Hive maturation for egg drop

maD maX

Simple Idea have maturation of the hive slow onos drop and add tactical variety

have a non mature hive be worth 1 point and a mature hive worth 2 point

-----Egg Drop requirments-----
(1point)gorge Drop... need 1 hive,
(2points)lerk drop.... need 1 mature hive or 2 non-mature hives
(3points)fade drop... 1 mature hive &1 not mature hive or 3 nonmature hives,
(4points)onos drop... 2 mature hives or 1 mature hive and 2 not mature hives


--------------Initial balance-----------
-I would have the start hive already be a mature hive(who knows how long its been there?)
- - -this way gorge/lerk aren't affected unless you lose your start hive
- - -Also fast fade could still be done at 5-6 min instead of onos...
-have maturation take 8 unassisted minutes
- - -Fast hive results in a 10 minute onos
-Mist adds effectivly 5% maturity
- - -10 mists would cut maturation time in half at a cost of 30 res
- - -with like 17 mists your hive could be mature in like 30 seconds at a cost of 50 res
-have 3rd hive act as maturation for the second
- - -instead of putting 50 res into mist one could risk it and go fast 3rd hive

By adjusting time to maturity they can tweek balance in a consistent and non invasive manner...

------------Other possible implications of hive maturity-------
-Instead of 3 hive levels their are now 6 levels
- - -Hive upgrades could be redistributed
-If start hive doesn't start mature
- - -could give more viability to 1 (mature)hive aliens
- - -put leap on level 2 requiring 1 mature hive or 2 non mature hive
-3 mature hives cost of egg drop discounted


In general I believe that if this was implemented It would act as a frame for many other changes from egg drops to upgrades....
- - -After switching to a system like this future balance and tweaking would be done by moving upgrades around within the 6 levels (much less drastic then moving them withing only 3 levels)
- - -Game flow could be adjusted by tweaking time to maturation
I also believe this could add a needed layer of tactics to the alien commander
- - -In general the comm is now forced to balance spending res on mist or wait (time vs res management)
- - -does comm want to rush onos and spend tons of res on mist? ...maybe....

Imbalanxd

You would struggle to convey this information via a UI

maD maX

Precedence is already in game, if you want to upgrade a whip/shade/shift it requires maturity and says so.

In addition this game has never claimed to be a simple game with no learning curve, I think most people would figure it out to some functional level, and competitive players would figure out ways to maximize it and create a variety of strategies (an in the end isnt that the goal)

Safewood

Cee Colon Slash introduced me to your solution, and I have to say I'm quite fond of it. I absolutely want to see this taken into the game. For now, I will just praise this thread, but I'll see if I can contribute in one way or another later on.

Edit: I only got one thing I would like to add at the moment, which is, format your thread a bit better.
For example:
<u>Egg drop requirements:</u>
<b>1.)</b> Gorge - No requirements.
<b>2.)</b> Lerk - 1 mature Hive, or 2 non-mature Hives.
<b>3.)</b> Fade - 1 mature Hive and 1 non-mature Hive, or 3 non-mature Hives.
<b>4.)</b> Onos - 2 mature Hives, or 1 mature Hive and 2 non-mature Hives.

maD maX

<!--quoteo(post=2020971:date=Nov 12 2012, 06:28 PM:name=Safewood)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Safewood @ Nov 12 2012, 06:28 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2020971"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Edit: I only got one thing I would like to add at the moment, which is, format your thread a bit better.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->



Lol, you try and format a long thread with an iphone while in class.... but i dont disagree....

tarquinbb

why must it be so convoluted? you might as well say "if you have 2.5 hives, at least 3 extractors in rooms with a window and have infestation in every room with double vowels in the name, then you can drop onos egg".


the best suggestion i've seen is:

1 hive = gorge, lerk
2 hive = fade
3 hive = onos

ergo, the only 'change' would be moving onos from 2 to 3 hive req.

now, whether alien would severely struggle without 2 hive onos remains to be seen - but anything is better than the current competitive metagame where almost every game revolves around aliens rushing onos and marines delaying the onos rush, which leads into a very samey midgame where everything revolves around the onos.

maD maX

<!--quoteo(post=2021006:date=Nov 12 2012, 07:03 PM:name=tarquinbb)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (tarquinbb @ Nov 12 2012, 07:03 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2021006"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->why must it be so convoluted? you might as well say "if you have 2.5 hives, at least 3 extractors in rooms<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


actually i would prefer a more complicated system where #of RT,hive,shift,whips, everything...... basically created an overall evolutionary status and based on that status you were permitted everything from upgrades to egg drops. Give the commander a status bar that fills up as structures are built or complete maturity. This would shift aliens from a simple box checking system to a fluid dynamic system (increase asymmetry as well)

I also know that many players would hate it so i suggested a compramise

Safewood

There should be an option to only need to place out a nutrient mist and make it last as long as there's something to mature. Either toggleable in the structures, place out nutrient mists in the same place extends the duration or a portable structure that pumps out nutrient mists as soon as there's something that can be matured, also toggleable.

yehawmcgraw

I like this idea, but to avoid confusion and make it easier to convey in the UI, the requirements should only involve mature hives:

Gorge: No requirement
Lerk: 1 mature hive
Fade: 2 mature hive
Onos: 2 mature hives

Xarius

This is by far the most sensible solution to the onos egg timing issue.

Onos only at 3 hives will effectively kill the onos egg drop strategy, that's not something that should be encouraged as it further limits the already shallow strategic gameplay for the alien khammander. With this solution at least the egg drop is still viable, but no longer a no-brainer and best guarantee for a win.

pendelum5

Adding some other time-delay that incorporates resources may also work. Having Aliens spending res to unlock egg-drops could be tweaked to allow further spending of tres once upgrades are complete, and would add a layer of economic complexity to the egg-drop system.

I like the idea of hive maturation as a way to establish a timing window for tres Onos play.