39 replies to this topic

[JackDandy]

Another suggestion- maybe make the shutdown/startup animation a bit slower.._

[aznpunkerboy]

I don't know how sci-fi you guys are planning on going, but I think the Protoss model would make the most sense.  Energy shield that replenishes, health that is gone for good (unless you get repaired).

[V3RTIGO]

With the addition of the Salvaging idea from downed mechs to regain health, I think that using repair bays to regenerate fully, and stationary repair to only regenerate partially

[Nitris]

I really like the idea of being only able to repair a certain percentage of damage taken.

Say only 25% of the damage taken could be self repaired or perhaps better terms would be  "patched up/Jury rigged".
I imagine it being that you can reconnect wires and or parts, or even bypass faulty equipment that have been damaged or disconnected due to weapons fire, but that you can't magically refill your oil tank, fix up fused power couplings or repair deep bullet holes in a piece of armour plate-- The kind of thing that would need to be replaced, or need specialized tools and equipment to repair them that... simply wouldn't be carried by a battle machine.

Salvaging parts from destroyed mechs seems a bit implausible. I mean the poor thing had just taken a beating so bad that it exploded, why do you think you'd be able to gain anything of use from it apart from melting down the alloys_ Even if you ignore that; how are you going to carry around spare parts_ Your mech doesn't have pockets, and I highly doubt there would be much room in the cockpit for a spare mech leg or booster pack- even if it was the correct replacement for your particular mech. (Imagine a heavy mech trying to stomp around with a light mech leg, heh)

In regards to the repair bays, maybe if they had a cooldown after being used that was either on the radar or, perhaps more interestingly not. But a visual aid to tell you if you could repair there or not. Say, green lights around the bay for ready, or red/none for unavailable.
The cooldown could have a secondary effect, that a random repair bay elsewhere on the map gets activated instead of the one just used- keeps people on their toes and stops things being too predictable.

Either as well as or instead of the above; How about mobile repair trucks_ Could be an interesting game mechanic and keep things more focused. Imagine there being a mapwide notification about an enemy/friendly or even a totally neutral convoy of repair trucks and an indicator on your hud/radar. Intense fights to control the repair trucks would ensue. They could be destructible as an extra option for people "Too many enemies covering the trucks to take them for ourselves. All units, destroy the repair trucks! If we can't have them, none shall!"

Ulp, boss is back from his lunch break...

[Immie]

I'm in favor of limited regen based on current health (like the BLC example), but allowing full regenerations by salvaging downed enemies (or a repair station).


I'm relatively indifferent when it comes to needing to press a button to start regen or having auto regen- as long as you can't use your boosts/whatever other mobility abilities you have while repairing. Because escaping and healing at the same time is not cool.

[Phobotech]

Looking at it from a mechanical stand-point, not all damage should be fixable out in the battle field. If it were, than any camper avoiding a fight can just keep camping after skirmishes, time and time again. It would devalue the importance of a repair bay in the first place.

Partial repair per shut-down all the way.

[KnightNeurotic]

JackDandy, on June 21 2011 - 08:39 PM, said:

Another suggestion- maybe make the shutdown/startup animation a bit slower.._

I think this would fix a lot of the issues with self repair being too strong. If the vulnerability window during repairs is longer and your ability to respond to new threats is delayed, it will make pilots have to carefully choose when they want to repair.

If people still don't like the idea of self repair bringing a mech back to 100%, I think the option to recover health through some sort of salvage mechanic on downed mechs is not a terrible idea (despite it being somewhat implausible). In siege mode there is already gameplay revolving around recovering energy units dropped by destroyed mechs. This kind of mechanic creates dynamic gameplay where both teams are aware of a mini objective and need to respond appropriately. Does the low health victor of the duel risk running in to try for the full repair/resource grab or instead survey the area for possible enemy approach routes and notify teammates_ Does a teammate cover an ally while they heal/collect resources from the downed mech_ Do pilots choose to lie in wait and set traps for enemies or do they grab the resources when they have the presumable health advantage_ There are a lot different gameplay options that can revolve around these situations.
Also, in regards to sniper duels, a good sniper should not be receiving damage consistently to the point where they would need to salvage to win the next fight. Even if the sniper mech's health is low, they should still be fairly effective in taking out enemies from afar. One could even argue that snipers will benefit from this mechanic by being able to establish long sight lines on downed mechs where opponents are likely to head.

I am very against the idea of static repair stations because they promote camping. A destination for low health mechs will draw opportunistic pilots to prey upon them. This creats an artifical choke point around the area and the entire game begins to revolve around who has control over the repair station. In turn, this disrupts map flow and leads to very static gameplay. The only place I can see static repair stations being in a team game is behind or at the team spawn/base. Even then I don't like this much because it encourages low health mechs to retreat far from the frontlines just to refill health which seems like a massive waste of time

Nitris, on September 27 2011 - 05:27 AM, said:

How about mobile repair trucks_ Could be an interesting game mechanic and keep things more focused. Imagine there being a mapwide notification about an enemy/friendly or even a totally neutral convoy of repair trucks and an indicator on your hud/radar. Intense fights to control the repair trucks would ensue. They could be destructible as an extra option for people

If there must be repair stations, I think this would be the way to do it. I think this could actually be a very fun separate mode in FFA.

