An idea for Skirmish or new gameplay mode

Hi everyone, I apologize if this idea has come up before, but I woke up this morning with this (what I think is a) great idea. In the promo video's first 19 seconds, the first words we hear are: "The age of humanity has long passed. Scattered across the universe, agents of destruction lay dormant for millennia." The image being shown at that moment is a huge base that's been destroyed. It occurred to me, why don't we see ruins of the previous wars in game? On some maps, people have reported finding Easter eggs, temple structures, unit cannon, and the like; but I thought what if there was something else, something still functional?

In GW, you find tech on each planet you conquer. What if in Skirmish, you could find old tech that could give you a bonus? The bonus could be for a limited time, or permanent (more on that in a sec) and be similar to some of the GW tech like Bonus armor, bonus speed, faster builds, firepower, etc. Finding this tech would be an uncommon event, rare enough that it doesn't influence every game, but just common enough to make you want to keep an eye out for it. For those who remember Dune 2000 (Westwood Studios) remember the spice bloom you would occasionally find, or Command & Conquer where you could find crates? I think it would add a real element of surprise to the game, not to mention tie into the back story perfectly.

Another variation on that theme would be a small structure that grants you a bonus permanently, that is so long as you control it. Remember Unreal Tournament? One of the gameplay modes required you to control certain areas for a certain uninterrupted amount of time... In PA, I imagine a small platform that you could park a single unit on, and it would grant all units of the same type on that team a bonus... for as long as a unit was on it (do all air unit types land if not in use? I guess they could hover over the platform).

This would in a sense occasionally provide a secondary objective, or, could be a whole new type of gameplay for PA, like it was for Unreal Tournament. Imagine a planet with 3 of these structures... control 2 or 3 of them and better your chances of crushing your enemy - not by a huge amount, but a perceptible one. If anything, it helps you achieve your primary objective: annihilate everything.

Thoughts?

Al

I'm all about variety in the AI and galactic war, to make it more interesting to play.

Cool little additions to the PA story would never hurt.

In general, I like this idea.

Does anyone remember Metal Fatigue from around 2000, 2001? That game was great, and the first three-level (orbit, ground inc. air, underground) RTS I've seen.

The core mechanic and hook of the game was building huge customized Combots, giant mech walkers which could smash smaller units and engage in melee and ranged combat with each other. Occasionally, one could find inactive/abandoned alien Combots on the map, shoot them apart and carry home the arm cannons, torsos, legs etc with your fabricators to research. After research was completed, you could produce them from your factories in your team colours.

It's the same sort of thing you're talking about, and Metal Fatigue implemented it quite well. Something like this would be a good addition to the game, albeit later down the track.

I remmber MF. It is not what is described in the OP, but it would be a good idea in itself.

He wants something closer to Random C&C crates.
And maybe the "magic shrines" found in some games that give mapwide bonuses as long as your side "holds" them. Starcaft 2 has this in form of the Xel'Naga shrines wich give vision, but other variants include teambuffs.
The variation of having a mapwide buff that is based on wich unit holds the shrine is an intersting idea.

The biggest question is: How well does the engine handle buffs that appear during play? The tech from GW is clearly known before battle so it can just be worked into the unit scores. Having something that changes during play would be more difficulty.

Exactly... none of the bonuses would be physical, no parts, no vehicles, etc.; just small ability boosters like in GW.

Imagine, you could park a T2 air unit on it, and send in a wave of T2 air units against an enemy base. Then, move the T2 Air unit off the platform and park a T2 Tank on it, just as your T2 Tank ground forces reach the base. Hmmm... there is even a rudiment of strategy here too.

I attached a picture of the Repair Bay from Tiberium Sun. A simple, distinct area on the map. The colors of the edges should be a color that is never used by a player. The color should be unique, so it is easily identifiable, even if a player builds all around it.

Idsan, you bring up a good point when you talk about "Mapwide" bonuses... If possible, the bonus given should only apply to units on the same planet as the platform. There no reason for tech on planet A to affect units on planet B.


The more I think about it, the more I like this idea. It would really offer a new kind of gameplay, and involve a different strategy. Uber, are you reading this? If by some freak chance you ever decide to implement this, please call the platforms "Ragnaroks" heh heh.