Jump To Lightspeed Archive
Thread: Good against remotes is one thing kid....Good against the living?
Page 1 of 1
Kaleborn
Mon Nov 08, 2004 5:24 pm
#1
...That's something else". 
Thought I'd chirp in with my totally self-indulgent wish list of changes for PvP. Beware this is from a 3332 Imp who hasn't fired a shot in anger in PvP yet in JTL. But just from reading all the umpteen threads here's some thoughts. Sorry if this is just more forum noise. But anyway:
PVP Mods I'd love to see
1. Reduce PvP dmg by XX% - Yes, 30 minute fights=bad. 2-shot fights? Equally bad. We need a balance. Just make shields and armor have some meaning and we'll be alright. Light fighters still have to sacrifice that stuff to function at their best, but one stray shot won't leave them crippled (of course lvl 1 shields/armor vs a lvl 9 canon should still leave the victim a fried husk dead in space...there's a limit how survivable a ship like that should be).
1. Reduce PvP dmg by XX% - Yes, 30 minute fights=bad. 2-shot fights? Equally bad. We need a balance. Just make shields and armor have some meaning and we'll be alright. Light fighters still have to sacrifice that stuff to function at their best, but one stray shot won't leave them crippled (of course lvl 1 shields/armor vs a lvl 9 canon should still leave the victim a fried husk dead in space...there's a limit how survivable a ship like that should be).
2. Make Heavy ships have value and a purpose - Hand in hand with point #1 above. If your going to be heavy, lumbering and loaded to the power-couplings with armor, shields and weapons you better be able to take some punishment. No sense having your entire B-Wing assault force wiped out in seconds because a few TIE fighters bum-rushed them and took em down on only one pass, ignoring the escorts. Yes, a B-wing should still be mortally afraid if caught alone against an Interceptor with a semi-competent pilot. But it really should take 2 or 3 passes for said Imp to finish him off.And if he's not careful in his angle of approachor the B-wing anticipates his peeling-off maneuver just so, well.... Alot more interesting than just the Int zipping in, casually squirting off a couple shots and flying ecstatically through the widening debris cloud thinking they accomplished anything...
3. Reduce penalty for death in PvP in terms of ship decay. We're not all bazillion-aires. The real fun of this game for the MOST number of people is in the fighting, not endless grinding. Don't forsake the crafters altogether, but maintaining fun quotient for the vast majority of players has to be a priority. I think certain other MMOs are proving that sometimes sacrifing obsession with design minutae for sheer fun is a good thing.
4. PvP for the Masses. Introduce people to PvP earlier in the game by having PvP zones for lower tiers. An MMO with a twitch-based game system is begging for PvP. People logging in for the first time have a right to expect to join in the fun as soon as their noob-zone training is done. Make it accessible for the most number of people as possible. Declaring yourself Overt at a lonely station in the vast empty overt-less regions of Non-Kessel space does NOT count!! With Kessel-lite type zones You'll help the Master level game in the process by dispelling some of the fear and myth of the dreaded 'PvP-environment'. And you'll betraining younger/newer players in tactics&grouping in an environment devoid of uber-level gankers.
5. Spawn/load protection - I feel my brain slowing down to amoeba level by even having to put this in here. MMO Design Class 101, 8:30am, Day 1: Protect PvP people from being camped at spawn points. I mean really. Dev's? 1997 just called, and they want their first generation MMO design decisions BACK. Sorry, that's probably way too much attitude on my part. But I really can't stomach this kind of stuff.
6. PvE Kessel mission for Master. Hmmm, I'm pretty dubious of the game-value of a zone like Kessel and Deep Space to begin with. Sure wandering around getting into the odd scrap is sorta fun, but really it's the big-battle set-pieces that Star Wars is famous for. I suppose down the road if more and more people play in Kessel it would be cool to load in (*cough* protected from spawn camping *cough*) and see all of nearby space alight with explosions, blaster fire and the wheeling-dealing dance of death of enemy ships dogfighting in some kind of Imp vs Reb vs FL maelstrom. Sounds good on paper anyway...
