Holy wow, and I thought ranting about ghost mobs was the end of my rants against speculative, super-difficult enemy types in Hytale. I thought, nothing can get sensibly harder than ghost mobs!
Turns out, as I worked on my gang war draft, I spent a lot of time thinking about disguised enemies and how I think they could be made foolproof beyond simply putting on clothes and acting the part. After covering such simple disguises, I instantly thought of Prototype's disguise system since I played Prototype and Prototype 2 as a teenager, and dang, there's a lot more to cover than I expected so I couldn't make the next paragraph extra short.
Here it is step-by-step: Protagonist Alex Mercer (Prototype) or James Heller (Prototype 2) consumes something, whether it's a human or an infected.
Mercer/Heller then gains the target's memories so they know everything their target knows--this can teach them how to operate a military vehicle, for example.
When consuming a certain infected creature, they gain that creature's powers, such as claws or a giant blade.
When consuming a human, they can (almost) perfectly disguise as that human. This not only allows them to disguise as a military personnel to evade the military or enter military property, but also succeed in biometric tests like hand scans. Heck, while disguised as Lt. Riley, Heller even used Riley's exact voice.
Already, this is much more sophisticated and foolproof than the Dungeons & Dragons "Disguise Self" spell, which I find to be more realistic yet easier to fool because it doesn't change how the creature physically interacts with the world; for example, touching a normally tall person who's disguised as a short person above the head would cause a collision as if touching an invisible wall. This doesn't change the disguised creature's personality or magical abilities, either. To avoid having the disguise blown (aside from another creature succeeding on an Intelligence (Investigation) check), the creature has to convincingly play whatever it's disguised as, just like with simple clothing-based disguises. When disguised as a magic user, the creature should be able to practice the same school of magic at the same skill level as whatever it's disguised as.
In other words, "Hey, look at me, I'm LunaticTactician disguised as BoltOLightnin! I may look short, but I'm really tall 'cause the area above my head is invisible yet solid! Look at me pretending to cast lightning magic even though I'm a fistfighter in reality!" Normally, BoltOLightnin doesn't talk like this--I don't remember him ever being sarcastic.
In Prototype though, the protagonist even gains the effects of the outfit worn by the victim. In the mission "Alpha Wolf" where Heller fights Dr. Archer, he has to stay in a masked form like that of a scientist or Blackwatch soldier to avoid breathing deadly fumes. Again, foolproof.
With all these amazing traits of Prototype's disguise system, I can only imagine how hard it would be to fight a Hytale creature that can disguise just like Mercer or Heller (though not necessarily through consumption; I imagine that maybe mind-reading and absorbing a creature's magic (such as with the Arcane Trickster's Spell Thief feature) can give a creature enough information to disguise as the other creature).
Imagine a Trork that can sunbathe while disguised a Kweebec to restore HP while retaining its Trork powers.
The only way to reveal a disguised creature's true identity (without the enemy accidentally or voluntarily revealing it) is to attack it. If the creature has a damage weakness, resistance, or immunity that doesn't align with whatever it's disguised as, it's a fake. While a regular Blackwatch soldier can be killed by one or two bullets from an assault rifle, Mercer and Heller take a LOT of bullets to kill, whether or not they're disguised. (Heck, Heller can eventually become completely bulletproof.) On the other hand, Mercer takes damage from Bloodtox, a chemical that only harms infected even if they're disguised.
However, this is risky as it can sacrifice faction reputation for a faction I want to befriend, such as Kweebecs. The Kweebecs might think I'm punching one of their own, or I could accidentally punch a real Kweebec.
Side note for modders: I realize that disguises can be detected by a mod similar to Damage Indicators which shows exactly how much health a mob has. For example, if a Kweebec normally has 20 HP and a Trork has 40 HP, a Kweebec showing up with 40 HP may indicate a disguised Trork.
When making a Hytale Damage Indicators, show the disguised mob's current and max HP as proportional to whatever it's disguised as. For example, a fake Kweebec with 38/40 true HP can be shown as 19/20 HP.
