Hi there!
I just read
this topic about missing tactics on the NA servers (and on EU it doesn't look much different), and many people posted various reasons, why they prefer one play style over another.
Some like to play in a team, be only a small cog in the wheel, to have a high multiplier and so on. They have a rather "total" view on the game. They are playing the "macro-game" (No, I don't mean feint macros
). Then there are other people, who don't care for their multiplier, they rather enjoy the thrill of fighting many enemies, winning duels and so on. As you might have guessed, I call what they are playing the "micro-game".
As you can't change people, and both those aspects are part of the game, I think the best solution to satify everyone would be to implement different game modes. And I mean real game modes, no "fun" stuff like DTV or rageball, I mean something which will be played by the majority of the community most of the time. So something as "big" as battle or siege.
I think I will just suggest two game modes which I think could be suitable for the according preferences. Notice that I didn't make "pure" gamemodes for macro and micro games, as I think nobody is a pure micro or macro gamer.
1st game mode:
Commander battle:Commander gamemode is some kind of conquest mode: there are three flags on the map. Each flag, once conquered, grants a certain amount of ressources. They are conquered like "master of the field" flags. But once conquered, the game doesn't end. The team which gains 1000 or 10000 or whatever you like ressources wins the map. If no team reaches the ressource limit before time runs out, obivously the team with more ressources wins. Of course, if one team manages to annihilate the other before all ressources are gathered, it wins, too. (My tribute to micro players
)
Next to this, a commander mode is implemented. We had the commander discussions already a few times in the forum, and I suggest that commanders are elected in the forum by vote, and the admins then grant them "commander rights", which works similar like admin rights: when you connect to the server, you have them. You need two or more commander players to enable the command feature, and autobalance will always put the two commanders in opposing teams. When more commanders connect, the commanders in charge are determined by a ranking which bases on the votes in the forum. A commander can retire for a session, of course, if he doesn't want to command or he wants to let another command be in charge. Commands are given by placing flags and displaying messages on the screen of the players. Those can be deactivated, of course, but you need to do it manually whenever you join a server, because you have it activated by default.
I don't know how the new multiplier system will look like, but conquering and holding flags should grant rewards, same as doing the right thing within range of the right commander flag.
2nd game mode:
Domination:Again you have three flags on the map which work like master of the field. But in difference to commander battle, where the ressource has no other use than being amassed to determine the winner, flags grant respawns. Each team start with a certain amount of respawns, for example one respawn for every player on the team. A conquered flag adds another seperated pool of respawns. Players can choose if they want to respawn at the initial spawn, or at one of the conquered flags. Once a flag changes the owner, the remaining spawns change the owner as well. (That's why it needs to be seperated pools, so that the game knows how many spawns a particular flag has left). The team which first runs out of spawns and players on the field loses. No time limit. That's it.
Kills and assits grant rewards. Nothing else. Perhaps the ratio can add a percentual modifier to it. (Of course 2:1 is not as good as 6:3 or 20:10, don't make it that plain)
As you can see, the first game mode is about tactics and working together, while the other one is more about quick fights. Although I am more a macro player, I guess the micro players who prefer fighting many opponents and duelling with others prefer more respawns and less waiting time, so that's for them. More fighting, less waiting.
Tell me what you think of it. It's only a rough base, feel free to improve or change anything or to suggest completely new stuff. I think it is time to replace the battle mode, because - let's face it - it's incredibly plain.
