Just a thought here, but what if we re-imagine the commander a bit? what if we make the commander more agile and destructive? To give a better idea, im thinking of something like this: The reason why I'm suggesting this is because of an experience i had in a galactic war. As many of you may know, getting orbital superiority asap is crucial in galactic war to prevent planet hoping. At the same time, the end goal is to kill the enemy commander no? This would make one assume the commander is a dangerous unit that needs to be surrounded before killed, almost like a desperado situation. One problem with this currently is the commander is slow, and unable to react to threats very effectively. so in reality, all we need is a zerg rush of units chasing the commander down rather than the slow, methodical, surround him so he cant escape approach. If the commander was more mobile then maybe this would reinforce this idea of seiging the enemy commander. Furthermore the commander could be used more aggressively, leading smaller raids earlier in the game against the other players bases. Of course, this would be a high micro strategy that wont allow an early win (since if one commander in close proximity to another dies the other will likely go too) but it could be a nice opening strategy and a risk reward thing. At the very least, another mod maybe? Thoughts?
Galactic war cards pretty much allows you to kill a commander with another commander (you rush him before he even gets all his eco, then just shoot him until dead. But anyway, comrushes have been OP in past builds. Especially in team, where 2 commanders can gang up on 1. However, the commander isn't too weak either. He can kill a blob of ants easily. Makes it unlikely that any amount of raiding will kill a commander. Actually means you can't raid very early economy either, because the commander is nearby and able to annihilate armies before mex-kill or factory-kill
Im more interested in the idea of reinforcing the idea of surrounding a commander (the uber cannon makes the commander deadly enough) so better anti air solutions and a speed boost would really drive home that idea more than a damage boost.
in fact i wouldn't want a comm on comm battle early on be a deciding factor, rather i would like more of a commander harass maneuver screwing up their economy.
Super powerful and agile Commanders are a huge no. Could be a fun mod, but a definite no for vanilla PA. There were tons of major issues with comm rushing in the past. All you needed to do in Army matches is catch one lone enemy commander with 2 of your commanders and there was nothing he could do to defend against it. Especially if the attackers had fabricators repairing the commander. It was a micro fest with no counter. Super boring. However, if there were a game mode mod built around the concept of having super powerful and fast commanders... then that could be fun.
hmm, wouldnt the nuke explosion death kill any commander thats too close? Seems to me the explosion should be more powerful then no?
Not in RCBM they don't. Mutually Assured Destruction is imperative to avoid degenerative win/lose scenarios.
One of the most VITAL aspects to making this type of game work is to give players enough time to build up before a Commander can cross the map. Fast Commanders are an absolute no go. At least as a starting option.
A Commander that converts excess energy generation into a speed boost..? For every 1k energy "wasted" increases movement speed by 1%... Compensating for initial Commander production... *Shrugs. Places into long list of abilities for Commander Expansion Mod*
That would be hilarious to see, considering that energy production yoyo's pretty damn hard and it skyrockets to crazy levels. It would probably be better as a fixed demand for a fixed speed boost. There are other factors that can address Comm rushing if a higher movement speed is desired. Increasing construction speed means that every second spent walking is that much more construction lost. Providing less starting resources means that a rusher is limited in options. Using a starting 'metal pile' means that a rushing Comm can't take as much turret spam to his attack, in addition to giving the enemy a free abandoned metal pile. But for the most part, a slow Commander just fits the game style very well. It places more emphasis on lighter/nimbler units, which is exactly what you want to encourage more robot battles and less do-or-die Comm pushes.
I'd never implement it with Vanilla's crazy economy. RCBM's though, is another matter. Also, all those other things you just mentioned? Already done in RCBM.
I was thinking of this mainly as a way to make the commander easier to escape with(reinforcing the idea that he is a high value, very dangerous target, and must be cornered before killed) and maybe even having him double as a heavy hitting hit and run unit. To assure that the commander isn't killed by another commander, mutually assured destruction is indeed a must. Damage wise i think the uber cannon is enough as the aoe is insane, but i think speed is also imperative to assure effective raiding and escape when health is low. Again this is a high risk raid strategy that with one miss step can lead to an early loss, but everything done right can give you a big advantage late game.