Of course, give the option to show a disguised mob's true HP for players who want to cheat, play "Creative mode", or debug.
Actually Fighting This Darn Thing
Basically, fighting an enemy disguised in the Prototype style is like fighting two or more different enemies in one.
Some of its powers will be predictable depending on the form it's using; for example, an enemy disguised as a Kweebec will most certainly have the Kweebec's unique abilities like sunbathing.
On the other hand, its other powers may be revealed either by shapeshifting to a different form or by actually using them, such as a "Kweebec" summoning void creatures as allies, revealing that it has a Void Eye form.
Field Combat
I almost thought of immediately charging towards enemies disguised as hostile faction members like Trorks, but then I realized, "Maybe friendly faction members like Kweebecs could disguise as Trorks as part of a heroic plan..."
So I should avoid attacking disguised mobs.
If they strike first, I'll be ready to parry.
But what if a friendly faction member disguised as a Trork attacks you to blend in with the Trorks and you don't know it's a fake Trork?
First, I'll attempt to negotiate with the "Trork" in the styles of friendly factions I know--who knows, its true form could be a Feran or another mob instead, so a Kweebec-style negotiation may not always work.
Bringing various faction members can be done instead to maximize my chances of a successful negotiation since they know their factions more than I do ('cause I'm just a human).
If it doesn't respond differently to any of my negotiations, I'll chip it away with attacks of various types to find its true weaknesses, resistances, or immunities, then change my fighting style or run away depending on what I think is its true form. (If it doesn't have any of those, it's probably a human. lololol) For example, if the "Trork" is weak to fire and axes, I'll stop attacking because it's probably a Kweebec.
If all else fails, I'll fight to the death even if it means sacrificing friendship.
Defensive tactics and ranged attacks are extra important since I won't know all the enemy's attacks right off the bat.
A javelin and a shield are ideal since both are one-handed, the shield allows blocking and parrying, and the javelin can be used at both close and medium range. This way, I have lots of time to dodge ranged attacks, stay out of close range (and attack at close range if I have no choice), and safely deal chip damage to the disguised foe. Edit, May 31, 2020: The May 30, 2020 progress update confirmed the ability for human players to throw spears.
If a javelin is unavailable, I'll put away the shield and wield a crossbow since it's loaded similar to a gun and I don't have to take time to pull a bowstring; I only need to reload. Once it's loaded, I can fire instantly.
As for armor, I'll keep wearing light armor (or whatever armor is appropriate for a rogue-like Hytale character) to allow me to dodge easily, and it synergizes well with shields because shields can block attacks that I fail to dodge.
Alternatively, if I'm wielding a crossbow, I can wear heavy armor to resist enemy attacks, especially unavoidable kinds.
If a ranged weapon and a shield are unavailable, I'll just wield any melee weapon with the fastest possible attack speed (or even use my fists) to continuously stagger the enemy and prevent it from counterattacking.
That said, this doesn't work on fliers, so I might need to learn to fly or jump super high.
Just please, please don't make me fight a disguised boss or mob disguised as a boss on the field. Captains and generals are fine, but "true" bosses like the void spider and Varyn aren't.
Bringing various faction members can be done instead to maximize my chances of a successful negotiation since they know their factions more than I do ('cause I'm just a human).
If it doesn't respond differently to any of my negotiations, I'll chip it away with attacks of various types to find its true weaknesses, resistances, or immunities, then change my fighting style or run away depending on what I think is its true form. (If it doesn't have any of those, it's probably a human. lololol) For example, if the "Trork" is weak to fire and axes, I'll stop attacking because it's probably a Kweebec.
If all else fails, I'll fight to the death even if it means sacrificing friendship.
Defensive tactics and ranged attacks are extra important since I won't know all the enemy's attacks right off the bat.
