Officers and NCOs
Renegade
Old school Join Date: 2002-03-29 Member: 361Members
Old school Join Date: 2002-03-29 Member: 361Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Stop me if you've heard this one</div>Alright, so, after reading a bunch of the topics in here (and after doing some thinking myself), the idea of Officers and NCOs sprang into my head. Now, what are these, you ask? The short answer is: they're marines with enhanced capabilities, and abilities that enhance the capabilities of others. Their overall theme is personal enhancement and interpersonal enhancement. I can't really discuss this topic without inevitably having to resort to long-winded explanations, so I'll just go ahead and do that now.
<b>NCOs</b> (Non-Comissioned Officers) : Much in the way your typical alien upgrades his own capabilities through mutations and evolution, an NCO enhances himself through training and experience. However, the way by which each goes about "buffing" themselves up is what makes the difference. An alien uses resources extracted from captured resource nozzles to fuel his bio-enhancement process. An NCO betters himself through knowledge gained from battlefield experience. The best way to think of this would be XP, much like that of D&D's. An NCO aquires experience for upgrades by being an active participant on the battlefield, be it through combat or construction (stuff doesn't build itself, after all). They would then use XP acquired to purchase upgrades like increased running speed, reduced reload times, increased accuracy, reduced recoil, being able to build things faster, and so on. The upgrades would affect him and only him, and would make him that much more of a force to be reckoned with in the heat of battle. Say, perhaps, a group of skulks is terrorizing a handful of marines, who are only barely able to hold the fearsome buggers at bay. The sudden appearance of an NCO might make all the difference in the world. Where suddenly their struggle was merely an exercise in delaying the inevitable, now they have a fighting chance, thanks to the enhanced abilities of the NCO. His superior display of combat prowess could rally them around him, enabling him to lead an effective assault on the fortified alien position nearby. The NCO is, in a word, superior. He is the superior soldier, and he serves as an example to all those around him.
<b>Officers</b> : The Officers is fundamentally different from the NCO in many and few ways. While he retains the personal upgrades of his lower-ranked predecessor, his path to enlightenment no longer takes him along the road of the individual, but rather across the trail of the collective. The presence of an Officer on the battlefield could be compared to that of a paladin from World of Warcraft (sans Hammer of JusticePWNFACE). That is, his is a role that is design to bolster the capabilities of those around him, rather than his own. An Officer might elect to invest his hard earned experience into an ability that might increase the accuracy of those around him, or the rate at which they construct buildings, or even the pace at which they travel through the world. His presence serves to increase the potency of his team in many respects. He might even have the ability to endow individual soldiers with temporary boosts of skill in one area or another, thus making him all the more capable in a large scale situation. Take, for instance, the example of the forward outpost. An Officer with an aura that decreases the time it takes for his teammates to build structures accompanied by a team of grunts (otherwise unenhanced marines) would no doubt be able to erect a forward combat position in no time, allowing his team that much more expedience in its affairs while in the field. The Officer would play a pivotal role in battlefield tactics and strategy. Indeed, coordinating the affairs of your officers would be an imperative task for any commander wishing to make the most of the efforts of his team.
<b>Note(s)</b> : Obviously the presence of the these somewhat super-powered individuals on the battlefield would be an upset without particular things taken into consideration. First and foremost of these considerations would be death, and how it would affect Officers and NCOs alike.
In the beginning, they might have to fear a permanent loss of ability when killed, forced to regain all those lost enhancements (much in the same way an alien must bide his time and resecure every mutation and evolution upon being blow'd up). But perhaps as time goes on, the commander might be able to research upgrades that would allow his trusty subordinates to retain some of their experience or abilities post mortem (a balance could be struck for both sides where by the alien commander could have a researched ability that would allow his troops to retain a certain amount of resources upon dying, or have the resources refunded if all were spent on becoming higher lifeforms and purchasing mutations).
Another thing to consider is identification. Every real life soldier has identifying marks, be they medals, rank insignia, or uniform appearance. Similarly, there would need to be a way to ID NCOs and Officers in the game world to both allies and opponents. Teammates should be able to look upon them and immidiately know what their upgrades are, and enemies should be able to pick them out from a crowd should they opt for them to be their targets of choice. "For as surely as the crown identifies you as king for your people, it marks you as target for your enemies." That kind of thing.
So, what say you, denizens of this humble board. Yay, nay, or pffft-ay?
<b>NCOs</b> (Non-Comissioned Officers) : Much in the way your typical alien upgrades his own capabilities through mutations and evolution, an NCO enhances himself through training and experience. However, the way by which each goes about "buffing" themselves up is what makes the difference. An alien uses resources extracted from captured resource nozzles to fuel his bio-enhancement process. An NCO betters himself through knowledge gained from battlefield experience. The best way to think of this would be XP, much like that of D&D's. An NCO aquires experience for upgrades by being an active participant on the battlefield, be it through combat or construction (stuff doesn't build itself, after all). They would then use XP acquired to purchase upgrades like increased running speed, reduced reload times, increased accuracy, reduced recoil, being able to build things faster, and so on. The upgrades would affect him and only him, and would make him that much more of a force to be reckoned with in the heat of battle. Say, perhaps, a group of skulks is terrorizing a handful of marines, who are only barely able to hold the fearsome buggers at bay. The sudden appearance of an NCO might make all the difference in the world. Where suddenly their struggle was merely an exercise in delaying the inevitable, now they have a fighting chance, thanks to the enhanced abilities of the NCO. His superior display of combat prowess could rally them around him, enabling him to lead an effective assault on the fortified alien position nearby. The NCO is, in a word, superior. He is the superior soldier, and he serves as an example to all those around him.
