Khamm Pattern: Downward Spiral
botchiball
Join Date: 2003-04-24 Member: 15810Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2003-04-24 Member: 15810Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">Played Khamm a bit and noticed something to point out</div><b><!--coloro:#FFC0CB--><span style="color:#FFC0CB"><!--/coloro-->In a nutshell: The Khamm (alien commander) has become more and more boring lately in the tasks they are required to do, as well as in how they do it.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b>
More in depth:
I've been noticing several things that have changed for the Khamm and which likely are being felt by Comm's out there as well - mainly in the sense of "abilities" being replaced by "micro-management" of units and structures.
To quell confusion, I am defining "abilities" as an action which a Khamm must activate depending on the situation, and "micro-management" as an action which a Khamm must take which could easily be done for them (by a machine) - also in that players are waiting on the Khamm to do something. I am not saying "OMG THE GAME IS RUINT" - all I'm saying is that I'm noticing a trend and not really liking it.
Examples of Pattern:
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Crag Loss of Umbra to Lerk<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> This means that not only do Khamms lose the ability to protect their hives, but also if the Khamm wasn't on track as much as they should have been, then they are now out a key asset in the game (umbra). Even if the Khamm has researched this ability, there is no guarantee that a teammate is playing as a Lerk, or that there is Lerk where you need them. It also gives the Khamm one less thing to do - this is KEY. I don't think Umbra should be removed from the Lerk again, but there is a problem in that Khamm's need Umbra (defensive power) and Crags need an active ability.
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Separation of Ability Upgrades to activation on a single hive<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> I read a rumor that this one is already being taken care of soon as everything is going back to the "hive's = upgrades" model, but since it hasn't been yet I'm keeping it here. In my opinion, this is just micro-management; yes you get to choose where to spend your res based on whats important, but in the previous method getting a hive is what was important. This change also means that players often aren't able to use their full potential since the Khamm forgot an upgrade, or didn't plan for it properly (i.e. a Fade without Blink, or an Onos without Stomp).
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Loss of Energy<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> I don't know why Energy was getting such a hating before it was removed, but in my opinion it was just starting to work nicely and the game is too simple now. Needing to keep track of two resources meant that the Khamm had more to do, more to keep track of (in a good way). It also would mean that the Khamm has two sources of "Action Flow" - meaning: the ability to do something. When resources ran out, that was when the Khamm could switch over to energy based structures and pop some abilities. Vise versa: when energy based abilities run dry, there should be enough resources to be able to build additional structures or to buy upgrades. This prevents the Khamm from doing too much of one action, gives them something else to do while they wait, and also forces a trade off between certain abilities. It also means that by using abilities now, I am spending resources which could go toward a structure of some other sort, so lately I have found myself just sitting around waiting for res - as I have nothing else to do. I would really like to see a second resource brought back into the game, whether it be energy or not.
L> This also applies to not using PRes for anything, as with the current Gorge model, it seems that the Khamm is simply waiting to go Onos or to assist others in going Onos.
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Maturation<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> Not gonna lie, I originally hated this idea when it first came out. But the more I watched it, the more it made sense and the more I liked it - the plant/living organism structures of the Kharaa <i>should </i>grow more powerful over time (it just makes sense). I also enjoyed how if the Khamm had an excess of energy they could place Mist onto any newborn structure to have it mature faster -> this also made sense, in that late game (when energy was finally built up) Kharaa shouldn't have to wait as long to mature. So the problem with all this:
L> Is when Mist stopped boosting the maturation process. All of a sudden we have structures which require a set amount of time to mature - and to gain their mature abilities. So in the end of a game, even when the Kharaa are winning, the ability to build whips to assist in finishing off a Marine base, or as a last ditch effort to stop a train of ARCs, is gone. This process is forcing games to take longer -> because of the maturation mechanic. I would really like to see Mist speeding up maturation again, or possibly that the more hives there are, the less time it takes for structures to mature.
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Drifter Abilities<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> Definitely micro-management in my eyes. "Flare" is a great ability, but having a stationary drifter be the "medium" simply gets in the way of using the ability properly. In my eyes there are three possible fixes for this issue:
A) Remove the ability from Drifters and simply give them to the Khamm, as per Mist and Spikes.
-Drifters are completely in the way and essentially a pointless hastle: <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BumblingSidekick" target="_blank">Why keep them around?</a>
B) Give more abilities to the Drifters so that Khamms will see the need to use them more, and it will make sense to have multiple Khamm abilities stemming from one common source.
-Like the annoying super genius on the team: <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InsufferableGenius" target="_blank">if they are useful enough than people will overlook their problems.</a>
C) Give Drifters the ability to be set to "Following," and change the Flare ability from "Khamm Activated" to "Always Active".
