Alliance mode: Repel

[Richard LeMoon]

This is sort of the opposite of 'Retrieve'.

The story: Your faction just received a massive convoy of supplies ahead of the expected reinforcements that have been delayed. The cargo is awaiting stowage in the forward bases. While waiting for both unloading and reinforcements, it hovers vulnerably around the bases. Knowing this, the enemy forms up for a substantial raid. Only a few friendly ships are nearby when the raid starts.... your ships.


Play: You have a bunch of cargo balloons at/near your base(s). It takes X amount of time for each cargo to unload at the base. The enemy rushes your base, tries to grab the cargo, then tries to escape off the opposite edge of the map, or to their base (or immobile boss ship, which would be far better). You must protect the cargo, take it back if grabbed by an enemy, and wait for the balloons to count down (unload). You have to bring cargo balloons back to any base and leave them in the designated area for the 'unload' countdown to start. Cargo unload timer will STOP any time an enemy is near the base. Cargo unloading will speed up more for every ally ship at the base. Tethered cargo will not unload (perhaps the base can shoot out a tether indicating which cargo it is unloading).



Possible losing conditions: Lose X cargo. Die X times.

Winning condition: Unload X cargo. (this will be in a point per second Capture Point format)


Thoughts?

[Arturo Sanchez]

kinda too similar to defense.

Where you instead need to chase escape pods. As opposed to the cargo.

[Richard LeMoon]

Defense and Retrieve are almost the same thing as well. Most game modes are going to be pretty similar until the mechanics get more diverse.

It is a combination of Defense and Retrieve, in that you have to defend cargo from being taken from your bases, as well as retrieving cargo that has been stolen. This would feel more like the Alliance version of Skyball, with much longer score times.

Personally, I don't like Defense, as it is too easy to zerg. I would prefer if the existing Defense did not include destroying an enemy base and getting cargo as the primary goal, and was simply a wave survival map with destroying drills and getting cargo as bonuses, base repair, or extra deploys.

[Naoura]

I like the idea, but I would rather have it as multiple defensive points. Instead of one, central defensive platform, make it multiple unload points where the cargo is being unloaded.

Say, for instance, you blockade over one or two, and let the rest of them fall. You win, but you gain a substantially smaller War Chest. If you manage to unload cargo on all of the platforms, or retrieve all cargo and return it to the ones you have guarded, you get a slightly larger warchest, but no bonus for all of the platforms defended.

Say it's like this:

All platforms defended, all cargo delivered: +30% War Chest
All platforms defended, adequate cargo delivered: +10% warchest
All cargo delivered: Base War Chest
Adequate cargo delivered, platforms lost: -10% War Chest for each platform lost.

[Richard LeMoon]

The idea was to not have your bases under attack, but that could be an option. Certain AI would target bases and ships, while others would try to zerg the cargo balloons.

I suppose you could take the AI behavior from Retrieve, but have them run when they tether to cargo instead of attacking bases.

[Naoura]

I was thinking to use the decentralized bases to discourage base defense and more so defend the convoys moving in. You can afford to lose the bases, call them more ports than anything, but your primary objective is to defend the convoy.

Make the ports like a secondary objective, like attacking the escape pods.