<b>Officers</b> : The Officers is fundamentally different from the NCO in many and few ways. While he retains the personal upgrades of his lower-ranked predecessor, his path to enlightenment no longer takes him along the road of the individual, but rather across the trail of the collective. The presence of an Officer on the battlefield could be compared to that of a paladin from World of Warcraft (sans Hammer of JusticePWNFACE). That is, his is a role that is design to bolster the capabilities of those around him, rather than his own. An Officer might elect to invest his hard earned experience into an ability that might increase the accuracy of those around him, or the rate at which they construct buildings, or even the pace at which they travel through the world. His presence serves to increase the potency of his team in many respects. He might even have the ability to endow individual soldiers with temporary boosts of skill in one area or another, thus making him all the more capable in a large scale situation. Take, for instance, the example of the forward outpost. An Officer with an aura that decreases the time it takes for his teammates to build structures accompanied by a team of grunts (otherwise unenhanced marines) would no doubt be able to erect a forward combat position in no time, allowing his team that much more expedience in its affairs while in the field. The Officer would play a pivotal role in battlefield tactics and strategy. Indeed, coordinating the affairs of your officers would be an imperative task for any commander wishing to make the most of the efforts of his team.
<b>Note(s)</b> : Obviously the presence of the these somewhat super-powered individuals on the battlefield would be an upset without particular things taken into consideration. First and foremost of these considerations would be death, and how it would affect Officers and NCOs alike.
In the beginning, they might have to fear a permanent loss of ability when killed, forced to regain all those lost enhancements (much in the same way an alien must bide his time and resecure every mutation and evolution upon being blow'd up). But perhaps as time goes on, the commander might be able to research upgrades that would allow his trusty subordinates to retain some of their experience or abilities post mortem (a balance could be struck for both sides where by the alien commander could have a researched ability that would allow his troops to retain a certain amount of resources upon dying, or have the resources refunded if all were spent on becoming higher lifeforms and purchasing mutations).
Another thing to consider is identification. Every real life soldier has identifying marks, be they medals, rank insignia, or uniform appearance. Similarly, there would need to be a way to ID NCOs and Officers in the game world to both allies and opponents. Teammates should be able to look upon them and immidiately know what their upgrades are, and enemies should be able to pick them out from a crowd should they opt for them to be their targets of choice. "For as surely as the crown identifies you as king for your people, it marks you as target for your enemies." That kind of thing.
So, what say you, denizens of this humble board. Yay, nay, or pffft-ay?
Comments
There, that is what I do like, and hopefully you can see why I think NCO, Officers, medals, nanite augmentations, and weapon modifications would be fun.
But unfortunately, the proposed method and usage would result in game play that is brutal to say the least. This is what I like to call the "Steam Roller" in multiplayer games, and in my own experience I have seen it happen the most in NS1: Combat games, where one side so out skills the other and so gains such large amounts of rewards in comparison to the other side, the match become so one sided that the other team just F4s rather than spawn = die.
Sure, ideally those extras from being NCO or Officer could tip the balance in a game back away from end game scenario and prolong the epic nature of the battle and overall match, but with the proposed method of reward, it is far more likely that it will result in brutal "Steam Rolling" as one side doesn't die and continues to gain rewards and the other just dies. For some gamers, this is fun, to be on the side that just "pwns" the other side but for the other side? Good chance this is not going to give them warm fuzzies and inspire them to want to play more NS2.
So, its a two edged sword which cuts both ways, cool RPG like elements or one sided matches. NS2 needs to find ways to make even the "losing" side have fun despite not fulfilling every objective.
What I think would alleviate some of the "brutal" to this would in the way those extras are given. I think the best method I can think of is research requirements, limited slots (maybe even only one augmentation slot), and that it must be purchased. Experience points giving out the reward is not my preferred method for giving out rewards in NS2, but rather teamwork score card, which indicates what a player has the most fun doing then giving them rewards which cater to their play style enjoyment.
As it is, there's people who are good enough that they pretty much are NCOs or Officers. Upgrades and things for a commander on the battlefield is sort of cool, but...aliens would have to have some sort of counterpart; such as, a fade might boost the attack or speed of nearby skulks due to the increased bravery form having a higher supportive life form. The same might be true with large groups of life forms. Something like that...
In all, I just don't think it's a good idea...more people = faster build time, better players help reinforce the newer ones...all that stuff comes into play already.
Also, the enhancements as offered by becoming an NCO or an Officer are only meant to supplement the upgrades the commander issues through research. No "hard" enhancements (damage increase, armor increase, health increase, etc.) would be available.
EDIT: I wouldn't be averse to some kind of alien equivalent; upgrades for them that are not achieved through tower construction.
i'm not sure ns can handle an rpg element as well as fps + rts.
i'm not sure ns can handle an rpg element as well as fps + rts.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Officers/NCOs simply come to be (kills net "XP," thus allowing you to "level up"). When they achieve rank, the commander is notified, and their names are put in a special "Officers and NCOs" pane that allows the commander to keep better track of them.
There's always the option of the <i>commander</i> doing the leveling up. As in, the comm gets notified when one of his players has enough "XP" to "level," and chooses an upgrade for that player. If the comm thinks said player should get an accuracy boost, he can grant him one with the push of a button (or the click of a mouse).
Really, this system is just a way for players to have their capabilities augmented in ways that aren't covered by researchable upgrades (there's no upgrade for weapon accuracy, etc.).