Suggestion: Environmental Buffs and Nerfs

[Zirilfer]

So I was in a match and someone mentioned how their shouldn't be so much fire in a raining map. So I thought it would be cool if different maps had buffs and nerfs. Like increased impact damage on jagged maps like duel at dawn or paritan rumble. Less fire stacks on raining maps. decreased impact damage on watery or sandy maps, slower rise speed on cooler maps, etc. etc.. Not all of these ideas are fully baked or balanced yet, But I think it would add some more variation to the game. Lemme know what you guys think

[sparklerfish]

This is a really neat idea.

[Hoja Lateralus]

I think rather make it avoidable visible aerial effects like sandstorm on Dunes. Say, dark raining cloud which would cover 4 squares and move in random direction (say, change of direction every minute-two). Also Devs are working on something called "the lightning", so they may have something like this in mind.

[GeoRmr]

I could see this working well for adventure or coop mode!

[pandatopia]

Could be really neat

Rain - puts out one stack of fire every 3 seconds. Engine output reduced by 20%.

Clear day - clouds more translucent, and do not block line of sight (ie you can spot/stay spotted through clouds). Alternatively, no clouds.

Dry heat - +20% ignite fire chance, mirage like effects at distances (heat haze), applying kerosene or hydrogen has a chance to have affected components burst into flames.

Thunderstorm - all clouds opaque (like the black ones on refinery). Flying through a cloud has a chance to be struck by lightning, setting fires and damaging components. Lightning flashes occasionally illuminate clouds briefly (like a flare would for 5 seconds).

Sleet - crew members slide across the deck. Occasional hull or component damage. Chance for crew to slip off guns/helm.

Hurricane - If not at eye of the storm, continuous damage to ship (like a dust storm). Eye of storm moves, and heavy winds outside. I envision the eye to be approximately the size of a grid, maybe 1.5 x 1.5.

Apocalypse - raining meteors. Heavy balloon/hull damage with chance to set fires.

Starry night - same as normal map, but just nighttime. Would be really cool to see stars/moon.

Whaling season - majestic, hostile skywhale spawns. Immune to damage until hull is pierced by harpoon. One shots ships. PvE content!

[shaelyn]

I love this idea with one stipulation: no additional hazards in the maps.

what I'm getting at is the sort of thing where you die or suffer because of the map, and there's no skill involved, it's just chance, and it doesn't affect everybody.  avoiding mountainsides and the ground, sure, that takes a level of skill.  I'm very concerned about the Lightning map thing I keep hearing about - that depends on how its implemented.  a cloud of lightning to avoid or have a strong chance of getting hit, similar to the dust cloud, that may be alright.  a random chance of being struck by lightning anywhere on the map and it causing weapons and engines to malfunction, leaving you a sitting duck for your enemies to take advantage of, that creates a handicap during the match and takes away from the raw skill of the competition.

stuff like the less fire stacks on raining maps affects everyone equally and it's still down to skill to be able to handle the map.  I'm down with it.

[pandatopia]

And yes I'm envisioning thunderclouds etc being an avoidable obstacle.

I don't see a problem with randomness though - you'd be able to pick the map hazard, and if you want randomness lets all go for randomness. If not well...then the following map is for you =D

Tourney Rules - 500 x 500 square map, flat ground, no clouds, no wind, no items, all fox, final destination.

[Omniraptor]

@pandatopia I can sort of understand how the only truly balanced matchup will be mirror match, by definition.

[shaelyn]

And yes I'm envisioning thunderclouds etc being an avoidable obstacle.

I don't see a problem with randomness though - you'd be able to pick the map hazard, and if you want randomness lets all go for randomness. If not well...then the following map is for you =D

Tourney Rules - 500 x 500 square map, flat ground, no clouds, no wind, no items, all fox, final destination.

aaaaaahahaha.  ironic:  I hate final destination.  I hate fox too, but that has no bearing on your point.
but Smash Bros was what made me think to post, actually.  no WarioWare or Spear Pillar, pls.  Pokemon Stadium 2 is fine.

...and I'm not seeing anybody actually arguing for the sort of random hazards I'm talking about, either.

[pandatopia]

@pandatopia I can sort of understand how the only truly balanced matchup will be mirror match, by definition.

Ah no way, I was making a tongue in cheek joke lol. Please don't anyone think final destination is where anyone (I hope) wants the game to be headed towards.

For example one of the greatest examples of balanced, great team pvp is Dota/2, and that game is COMPLETELY unbalanced! Unbalanced maps, unbalanced lanes, unbalanced jungle spawns, unbalanced heroes, impossible to mirror match, etc, etc. And yet it is "balanced".

Similarly, GoI maps are asymmetrical, have random elements, asymmetrical spawns, complete freedom in ship choice, etc. This is great, and at the same time I think weather effects can add interesting obstacles or change up the builds we see.

I also get the point that randomness is bad at times, but I think that is a choice that people can make regarding what they want in their map.

Going back to smash, yes it is really unfair if you get a snorlax to the face, or land on a bobomb, but it is also hilarious and fun.

So I think at some point not everything needs to have a balance mindset.

[shaelyn]

I also get the point that randomness is bad at times, but I think that is a choice that people can make regarding what they want in their map.

Going back to smash, yes it is really unfair if you get a snorlax to the face, or land on a bobomb, but it is also hilarious and fun.

So I think at some point not everything needs to have a balance mindset.

so at this point, are you actually interested in seeing the sort of random hazards like random chance of lightning to the ship anywhere on the map, or sudden gust of wind to just your ship based on where you are on the map, or are you just furthering your point?

[pandatopia]

so at this point, are you actually interested in seeing the sort of random hazards like random chance of lightning to the ship anywhere on the map, or sudden gust of wind to just your ship based on where you are on the map, or are you just furthering your point?

Hmm I dunno. I mean the apocalypse map idea is I guess the most "random" that I had.

I guess you could theoretically see the meteors coming, maybe it would be neat if they were like slow moving, giant bombs instead of super fast unavoidable stuff. Not sure if something like this is possible with the game engine though, even though it would be neat.

I think having wind buffet your ship would be interesting if you could see it - sort of like how the edge of map wind works. That way you can tell what you're doing.

I hope these effects aren't super catastrophic - having wind strong enough to just immediately throw you into the ground/wall would be kind of pointless, but something like a headwind or a persistent wind pushing in one direction would lead to interesting gameplay (and stuff like being blown sideways and strafing).

[shaelyn]

ok.  I was going to say, if there's actual interest, maybe there could be a thing for Advanced matches with those sort of hazards in that I was discussing.  and the person making the match has the option of making it Advanced with this stuff or no.

I think the original suggestion is fine for main gameplay, and of course very limited on novice matches, such as it already is.

...but again, I don't see anyone arguing for those kinds of hazards.

yeah, I would love to see wind in game too, but there's lots of different ways to implement it.  would like to see one brought in that's a bit of a challenge, but not outrageous and going to kill you, like you were saying.