CCP Wolfman
C C P
C C P Alliance
1404
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Posted - 2013.08.27 09:05:00 -
[1] - Quote
Hi guys,
As promised the other day here is an overview on the changes to vehicle gameplay weGÇÖre currently working on for 1.5 and beyond. What we didnGÇÖt want to do was take every element, hurriedly try to rebalance them all in 4 weeks, and then stuff them back in. So, this will be a staged process, one that we will continue to work on over the releases following 1.5. This will allow us to see how things play out in the game, get community feedback and incorporate that information in to the ongoing work. Ok, here goesGǪ
THE GOAL
Make vehicles fun.
THE PLAN
The goal is a simple one. The plan, however, is somewhat more intricate and will be implemented in a number of stages over the coming days and weeks:
Remove GÇ£noiseGÇ¥ so that we can focus on the core archetypes.
Right now there are simply too many things doing too much all at once. Module offerings will be streamlined to just the most necessary archetypes. Once weGÇÖve established a solid foundation weGÇÖll start to introduce types and build back out. Similarly, vehicle roles will be reduced and then re-implemented properly once the base interactions are working well. Skill bonuses will be adjusted.
Rebuild with a clear combat philosophy in mind.
There are a number of issues with vehicle combat at the moment, but most of these are symptomatic of a bigger issue: vehicles have no clear role on the battlefield. Vehicles need to be powerful, but not overpowered. They need to be vulnerable, but not weak. TheyGÇÖve been all of these things at various points in DUSTGÇÖs development, but theyGÇÖve never quite found their niche. We hope to correct that by:
- Make base vehicles susceptible. An unfitted vehicle is little more than a weak hull. Base HP does not make a vehicle powerful. Only through fitting can a vehicle become a true threat on the battlefield.
- Active vs. passive modules. There will be a far greater emphasis on active module use than ever before. The intent here is to create GÇ£waves of opportunityGÇ¥ that allow vehicles to be devastatingGǪ temporarily. Active modules will greatly enhance a vehicleGÇÖs attributes, but when they enter cooldown, the vehicle is left exposed and vulnerable to attack (more on this below). This back-and-forth allows infantry to engage vehicles, but do so knowing that the vehicleGÇÖs pilot has a short window in which he can drastically alter the outcome of any engagement.
- Clear usage profiles for modules so players intuitively know and understand why itGÇÖs better to use a particular module or set of modules in a given situation.
- Proper feedback so that itGÇÖs easier to understand what is happening (e.g. an HAV has activated shield hardeners) and how to counter it.
- Turrets will now have finite ammunition. Vehicle vs. vehicle combat generally boils down to two vehicles parked opposite one another firing until someone pops. This is not fun. Finite ammunition allows us to make turrets more powerful while preventing them from being a constant threat; spam a target and eventually you will run out of ammo.
Expand
Once weGÇÖre confident weGÇÖve gotten the base balance right weGÇÖll start to add back in things weGÇÖve removed as well as introduce new elements to the mix. Pilot dropsuits, improved roles, increased infantry and vehicle interplay, and new turret types for a start.
Active vs. Passive modules
WeGÇÖre rebuilding everything with the idea that active modules will allow a vehicle to survive a single encounter, while passive modules increase its long-term surviveability across multiple encounters. Active modules will provide very significant bonuses, but once used their long recharge times leave a lone vehicle vulnerable to any follow-up attacks. Passive modules on the other hand provide permanent bonuses that are comparatively small. The breakdown is as follows:
Active
- Large, temporary bonuses
- High PG/CPU costs
- Single encounter surviveability
Passive
- Small, persistent bonuses
- Comparatively low PG/CPU costs
- Multiple encounter surviveability
Module Types
These are the modules that weGÇÖll be focusing on in our first-pass rebalance:
Armor/Shield Hardeners (A): Massive, temporary reduction to damage received.
- Used to survive short, high-DPS situations. Long cool down times discourage overuse.
Armor Plates / Shield Extenders (P): Small permanent HP increase
- Increases long-term sustainability at the expense of the base hullGÇÖs inherent strength (shield recharge time in the case of shields and speed in the case of armor)
Shield Boosters (A): Instant, emergency use high HP restoration in the heat of battle. Ultra-long cool down times.
- Last-ditch injection of HP and a kick-start to shield recharge.
Armor Repairers (P): Speed up HP recovery outside of combat
- Used to make running repairs between battles (too slow to be of real use in the heat of battle)
Damage Amplifiers (A): Massive, temporary increase to damage dealt.
- Used to GÇ£punch above your weight classGÇ¥ or to restore something like parity to the playing field when hardeners are used.
Ammo Cache (P): Increases the amount of on-board ammunition available to turrets.
- Used to increase ammo capacity. Useful when not near a supply depot.
Armor vs. Shields
The low HP, constant regen rate of vehicle shields previously used offered no real pros/cons. Vehicles now have much higher shield recharge rates than before, but to compensate they also have higher shield recharge delays. When taking fire shields will not regenerate (not until the second wave of module types is introduced, at any rate) requiring players to use shield boosters to kick-start shields, retreat to safety or attempt to destroy all targets and recuperate in the lull that follows. The hope is that this change will offer a readily apparent trade-off between shields and armor that allows players to pick a playstyle that suits them while not overly favoring any particular one.
Shield
- Low HP ceiling, fast regen, hit-and-run.
- More shields increases shield regen delay.
- Once depleted, shields take a long time to kick back in.
Armor
- High HP ceiling, slow regen, stand-and-deliver.
- More armor slows you down.
- Armor has no native regen.
Turrets
- As mentioned above, weGÇÖll be adding a...
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