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Escort Missions?


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Poll: Escort MO? (30 member(s) have cast votes)

Escort Missions?

  1. Sounds awesome. (21 votes [70.00%] - View)

    Percentage of vote: 70.00%

  2. Lame idea bro. (9 votes [30.00%] - View)

    Percentage of vote: 30.00%

  3. What's an Escort; or a Mission? (0 votes [0.00%])

    Percentage of vote: 0.00%

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#1 XCOM Engineer 3051

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Posted 14 April 2016 - 12:35 PM

I would love to see another play mode maybe Escort missions? A long line of convoy vehicles you must protect from being Captured, or destroyed. However; destroying convoy vehicles will grant less C-bills for winning team. Winning team is decided as is:

Defending team Manages to destroy Attacking team, or successfully escort convoy to designated destination.
Attacking team manages to destroy the entire Defending team; Capture Convoy, or completely destroy the convoy.

The convoy is only capturable if no defending units are within X meters of Convoy, and attacking units must be within X meters of Convoy (x=50-100 meters up for negotiation).
So it would basically be like a mobile Conquest + Domination the only exception being attacking units within X meters of convoy under fire may still capture convoy unless a defending unit is within X meters of convoy (do not leave convoy).

I am thinking 10+ vehicles per lance, so 30+ vehicles, each vehicle being worth around 2-3k a piece. I am not sure if they should be equipped with weapons or not that is up to the community. It could ad some more spice to the game play.

Now all these numbers are flexible and reminding I am only throwing an idea out there nothing set in stone so if you see something that may need adjusting or a better idea please share.

The convoy should take 15:00 minutes to make a successful trip. I am thinking it should run about 45 kph? One should take in account the slowest mech so assaults do not get abandoned (assault lover here Posted Image ).

Hit points for convoy should be determined my developers or community as I have done enough work. Thank you for reading and please share your opinion!

Happy Hunting
~YaYahCult

#2 Strelok7

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Posted 14 April 2016 - 07:53 PM

Not worrying about details, main Idea is good.

#3 VinJade

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Posted 17 April 2016 - 12:36 AM

I say let those that chose it to protect it, which is something I would normally never do(I don't even do that in Domn and I hate that mode).

Why?
because protecting something like that is just stupid and not worth the tame it would take to do the mode as these types of missions are some of the most hated in all games that have them.

There was a RE game that you had to protect the daughter of a general or something like that and the AI was dumber than some generals* in the Lyran Armed forces.

*Many High ranking Lyrans bought their way into the ranks they had according to fluff and novels.

Edited by VinJade, 17 April 2016 - 12:41 AM.


#4 Death Proof

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Posted 20 April 2016 - 10:51 AM

A proper Escort Mission would be kind of hard to introduce, since it relies heavily on the map.

I'd love to have a mode like this, but I doubt they'd be able to use the existing maps AND make it fun in a 12v12 format with no respawns.

#5 C337Skymaster

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Posted 15 June 2020 - 05:35 PM

Necro, because I'm hunting for a different post, and got side-tracked by this one. With the hindsight of the Escort Missions that PGI did eventually add, and then remove, I would suggest the following changes based EXTREMELY heavily on MechWarrior 3. A MechWarrior 3 style, fully-functional Mobile Field Base (capable of repairing allied 'mechs) should move automatically along a random route from the start of the match. HOWEVER, if someone assumes Company Command, they can then issue instructions to the MFB in the same vein as MW3. There will be specific waypoints they can instruct the MFB to travel to, and they can scroll through the list to determine the MFB's travel path (so the team can opt to scout the enemy and direct the MFB away from them). The Company Commander can also instruct the MFB to set up for a repair, and whoever first shuts down in the target area gets repaired (armor and ammo only. No missing limb replacement). There should only be enough time for about 6 repairs over the course of the game. If the MFB stops to repair a 7th time, there should no longer be enough time for it to reach its destination. Or the CC can instruct the MFB to high-tail it to the destination, thus the travel speed and direction can be affected by whoever assumes Company Command.

This would make it much less frustrating than the slow-***, asinine Atlas that can't seem to figure out that it's supposed to walk AWAY from the enemy, and not double back on itself to evac right where it just spawned. It would also give a sense of value to the defending players to keep the MFB alive, because they can potentially be repaired by it if it's still available. (Maybe destroying one of the three trucks kills the repair ability, but all three have to be destroyed to prevent evac).

