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[50 50]

Picking a faction was meant to mean something, some sort of identity.
Particularly to loyalists.
The other view of the map is still there, it would be nice to be able to toggle back and forth from it.
However, because we no longer advance our own faction's goals it's more of a nice thing to be able to see but right at the moment it doesn't serve much purpose.
There is little point to capturing the planets either and we can probably do away with the idea.

Right at the moment it would be better to use the tug of war more like a faction scoreboard and as a method to trigger faction based events. Given that the borders and individual planets have little to no meaning, we could use an even more abstract battle system and simply have 'theatres of war' of which there are three.
We have the clear Clan vs IS theatre of war.
We need to introduce an Inner Sphere vs Inner Sphere theatre of war.
And we also need the Clan vs Clan theatre of war which is really the various trials.

Any split in the mode means we will run into wait time problems due to the potential lack of a substantial population to keep everything rolling along.
This does mean we need to change the requirements for starting a match so I am going to say that we need to have the minimum reduced to 4, a lance, but also make this a strict multiple. This follows on a bit from the earlier post and in reference to Koniving's post and various others but I am also going to suggest we remove scouting as a separate mode and instead incorporate key elements from there, and the other quick play modes, plus siege and rebuild the mode and maps.
The drop decks are still to be used but we need to look at adding some additional functions to them.

I am also going to suggest that to make things work, it needs to be a bit more of a free for all system, particularly in the IS vs IS and Clan vs Clan theatres. That's a bit of a lose concept that I will go over in more detail to clarify.

Lastly, while the game is based on the Battletech board game and the lore and mechs there, at this stage I feel we could benefit from taking some ideas and structures from the trading card game, particularly around setting up bases and even looking into some resource functions all to bring some depth and options to the mode. I'm sure a few of you will be saying, wtf, but before you shut down the idea please hear it through first.

So, on to the idea....

Spoiler

Firstly, we need two new types of maps specifically for Faction Play.
This is to allow for proper positioning of bases and setup of terrain to facilitate the design and intent of the modes.

One type of map is to cater for the Clan vs IS theatre of war.
It needs 3 area for the IS on one edge of the map and 3 for the Clan on the other. This is to ensure that there is an equal distance from one area directly across to the other on the opposite side of the map so there is no disadvantage to starting at a particular drop zone.

These areas need to consist of several features:

• The initial drop zone that we can deploy to via our dropships.
  
• A forward base that we need to move into to activate (it starts as a neutral zone) which once active will allow us to select and deploy from. It also contains power cells we can collect to activate other features in our area.
  
• A supply zone that we also need to move into to activate which will act as a pool of resources for our lance.
  
• A gate that we will need to power up.
  
• Defence turrets and towers that we will need to power up.

The second type of map is for the IS vs IS and Clan vs Clan theatres of war.

However, this mode needs to be limited to 16 players in total. 4 lances.
It will contain all of the above features but we position the areas for each lance in each corner of the map so there is an equal distance from one to another.
This is to facilitate more of a lance/team based free for all system.

Note that these are just the types of map.
Right at the moment, we just need one of each but a variety of each in design and tile sets should be a given.

At this point, you may be recognizing some of the features and the direction in which I am heading with this idea so I'll get to it.

How the mode is intended to play out....

Spoiler

By giving each lance an area that they can setup and fortify we immediately create multiple options and objectives for ourselves. An area we need to defend so we can stay in the fight and gain benefits from as well as locations with objectives to attack and try to drive the enemy from the map. We get a lot of different functions and options as we are now incorporating elements of Siege, Assault, Conquest, Incursion and Scouting.
In the larger Clan vs IS theatre of war, we still allow for larger team sizes but there is a bit more focus on the individual lances but probably most importantly, the setup allows a battle to start with just 4 v 4. A big point to this is to then let the size of the battle fluctuate by allowing more lances to join and leave.

So as a starting point, 4 v 4.
We get two lances and they get deployed to their drop zones.
First choice of mech may vary according to the tactics your team might want to utilize, but immediately there are multiple options.
A. Move to your forward base to activate it. The forward base is litterally a fortified position that we can then deploy from and contains some defences, towers, walls and a power generator.
B. Move to the supply zone to activate it. This is essentially one of the conquest points which once activated will generate resources for your lance. It does not generate resource points for your whole team.
C. Gather a power cell from the forward base generator and move to gates, turrets and towers to activate them. Once online, these features are always on.
D. Get out into the wider map and find out who else is about and engage the enemy and attack their area.

