Posted 15 December 2011 - 05:25 PM
By and large, I agree with Zakski on this one. Respawn for a teambased skirmish is required. That is a fact.
A 20m game time may be assumed, but even the Devs don't know how long a match will play until the game enters full Alpha at the earliest. I'm on a games development course at university, and I speak from experience when I say how long your team expects something to take to be wild mass guessing at best.
But let's assume the average game does take 20m on average. That's an average. Some games will last 10m, some will last 30m.
I don't mind waiting 5, or even 10 minutes for a match if my team is playing, especially if I'm on voice chat to them via deathcam. However, if I get annihilated through bad luck or the inevitable dick moves (Anyone ever been killed by a physics engine abused grenade at their spawn point in the first few seconds of the game?) in the first two or three minutes, if I have to wait 25 minutes for the team to even finish the current game, nevermind matchmake for the next, I'm going to get frustrated and play a lot less.
Now, Zakski is in my MercCorp. Let's say he and I, plus a two other friends go out in our lance. I die two minutes in because I overextended. Given the current order of things, my lance is now down either it's assault, or a flanking medium. Suddenly the game has changed.
This is how it should be.
However, in anything bigger than a skirmish, We Have Reserves. The first lance is getting ripped to shreds by massed lights/mediums, you send in your own fast movers to counter. If you walk into a wall of Atlas', you send in Longbows and Hellhounds to LRM and flank them respectively.
To do this properly, I would suggest wave based respawn. Ever 2m say (A long respawn while command decides what assets to place, rally them etc for the RPers, but not too long to unbalance the game or force a drop) everyone who has died respawns. I liked the earlier comment on safe LZs and dropship spawns, combine these two. Mechs are dropped in where needed (Ie, I choose to spawn at the point nearest to my lance to get back into the action, but Zakski in his Longbow spawns one back to ensure he doesn't end up in the thick of the fighting while trying to provide artillery) etc etc.
I've not really thought this through, but I can guarantee, if No Respawn is the norm, the game will end FAST. Casuals are right out, team players get distracted, only the hardcore, the obsessed and the insane remain.
Oh and the griefers. Always the griefers.