-Similar to Remora fish who latch onto Sharks and eat parasites affecting the sharks - Drifters could latch onto players (or follow at a discrete distance) and provide some sort of benefit. Even without the "Following" ability, changing the Flare ability to always be on would allow the Khamm to work on something else while the Drifter provides its bonus -> the big problem I see with this ability is the short time frame it is active. While I don't want to suggest removing something for a Khamm to do, this one has pushed over into "micro-management" in that any idiot could take over on when to fire this off, and usually the Khamm has more important things to think about than this.
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Removing Gorge ability to place Cysts, adding Gorge "incentive" to assist Khamm<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> Since removing the Gorge's ability to place cysts, the Khamm is now required to place them all themselves. Not that a Gorge really enjoyed this job, but in those instances where a Gorge wants a couple more cysts to be able to build a better location of defenses - it used to be that the Gorge could do this themselves, now Gorges will pester the Khamm until they get a cyst where they want it. Also by increasing all the build times to "drive" the need for Gorges, it slowed down how much the Khamm can do and how often. This is especially bad when no one wants to Gorge, or the one Gorge that the team has is on the other side of the map from where the Khamm is building.
<!--coloro:#98FB98--><span style="color:#98FB98"><!--/coloro-->Suggestions for Improvement and Reversal of the Pattern:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
Besides the specific changes above, I'm suggesting that there is an overall change of less annoying tasks to do, more meaningful tasks to do, and more overlap with Gorges and other classes.
************
These are just the major ones I've noticed lately, but please post additional things you've noticed (if any) or suggestions to change them.
<!--coloro:#ADD8E6--><span style="color:#ADD8E6"><!--/coloro-->
TLDR:
The Khamm has become more and more boring lately in the tasks they are required to do, as well as in how they do it.
Loss of Crag Umbra = less for Khamm to do
All abilities from one hive = more busy work for Khamm
Loss of Energy = resource model is too simple
Maturation = structures take too long to build up
Drifters = annoyance and anguish
New Gorge Style = slowed down Khamm's workflow and increased pestering Gorges
<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
More in depth:
I've been noticing several things that have changed for the Khamm and which likely are being felt by Comm's out there as well - mainly in the sense of "abilities" being replaced by "micro-management" of units and structures.
To quell confusion, I am defining "abilities" as an action which a Khamm must activate depending on the situation, and "micro-management" as an action which a Khamm must take which could easily be done for them (by a machine) - also in that players are waiting on the Khamm to do something. I am not saying "OMG THE GAME IS RUINT" - all I'm saying is that I'm noticing a trend and not really liking it.
Examples of Pattern:
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Crag Loss of Umbra to Lerk<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> This means that not only do Khamms lose the ability to protect their hives, but also if the Khamm wasn't on track as much as they should have been, then they are now out a key asset in the game (umbra). Even if the Khamm has researched this ability, there is no guarantee that a teammate is playing as a Lerk, or that there is Lerk where you need them. It also gives the Khamm one less thing to do - this is KEY. I don't think Umbra should be removed from the Lerk again, but there is a problem in that Khamm's need Umbra (defensive power) and Crags need an active ability.
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Separation of Ability Upgrades to activation on a single hive<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> I read a rumor that this one is already being taken care of soon as everything is going back to the "hive's = upgrades" model, but since it hasn't been yet I'm keeping it here. In my opinion, this is just micro-management; yes you get to choose where to spend your res based on whats important, but in the previous method getting a hive is what was important. This change also means that players often aren't able to use their full potential since the Khamm forgot an upgrade, or didn't plan for it properly (i.e. a Fade without Blink, or an Onos without Stomp).
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Loss of Energy<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> I don't know why Energy was getting such a hating before it was removed, but in my opinion it was just starting to work nicely and the game is too simple now. Needing to keep track of two resources meant that the Khamm had more to do, more to keep track of (in a good way). It also would mean that the Khamm has two sources of "Action Flow" - meaning: the ability to do something. When resources ran out, that was when the Khamm could switch over to energy based structures and pop some abilities. Vise versa: when energy based abilities run dry, there should be enough resources to be able to build additional structures or to buy upgrades. This prevents the Khamm from doing too much of one action, gives them something else to do while they wait, and also forces a trade off between certain abilities. It also means that by using abilities now, I am spending resources which could go toward a structure of some other sort, so lately I have found myself just sitting around waiting for res - as I have nothing else to do. I would really like to see a second resource brought back into the game, whether it be energy or not.
