6 replies to this topic

[AeusDeif]

Game modes in MWO are lacking. I've given it a lot of thought and hopefully a -positive- discussion thread will get PGI's attention. It's been mentioned that the most effective tactic in every map and mode is to deathball. Whether there is 1 base, or 5 cap points, or 0, most matches end up being a shootout around the strongest map feature.

Here is why I think this is:

1. In the scoring screen, damage and kills are the main focus. This tells players 'everything besides killing and damaging is superficial, regardless of game mode.'

2. Spawns revolve around the center of the map which makes it the de facto battleground. This trains players to head to center or revolve around center.

3. For modes besides skirmish, there's little reward for focusing on objectives. Instead there's a deterrent -- you get less fun (premature match end) and you get less cbills/xp. And everyone gets shorted by pointless cap-races.

4. And that brings me to fun. The most developed part of the game is combat, therefore it is the most fun. Standing in laser boxes around buildings isn't fun. Combat and mech design should play into every objective, while we wait for other aspects of the game to be developed.

[AeusDeif]

Anyone is free to post the problems/solutions as they see them.

Here are the best suggestions I can come up with, for the problems I listed:

1. The scoring screen should be game-mode specific, highlighting only actions relating to the objective. Skirmish mode should focus on kills/damage/assists, others should not.

1b. Only skirmish mode should count toward K/D ratio, which you might rename 'skirmish K/D ratio', to further remove any OCD incentive to play every mode like skirmish.

2. Solution to drop zones -- Spawn lances close together in a single drop zone. Set several different spawn zones for each map, so that the middle of the map is not always the most direct approach to the enemy team. Sometimes the right or the left side will be the direct approach. Should mean new areas to fight over and more scouting.

2b. Consider not placing an objective in the center of the map. This often becomes the most important objective, creating skirmish-around-central-objective. What if sometimes the objective is only on one side of the map? Or 2 sides? What if some objectives have to be scouted?

3. Incentivize objective warfare with better rewards. Create more buildings to capture and destroy. Captured warehouses that yield equipment or cbills. More powerful turrets with great rewards for destroying.

3b. Match should not end when a building is captured! Building capture should grant a reward or change the gameplay, not end it. Alternatives below.

4. In mechwarrior 4, game modes were distinct and fun, but free for all won't work with MWO matchmaker and CTF doesnt fit MWO setting. How do we incorporate that fun, distinct play? I will suggest changes to assault and conquest, as well as a new Infiltration game mode.


Assault mode with dropship arrival instead of match end:

Spoiler

Other than an asymmetric scenario, the simplest way to improve assault is to add more buildings to interact with, and have the main base be a capturable Anti Aircraft system (recommend some kind of missile).

Reward and scoring would focus on destroying, capturing, and fighting in proximity of/assisting buildings.

When both AA systems are captured by a team (say team 1), then that team's armed dropship hovers over its home base, heavily damaging attackers within range. The only way to drive it off is recapture one of the AA systems. This forces team 2 to decide whether to continue focusing on team 1's buildings, capture team 1's AA to drive off the dropship, leave the base to capture the AA at their own base, or search for team 1 enemies outside the range of their dropship.

'Raid' Game mode to replace underdeveloped Assault:

Spoiler

For real mechwarrior feel, Assault mode should be about taking out an entire base full of dynamic buildings (fuel tanks? reactors? barracks that trigger tanks/aircraft?), and there isn't enough AI yet to make this happen.

Consider instead: 'Raid Mode' where one side has no base. They spawn in random area together, take out defenses and scan buildings by targeting for period of time. When resource building is found, if air defenses are down, a cargo ship (no weapons) arrives to hover over resource building. It evacs when it is full or all raiders are dead.

Raiders are rewarded for buildings destroyed/damaged and amount of resources captured. Defenders are rewarded for amount of buildings and resources left at end of match, and damage done while in proximity of buildings. Perhaps damage done by turrets also counts to defense team's reward, incentivizing tagging for lrm turrets.

A Conquest mode revisioned to be more about combat and less about slider bars:

Spoiler

For conquest, in addition to the 2b changes, I recommend switching these 'drills' into capturable buildings of various types.

The idea is taking over an unclaimed no-mans-land w/ strategic buildings placed in various locations to create tactical opportunities for different kinds of mechs.

Possible buildings:

• Sensor towers, ECM towers (useful to LRMers and Snipers)
  
• Artillery or heavy LRM systems, (useful to mechs with Tag)
  
• Ranged ballistics such as Gauss, dual ac 2/ac 5 (useful to lower damage mechs facing heavier ones)
  
• Clusters of short range turrets with streak batteries or SPL batteries (useful to assaults)
  
• one-time reward warehouses (summons cargo ship which starts timer to get reward?)

