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By changing how the game objectives are interacted with, you can change how players play. In essence you create a complete and cyclical design, where form and function integrate.
Here are the game aspects that need attention:
- Heavier mechs need to be able to bring their firepower to bear
- Medium mechs need to be able to support the team effort in an effective way
- Lighter mechs need to be able to add importance to the game in an effective way
- Create more lance on lance fighting - 4v4
- Utilize information gathering as a viable tactic
Problems:
- Kills: are based on mech not type or ton. We know that heavier mechs are more important because they cost more money to purchase. However in a match all kills are treated as equal.
- Balling: current tactics are based on identifying enemy location and either picking them apart or rolling over them. This encourages people to not be able to play the game. If a mech "crests" it can be blown away. The cresting mech is just trying to play the game. Advanced tactics shouldn't need to be employed for a simple crest in 95% of cases. Balling creates the game to be played in a more limited range than is intended.
- Game modes focus on mech destruction over objectives: The majority of games end in total destruction, even with objectives present. If for example Conquest was won on 450 points not 750 points, you would see more objective based winning and thus an overall change in game play. Essentially all game modes are variations of Skirmish...
- Winning: Winning is very often one sided. Most games the loser scores 4 to 8 kills, meaning they were 30 to 60% as effective as the winners. Most games should be closer to 90% effectiveness for the loser. This will make for a more fun games.
Solutions:
- Multi-Objectives: By placing several objectives in a match, this will force the spread of mechs. This solves issues regarding balling and helps to create situations where information gathering and lance on lance fighting is more viable.
- Scoring: Scoring is an issue, because few things relate as apples to apples in mechwarrior. However, one thing does: TONS. Mech weight is a clearly defined resource that is very comparable. Matches should be scored based on tons. This means that when a mech is killed, your team scores points equal to it's tons. Each objective, once achieved, awards points in the form of tons to a team. Larger objectives could be worth 80 to 100 tons and smaller could be worth 20-50. The match concludes when the match score is reached, or time runs out.
- Time: Match times can be decreased from 15 to 10-12 minutes... this places urgency on gaining objectives. Lighter mechs would be encouraged to move quickly to gain objectives which in essence, equal to kills. Time in general would helps create more dynamic game pay aspects.
- Killing: Kills are really important as around half the points needed to win come from kills. However, neither kills nor objectives alone are enough to win. If one team gets most of the objectives and scores 7 kills, and the other team wipes the first team out on kills, the first team should win.
Abstract:
Here's a simple example of what a map could look like. The larger and more valuable objectives are in an area where the main fight is likely to happen.
- Control: These points work like conquest points and as they are held provide points every second of game time. Each second should be worth about 1 point. Gaining control of these points is quick, 10 seconds.
- Capture: The points work like domination points. Once grabbed, one-time points go to the team that captured them.
- Protect: These are special units that once destroyed, one-time points go to the team that destroyed them.
- The goal is to get to 700 points.
This example is rough, but I think it illustrates some examples of the design. Protect points are essentially the same as killing an 80 ton mech. Lights are encouraged to attempt to kill and protect these points. Capture points add quickly. Once again lighter or mediums would find motivation to move there and grab and defend these locations. Heaver mechs would still ball to grab the capture point as it would take too long for the lights to grab them before the rest of the force arrived.
The goal of this style of mode is for one team to win while each team has mechs still standing. However, the goal also necessitates that mechs must be killed to win. The larger the mechs that go down the more points are scored. The aim is for less squirrel chasing and an emphasis on protecting larger mechs.
At the end of the day... a large ball of mechs should be at a disadvantage, as this play mode would encourage the group to spread out. Each player has a greater chance of being useful to his team.
