8 replies to this topic

[draco7891]

So, RE: all the other threads on Siege. This isn't a refresh of the idea, not a gentle change; more like opening all the airlocks to hard vacuum and starting over.

So, not-at-all-briefly:

Numbers to change as balance dictates.

Initial Phase

• Players carry innate 50 EU. Upon player death by enemy player, enemy receives innate + any collected EU. Suicide does not drop EU.
  
• EU must still be deposited back at base.
  
• 600 EU to launch ship required (ie, 12 enemy kills, or entire enemy team twice over)
  
• EU collects in tanks as normal; any energy received beyond mech capacity is not collected (discourages camping/long term engagement)
  
• No energy trees.

Conflict is the means by which the battleship is launched. Players must fight. Gives losing team opportunity to deny energy through kiting/ambushing. Discourages long-term camping. Places high-value targets in harm's way, encouraging protection strategy/tactics. Does not invalidate long-range fighting/builds as current blob drop system does.

Battleship Launched

• Player weapons cannot damage Battleship, must control AA. Turrets still destructible.
  
• AA location is open/unshielded (no dome structure).
  
• Energy tree locations become Radio Towers. When friendly team controls AA, Radio Towers deploy shield on AA. One shield is weak protection against Battleship weapons, both shields offer complete protection (but not from player weapons, at any state). When enemy team controls AA, Radio Tower deploys Orbital Strikes on AA location, on a timer with appropriate aural warning of incoming rounds to players on AA. One tower a major nuisance, two an insurmountable wall of explosive death. Player must remain in range of Tower to continue effects. Players killed by Orbital Strike do not drop EU.
  
• Battleships come equipped with 4 turrets, with approximately 5x as much health as they have currently. Turrets randomly auto-seek targets of opportunity. Can be controlled from Energy Deposit pods at base; when controlled by player, have boosted ROF over automatic mode (to create incentive for player use).

Allows for multi-layer defense and strategy. Gives defending team opportunity to attack AA beyond attempting zerg-rush into 6-man squad, gives attacking team something to do besides stand around for 2.5 minutes. Prevents base-sitting and Battleship-leveling. Encourages conflict between teams. Creates central goal with multiple paths to achievement (distribution of forces, use or non-use of resources, method of attack or defense, etc.).


Miscellaneous

• Base health returned to 3.
  
• Battleships, when encountering an enemy ship, will fire on each other in equal measure. Deployment of Battleship can be used as counter to enemy ship, at cost of team's collected EU stores. Control of AA (and therefore damage to enemy ship) determines winning ship.
  
• Battleships do not "level" in any capacity.
  
• Battleships do not have deer droppings (no random EU drops on destruction).

While I would like to keep the current blob drop for energy arrangement (to encourage players to push into enemy territory and think about kills before making them to prevent enemy collection), it really shuts down any hope for long-range players, ie Sharpshooters or EOC Rocketeers or Hawkins Brawlers; they'd just be in the way, giving energy to the enemy (which would then become a strategy of goading kills to pick up EU). The only way I see to fix that is to instantly transfer EU to the killer (with the corresponding balance that you still can't collect more EU than the mech holds, encouraging regular pitstops and shuffling of the playing front: the "winning" team has to secede their field position in order to deposit their energy, while the losing team can press the advantage).


Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find the flaw in my grand master plan.

Draco

[Beemann]

Why wouldn't I just set up my team in a corner somewhere and spam at anyone who came in to flush us out_
I mean I could have a pretty nice setup with turrets and such near some choke point. Why would I want to play aggressively_

[draco7891]

Beemann, on November 30 2012 - 01:48 AM, said:

Why wouldn't I just set up my team in a corner somewhere and spam at anyone who came in to flush us out_
I mean I could have a pretty nice setup with turrets and such near some choke point. Why would I want to play aggressively_

Because long-range weapons/AOE weapons/Infiltrator cloak. Or, because proper map design ensures there are no insurmountable choke points, and proper weapon balancing ensures there is a rock for the scissors of turtle play.

Draco

[Necro]

Bases have weapons so there is your choke point. Stay in the base.

I think there would at least need to be one source of EU the players have to fight over and only one team can claim.

[Beemann]

Infil cloak is visible on certain settings, but as for the other points imagine holding a spot like the high ground energy node on Titan.
There are very few sniping spots, and the defenders have the advantage
As well, unless you're running a bunch of flak scouts and brawlers, you should be able to return fire on a sharpshooter
Ultimately there's no reason not to set up camp somewhere and play the "who gets bored first" game with the bother team, whether that waiting spot is your base, a spot with decent cover and awkward approach angles, or some other position that is easily defensible

[Karaipantsu]

Making the resource gathering ENTIRELY combat based is just TDM, and WILL result in easier roflstomps.  You cannot make the resource gathering entirely combat based without destroying the gameplay of the mode.  I do like the idea of controlling the BS turrets, tho.  That could be interesting.  The Radio tower idea, though, just creates another MA situation, where holding all three nodes is basically essential to success.

Most of these ideas are not viable because they alter the structure of Siege to be less resource gather and more combat, moving them closer to the other game modes.  Seige is interesting BECAUSE it isn't like the other game modes.  There's ways to encourage combat and competition without making it the focus.

[draco7891]

I think I understand the point you're all driving at, that combat should be incidental rather than fundamental to Siege gameplay (that is, a means to an end rather than the end itself).

Thank you, gentlemen (and whatever Beemann is ). I'm afraid, however that you've inspired other ideas that must be expounded upon...

Draco

[Necro]

Your welcome for the suggestions and I hope your expand on your idea

[Karaipantsu]

More discussion is better discussion.  My ideas in the Seige refresh thread were all improved by other's inputs shaping the way I envisioned making the game better.  Keep throwing ideas around, and they eventually become viable options.