game and play around with my Thumper rework!
This mod WILL NOT WORK in public matches, only in Sandbox and Hero Testing! If you want to test this mod with friends, create a self-hosted private match with the mod installed by ALL participants!
This mod will likely break after the next patch, since the edited files it relies on (the hero, ability, and english localization scripts) recieve major updates often. If it's been a while since I've updated this mod to the most-recent version of Deadlock, or you have balance suggestions, nudge me and I'll fix them as soon as I can!
The mod isn't fully feature-complete (which I'll elaborate on below), but it *is* playable! Download link, with instructions, will be at the bottom of the post.
(1) Shatter Cannon
This ability is changed the least from it's in-game equivalent. According to some members of the modding community, this ability is bugged on some level, so I decided to restrict my changes to a few minor value adjustments. The final upgrade is meant to have synergy with Thumper's new gun-- since you need to reload his entire clip before firing, one shot at a time, having a built-in way to speed this process up will help the gun feel more usable during the early game. Sadly, I wasn't able to get this to work in my mod, so this feature is just flavor text for now.
(2) Boundin'
This is the first new ability to Thumper's kit, replacing one that spawned a powerful tornado that pushed players around. Codewise, Boundin' is a heavily-modified version of Abram's ultimate ability "Seismic Impact", but Majestic Leap item is closer to how this ability should feel and function. In either case, a mobile and leaping ability seemed apropos for a rabbit hero.
(3) Fortification Ward
This is the second new ability to Thumper's kit, replacing one that dealt minor damage-over-time to a target hero while highlighting them. With my new lore for Thumper giving him employment as a civil engineer, I wanted to give him a "construction-y" ability without invading too much into McGinnis' niche. Most of her abilities revolve around offense (automatic-firing sentries, a wall more intended to trap people in than shut them out, her "Rocket Barrage" ultimate), so to contrast I wanted to make an ability for defense. Using her "Medicinal Specter" as an base, I geared it towards preventing damage instead of recovering from it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get this modified version of McGinnis' "Medicinal Specter" to function in my mod. Instead, the base ability is used as a placeholder.
(4) Spike Strip
Another holdover from Thumper's original kit, this ability has been given MASSIVE reworks-- originally, it was his second ability, but did even more damage over an even larger range, and with a much shorter cooldown. Paired with his original ultimate ability, the tornado ability I mentioned above (and it's mind-boggling eight-second recharge), you could deal a NASTY amount of damage VERY frequently. It was unfair.
A few heavy whacks with the nerf stick later, and I think this ability is in a much better standing. It's still very strong, but now the victims caught in it's grasp have a fighting chance at survival without being instantly deleted.
Installation and Disclaimers
(Keeping this the same as Hubabuba's instructions)
1. Download the included ZIP file, and unpack it
2a. Install the VPK file, following the method for installing skin mods
2b. Navigate to 'resource/localization/citadel_heroes' folder in your Deadlock install, and replace the 'citadel_heroes_english.txt' file with the one included in the ZIP
3. Done! Load up your game and play around with my Thumper rework!
This mod WILL NOT WORK in public matches, only in Sandbox and Hero Testing! If you want to test this mod with friends, create a self-hosted private match with the mod installed by ALL participants!
This mod will likely break after the next patch, since the edited files it relies on (the hero, ability, and english localization scripts) recieve major updates often. If it's been a while since I've updated this mod to the most-recent version of Deadlock, or you have balance suggestions, nudge me and I'll fix them as soon as I can!
