Author Topic: There is no King of this hill...  (Read 8445 times)

Offline GeoRmr

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There is no King of this hill...
« on: September 13, 2013, 11:58:10 am »
I do feel that Muse has nailed CP gameplay really well in both Crazy King and Resource Race. However the King of the hill game mode just, isn't King of the hill. (compared with the traditional King of the Hill mode of other video games)

This wouldn't be a problem except that the vast majority of King of the Hill games play out unbalanced and sluggishly. If you cap the point at the beginning, usually, and I do mean usually, that means you've won the match. This is because it's too difficult to recapture a point, and why I'm about to explain how this game mode isn't technically king of the hill:

Typically in king of the hill type gameplay, if you want to "clock points" you need to actually be in the hill. It shouldn't be a resource with a time cap that continues to give points if you aren't directly defending it. Additionally in typical King of the Hill game modes if an enemy is in the hill you don't continue to clock points regardless, the timer should cease clocking points.

I appreciate that Guns of Icarus is not your typical FPS by any means and shouldn't be regarded as such, this is why I do agree that there should be a timer to cap the point. However, I feel that it should be significantly reduced, require you to remain in the hill to continue clocking points, and not clock your points if an enemy is also occupying the vicinity of the hill. This I believe would silence the "GG", "Oh well now we've lost..." & "Oh my god we can't take the point in time, quick just meat rush them one at a time and get slaughtered like sky-whales." from happening minutes before the end of the match, while making the gameplay more challenging for the defending team, (less boring than sitting just outside the point and spawn whaling the attacking team "Oh God we have to sit in this hill with nowhere to hide, I don't know where they're coming from") and less soul crushing for a team that knows that no matter what they can't turn the game around in time even if they spectacularly obliterate their opponents.

EDIT: Please would a moderator move this topic to Feedback and Suggestions if they deem it necessary.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2013, 12:12:51 pm by GeoRmr »

Offline HamsterIV

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Re: There is no King of this hill...
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2013, 12:16:42 pm »
While evicting a team from the cap point it hard, it is not impossible. IMO the one sided matches we usually see are a result in differing skill levels not broken game mechanics. In fact the roving dust storm provides a real advantage to the attacking team if they can coordinate an attack. However if they could coordinate an attack they probably would be the defending team because of how OP teamwork is.

I like the idea of requiring a ship to be on point to get points and not allowing points to be accrued when the point is contested. It would make the game more dramatic especially during those last 30 seconds where, under the current system, one team knows they have the game in the bag.

Offline Echoez

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Re: There is no King of this hill...
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2013, 01:03:10 pm »
Haha, this reminds me of myself when I was new, I made a similar thread about how KotH in this game is so weird and extremely difficult xD

I mean no offence by that though, I honestly feel you and I know why it would seem that way and your suggestion of the clock not counting points if there is nobody on the point is actually a very good suggestion, though the game mode already works as intended and it's not actually that hard, as Hamster stated, imbalances in Pub games for this mode mainly come from the incopetence of one team to work together effectively and co-ordinate an attack to capture the point, it's an objective based game mode and requires great teamwork to pull it off properly.

All in all I believe that as you progress in the game and meet more people to play with, you'll realize that KotH isn't actually that hard. Still your suggestion is a good one and I'd like to see it being considered.

Fly safe c:

Offline Crafeksterty

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Re: There is no King of this hill...
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2013, 01:57:16 pm »
Yeah, this should also be applied to other cps because they are incredibly Squid happy, like anglien riders Resource Race.

If an enemy is on your point, it stops giving points. Meaning you can have 1 ship defending each point (3 ships) which leaves 2 other points for the taking by the enemy team but they arent racking points as fast as the opposites. Making it so that the enemy ships will have to attack as a group to capture a new point (or not).

Basically, making ships like the spire, galleon and the mobula more viable in resource race for defence sake.

Offline Eukari

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Re: There is no King of this hill...
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2013, 02:24:23 pm »
Actually, you still get points if an enemy is on your ... point; they just start to capture it. As long as you've got a ship there, however, it "blocks" the capture and you keep the point. (until you or they die, or you spend an eternity locked in a stalemate, slowly going insane as you circle around and around and around and around and- )

Resource Race is an odd duck, because it's a five-point map with only three ships on each team. You spend a lot of time running around, trying not to fight the other side so that you can capture unoccupied points. Once you have three, then it's time to run interference and prevent them from taking one back.

I do think a more "King of the Hill-y" gametype would be nice; maybe expand the 'hill' to encompass more area, and whoever has the most ships in that area starts getting points. If you're tied-it's frozen. You have incentive to get in close and kill the enemy, so slow and tough ships like the Galleon are good, but you also have incentive to not die, so fast ships like the Squid can dodge enemy fire. (if the area is big enough)

I think the current KotH setup does favor whoever gets the point first, because it's easy to bum-rush the point afterwards and block the other team from taking it.

Offline Squidslinger Gilder

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Re: There is no King of this hill...
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2013, 04:20:01 pm »
King of the Hill is often one sides because, on Scrap anyways, you have players who think they are voting for Dunes when they see the picture. It then takes them most of a match to realize it is a resource race as they are too busy fighting. Hence a post I made awhile back calling for new preview images to be made so people would stop being confused.

None of the CP battle mechanics is that great. Crazy King is probably the only real decent one but we really could use more of these in 2v2. I'd honestly like a capture the flag mode to be added, or a reverse CTF mode. Think the mechanics of it would make for some real fun matches doing it with giant airships. It would also teach newbies how to focus fire better. Ships defending the flag carrier would have to work together to save it.

Offline treseritops

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Re: There is no King of this hill...
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2013, 08:02:52 pm »
Haha, this reminds me of myself when I was new, I made a similar thread about how KotH in this game is so weird and extremely difficult xD

I mean no offence by that though, I honestly feel you and I know why it would seem that way and your suggestion of the clock not counting points if there is nobody on the point is actually a very good suggestion, though the game mode already works as intended and it's not actually that hard, as Hamster stated, imbalances in Pub games for this mode mainly come from the incopetence of one team to work together effectively and co-ordinate an attack to capture the point, it's an objective based game mode and requires great teamwork to pull it off properly.

All in all I believe that as you progress in the game and meet more people to play with, you'll realize that KotH isn't actually that hard. Still your suggestion is a good one and I'd like to see it being considered.

Fly safe c:

Are you serious? I think if anything it gets *worse* with better players. When I'm in a 2v2 with good players you normally will trade kills because it's hard to just outright win a brawl against good players, that's why they're good. So team 1 has the point, team 2 comes in, they trade kills, even if team 2 makes the final kill they have *just now* started making progress on the point and are pretty hurt after a tough brawl. Now Team 1 has respawned, comes to block the point, rinse and repeat. It doesn't even matter if Team 2 has a ship on the point the entire rest of the match as long as Team 1 keeps one there as well without a significant break. As soon as Team 2 slips up and loses a brawl they go back to square one as if the rest of the match and working the point down never happened.

Offline awkm

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Re: There is no King of this hill...
« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2013, 07:30:18 pm »
I've spec'ed a redesign for our capture points since ships don't move the way in which normal FPS avatar move.  As to when that'll be worked on is still TBD.

It's an issue that we know we have and we're working on it.