Just thoughts for how to make that mode better, so it could be reintroduced and not be the pile of fecal matter that the original version devolved into.

#6 martian

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 03:52 AM

View PostC337Skymaster, on 15 June 2020 - 05:35 PM, said:

...
A MechWarrior 3 style, fully-functional Mobile Field Base (capable of repairing allied 'mechs) should move automatically along a random route from the start of the match.
...

Those MFB trucks should use ravines for their movement, not to crest the ice ridges. I would hate see them destroyed by some enemy stealth gauss sniper (that is impossible to see or find) from 2 kilometres afar.

How to arrange that? I see two possible solutions:
a ) Use AI. - The problem is that we all know from MWO and MW5Mercs that PGI is not especially strong in AI design.
b ) Use pre-planned routes for MFB. - These routes would lead the MFB trucks from one nav point to another. Those "invisible rails" would lead through the valleys, so the MFB would be protected from long range enemy fire, if possible.

See the attached picture, please. It's just a rough draft, but it should give you some idea about what I have in mind.

Posted Image

#7 C337Skymaster

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 08:01 AM

Agreed. One thing that will need to happen is that the extraction point be different every time, otherwise the mode will be fun only until everyone learns where the extraction point is, and then they run there and block it. I definitely had the "low ground" paths in mind. There are even tire tracks in the snow on that map, and roads on a lot of other maps, that the MFBs should be able to use when they're nearby, and possibly move faster on the roadways, but also be able to go off-road (as in Forest Colony), so they're not so easy to pick off from range. They should default to the roads, and be directed to off-road waypoints only by the Company Commander. Repair points should also be set up in the low-ground, because that will be a very exposed and vulnerable process.

#8 martian

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 08:18 AM

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 08:01 AM, said:

Agreed. One thing that will need to happen is that the extraction point be different every time, otherwise the mode will be fun only until everyone learns where the extraction point is, and then they run there and block it.

That's true. I am not sure, but I think that the Atlas in the old Escort has always the same exit point. But I can be mistaken.

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 08:01 AM, said:

I definitely had the "low ground" paths in mind. There are even tire tracks in the snow on that map, and roads on a lot of other maps, that the MFBs should be able to use when they're nearby, and possibly move faster on the roadways, but also be able to go off-road (as in Forest Colony), so they're not so easy to pick off from range. They should default to the roads, and be directed to off-road waypoints only by the Company Commander. Repair points should also be set up in the low-ground, because that will be a very exposed and vulnerable process.

I imagine repair spots / MFB nav points like this one:

Posted Image

Small valley, one road in and one road out. Enough room for some 'Mechs and three MFB trucks in their usual triangular positions, as seen in MechWarrior 3.

Even those tire tracks are visible.

Edited by martian, 18 October 2020 - 08:19 AM.


#9 Galahad2030

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 11:24 AM

VIP missions could have players as VIPs (fully enabled mechs with firepower). Or VIP missions could have a lance (4-mechs) as the VIP lance for the mission.

#10 C337Skymaster

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 11:50 AM

View Postmartian, on 18 October 2020 - 08:18 AM, said:

That's true. I am not sure, but I think that the Atlas in the old Escort has always the same exit point. But I can be mistaken.

It didn't. The exit point was variable for exactly the reason I mentioned above, but the defending team had just as much idea of where it was going to be as the attacking team, which caused a lot of problems. You'd be trying to defend it from a particular direction, only for it to walk right through the firing line trying to get to an extraction point behind the enemy team that nobody knew about, and would get itself blown up in the process.

I had one match on Polar where the extraction point was two grid squares along the edge of the map from where we started, and the Atlas just walked three or four grid squares towards the middle, then doubled back on itself and never went anywhere near the enemy team. I'm pretty sure the enemy never even laid eyes on the Atlas, that match, and may or may not have seen the dropship coming in to pick it up.

View Postmartian, on 18 October 2020 - 08:18 AM, said:

I imagine repair spots / MFB nav points like this one:

Posted Image

Small valley, one road in and one road out. Enough room for some 'Mechs and three MFB trucks in their usual triangular positions, as seen in MechWarrior 3.