In any case, remove this particular mission from Kessel and have TWO Master Level missions and achievements. 1 for PvE Master and another for PvP. Different titles, different gift rewards for two totally different gameplay experiences. A properly designed GCW space environment with balanced ships means that getting to Master isn't the end-game. Helping win the Galactic Civil War (this week anyway) for one side or the other (or foiling both sides if your the freelancers), should really be what it's all about.
What I'd REALLY love to see:
Instancedset-piece battles. Basically a "Star Destroyer vs Reb/Pirate station" type thing. One side has to blow up the other's 'base'. But it's done in a focused, controlled environment, thus guaranteeing (as much as possible) a level playing field. And easier access to the FUN stuff! Basically here is the scenario:
Every hour a zone will open to all players who "sign up" for that time slot. Put a cap on the number of total players and players-per- faction, if needed, depending on server load/net performance.
The mechanics of getting people, wherever they are, into the zone I'm not too concerned with. I'd probably have them gather on the ground in a rebel/imp/neutral base. Be 'here' at the designated time or you give up your spot. I don't know, whatever is fair and workable.
Players from either side spawn into the zone and have 5-10 minutes or so to get organized (allowing for late-comers to the ground-based spawn point). Players cannot leave their 'home' area of this space zone until that time is up. So you assemble your strike forces, flotillas, fighter wings, recon patrols (we would need a lightly armed, high-scan range recon type of vessel. Mabye they'd be able to push waypoints of enemy locations easily out to all Group leaders, that sort of thing. Perhaps Recon class shipswould beexempt from the restriction on leaving your 'home' location too). You would do all this in the shadow of your Star Destroyer or space station, so you see what you're fighting to protect.
The space zone might have the odd wandering pirate or something, but basically it's a tight sealed little area strictly for the faction-vs-faction battle. Throw in some nebulas, asteroid fields, etc. I'd put a couple of Hyper points at the half-way point of the zone with space stations. These would serve as a 'game within a game' type objectives. Controlling these stations means when you die you get to respawn THERE--if you choose--instead of all the way back at base, for quicker re-entry into the fight.
Each player would get a limited number of allowed deaths, figure between 3-10 I guess. Can't have the battle--and server space--used up all night. There might need to be a time limit as well for the same reasons. Say 1 hour? Then the next wave of people who signed up can join in. If demand is high you can put restrictions in, such as you can't sign up for two battles back-to-back, but every other one is fine. Whatever.
Anyway, this is really the kind of thing I hope can be implemented in some fasion or another. Essentially some battlegrounds in space. Give them fancy names like this week it's the "Battle for Naboo" in space...with faction perks (or just a plain old GCW 'Scorecard' if they every get around to something like that). *sigh* if only....
Regards,
K
deathclosets
Mon Nov 08, 2004 5:31 pm
#2
thoughtful, well-written post 
You make good points.
I suggest you actually try pvp (even though you already pretty much know what it's like) and see if the experience causes that imagination of your's to come up with any other ideas.
You make good points.
I suggest you actually try pvp (even though you already pretty much know what it's like) and see if the experience causes that imagination of your's to come up with any other ideas.
Cuality
Mon Nov 08, 2004 7:24 pm
#7
all good ideas... except for this one.
Kaleborn wrote:
1. Reduce PvP dmg by XX% - Yes, 30 minute fights=bad. 2-shot fights? Equally bad. We need a balance. Just make shields and armor have some meaning and we'll be alright. Light fighters still have to sacrifice that stuff to function at their best, but one stray shot won't leave them crippled (of course lvl 1 shields/armor vs a lvl 9 canon should still leave the victim a fried husk dead in space...there's a limit how survivable a ship like that should be).
Damage reduction is just stupid and it kills immersion. What is needed is shield and weapon balance. You have a 6k dmg weapon, you need shields that are at least twice that as normal shields and beefed up shields and armor that are at least 4 times that.multiplayerships should be able to get thier shields up to 60k. then you would need to tweak the NPC weapons as well.
balance, don't take the easy way out.
Page 1 of 1