Gameplay: Convoy mission

[Dima]

Originally Posted by Toppopia

I was thinking, i wonder what would happen if i started a thread to discuss the different 'game modes' we could have, seeing right now we have domination, so maybe they could add in capture the flag like what was in PS1, or escort, where a convoy has to be driven from point A to point B, and all the enemy is told is the path, like the intercept missions in Red Faction Guerilla. But then people would probably not take it seriously, so i don't think i will do that, but different versions of domination would add more variety and spice up game play.

And the option the original poster came up with is like an Assault Game type, capture points that allows you to move up to another set of points, like in Time Splitters 2 and Time Splitters: Future Perfect

I saw this guys post with the convoy mini objective idea and I thought to myself "man, this sounds pretty awesome" and then I started thinking how it should be like in the environment of PS2 and this is what I came up with:

An AI controlled truck that moves at a slow-medium speed equipped with a dome shield a gunner seat that can be manned (AA will fit best) and some passenger seats starts heading out from the main base to one of the front line bases (only if the path is connected) once in a while in a randomish fashion (like once in 1-3 hours).

The defenders have a 10 minute warning before the truck starts heading out while attackers will have only a 3 minute warning, the only information that will be given to both sides is where it starts at and where it currently is on the map (might want to blur that out for attackers to only show the hex its at at the given moment and only give precise place if somebody directly spots it).

If the defenders manage to successfully bring the truck to its destination then the faction gets a bonus to resources on the other hand if the attackers manage to destroy the convoy then they will need to hold it for a certain amount of time to salvage it and then they are the ones to get the bonus, the defenders can on their part destroy the ruins of the track to prevent the attackers from salvaging it and the bonus will be lost.

Now all the things like the time intervals between convoys heading out, the resource bonus they give, the shields strength, time to salvage etc etc are all variables that can be balanced out and the goal is to make it so that attacking/defending a convoy wont be significant enough for people to zerg around it and abandon towers and bases from one hand but also give a satisfying award on the other... Maybe make it so the more convoys reach their destination one after the other the more bonus resources they will give, first will give a very small amount, second will give a little more and so on until it gets capped at a certain point.

Also there is need to make it look insignificant for new players to prevent zerging maybe by calling it a 'side quest' or something similar, you know, "printing it out in small letters".

It will most likely require some testing to balance out but the variety and depth this mechanic adds to the game is amazing, for myself it gives me a much bigger sense of war and also a sense of a dynamic and changing world, I really hope that it will be implemented to the game!