Even those tire tracks are visible.


That is perfect, and is exactly the kind of terrain spot where the trucks would set up for repair. I wonder how many more there are on that map? I can do a better job of picturing the other maps in my head, but Polar I do keep getting lost on. Posted Image It's actually mildly refreshing when it happens...

Edited by C337Skymaster, 18 October 2020 - 11:51 AM.


#11 C337Skymaster

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 11:59 AM

View PostGalahad2030, on 18 October 2020 - 11:24 AM, said:

VIP missions could have players as VIPs (fully enabled mechs with firepower). Or VIP missions could have a lance (4-mechs) as the VIP lance for the mission.


I think the other issue players would have with this is that their match just got ruined if they have to change their planned style of play.

Somehow or another the enemy team needs to be clued in on which 'mech is the objective target. In the original Escort mode, it was the slow-moving Atlas with a particular paint scheme. In the version I'm proposing, it would be all the vehicles (which would make it super-obvious). If you assign a player to be "VIP", then either you're taking them out of the 'mech they wanted to play, and putting them into something they don't want to play (probably a modified AS7-D-DC with the ECM installed), or repainting their 'mech with the "shoot me first" colors of the VIP target, ruining the external customizations that they spent real money on, and probably spent a certain amount of time perfecting.

Also, if you take them out of their 'mech, then you might wind up taking your only scout pilot and putting them in an assault 'mech, which they could reasonably be terrible at, or taking your only fire-support 'mech and putting them in a brawler on Polar Highlands, or any other number of unfortunate and highly detrimental changes to their normal style of play.

#12 martian

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 12:20 PM

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 11:50 AM, said:

It didn't. The exit point was variable for exactly the reason I mentioned above, but the defending team had just as much idea of where it was going to be as the attacking team, which caused a lot of problems. You'd be trying to defend it from a particular direction, only for it to walk right through the firing line trying to get to an extraction point behind the enemy team that nobody knew about, and would get itself blown up in the process.

Okay.

But from some reason I remember clearly that when playing Escort on Tourmaline Desert, the Atlas always exited near the crashed Gazelle DropShip, between that pair of rock pillars. Perhaps some AI glitch specific for that map or something.

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 11:50 AM, said:

I had one match on Polar where the extraction point was two grid squares along the edge of the map from where we started, and the Atlas just walked three or four grid squares towards the middle, then doubled back on itself and never went anywhere near the enemy team. I'm pretty sure the enemy never even laid eyes on the Atlas, that match, and may or may not have seen the dropship coming in to pick it up.

LOL Posted Image

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 11:50 AM, said:

That is perfect, and is exactly the kind of terrain spot where the trucks would set up for repair. I wonder how many more there are on that map?

There are some similar places on the map. Of course PGI would have to level some terrain and do some minor adjustments, but I would say that it would not be difficult. We are not talking about redoing the entire map.

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 11:50 AM, said:

I can do a better job of picturing the other maps in my head, but Polar I do keep getting lost on. Posted Image
It's actually mildly refreshing when it happens...

Yeah, 99% of all battles happens in the centre of the map.

#13 C337Skymaster

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 12:31 PM

View Postmartian, on 18 October 2020 - 12:20 PM, said:

But from some reason I remember clearly that when playing Escort on Tourmaline Desert, the Atlas always exited near the crashed Gazelle DropShip, between that pair of rock pillars. Perhaps some AI glitch specific for that map or something.


I'm pretty sure some of the maps only had two or three options for an extraction point. Crimson Strait, for example, only really had three paths for the Atlas: Saddle, Tunnel, or City (outside the tunnel), but 99% of matches were either saddle or tunnel. Once it got past the mountains, the extraction points were either out at "Epsilon" or at "Sigma" (conquest points). There were also ways for it to get stuck, originally. I remember being on the defending team, wiping out the entire attacking team, and then promptly losing, (or maybe I was on the attacking team, we got slaughtered to a man, then won) because the Atlas was stuck in the canal right near its spawn, trying to climb up onto a bridge instead of climbing up the embankment and going around the obstacle.

So yes, there were certainly AI glitches. :)

#14 Galahad2030

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Posted 18 October 2020 - 12:32 PM

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 11:59 AM, said:

I think the other issue players would have with this is that their match just got ruined if they have to change their planned style of play.