This setup gives each of us several objectives to attack.
A. Open the enemy gate and deactivate turrets and towers by shooting their power supply. These can be reactivated by bringing power back to them.
B. Raid the enemy supply zone. Each supply zone collects a limited number of resource points. As an attacker, we can deactivate the enemy supply zone and in the process, steal those resource points. Just like capture the flag style of games and in the true spirit of stealing from the enemy, we need to return those points to our own supply zone. A bit more on the actual use of resource points in a moment.
C. Attack the enemy forward base. Deactivating the enemy forward base is a fairly significant event and will force the enemy team to deploy via dropship at the DZ which is at the back of their area and they lose the functionality the forward base provides.
D. To force the enemy from the battle, in addition to shutting down the forward base, the drop zone for the drop ship can be neutralized. If that lance no longer has any mechs still active in the field, they are forced from the battle. Any remaining mechs may be able to reactivate any of these locations and get limping along again, or they may move to an extraction zone, or simply duke it out.
E. Patrol the middle ground and skirmish our hearts out.

So in the Clan vs IS theatre, it may start out as 4 v 4. But we let that escalate so 2 more lances could join on opposite

sides to make it 8 v 8 and then again to 12 v 12 though we should really think of it as 4 v 4, 4+4 v 4+4 and 4+4+4 v 4+4+4 as each new lance added multiplies the objectives by having their own area to setup and defend.
In the Clan vs Clan and IS vs IS we also allow additional lances to join but as more of a free for all, lance vs lance setup we should think of this as 4 v 4 v 4 v 4.
Please note that it should still be possible to form a large group of 12 or 8 for either of these theatres of war, in the Clan vs IS conflict the lances drop ABC as soon as they have a matching opponent. In the IS vs IS and Clan vs Clan conflicts, it is strictly a lance vs lance conflict. It is more about individual glory in your lance. However, it may work better in these internal conflicts to limit each battle to no more than one lance from a particular faction so there is no chance of bias.
It may also be worth limiting the internal conflicts to the loyalists, but, we need the population so right at the moment, what ever works to just get some battles going.

It might seem a bit abstract, but seeing as we no longer have the individual faction borders to fight over, having this team free for all approach allows teams from multiple factions to fight for supremacy and simulate those border wars. It's been stated that we won't be going back to the old system so I'm just trying to work with what we have.

You will note that instead of using the term 'capture' I instead used 'deactivate'. This is to facilitate the ability for new lances to join an existing battle. If one team manages to drive another from the battle, that area is effectively neutralized. This will mean that a new team could join into the existing battle and the warfare can continue, provided there is still an opposing lance to keep that equal player balance.
Should all opponents be driven from the battle, we can then end that battle and perhaps it would need a small condition of having a mech in a neutralized area to prevent further drops so there can be a clear win condition.

This setup allows us to have continual and extended battles.
Part of the appeal of Faction Play is the longer matches but they are still timed and limited. If we have a scenario where there is a chance for complete victory but it otherwise is a rolling war that we can participate in for as long as we want or are able.

The resource points are worth mentioning at this stage as there is the possibility for teams to stay in a single battle for quite a long time.

Spoiler

The resource points make a great option to use for repairing our mechs. In a battle of attrition, being able to control your supply zone to generate the points and also steal from your enemy so you can keep your mechs functioning and in the battle becomes a strategy for a long term engagement. I will also add that should your team wish to leave the battle, the resource points also make a great payout option as 'bonus loot'.
The point of using resource points is that they become a choice for us individually to either keep fighting and having fun, or get a nice payout from raiding and playing the mode as long as we are able to or want to.

As a resource to be used or horded in each battle, we may even find other options for them. Rebuilding walls? Hardening turrets? Probably a couple of things we could consider down the track.

So how does this work in the larger context of the Inner Sphere map and our factions?

Spoiler

Every time we battle we are earning points from the different rewards"
Kills, assists, objectives completed etc.
Let's just think of them as Victory Points for achieving different objectives.

If we use these points as a way to tally up how successful we are as a lance and for our faction, we can use this as a measure to replace the tug of war with an event trigger. ie. A specific event based around the top two factions at the end of the week. In the context of Clan vs IS it may be the trigger to a Tukayyid or Operation Bulldog event.
Or, it may be to provide our faction with a bonus for a time, or penalize an enemy faction so we can emphasize the faction rivalries.
For IS vs IS it may be about a particular reward that players vote on.
For Clan vs Clan it is a great way to treat/introduce trials with a similar voting for the objective of that trial.
A point to make here is that as we go along, we can also add to the options to vote on.

Please feel free to leave comments and discuss this as an option for Faction Play.

Edited by 50 50, 13 July 2017 - 08:22 PM.

[50 50]

Please also consider that we still have the option under this sort of structure to look into some other aspects of the system.
I would appreciate your comments and feedback in the following threads as part of a larger over arching view of the mode.

Using our points as a currency

Repairs, rearm or loot

Logistics

Integrating scouting (coming soon)

Edited by 50 50, 13 July 2017 - 08:23 PM.