Assign loadouts to AI slots

[HamsterIV]

I was reading Richard LeMoon's ideas on mid game joining:

I think Lysanya has a good point. Gunner should always be in slot 2 once the match starts, even if they are not that way in the lobby. Maybe an auto-switch when someone picks gunner. Anyone joining the match NOT in slot 2 would NOT be allowed to choose gunner. Ever.

It inspired the following idea:
In the pregame lobby, allow the captain to assign one of the ship load-out options to the AI slot. This doesn't effect the in game AI, but when a new player wants to join mid game they have to click on the AI slot they want to replace. At that point the new player is given the recommended load out the captain set for that AI in the lobby before the game started. The player can either be forced into the configuration set by the captain or the game can give them the recommended load out popup before being allowed to join the game. If the captain didn't bother assigning a load out to the AI, the new player joins with their current load out.

I already emailed this idea to the Muse team.

[Naoura]

How would that effect the prioritization of the AI, however? I have a buff-engineer loadout for one of my loadouts, and I'd be scared that the AI would focus on buffing the hull instead of extinguishing it.

Not to mention Chemspray... I can only see that going poorly.

[Huskarr]

This doesn't effect the in game AI, but when a new player wants to join mid game they have to click on the AI slot they want to replace.

[Naoura]

..... I am a smart man.

Just an unobservant one.

So basically an auto-recommend.

[HamsterIV]

Yeah, basically. Since the crew doesn't always line up with 2)gunner 3)engie 4)engie, I figure it would be better to let the captain set a wish list in the empty AI lobby slot. This would be especially good for those situations where you want a buf engie, main engie, main engie ship, but only have two crew. It would also preserve wacky 2/3 gunner builds instead of making it a hard and fast rule only 2nd slot can be gunner.

Also with Alliance coming out and game lengths getting longer, it would be nice to have more control over mid game joiners. Waiting for a non started lobby was a pain and to my shame I joined mid game on several ships just to get some play time in.

[Naoura]

Sold, give the man a cookie.

I remember when I first saw the "you will be joining as an Engineer" warning when I tried to join a ship. I'd forgotten that I'd been gunner last match, and left that as my class. It was surprising and incredibly helpful, and I was relieved that it was added.

I like it. It'd give the cap a load more control over the match, though I do see the chance for some abuse with troll caps. Keep the notif if a joiner declined your loadout? Or else, you have to accept the loadout to join, and if you decline, you're sent to spectator?

[HamsterIV]

Muse will implement or not implement this idea how they see fit. In my vision when a player clicks on an AI slot mid match they get the current load-out suggestion popup with "Accept" allowing them to join the ship with that load-out and "Decline" reverting them to the previous state where they can see all the slots but are not attached to one. The player can then shop around the available AI slots until they find one that they like. If the captain has not set a load out the player will see their current load-out with the same Accept Decline option as sort of a final sanity check before joining.

Muse has historically been against forcing a player into a roll at the behest of a captain, so if they do implement it I suspect it will be a softer "Accept and Join", "Decline and Join", "Cancel" option. With the ability to join with your current load out.

As for trolling. If the captain sets some sort of bad load-out for mid game joiners, players could see it before joining the ship and know the captain is either stupid or intentionally trolling. Either way experienced players would probably look for a different ship and save themselves the trouble of loading into a game that is guaranteed to be a bad experience. The worst case is a captain abandoning a lobby mid game with a trash build. However in this scenario there is very little anyone can do to salvage the situation. Not even Zill could turn a game around with a 5 harpoon mobula (Zill I expect you to take that as a challenge).

[Naoura]

That works. I definitely like the ability to see what the cap is wanting from joiners, as that saves a little bit of a headache. I'm not sure about players being allowed to decline the recommendation... then we're just back where we left off.

Sanity check I wholeheartedly agree with. There have been times where I thought I changed my loadout to Hwacha build and accidentally took Gatbuild...