Sorry for the wall o' text. I've played too many shooters with poor mapflow

TL;DR:
Self repair vulnerability could be increased.
Salvage is a good mechanic, inspires dynamic gameplay.
Static repair stations are bad, promote camping and poor mapflow.
Roaming repair stations could be fun if done right.

edited for grammar

Edited by KnightNeurotic, September 23 2012 - 10:46 AM.

[Crow]

Darkraiser, on August 11 2011 - 01:24 PM, said:

I don't know how sci-fi you guys are planning on going, but I think the Protoss model would make the most sense.  Energy shield that replenishes, health that is gone for good (unless you get repaired).

Mmm, yes. I concur.

[Sheriff]

It's great the way it is, no need to change it. Second option is a bad idea.

[Agnar_The_Puzzling]

Hey, look at all the snipers! 'I can't kill an enemy because they just hide and recover while i SIT THERE and do nothing about it! QQ'
I have no problems taking down enemy mechs. keep in combat with them, and don't give them the chance to run and repair. The way it's set up is a good player is able to stay on the field, without having to 'camp a repair bay/medkit spawn'.

The 'halo shield' regen idea was in my personal opinion, a stupid trend that should have ended a long time ago. but i can't deny, liked thier idea of taking medkits off the field. I respect these guys taking efforts to remove them in a diffrent way, but here you all are wanting heal stations! All these will do is create camping spots. MAYBE they could be in a certain game mode down the line, or if the idea of fast partial repair slower full repair is your fancy i guess i'm okay with it, but repair/heal points is a step away from the innovation.

It's fine as it is.

[Miami]

I like how it's different from other FPS games. By shutting down your mech and being off the radar for about maybe 5 seconds or so and getting back into battle. But I also wouldn't mind regaining health slowly while fighting. But different is better.

[D_M01]

Repair stations are a terrible idea, for reasons previously stated. Camping and whatnot. The only true way repair stations could be effective is if they became accessible at random locations around the map at random times.


Current repair mechanisms look fine as they are. If anything instead of maximum repair, the maximum health regained should at least be 80-90% through repairs. Looking at other FPS games (not just Call of Duty) health is usually regained completely through regeneration after a period of time without taking damage. I do not see why it should be different with Hawken regarding the repair drones.

Regarding the teamwork posts: I do not think that this game should be based completely on teamwork. With the current speculated system, the game appeals both to those who work as a team and those who prefer to go solo. It provides an equal balance for all players, which I feel would go well with Hawken's overall play style. Emphasizing too much on teamwork could cause more harm than good. Besides, players usually have reason to help teammates through incentives such as assisted XP or the desire to win.

[Deu]

WIth the set backs of completely turning my machine off for an amount of time yeah it better fully heal.

[SunshineSloth]

The fundamental problem with repair bays is they would create natural static choke points. I mean can you imagine that in DM. The horror.

[FenixStryk]

I really, really, really like the way Bloodline Champions handles healing in their 3v3 Hero-based arena game, but as for Hawken... I really think it's fine the way it is. When you kill someone, you get +150 HP from their repair charge, and if you need more than that you can repair on your own.

I think the idea of repair bays is likely to slow the game down and cause people to be afraid to venture out and patrol the map. Beginners would turtle. I don't see how this is a benefit to the current game's flow.

[Rekkr]

Im not voting on this because I think both answers are insufficient.  I think that when you go to heal, there is a maximum amount of HP that you can regenerate by using your repair drone.  I don't know exactly what that amount should be, but I think that perhaps it should be something like twice the maximum amount of health your mech has.  I think this would work fine, because dead mechs drop little health orbs, so even if you run out of your allotted repair drone HP, you can still gain health in another way.  This would prevent someone from constantly running from battle to go heal in a corner, and make them fight you to get a health orb from your dead mech.

[ArnieF4440]

Rekkr, on January 09 2013 - 04:30 PM, said:

Im not voting on this because I think both answers are insufficient.  I think that when you go to heal, there is a maximum amount of HP that you can regenerate by using your repair drone.  I don't know exactly what that amount should be, but I think that perhaps it should be something like twice the maximum amount of health your mech has.  I think this would work fine, because dead mechs drop little health orbs, so even if you run out of your allotted repair drone HP, you can still gain health in another way.  This would prevent someone from constantly running from battle to go heal in a corner, and make them fight you to get a health orb from your dead mech.

Lol, you do realize the massive thread revive right_ The thread is OLD

[Rei]

innociv, on June 15 2011 - 07:38 PM, said:

I like how Bloodline Champions does it where you can only heal to 40% above your remaining life lost above the lowest point you've been.

I'd be cool with a BLC-type max health system. They would have to change a lot of other numbers to accommodate for it it though. Making balancing extremely hard.

[G4M5T3R]

lol, this topic was brought up in late June of 2011.

It's Alive...​and irrelevant.

Edited by G4M5T3R, January 09 2013 - 06:04 PM.

[Azrael39]

Nice concept but you will get spawn camped at all the entrances and exits of the repair bays.  Which would slow the game down and create kill zones.