Somehow or another the enemy team needs to be clued in on which 'mech is the objective target. In the original Escort mode, it was the slow-moving Atlas with a particular paint scheme. In the version I'm proposing, it would be all the vehicles (which would make it super-obvious). If you assign a player to be "VIP", then either you're taking them out of the 'mech they wanted to play, and putting them into something they don't want to play (probably a modified AS7-D-DC with the ECM installed), or repainting their 'mech with the "shoot me first" colors of the VIP target, ruining the external customizations that they spent real money on, and probably spent a certain amount of time perfecting.

Also, if you take them out of their 'mech, then you might wind up taking your only scout pilot and putting them in an assault 'mech, which they could reasonably be terrible at, or taking your only fire-support 'mech and putting them in a brawler on Polar Highlands, or any other number of unfortunate and highly detrimental changes to their normal style of play.


I'm not suggesting PGI assign them a mech. The VIP would enter the game with their mech as normal, just the team will be notified who their VIP is.

#15 C337Skymaster

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Posted 19 October 2020 - 09:05 AM

View PostGalahad2030, on 18 October 2020 - 12:32 PM, said:


I'm not suggesting PGI assign them a mech. The VIP would enter the game with their mech as normal, just the team will be notified who their VIP is.


How random would the VIP assignment be? Would it always be assigned to the heaviest 'mech? What happens if it gets assigned to a Stealth Atlas that's dropping for a joke match? Or how about a Stealth Flea, or Locust, if it's not the heaviest 'mech?

#16 martian

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Posted 19 October 2020 - 10:41 AM

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 12:31 PM, said:

I'm pretty sure some of the maps only had two or three options for an extraction point.

Yeah. Especially those smaller arena-like maps.

View PostC337Skymaster, on 18 October 2020 - 12:31 PM, said:

Crimson Strait, for example, only really had three paths for the Atlas: Saddle, Tunnel, or City (outside the tunnel), but 99% of matches were either saddle or tunnel. Once it got past the mountains, the extraction points were either out at "Epsilon" or at "Sigma" (conquest points). There were also ways for it to get stuck, originally. I remember being on the defending team, wiping out the entire attacking team, and then promptly losing, (or maybe I was on the attacking team, we got slaughtered to a man, then won) because the Atlas was stuck in the canal right near its spawn, trying to climb up onto a bridge instead of climbing up the embankment and going around the obstacle.

So yes, there were certainly AI glitches. Posted Image

The limited number of paths on small maps and the limited number of exits would be a problem.

#17 C337Skymaster

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Posted 20 October 2020 - 04:21 AM

View Postmartian, on 19 October 2020 - 10:41 AM, said:

The limited number of paths on small maps and the limited number of exits would be a problem.


Especially if the exit is pre-determined at the start of the match, and the movement of the team gives away which one it's going to be... Although I feel like Crimson Strait is small and bottle-necky enough that you have to slog through the opposition no matter which extraction point is used...

#18 martian

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Posted 20 October 2020 - 07:59 AM

View PostC337Skymaster, on 20 October 2020 - 04:21 AM, said:

Especially if the exit is pre-determined at the start of the match, and the movement of the team gives away which one it's going to be... Although I feel like Crimson Strait is small and bottle-necky enough that you have to slog through the opposition no matter which extraction point is used...

Yeah, those small maps there were designed with 8v8 in mind ...

#19 Alreech

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Posted 04 November 2020 - 10:02 AM

View PostXCOM Engineer 3051, on 14 April 2016 - 12:35 PM, said:

I would love to see another play mode maybe Escort missions? A long line of convoy vehicles you must protect from being Captured, or destroyed. However; destroying convoy vehicles will grant less C-bills for winning team.

You should rename this threads titel with something like "Convoy Escort Mission" to avoid confusion with the old Escort game mode.

#20 C337Skymaster

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Posted 06 November 2020 - 01:01 PM

View PostAlreech, on 04 November 2020 - 10:02 AM, said:

You should rename this threads titel with something like "Convoy Escort Mission" to avoid confusion with the old Escort game mode.


This thread was started before the original Escort was added to the game. I resurrected it when I found it, after Escort had been removed from the game... I'm not 100% sure the original author even still plays or monitors the forum...





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