Author Topic: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport  (Read 10193 times)

Offline Milevan Faent

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4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« on: March 16, 2014, 11:46:40 pm »
The concept for this is relatively simple: Maps using this game mode are elongated with 3 intersecting paths leading from one end to other.

One team is the Defenders, and they are guarding a massive cargo ship (or something else appropriate to the setting, as I don't really know or care about the Lore of GoI). They start at one end of the map, with the Transport with them at a random spawn leading into one of the three paths.

At each intersecting point the Transport may choose to change to a different path at random, so it's impossible to predict where it will be at any given point. Transport Ship is relatively durable, and has an auto-repair for the armor that functions like a crew trying to keep the ship intact. The armor only repairs when not taking damage for whatever amount of time is balanced.

The Defenders always know where the Transport is (both on the map, on the compass, and as a Marked target with a distinct color to differenciate it from the Enemy Targets). When killed, Defenders can respawn at any intersecting point along the map, but only those closest to the Transport are active.

Attackers have to destroy the Transport. They do not have any way of knowing where it is, and spawn at the far end of the map to begin. If at least one of their ships has sight of the Transport, Attackers can spawn at points two spawn points away from the Transport. If the Defenders guard the Transport all the way to the opposite end of the map from where it started, they win. If the Attackers destroy it, they win.

The Transport moves slowly. It may take a full minute for it to reach a new Intersection from the previous one, and a map could have between 5 and 10 Intersections along it, depending on the map. Another variable is to increase the number of paths from 3 to 4 or more. When one team wins, the teams switch from Attackers to Defenders and vice versa. If the event of a tie, a tie-breaker occurs with the teams swapping one more time, and the Transport spawning only 2 Intersections away from the end.

EDIT: To clarify something before it comes up, a Squid could probably go from one end of a path to the other in about a minute, maybe a minute and a half, depending on the size of the map. This is of course adjustable on a map-by-map basis, but that should give a general idea of how slow I picture the Transport itself moving in comparison to the speeds the other ships can achieve. At the longest, I could see it taking maybe 2 minutes for a Squid to reach from one end to the other.

And before someone asks why there are random paths, it's because otherwise this is just mobile Capture the Point of a sort. With this random element to it, scouting is necessary, as is having enough firepower to take on the enemy's four ships, then later defend the Transport when it's your turn. This encourages more diverse ship combinations than 4 Pyras or 4 Galleons or something, as that just won't work with both Attackers and Defenders.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2014, 12:03:40 am by Milevan Faent »

Offline Captain Smollett

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2014, 01:09:45 am »
I think there were some talks of escort missions being part of adventure mode.  This could make an interesting variant of it for sure.

Offline Dutch Vanya

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2014, 05:33:43 am »
Everyone loves escort missions!  :P

Offline Milevan Faent

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2014, 07:24:01 am »
Okay, lets get some specific discussions going about this concept.

1) Do you like the concept of the Transport moving along a randomized path?

2) Do you think the Transport goes fast enough in the concept I've provided to keep the game from feeling like it's dragging on, but slow enough to keep the tension up while potentially allowing the attackers enough time to try and kill it?

3) How long do you think it should take before Armor starts repairing?

4) How long should it take for Armor to fully repair?

5) Do you think making the Transport have stats roughly equal to 2x a Galleon's Armor and 4x it's Health would be appropriate? More? Less?

Offline Caprontos

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2014, 09:14:42 pm »
If one of the enemy ships is long-range they could potentially keep the transport from being able to auto-repair.. If it is big, and the route doesn't block it from different angles along the way.. This would probably be really easy to achieve.. Depending on times and what-not..

It maybe better to just have an ai engi on it.. If only the hull can be broken.. To avoid the whole issue..


Offline Milevan Faent

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2014, 10:00:35 pm »
If one of the enemy ships is long-range they could potentially keep the transport from being able to auto-repair.. If it is big, and the route doesn't block it from different angles along the way.. This would probably be really easy to achieve.. Depending on times and what-not..

It maybe better to just have an ai engi on it.. If only the hull can be broken.. To avoid the whole issue..

The auto-repair IS the AI Engineer. Even if it worked where Armor comes back up automatically after X seconds, it would probably function about the same. The maps by their very concept would have to have lots of twists and turns, making truly long-range sniping impossible. Any range you could snipe from, the enemy could still rapidly close on you from as well. And bringing a sniping set-up means potentially being weaker when the teams swap and suddenly that sniper team is defending.

Offline Cheesy Crackers

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2014, 11:49:30 pm »
Well to counter sniping there's also the option of using your own ship as a meatshield

Offline The Churrosaur

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2014, 12:21:14 am »
Or just have the map like Paritus or the canyon part of Canyons, generally puts off snipers.

Offline Tanya Phenole

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2014, 08:34:28 am »
Tell me we will be able to ROB THE CARAVANS!

ROB THE CARAVANS

And guard them, or course....


Best suggetion ever. all my hands for it !!!

Offline Coldcurse

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2014, 03:35:59 am »
I think a more fitting name for this game mode is "Caravan" or "Escort"

Offline Milevan Faent

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2014, 03:43:47 am »
It's not like I spent a lot of time on the name. I just gave it a descriptive name that made it obvious what the concept was.

Offline Coldcurse

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Re: 4v4 Game Mode Concept: Defend the Transport
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2014, 03:02:04 am »
It's not like I spent a lot of time on the name. I just gave it a descriptive name that made it obvious what the concept was.
Understandable but you want the name to be as short as possible.
I do like the idea, it reminds me alot of the Assassin's Creed gamemode Escort.