A javelin and a shield are ideal since both are one-handed, the shield allows blocking and parrying, and the javelin can be used at both close and medium range. This way, I have lots of time to dodge ranged attacks, stay out of close range (and attack at close range if I have no choice), and safely deal chip damage to the disguised foe. Edit, May 31, 2020: The May 30, 2020 progress update confirmed the ability for human players to throw spears.
If a javelin is unavailable, I'll put away the shield and wield a crossbow since it's loaded similar to a gun and I don't have to take time to pull a bowstring; I only need to reload. Once it's loaded, I can fire instantly.
As for armor, I'll keep wearing light armor (or whatever armor is appropriate for a rogue-like Hytale character) to allow me to dodge easily, and it synergizes well with shields because shields can block attacks that I fail to dodge.
Alternatively, if I'm wielding a crossbow, I can wear heavy armor to resist enemy attacks, especially unavoidable kinds.
If a ranged weapon and a shield are unavailable, I'll just wield any melee weapon with the fastest possible attack speed (or even use my fists) to continuously stagger the enemy and prevent it from counterattacking.
That said, this doesn't work on fliers, so I might need to learn to fly or jump super high.
Just please, please don't make me fight a disguised boss or mob disguised as a boss on the field. Captains and generals are fine, but "true" bosses like the void spider and Varyn aren't.
Base Defense
Faction members in my base should be paired up at all times to fool stealth tactics similar to Mercer and Heller's Stealth Consume move. If you've ever played any Prototype game (particularly Prototype 2 because Heller can't tag a soldier as a fake), you'll know how annoying it is to attempt a Stealth Consume when two soldiers are constantly staring at each other.
Similarly, passive mobs like chickens should be constantly guarded by faction members. I can't risk having a hostile mob disguised as a chicken then getting counter-attacked by something other than a beak or talon when I collect my weekly meat delivery. Imagine if, out of all the animals you set on fire to collect cooked meat, only one is strangely unaffected even though the game isn't glitching.
If disguises can be stealthily obtained from long range using magic, I'd have BoltOLightnin put magical shields around our allies (like maybe the Nondetection spell from D&D which protects against divination magic?), though it'd be a waste of magical energy for him since I expect to have a huge army of faction members. On the other hand, if I choose to conserve his energy, I'd station a small number of faction members on our Trump wall and keep the others as close to the town center as possible to reduce the chance that enemy magic range will touch them (assuming this magic can go through walls), but that would reduce our defensive strength during a large-scale invasion...and thanks to Shadrok introducing me to Middle-earth: Shadow of War, I can imagine just how numerous and strong such enemy armies can be.
Or just have players patrol near our borders and kill those who are plotting to make disguises. YoSquid has good eyesight anyway. lololol
If disguised enemies raid our base, we'll use the same tactics I discussed in "Field Combat", except I'll kill disguised friendlies immediately because there's no point in negotiating when a whole enemy army is keeping ours distracted. Not like our non-disguised Kweebec friends will mind since they're also unknowingly killing their friends...
If disguised enemies raid our base, we'll use the same tactics I discussed in "Field Combat", except I'll kill disguised friendlies immediately because there's no point in negotiating when a whole enemy army is keeping ours distracted. Not like our non-disguised Kweebec friends will mind since they're also unknowingly killing their friends...
Future Predictions
Did you notice I didn't mention NPCs disguising as players? Well, prepare to have your minds blown...
If artificial intelligence (AI) becomes SO smart that it can read people's minds in the real world then use the acquired information to disguise an NPC as a player character in the Prototype style, then good luck playing co-op playthroughs 'cause your friends may not be able to tell you apart from the fake one...unless you're using a third-party software like Discord to chat.
Or maybe the disguised NPC can use your own abilities and fighting style against you. Like, imagine if you're a Leeroy Jenkins type of player and the computer knows you're a Leeroy Jenkins and uses that play style. The computer could even tweak the player's fighting style to get rid of its weaknesses, so the NPC effectively becomes stronger than the player even with the exact same stats and equipment!
Man, computers and programmers are crazy. But that's why I love 'em.
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