L> This also applies to not using PRes for anything, as with the current Gorge model, it seems that the Khamm is simply waiting to go Onos or to assist others in going Onos.
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Maturation<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> Not gonna lie, I originally hated this idea when it first came out. But the more I watched it, the more it made sense and the more I liked it - the plant/living organism structures of the Kharaa <i>should </i>grow more powerful over time (it just makes sense). I also enjoyed how if the Khamm had an excess of energy they could place Mist onto any newborn structure to have it mature faster -> this also made sense, in that late game (when energy was finally built up) Kharaa shouldn't have to wait as long to mature. So the problem with all this:
L> Is when Mist stopped boosting the maturation process. All of a sudden we have structures which require a set amount of time to mature - and to gain their mature abilities. So in the end of a game, even when the Kharaa are winning, the ability to build whips to assist in finishing off a Marine base, or as a last ditch effort to stop a train of ARCs, is gone. This process is forcing games to take longer -> because of the maturation mechanic. I would really like to see Mist speeding up maturation again, or possibly that the more hives there are, the less time it takes for structures to mature.
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Drifter Abilities<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> Definitely micro-management in my eyes. "Flare" is a great ability, but having a stationary drifter be the "medium" simply gets in the way of using the ability properly. In my eyes there are three possible fixes for this issue:
A) Remove the ability from Drifters and simply give them to the Khamm, as per Mist and Spikes.
-Drifters are completely in the way and essentially a pointless hastle: <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BumblingSidekick" target="_blank">Why keep them around?</a>
B) Give more abilities to the Drifters so that Khamms will see the need to use them more, and it will make sense to have multiple Khamm abilities stemming from one common source.
-Like the annoying super genius on the team: <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InsufferableGenius" target="_blank">if they are useful enough than people will overlook their problems.</a>
C) Give Drifters the ability to be set to "Following," and change the Flare ability from "Khamm Activated" to "Always Active".
-Similar to Remora fish who latch onto Sharks and eat parasites affecting the sharks - Drifters could latch onto players (or follow at a discrete distance) and provide some sort of benefit. Even without the "Following" ability, changing the Flare ability to always be on would allow the Khamm to work on something else while the Drifter provides its bonus -> the big problem I see with this ability is the short time frame it is active. While I don't want to suggest removing something for a Khamm to do, this one has pushed over into "micro-management" in that any idiot could take over on when to fire this off, and usually the Khamm has more important things to think about than this.
<!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Removing Gorge ability to place Cysts, adding Gorge "incentive" to assist Khamm<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> Since removing the Gorge's ability to place cysts, the Khamm is now required to place them all themselves. Not that a Gorge really enjoyed this job, but in those instances where a Gorge wants a couple more cysts to be able to build a better location of defenses - it used to be that the Gorge could do this themselves, now Gorges will pester the Khamm until they get a cyst where they want it. Also by increasing all the build times to "drive" the need for Gorges, it slowed down how much the Khamm can do and how often. This is especially bad when no one wants to Gorge, or the one Gorge that the team has is on the other side of the map from where the Khamm is building.
<!--coloro:#98FB98--><span style="color:#98FB98"><!--/coloro-->Suggestions for Improvement and Reversal of the Pattern:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
Besides the specific changes above, I'm suggesting that there is an overall change of less annoying tasks to do, more meaningful tasks to do, and more overlap with Gorges and other classes.
************
These are just the major ones I've noticed lately, but please post additional things you've noticed (if any) or suggestions to change them.
<!--coloro:#ADD8E6--><span style="color:#ADD8E6"><!--/coloro-->
TLDR:
The Khamm has become more and more boring lately in the tasks they are required to do, as well as in how they do it.
Loss of Crag Umbra = less for Khamm to do
All abilities from one hive = more busy work for Khamm
Loss of Energy = resource model is too simple
Maturation = structures take too long to build up
Drifters = annoyance and anguish
New Gorge Style = slowed down Khamm's workflow and increased pestering Gorges
<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
Comments
Marines are on same field with loss of energy.
Alien abilities are being moved to second and third hives in future builds.
Introduction of spikes has given them more to do.
I do agree with some of your points though. Difters need more abilities. Structures take too long to build and mature, forcing gorges to build.
<!--quoteo(post=1949523:date=Jul 7 2012, 09:40 AM:name=botchiball)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (botchiball @ Jul 7 2012, 09:40 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1949523"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><!--coloro:#FFFACD--><span style="color:#FFFACD"><!--/coloro-->- Loss of Energy<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> -> I don't know why Energy was getting such a hating before it was removed, but in my opinion it was just starting to work nicely and the game is too simple now.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Energy! Energy! What do we want? Energy! When do we want it? Energy!