11 replies to this topic

[Barfing Gopher]

Like the title says, I'm sure this isn't a "new" idea. But instead of QQ'ing about boring matches where my team does awesome but loses by a "cap" out how about a little compromise? All I'd like is a simple, no objective other than kill all the enemy mechs mode. Just straight team Deathmatch. It would be such an easy add, just take away the bases and let us fight. Add an option in the game mode for it and see how many people play on it almost exclusively, I know I would. Not to put too fine a point on it but while I love this game, I want to play MechWARRIOR, not MechSTANDINTHEREDSQUARE, or worse yet get stuck on a team in Conquest where everyone is in slow mechs on my team and feel like the fat kid in gym trying to just catch up to enemy lights because they aren't fighting, just capping, that really makes for a boring game, ESPECIALLY in Alpine Peaks which is an awesome map but the existing game modes make it really frustrating. Anyways, thanks for reading, feel free to flame/discuss. Maybe a brave soul could make a poll to see if there are many others that would like a straight battle without the caps. Good day, see you on the battlefield!

BG

[Pater Mors]

I prefer the extra tactical element. I believe it was mentioned in other threads, but if there is a straight TDM mode what will prevent everyone rocking up in Assaults every match? At least having bases forces some teamwork/tactics. Straight TDM will turn into 'Who has the biggest guns/most armour' very quickly with little to no teamwork required.

[Fabe]

And then there is the issue of hunting that last mech on the other team that is hiding and shut down. I think what we really need is maps designed with certain game play modes in mind. Look at Team Fortress 2, every game mode has its own set of maps build around that game mode.

[Barfing Gopher]

Both good points, and for the record I don't think the other game modes are bad in any way, but I would really like one mode just for a straight up brawl where killing the other team is the only objective. Sure ppl will probably assault it up in that mode, but that's why it is there, just like if I choose conquest I will most likely take my light fast mechs. It will be great when they work something out to either choose the map you play on or be able to choose your mech after seeing the map. Nothing sucks worse than dropping in your slowest assault medium range brawler aaaaaaaand. ALPINE PEAKS CONQUEST. Doh!

[Tarman]

Fabe, on 06 March 2013 - 05:22 PM, said:

And then there is the issue of hunting that last mech on the other team that is hiding and shut down. I think what we really need is maps designed with certain game play modes in mind. Look at Team Fortress 2, every game mode has its own set of maps build around that game mode.

Solaris gameplay needs Solaris arenas. Even River City is too big and full of hideyholes for a griefing Spider to lock down a match, for it to make a good DM map.

[Kylere]

Pater Mors, on 06 March 2013 - 05:16 PM, said:

I prefer the extra tactical element. I believe it was mentioned in other threads, but if there is a straight TDM mode what will prevent everyone rocking up in Assaults every match? At least having bases forces some teamwork/tactics. Straight TDM will turn into 'Who has the most ECM mechs' very quickly with little to no teamwork required.

Fixed it :-0

[Barfing Gopher]

ECM doesn't bother me that much, sure it's annoying in a missile boat, so I make sure to use my atlas that has ECM as my missile boat to counter. Other than that I typically use direct fire weapons so it has very little effect on my play style. I can see how it would be frustrating to others though, especially streak users. As for messing up the HUD/targeting, I get the nohud/minimap bug so much I'm surprised when it does actually work, so I have learned to keep a mental note of where my teammates are and not rely on it so much.

[MadSavage]

Having a team that's not tied to its base will not only open up gameplay options (make camping a lot less viable), but it will also make larger maps more enjoyable.

[Barfing Gopher]

That's pretty much where I'm coming from, I don't mind the other modes, and I'll go for a cap now and then. But sometimes I just want to fight big stompy robots with my big stompy robot until they are all dead. It's annoying to play a great match, get kills, then lose because someone stood in a square for 3 minutes and didn't bother to fight.

[Critical Fumble]

This is part of something I wrote in late December about capture modes. My contention is that having objectives there helps keep lighter and more mobile mechs viable versus slower gunboats without turning the game into an arcade shooter. The system could stand some improvements, though, partially in information sharing, and partially in how the point itself is captured.

Quote

Logically, the difficulty to take an in game objective should match how important it is for you, or for the other team to keep. If there were a point on the map that was important, but not of do-or-die significance, it should have relatively equal difficulty to both take or keep. The assault mode bases are of do-or-die significance, but are as difficult to protect as take.

There is generally only one piece of cover at a base, the rig. The terrain around it also usually blocks most long range fire as well. The party that tries to take the cap has to stand in the square, the defenders don't necessarily. Removing the rig or reducing the long range cover would reduce the difficulty of fighting off an attacker or attackers.

The defenders have to do the same thing as the attackers to stall the cap - stand in a tiny red square. If a defender had a larger area to be in to stall, fast mechs in particular would have a better chance of surviving a heroic attempt to stall a cap in time. If the anti-sniping cover stays in the game, having the defense zone large enough so that a mech can stall from somewhere where someone from the capturing team has to expose himself to fire to kill him, that would also put things more in favor of a successful defense.

Additional ways to stall would also help. Stopping or slowing the influence of a caping mech by shooting it is a popular suggestion when counter caps are discussed; but there would need to be a reasonable threshold for it to activate so that the attackers could win in spite of getting frisked by a single mech with small lasers or machine guns.

Even though you "own" your base, you are blind at that location unless there is a non-disrupted mech there. If there was a detection device attached to the base that could tell you something, anything about the people on or near it would do wonders when responding to a cap attack.

[Barfing Gopher]

I don't know about lighter mechs not being much use, I absolutely love harassing an assault in my Jenner hehe. And a pack of lights against assaults is an interesting match as well. Sure there are faults and ways to exploit it, but it wouldn't be any worse than making a 4 or 8 man, choosing conquest only, and all running fast lights with ECM and streaks. Good article though, interesting ideas.

[Scratx]

As said, matches need a means to end a match early without having to hunt down all the enemy mechs. A Solaris arena is probably, quite literally, the only way you'll get a pure deathmatch mode. Or a clan trial under Zellbringen.