God Hates Lags
Red Star.
EoN.
125
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Posted - 2013.10.23 20:05:00 -
[1] - Quote
As it is there are three (four if you count OMS) game modes in dust, but only one of them is used outside of Pubs. While I like the idea of multistage battles and further utilizing all of the available modes in FW and PC, I want to use they modes in a way that is more nuanced and feels more natural to the game. So here's my take.
All PC battles are now domination default. One every map there exists a central "control point" that gives king of the hill style control over the district. The first team to get the control level to a certain level gains control of the contested district. Alternatively, the defenders start out with full control and the attackers have to both drain the defender's control as well as get their control level to full as well.
Each side has the option of deploying an MCC to battle if they have one available. The attacking team must attack with an MCC. The defenders have the option to but don't need to. In order to gain control from the control point the other team must not have an MCC on the field. If the opposing team does have an MCC fielded then the control point can still be hacked to prevent the other side from gaining control, but no control is gained. In the future the MCC will act as a giant, floating spawn point and may have turret support as well, so these could be added benefits of deploying one as well.
In addition to the central control point, each district also has a number of null cannons spread throughout the map. Controlling these cannons does nothing unless the enemy has an MCC on the field in which case the null cannons fire on the MCC like in skirmish.
So at this point we have a number of possible scenarios for battles.
Scenario 1: Neither side deploys an MCC. This is a standard domination match, except that not MCC's are visible on the map. Each team vies for a central control point. Which ever team gets complete control or depletes the other's clones wins the match.
Scenario 2: Attackers deploy an MCC, Defenders do not. Attackers attempt to hack the control point to gain control of the district while Defenders hack the null cannons to bring down the MCC. Defenders can also hack the control point to prevent control from being gained by the attackers while the attackers can hack null cannons to prevent them from firing on the MCC. If the attackers gain full control or deplete the defender's clones, the district is flipped and they win. If the defenders destroy the MCC or deplete the attacker's clones, then the district remains theirs and they win.
Scenario 3: Both sides deploy MCC's. This is a standard skirmish match with the players fighting over the null cannons until one of the MCC's is destroyed or the clones are depleted. The control point does nothing in this case, but it can still be hacked. If the attacker's MCC is destroyed or their clones depleted, then they lose and the district remains with the defenders. If the attackers deplete the defender's clones then they flip the district. If they only destroy the defender's MCC then the district remains with defenders but the Attackers immediately gain the ability to reattack the district. If they choose to then we move to a scenario 2 but the attacker's MCC does not recover, it remains at it's current level of health. If the attackers choose not to reattack then their MCC does recover, but the reattack happens at the next reinforcement timer window.
This solution involves the MCC in PC in a dynamic way and also gives variety to what otherwise are just an endless number of skirmish battles. In addition, as MCC customization comes into play, it allows for a number of strategic decisions on the part of the commanders as well ensuring that proto MCC's are not simply broken, since multistage battles would strain even the most powerful MCC's. |