How would you change the Doom 1&2 Chainsaw

In your opinion, how would You change the Doom1&2 Chainsaw to make it more useful?

Add more pinkies to levels. It already is very useful, as an infinite ammo alternative to the chaingun that you can use on things that are right next to you. Most of the common in your face threats can already be stun-locked to death by it. I suppose if the idea was simply to make it more powerful without changing the theme too much, simply increasing its pain chance would do wonders to expand its already considerable if range limited versatility. I'd normally never try chainsawing an archvile to death, but if it had a sufficiently large buff to pain chance, that'd be an overly practical ammo conservation measure against lone viles.

no enemies can attack you while it is in use, also, matrix time when using it, and telefrags each enemy.

2 minutes ago, Isquilt said:

Add more pinkies to levels. It already is very useful, as an infinite ammo alternative to the chaingun that you can use on things that are right next to you. Most of the common in your face threats can already be stun-locked to death by it. I suppose if the idea was simply to make it more powerful without changing the theme too much, simply increasing its pain chance would do wonders to expand its already considerable if range limited versatility. I'd normally never try chainsawing an archvile to death, but if it had a sufficiently large buff to pain chance, that'd be an overly practical ammo conservation measure against lone viles.

Something that can be done is double the chainsaw attack speed (similar to doom 64's chainsaw) to increase pain chance rolls, would you agree?

I suppose this wouldn't change it, but the first thing that popped in to mind is a Wolverine claw knuckle thing.

YEEEEEAAAAAAAAHH

The chainsaw makes more sense in the context of Doom 1 continuous episodic play. In modern Doom 2 levels, the levels are often quite long and are meant to be consumed individually from a pistol start. But when you're playing an episode of shorter levels, you only keep the berserk pack for the rest of that level. It's a great dynamic.

Who can the chainsaw safely stunlock? Isn't a chainsaw better than berserk against PE's and cacos? What if the chainsaw were just fast enough to stunlock HK's? Or if their pain chance were slightly raised? If there's even one mid-tier enemy that's safer to kill with a chainsaw, that's huge.

Unlike the Fists or Pistol, I feel like the Chainsaw doesn't need any actual changes to improve it. It's a great tool in maps with very few resources to help conserve ammo but you can't spam it mindlessly against every enemy either. Using the Chainsaw can be risky, but if you pick your targets well and manage your surroundings, you'll be rewarded with extra ammo for later encounters.

In my honest opinion, the Chainsaw in its current state is just not something that gets my heart going whenever I find it, unlike a hidden early Rocket Launcher for example. The official games don't really have maps that rely on ammo deprivation enough if any for it to become a handy tool, it's just there so it can fill the spot for the cool factor of using a Chainsaw on monsters while saying fuck yeah! 

I think turning it into a rare item like a BFG for example and giving it "fuel" ammo while also making it extremely powerful melee weapon with very little ammo provided for would be something that would make it more attractive in my eyes, rather than just a slightly better weapon than the fist. Maybe something like a melee Plasma Rifle where it can fit the early "Panic Gun" if you get caught up in a tight pickle. Also removing the "locking" mechanic completely because it's sucks. Honestly, if given a berserk, there are very few cases where the Chainsaw can be effective and even then I would still prefer the feel of berserk punches.

The potential is there and I do like it but in the end it's just a weapon that gets overwhelmed quickly by the weapon arsenal Doom provides.
 

more importantly WHY would you change the Doom 1 and II chainsaw? :/

Be able to throw it.

2 hours ago, Anonymous777 said:

In your opinion, how would You change the Doom1&2 Chainsaw to make it more useful?

Nothing, chainsaw is serviceable the way it is imo. I'd rather not have to deal with the broken vanilla collision detection but it's there to sometimes fuck the fun of any hitscan/melee combat.

3 hours ago, Isquilt said:

Add more pinkies lost souls to levels.

Assuming you're given a chainsaw, this is more fun imo :P

^{inb4 someone crosses out chainsaw and types RL, yes}

Get rid of the "hook" so you can sidestep with it.

Gibs.

I've just put SF_NOPULLIN|SF_NOTURN flags and the chainsaw is now freaking satisfying to use. No more unneeded autoaim, player pulling and crazy cam shaking. I've never even picked up the chainsaw intentionally, from now on, I will :D

Make it similar to the one from Serious Sam where the chainsaw is like 6 feet long.

Maybe give it a tad more range in order for it to be usable on large bullet-sponge enemies like arachnos and mancs. They do have a low enough pain chance for it to be effective in stun-locking them, but their hitbox is so awkward that any attempt simply backfires. Badly.

I don't think I'd change anything about it, aside of the way it sounds... I will say though that doom64's double-bladed chainsaw does have its charms.

i would have done a blood soaked chainsaw mechanic, Every enemy spills blood onto it and by the end of a map the chainsaw is colored dark red/blue whatever color demons bleed, imo that would be fun other then the gore aspect i think i would keep it the same, Maybe a added range on it 

A somewhat exotic control mod, allowing for a fully analog throttle in order to modulate the damage and the "pull" it causes to enemies. Imagine carving into an enemy...letting go of the throttle just a bit, causing the enemy to feel relieved for moment...only to ramp it up again, tormenting the poor (?) soul (?)

hmm...maybe the Next Big Thing in Brutal Doom?

Change the sprites to the Doom 64 double-barrelled chainsaw and have it produce gibs with splatter on the chains.  I wouldn't change any of its mechanics, though.  Just not a fan of the OG chainsaw aesthetic.  It looks just too 'normal' for me.

15 hours ago, Maximum Matt said:

Be able to throw it.

Haha I had a stream-of-consciousness thing where I was about to post this:

Then I imagined Doomguy throwing it and the chainsaw gliding blade-first into some hapless hellspawn and carving them up before returning handle-first. I thought to myself, "That sounds awfully familiar." and I racked my brain trying to figure out where I had seen that before. I thought of the Deliverance shotgun from Borderlands 2 but realized it wasn't quite the same thing. I remembered the Razor Wind from Turok 2 and that led to this beautiful piece of cranium carnage:

That War Blade at the beginning, though. Lots of fond memories of decapitating raptors and dinosoid bastards with a sound effect that rival's the Demon's death thump in tickling my bloodlust boner.

Chasm: The Rift is pretty satisfying in that regard.

it would be like in this video

Nothing needs to be changed although there's rarely a map to encourage Chainsaw gameplay.

Two chainsaws

Three chainsaws

I wouldn't change it at all. Being a melee only chaingun, it is already extremely useful for painlocking enemies which can be painlocked to death without using ammo.

Some ideas:
1. Be able to swing it for a wider area of attack.
2. Have a chance to instill fear in lesser demons who will run away
 

I'd replace the chainsaw with a pair of scissors!