Game Needs Squads - Ideas Inside
altaholic
Join Date: 2013-09-21 Member: 188389Members
Join Date: 2013-09-21 Member: 188389Members
Playing and commanding in NS can feel like herding cats. Especially when playing marines, there is often little to no direction on common/bad servers. Those few times that you land on a server with excellent communication and teamwork, gameplay can feel amazing. My idea below details ways in which the developers can give each side the tools needed to replicate that feeling of "excellent teamwork." Everything hinges on player participation, but if the commander has the tools then the developer has done everything they can.
1.) Squads/Swarms
The game needs to add squads for marines, and swarms(or whatever other fluff word the developers prefer) for aliens. Each commander should be able to form around 4-6 squads out of the current players. I realize that some of these features are already implemented, but you won't know you are in a squad unless told so.
2.) Add squad/swarm leaders and make them easily recognizable
Each squad should be led by one sergeant/swarm node (again a alien fluff word of whatever choosing) of the commanders choice. The sergeant for each squad should be distinct in their appearance, such as slightly different armor coloring and bold/visible sergeant "stripes" on their shoulder armor. Alien leaders could have a slightly off color skin and appear a different shade on alien vision. This should help new players/everyone easily identify the leader on the battlefield. Instead of detailing how to play the game, new players could simply be directed to follow their squad leader to accomplish objectives and learn through experience.
3.) Commanders give orders to squads easily seen on the map
Commanders, with squads available, could then direct squads on where to go. How often on marines does everyone go to the right while that 1 guy goes to capture nodes on the left? Let's change that by having the commander issue general commands to his individual squads. Have alpha go left, bravo go right, charlie seek the enemy hive location, and delta can attempt an ambush at x location. The orders given should be heard in game through voices as well as being visible on the map. The commander should be able to "paint" an arrow or symbol on the map in what room or direction he wants a squad to move to. Let the sergeants in each squad inform his squad on what weapons/life forms they should be getting and what strategy they should be using. A few additional commands should be as follows.
1. Defend location x
2. Fall back to x
3. Secure x from the enemy
4. Move from x to y
5. Rendezvous with x squad at y location
4.) Give incentives to players to stay with their squad
Give the sergeants of each squad MINOR bonuses to team mates around them. Maybe minor health regeneration and increased point generation from killing enemies and building/destroying while with their squad. You wont be able to have everyone go with the flow, but if there is an incentive to stay together then the majority may begin to do so.
5.) Make it recognizable
Make the name above each player (for inside your team) correspond to a color representing that squad. This way you don't have to read each name and try to remember who is on what team. Let colors be a quick reference. Enemy names can appear as the same flat color. You can turn each squad into a competition to see who can get the most points. Your name color in chat should correspond to what squad you are in.
I've been playing NS since it was a mod in half-life, and the great thing about it is the sense of accomplishment you gain from working together and narrowly winning a game through excellent team work. In my opinion, a component missing from the game currently is tools for the commander to organize their team and give everyone a sense of direction on what they should be doing. I hope that a system similar to the one described above could be implemented to help players have fun and find purpose while inside NS2.
1.) Squads/Swarms
The game needs to add squads for marines, and swarms(or whatever other fluff word the developers prefer) for aliens. Each commander should be able to form around 4-6 squads out of the current players. I realize that some of these features are already implemented, but you won't know you are in a squad unless told so.
2.) Add squad/swarm leaders and make them easily recognizable
Each squad should be led by one sergeant/swarm node (again a alien fluff word of whatever choosing) of the commanders choice. The sergeant for each squad should be distinct in their appearance, such as slightly different armor coloring and bold/visible sergeant "stripes" on their shoulder armor. Alien leaders could have a slightly off color skin and appear a different shade on alien vision. This should help new players/everyone easily identify the leader on the battlefield. Instead of detailing how to play the game, new players could simply be directed to follow their squad leader to accomplish objectives and learn through experience.
3.) Commanders give orders to squads easily seen on the map
Commanders, with squads available, could then direct squads on where to go. How often on marines does everyone go to the right while that 1 guy goes to capture nodes on the left? Let's change that by having the commander issue general commands to his individual squads. Have alpha go left, bravo go right, charlie seek the enemy hive location, and delta can attempt an ambush at x location. The orders given should be heard in game through voices as well as being visible on the map. The commander should be able to "paint" an arrow or symbol on the map in what room or direction he wants a squad to move to. Let the sergeants in each squad inform his squad on what weapons/life forms they should be getting and what strategy they should be using. A few additional commands should be as follows.
1. Defend location x
2. Fall back to x
3. Secure x from the enemy
4. Move from x to y
5. Rendezvous with x squad at y location
4.) Give incentives to players to stay with their squad
Give the sergeants of each squad MINOR bonuses to team mates around them. Maybe minor health regeneration and increased point generation from killing enemies and building/destroying while with their squad. You wont be able to have everyone go with the flow, but if there is an incentive to stay together then the majority may begin to do so.
5.) Make it recognizable
Make the name above each player (for inside your team) correspond to a color representing that squad. This way you don't have to read each name and try to remember who is on what team. Let colors be a quick reference. Enemy names can appear as the same flat color. You can turn each squad into a competition to see who can get the most points. Your name color in chat should correspond to what squad you are in.
I've been playing NS since it was a mod in half-life, and the great thing about it is the sense of accomplishment you gain from working together and narrowly winning a game through excellent team work. In my opinion, a component missing from the game currently is tools for the commander to organize their team and give everyone a sense of direction on what they should be doing. I hope that a system similar to the one described above could be implemented to help players have fun and find purpose while inside NS2.
Comments
I hate when I say "1 person go here" and then half the team goes to that 1 RT in the corner of the map while the rest of the map gets taken out.
The problem is: The field players don't know they are in such a group.
I think this could be the start of something...with some changes of course
The thing that did help a lot was that the commander was able to give players gold to buy equipment. That facilitated conversations where players would beg for gold and the commander would have a chance to explain "no, I will not give you gold because you have not been following your squad leader's orders to attack the southern garrison."
What I've seen in NS2, most players just aren't interested in teamwork. I don't know why they bought the game -- maybe they thought they were buying Quake 5.
But NS2 is way to fast and dunamic to be of any real use. - You can however still bind stuff to groups, but the visuals isnt in game any longer.
I just pair people up prior to game start, and usually if they have some hours in the game they will listen.
Marines/Aliens being able to see their fellow squad members is indeed something that should be part of the squad solution.
If you could see a HUD icon where your fellow squad members are, their distance from you and their health and if they are firing their weapon. A bit like the old natural selection 1 motion tracking. In case the commander groups the entire team into a single squad, only show the nearest 3 squad members.
Squads are automatically stronger because they work together, so you can not give them dmg or hitpoint bonusses for this, but a personal resource bonus is nice, or a resource penalty for not being near your squad for an extended time.
Not sure about resource bonuses and stuff...game is hard enough to balance as it is.
Of course, since this hasn't happened after a few years, it will probably never happen.