Teams are rewarded for damage done by their captured buildings, destroying enemy buildings, captured resources, and overall amount of captured buildings at match end. Players might receive individual bonuses for capturing, damaging in proximity of, and assisting the kill of buildings.



NOTE: consider making non resource buildings recapturable, with a space beneath for a mech to sneak in and 'hack' them by targeting them. Recommend all captures take place by a single mech targeting them within a certain range - no multipliers to accelerate, and please no glowing laser boxes.

'Infiltration' Game mode centering on speed, stealth, hunting and capture.

Spoiler

Here's a concept for a mode incorporating speed and evasion like CTF.

Attacking team is trying to capture intelligence or extract a spy/defector/prisoner, defending team is trying to stop them. Defenders have sensor towers and maybe a few lrm turrets as well as many buildings to guard.

Attackers must slip past enemy lines, scan buildings until objective is found, 'acquire' objective (takes 10s, goes to first scanner who is in range), and then return objective to friendly 'cargo ship' to offload (25s). Defenders are notified when an objective is located and where (building shows up as red during cap).

Defenders are rewarded for 'retaining' objective, and individually for damaging the objective carriers. Attackers are rewarded for captured objectives, and individually rewarded for damage done in proximity of objective carriers. Random number of objectives (up to 3?) and when they run out, a timer starts to end match quickly (more time if less objectives). Should also be a lesser reward on both sides for individual damage done, to keep match moving.

NOTE: A few twists: give cap time bonus to mechs with hand actuators or BAP. Allow Defenders or Attackers to 'recap' objective at the site of a downed objective carrier.

Edited by AeusDeif, 28 November 2015 - 11:13 AM.

[DoctorDetroit]

Assault Mode needs SSRM turrets with max 400m sensor range and ECM canceling Active Probe protecting the base.

Maybe also add a single strategically placed Dual AC2 turret overlooking a bridge/road for each team on certain maps to change things up.

+1 for AeusDeif's "Raid" idea.

[Glove of Love]

These can even be implemented into Faction Play. In addition to AD's suggestions, an "Interdiction" mission, where one team escorts a convoy and the other has to destroy or delay it.

Very good ideas, AeusDeif.

[Mister Bob Dobalina]

Very good points by AeusDeif indeed. I observed the same thing about many matches ending in evreybody clubbing themselves to death. When close to half the non skirmish matches end up in one side wiping the other out, something is wrong with the non-skirmish match setups. Or is it just me?

Since programming these things into such a game isn´t just falling from the sky I thought what changes might be done more easily as sort of quick-fixes and what would need some more fundamental changes.

Quickfixes:

• A possibly easier fix would be the randomisation of spwan points. In a "real life" Mechwar a regular combat drop would probably be way less comfortable than we experience it right now. Especially when the the two opposing sides would be dropped so close to each other. Why not drop 1 lance within the circle in HPG Manifold for example? Or scatter the lance more to begin with.
  
• Besides the fact that I would love seeing maps to be way more active (destructible surroundings, moving building objects, exploding gas tanks etc.) it would be nice to have the maps be different in all three modes, even randomising content. Consider it having trained a mission in a simulator based on intel data thats a year old. Buildings might be there that weren´t before or are no more. A snowy passage might be caved in in the meantime. Plus only the base map should be availiable as training ground. So that would mean to create multiple versions of the same map and let the matchmaker decide wich to use in a fight randomly. The introduction of randomising elements on an existing map would be considerably difficult.

And then there are som crazy ideas I´ve been having and hell would they be complicated to make:

• "The Mexican Standoff" - 3 teams, 2 lances each fighting in conquest (red - blue - green) or skirmish
  
• "Twycross" - The matchmaker randomly tries to tie together clan chassis pilots into 2 stars instead of 3 lances. This ends up effectively in a 12 vs 10 Mech situation but a) Clan Tech is kinda superior (more variability and more ubermech configs around) and war is hell anyway.
  
• "Grand Bloodname Melee - Since the 32nd place in a Clans Trial of Bloodright is occupied by the victor (or rather survivor) of a Grand Bloodname Melee, MWO could have that as 4th game mode where 24 Mechs of the same weight class are just dumped onto one of the more open battlefields and play last man standing. The virctor would probably gain stuff (account injections etc.) to make it attractive to risk it but maybe it could also mean more risk playing it by loosing the equippement on a mech for good if you die during the match.

Anyway, all just top of my head. Let me know what you think of it :-)

Edited by Thomster, 28 November 2015 - 03:51 AM.

[Arisaema]

Assault/Defend mode where defenders need to save their dropship from being destroyed for X minutes while it preps for launch. Attackers must do sufficient damage to dropship to prevent its escape.

Dropship has defenses active including limited premium arty barrages that can be called in for free by the commander.

[GI Journalist]

I so badly want to shoot down a DropShip.