[SUGGESTION][DISCUSSION] New skill: Shielder

[Crane]

So as randomly suggested on Discord, I have an idea for a new skill, the Shielder.

The lemming deploys a large tower shield (either medieval-style or a riot shield) then begins pushing slowly forward, as if trying to shove a heavy box by pushing their shoulder into it.  Any lemmings in front of the Shielder get turned around - in effect it's a moving Blocker, but it only affects lemmings in one direction (lemmings coming from behind the Shielder are not affected).

• The Shielder moves at about the same speed as a Basher
• The Shielder stops if they start falling or hit a wall they cannot step up, but don't immediately turn around (in case they're a climber)
• The Shielder can be assigned a skill to make them stop; a Walker won't make them change direction
• Because they have a large shield deployed, the Shielder is actually immune to zombies that walk into it. Conversely, a Zombie Shielder won't infect lemmings that they're pushing with their shield.  However, if the Shielder pushes the lemmings into a wall, everyone will get infected the moment the Shielder reverts to a walker.  The Shielder can still get infected by zombies coming from behind (and will infect regular lemmings coming from behind in the case of a Zombie Shielder)

The idea behind the skill is that it's a new means of crowd control, specifically they can sweep an entire section of floor from one end to the other, as a means of compressing a crowd to get through a trap, say, and it also has the secondary use of slowing an individual lemming down for a long period.  It's also a unique, special and potentially cruel way of dealing with zombie lemmings (e.g. pushing them all into a pool of water!).

Questions that I haven't figured out an answer to yet:

• Should the Shielder stop at a completely impassable wall (more than 6 pixels high) or also at a wall they need to ascend (more than 3 pixels high)?
• What happens if a lemming performing a skill (e.g. a Builder) hits the Shielder's shield? Do they stop what they're doing or do they continue building but change direction? (The Shielder would end up overtaking the Builder or might stop completely because of the need to ascend the Builder's steps).
• What happens if they hit a Blocker? Does the Blocker start walking, or does the Shielder reverse direction? Does the Blocker then face the original direction of the Shielder? (e.g. if a Shielder moving left touches a Blocker facing right, the Shielder will reverse direction, now moving right, but the Blocker will now be facing left).
• What happens if two Shielders push into each other?

I'm sure there's a few other edge cases that I haven't thought about, but how does it look on the surface?

[namida]

I wonder if "Shover" might be a better name for it?

As I mentioned on Discord, I'd at least say that on the surface this idea sounds like it has potential.

I feel a large object like this would limit movement ability, and I in fact wonder if they should be able to move upwards at all; I especially don't think they should be able to move upwards heights that require a transition to Ascender for a walker to do.

If we interpret the shielder as a moving, one-sided blocker, then it makes sense for the builder or basher etc hitting the shield to just turn around and continue as normal. Blocker-blocker interaction is of course undefined, but in this case, I think the logical answer is - blocker remains in position, both turn to face away from each other. Following on from this, it'd then make sense for two Shielders / Shovers interacting, to both turn around.

[Crane]

The main thing is that the shield is an integral part to the tool. A lemming just shoving with their shoulder wouldn't be immune to zombies (I'm sure a level can be built to show this interaction).

I envisioned the Shielder as being able to traverse slightly bumpy terrain, or a floor that is very slightly sloped, but I agree that if they have to become an Ascender (or a Faller if going the other way) they stop using their tower shield and revert to being a Walker.

Of course, the name is a very minor detail. I'm glad it has assume potential though.

[Strato Incendus]

This is basically what the intimidation part of Ghost Lemmings used to do. Maybe give that a try? Link is in my signature!

If we want to isolate this behaviour, rather than simply bringing Ghosts back, I'd suggest "Pusher" as a skill name. Seems even more straightforward than Shover, I think .

[Crane]

The other thing about the Shielder/Shover/Pusher is how they move... instead of moving at a regular pace, they move in slightly jerky motions, much like a Basher.  They stand mostly still, and then push forward a bit at a walker's pace while taking a step, then they brace themselves for a few frames and then push again.  That way it conveys that it's a lot of effort.  From a technical standpoint, when the Lemming moves forward, they move at the same pace as a Walker, so if a lemming gets turned around during this time, they don't fall between the Shielder and their shield and cause infection if one of them is a zombie (or potentially cause a situation where a lemming might escape the Shielder's barricade).

[namida]

This suggestion has been closed (as a rejected suggestion) as per the results of the poll in the "Final New Skill" topic: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=4686.0