Sabotage (Debuffs, Actually, but you get the idea)

[Roderick Archer]

Okay, so after perusing the board for the first time in a while, something caught my eye. This post about a new kind of role that intrigued me and a game mechanic I've been wanting to see implemented.

https://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,389.0.html

Sabotage. Now, while Skyler had the right idea, it wasn't exactly implemented correctly since it's already been posited that there won't be any boarding mechanics. So instead, I put forth this idea: A new tool set. Sabotage tools.

I see it like this; there should be another deciding factor in a battle besides just the piloting skills and weapon choice. Something that can turn the tide of battle when implemented correctly without completely throwing the balance out the window. So, here are the criteria I believe Sabotage tools should fall under:

1) Two Slots. One sabotage tool for debuffs and one to remove the debuffs.
2) Certain Sabotage weapons should only be useable once per skirmish. Mostly pilot tools, which are more powerful. No point in it being the turning point if it's being used every five minutes.
3) The debuffs need to be debilitating, but easy to get rid of, if that makes any sense. You'll see what I mean in a moment.

Alright, onto the tools themselves! I've got a few in my head and I hope that maybe they'll help convey what I'm imagining.

Pilot:

Whale Oil: When thrown directly into the engine, it causes damage to the balloon and the engines, but emits a bright light that can temporarily blind enemies, allowing for a strategic retreat; or a decisive attack.

Ether: "There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge". Devious captains can throw caution to the wind and throw a gallon of this stuff into the engines and send out a cloud of ether that can debilitate the crew.

Gunner:

Gunk Shot: Specially made capsules containing something akin to tar that give Engineers migraines. When fired at the hull, there really isn't much to worry about. However, a balloon, engines, or gun covered in Gunk start to malfunction. The Balloon starts to take damage and sink, engines take longer to respond when the pilot wants to turn or speed up, and guns jam regularly.

Arc Shot: Supercharged shots carrying a payload of electricity, this ammo can cause all sorts of gear to start to short out, requiring constant attention by an engineer or the right tool for the job.

Engineer:

Monkey Wrench: Special tool used by engineers to help easily rid the ship of debuffs.

Universal Tools:

Flash Guards: Character can't be blinded

Filter: Character can't be affected by gases.

I'm a little stuck on other tools, but I really hope you see what I'm trying to get at. A new gameplay mechanic that adds a whole new level to airship combat. Please, lemme know what you think and add on what you think this system needs.

[-Muse- Cullen]

I like these ideas- but I definitely think that the sabotage tools shouldn't be the forefront of the gameplay. If a ship is constantly getting gunked up, or things keep getting shorted out, then it would just increase the length of the match because both ships would probably get sabotaged in similar ways once they get within range.

The whale oil is a great idea. If it lingered for a brief amount of time, it wouldn't be gamebreaking and it would give a good advantage payoff for seriously damaging the engines and balloon.

As for the ether, I think that actual impairments to the crew's actions, like movement speed restrictions and inverted mouse, could be a fun mechanic as long as it didn't completely cripple those that are affected. It is another good trade off, in my opinion, because it sounds like it would act the same way as Tar, so the enemy ship would have to be rather close.

The gunk shot is a little iffy in my book. It seems to act like fire charges with an added debuff. If anything, I think that the systems affected with the gunk shouldn't get damaged, but simply get the debuff. A second bar, like the buff hammer's yellow gauge, could be added. Each swing of the 'cleaner' tool could reduce it, and alleviate its effects.

I don't like the arc shot very much. If I could change it, I think adding like... 2 to 3 seconds of extra cooldown on the afflicted system's current repair time would be much more fair- it only adds a handful of seconds, but that could be devastating when used right. If the system isn't on cooldown, then it should simply put it into the cooldown state for the 2 to 3 seconds anyway. Its a fair balance, too, if the 'cleaner' tool would simply remove the extra few seconds with a single whack or two.

Instead of creating a 'cleaner' tool, I think that, if this becomes an actual mechanic, that the engineer should receive a bonus to removing the debuffs, while all other members can do it with their common repair tools at a slight handicap. Or perhaps the pipe wrench could get the bonus, while the mallet and spanner don't clean as quickly. That would cause more people to consider pairing it with the mallet or spanner!

I do like these ideas. As long as they don't create huge problems, like a 5 minute debuff, a 15 second repair time to remove a debuff, or if a sabotage tool could be used every few moments, it could definitely be a fun mechanic to add new strategies.

[Roderick Archer]

Mm, my thoughts exactly. And yeah, looking back on Arc Shot, that needed reworking. But I love your take on Gunk Shot. A second bar would work out really well.

And like I said at the beginning of the post, some sabotage tools need a limit. Or maybe all of them... Like, Pilot Sabotage Tools can only be used once per encounter and Gunner Sabotage Tools can only be used three times per encounter.

But what about the Engineer? Besides their role as the fixer, is there anything you think that they can bring to the table, sabotage wise?

[Keon]

And to think I thought this was boarding. It's an interesting idea.

[-Muse- Cullen]

An engineer sabotage tool? Hmmm.... Well, the gunner uses weapons to sabotage, the pilot uses the ship to sabotage, that means the engineer would have to use himself, or specific systems like the engines, hull, or balloon to sabotage. The ideas you gave about the whale oil and ether could also be a tool for the engineer. There's some overlap over the pilot and the engineer's control over the ship, so its hard to say, exactly, what should be role specific.

I'm going to assume by the current game mechanics that Muse doesn't want the game to involve crew to crew interactions, so the engineer throwing something, boarding, or doing anything by himself(beyond the spyglass) is definitely not going to be included in the game. Therefore, I believe the sabotage tools should just be used on different parts of the ship. Ether on the balloon will not do anything, but using it on the engines will activate the power.

As for the actual tools, I'd probably suggest something that has to do with engines and hulls. The pilot's helm is typically very close to the balloon, so that role can have balloon-related sabotage tools. The pilot could have something like a pneumatic air pump, that, once completely filled, will instantly destroy his or her ship's balloon. However, there could be a shock wave that has exponential pushing power that is inversely proportional to its distance(Closer the enemy ship, the stronger the shove). The more health that the balloon had, the stronger the pushing power, as well. If they are at broadsides, the shock wave could turn the enemy ship and mess up its gunning angles, allowing for a good payoff- completely destroy the balloon to avoid damage to the rest of the ship.

[Keon]

How about something like "tangleshot" for the guns, and when it hits it applies something like a 2% debuff to speed, stacking up to 50%.

Also, I love the idea of something that would heat up the balloon when it hits and cause the enemy to rise uncontrollably.

[Roderick Archer]

Oooh, I like the Tangleshot. But for speed, do you mean firing speed or turning speed?

As for heating up the Balloon... Hrm.

Pilot Tool:

Methane: A flammable gas that causes the ship to rise very rapidly.

Sulfur Hex(afloride): A super heavy gas that causes the ship to sink slowly.

Two more gases the Pilot can release that, if flown into, mess up the enemy ship's balloon. Both would be able to be removed by an Engineer, especially the Sulfur Hex, but they should be hard to remove. But, the base idea is that they both can really mess with a pilot's strategy when they have no control over where their ships is going.