Dynamic balance (possible mod idea)

Is it possible to hook up units stats or unit metal cost to scale based off real game stats of how often they are used and how effective they are in battle?

Setup a server that slowly tweaks the unit stats, once each day or week so that dominant units get nerfed and units that are hardly used or used less than intended get buffed. The idea being that there will always be OP and under powered units but which ones they are will constantly be changing.

That would be very complicated.

I don't really think it's needed though, we already know the OP and UP units.

The OP units are already blatantly obvious and the under powered ones just as so.

Yes but what I mean is that this system would keep things in constant flux (god I hate that word). It's something I've not seen in an RTS before and I've never even heard of it being attempted.

That would be interesting.

Would it change in game, or like, on the server?

And what would be open to change? (Because some things might just nuke the server.)

Mered is sort of doing something like this with the community balance thingamabob.

I guess we just have to participate in modded games MORE often to show our boycott (or lack thereof).

Then have a shitton of forum posts supporting one mod over the other.

It'll definitely take a consensus of people working together on this mod thing.

THOUGH we do have a ton of threads speaking on the uselessness of bots, and even more-so t2 bots.

So, MAYBE they are getting the picture of our unhappiness and not wanting to comment on which path they are taking because they haven't decided yet.

My hopes is that it's either BOTS=utility or BOTS=standalone compared to tanks.

And, Kiwi, do you honestly think by telling me what to do, by not telling you what to do, will tell us what to do, when we do what we do?

Imagine this in a MP GW.

Dat would be insane.

Haha u dun tell me wat to do

Have a nice day.

If that's possible, that would be a pretty awesome mod.

Difficult as all get out to balance. But would be awesome.

Getting out of balance is the point... as long as it gets back in balance again by itself.

There would be risk of runaway stats and all sorts of strange bugs... but it would be fun.

"0% of players built sniper bots. Buffing rate of fire by 200000%."

"100% of players built Vehicle Factories. Nerfing health by 98%."

Why once a day? Take it a step further and do it every 60 seconds so the most effective army is one that is very diverse.

That's a risk sure... but a good algorithm would not make it that extreme and would be able to tell the difference between units being used by everyone because they're useful as opposed to being the only thing used because they're OP.

Haha, that would be open to exploit if you were doing it within games currently running. Build tonne of bombers and send them to their doom, then build a tonne more and bomb the crap out of everything! Haha.

"Spams nukes way too much" Nukes become peashooters. That would be hilarious.

How would you determine which stats are buffed or nerfed? Build rates can only tell you so much about power level.

Personally this sounds like good *Core* mechanic, something that could spur a game of its own....

But I don't think it has much of a place in PA, Cool idea none the less.

Some calculation based on metal spent, damage dealt and/or resources produced would work. Don't ask me what that equation is though.

As for which stats should change, it'd be fun to make that random. If a unit is OP then randomly reduce it's effectiveness by tweaking one stat. If it's still OP the next round tweak another... it would be a gradual process not a complete and total nerf of the most powerful unit immediately.

My bad, double post.

Programming is not magic, you still need to define an equation that defines "balance". Besides, op units that are intended to be op, like teir 2 units, are op because the player has earned it. A system like that could get very broken.

Also your breaking a fundamental rule of game design, if a nuke is expected to wipe out a base and does barely any damage, there are gonna be a lot of rage quitters who no longer want to play your game because, hey, my nuke that i spent all game building and should have won me the game got nerfed as i launched it to do next to no damage. Good design is when the players in inadvertently balance each other out dynamically.