Spawn system post 1.3.4 hot fix

[awkm]

Okay, the patch went out this morning.

I hope that alleviates most problems.  I want to stay with this system, I don't think we gained anything from the old.  If camping becomes a serious problem, we can think of ways to deal with it.  I'm going to treat this thread similar to how I treat dev app ones, please try the features out first and post feedback on it.  Try not to speculate.  Post your actual observations and experiences.  These kinds of comments are the most helpful for me when revising systems.

Please try the CK and KOTH maps, timings for those changed and I think they're a lot more fun now.  Let me know how those go.

[ramjamslam]

I am not a fan of both teams being able to spawn in all 4 corners of duel at Dawn (as I said in the dev app).  I was on a Spire and died around the same time as the enemy Goldfish.  So I spawned and they respawned right next to me taking the score from 1 1 to 1 2 very quickly.  I don't want the tactics of this map to be 'wait for the to spawn first.'

I think spawns on this map would be better as either east/west, a random 2 of the 4 corners each time or back to totally random (forced spawn selection).

[Velvet]

I think at the very least enemy spawn locations should be somehow marked on the map, something like the spawn zone images that that awkm used in the last discussion.
If there are going to be areas of the map where a certain team has an advantage it should be clearly acknowledged within the game. It's not as if we need more ways of frustrating inexperienced players with unexplained mechanics.

[Thomas]

That might be helpful. More competitive players are likely to memorize the spawn points anyways, while newer or just less competitive players won't. Having them marked on the map kind of levels the field, letting players be aware that they're entering enemy territory and such without having to remember all the spawn points.

[Jazzza]

I really liked how the Call Of Duty games did spawning in team deathmatch: you would automatically spawn in a kind of circular path around the map as the battle moved forward on that path. It's like you spawn at the top right corner, the battle shifts to the bottom left, you spawn next at the bottom right, and so on.

I can't remember the specifics of the system or if they are still using it, but it was a nice concept and it worked well.

[Sammy B. T.]

So last night we had some Duck on Duck practice on Canyon Ambush. If defense on those maps was overpowered before, it is nigh ridiculous now with ships in blue spawn just popping into existence in perfect lumberjack firing arc and range. Red team was playing more offensively that match but I imagine the same situation would happen in red spawn.

[Mr. Ace Rimmer]

It's a lot better than it was but still needs some work. We still have situations where fights are migrating to one teams spawn and it is causing issues. That being said, Playing in a scrim against the Waddling last night, they were ale to use the spawn system to their tactical advantage by deploying behind cakewatch and out of combat which was awesome, turned what was a 4-4 match into a narrow 5-4 win for them and it was fun!

Definitely a bit of work still to be done but you and your team are on the right track Eric

[Sammy B. T.]

Well the right track is still the removal of choosing spawns but apparently that is the pillar this game is built on and not up for discussion.

[awkm]

they were ale to use the spawn system to their tactical advantage by deploying behind cakewatch and out of combat which was awesome, turned what was a 4-4 match into a narrow 5-4 win for them and it was fun!

This is exactly what the new spawn earns us and it's incredibly valuable.  This is much better than random.

Definitely a bit of work still to be done

If you can be more specific as to where you're finding problems, I can take a look and see if spawns can either be moved  or if new functionality needs to be designed.

[Mr. Ace Rimmer]

Maps like battle of the dunes and canyon ambush. Wit the tendency for the fight to be heading into either red or blue spawn we get situations where (and this is specific to the 3v3 from my perspective - not enough game time on the 2v2 versions) Team A will kill a hip on team B but die in the process, the other two ships on team A try to press home the advantage but wind up in a 3v2 situation when team B's ship respawns. Meanwhile, the respawning Team A ship is a long way out of the fight back at team A base. (Essentialy creating a scenario similar to the old system where the game decided to spawn the ship as far away from combat as possible.)

[Wundsalz]

- The duel and anglean spawns need mayor overhauls as their influence on the outcome of the match is too significant.
- respawns can decide the outcomes of encounters, as it's often possible to jump straight back into action after a one has been taken down. This provides an unfair advantage for defensive teams and encourages base camping. A solution to adress this problem might be to disallow respawns within a radius of 1.5km around the killing ship.
- I think showing enemy spawn locations on the deploy map to be a good idea. Knowing where to expect enemies pop outof nowhere is an unnecessary advantage for experienced players.
- I liked the old spawn system better for labyrinth. Now we often see pilots choosing the same approaches over and over again.

[Byron Cavendish]

Well the right track is still the removal of choosing spawns but apparently that is the pillar this game is built on and not up for discussion.

^^

[Coldcurse]

Well the right track is still the removal of choosing spawns but apparently that is the pillar this game is built on and not up for discussion.

^^

^^

[Captain Smollett]

1.5km around the killing ship.

Not that I disagree with the sentiment, but there are maps that aren't even close to 3km across.  If a ship made a kill in the middle of the map there'd be no where for the opposing ship to respawn.

[RearAdmiralZill]

I agree with that sentiment, but some kind of range limit would be nice. Maps like duel at dawn get kind of trolly when you can just spawn right next to your killer, guns aimed.