Hi Muse, et al,
Long-time player, first-time poster. Don't want to waste anyone's time, so let's get right to the suggestion.
There is a problem with troublesome players―often new players―in general MMR matches, but I don't think it's rudeness, so often as ignorance. Nobody wants to slog through Practice or Tutorials, because humans are lazy―so we jump into pub matches and try to be awesome. Now, I understand and appreciate what you guys are trying to foster by disallowing votekick. So let's presume that won't change:
Given this, and given that pub matches are not a good venue to "mess around", unless you have a particularly jolly crew or are high level and don't care; and given that you (Muse) must have already generated extensive scripting for AI-controlled airships, I believe a Last Stand gametype may be in good order. In a Last Stand, "losing" is inevitable; so teammate failure is less consequential. It would be a match that "matters" in public eye unlike Practice. A gametype less stressful than Deathmatches or CP, where unsavvy pilots or stubborn gunners sometimes spoil the experience for others.
In premise, Last Stand is a firefight or survival scenario for players to prove their prowess―but in effect, it would be training grounds for new players, and a practice pit for older players who would like to experiment with nonstandard ship & crew loadouts. Last Stand may foster competitiveness by displaying each player-controlled ship's kill count in the top infographic. (That level 1 pilot who thinks his double flak Pyramidion is better than a Metamidion could be taught his lesson implicitly, with no yelling required.) Last Stand would also allow for a new round of achievements for 45s who might like something new to achieve.
A Last Stand gametype/map is designed for 4 players, and generates as an option in standard 2v2 matches. If chosen, all players are dumped into the same team. (Alternatively, players on different teams are treated as friendly, but are competing for the most AI kills in a given timeframe. This, however, might change the intention of this prospective gametype.)
Good map candidates for Last Stand may be Water Hazard or Dunes/Scrap, where players cannot easily hide or dive for cover. Maps could be further rezoned so that AIs can spawn beyond the wind walls, disallowing players to corner up and repeatedly bait AIs to death.
Such a scenario might also include a CP that the AIs are going for which, if captured, also ends the game. A timer may also be appropriate, to prevent matches from overstaying their welcome. Where the score bar would be, a "Fleet" marker would appear, showing the current fleet number and silhouettes of the incoming ships:
Fleet 1:
Goldfishes, Pyramidions, Junkers
qty = # of players +1
Fleet 2:
Goldfishes, Pyramidions, Junkers, Squids, Galleons
qty = # of players +1
Fleet 3:
All
qty = # of players +2
Fleet 4:
all
qty = # of players +3
Fleet 5:
all
qty = # of players +4
Fleet 5 repeats until all players are dead (or some other terminal condition is met). Fleet scripting should ensure that ARC roles are filled with the spawns, so that the AI fleets can threaten all ranges.
Hope to see the idea appear in some similar form, thanks for your time, and cheers
