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With that said, assuming we are all fighting at capability of a war machine 1000 years in the future, and they can fight just as well, if not better than us (basically, assuming that they play this game, they will all be EMP or better), the "skill" aspect between each pilots is very negligible.
We are basically talking about a mutual destructive scenario where as soon as both mechs see one another, the barrage of weapon from each other will probably kill one another.
So, what I am getting at, is that the capability of these war machines are not in question, but rather... the morality and ethics of pulling triggers.
Say a bunch of refugees stand in between your awesome 20 PPCs monstrosity and an entire camp of guerrilla fighters hiding in the ranks of such refugees. Would pull the trigger and lay waste to the entire encampment like your beeping targeting computer is telling you, or to fall back to improvise another solution?
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That's the premise. My point is, what if... future Mechwarrior games implement morality systems like these... kinda imagine Mortal Kombat where you can choose to Fatality someone, Babality someone, or friendship them.
Say you completely stripped a mech of weapons. Rather than finishing him/her off, you offer the option to surrender via something like the command wheel.
By doing so, you earned a "diplomat" point, for example.
For the defeated person, you can refuse the offer, and continue to fight as your teammate's shield. At which point, you will earn a "sacrifice" point.
Based on your cumulative points earned in various categories, you receive additional/different bonuses.
For example, a high level of "diplomat" rank might earn you an additional 5% cbill at the end.
or
A high level of "sacrifice" rank might earn you a bonus 10% chance to receive the supply crate. (Assuming your team won)
I think this adds a new layer of gameplay as it factors the pilot him/herself into the game, rather than just the mech itself.
By extension, we can also use these systems to address unwanted behaviors. For example, rather than having an ERLL Raven hiding from 10 guys at the end of the match, he/she can call for dropship pickup. By doing so, he/she can escape via a called dropship and earn "survivor" point for successful escape.
And vice versa, whoever hunted down the Raven before he/she escapes will earn a "hunter" point.
That way, it's a mini-game when the main action ended. You are not forced to fight an outmatched fruitless battle, spectators get more fun watching you, and opposing team has another objective than to wander around the wasteland looking for your shutdown @ss.
Now, ASSUMING even with that, you never even make an attempt to enter a designated zone, you will be given a "cowardice" point, which is the only negative reward that can affect you.
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Now, a second part of what I described is allowing players to eject. Upon ejection, you are either going to be alive because the enemy leave you alone after offering the olive branch, OR they shoot your escape pod, and your pilot dies. (At which point, they will earn a "backstab" point)
A new stat category is added called: pilot death. Basically, a new metrics for morality determination. You have regular mech K/D, and now you have pilot K/D.
And because I just thought of this 20 minutes ago, I have no idea what pilot K/D can show, other than how willing you are to accept surrender... but eh, someone will figure it out.
edit: I dunno, maybe your likability? I can totally see snuggletimes have a high pilot K/D. Who wants to shoot snuggle, right?
Edited by razenWing, 14 February 2017 - 11:59 PM.
