Before the big bang
ljcrabs
Join Date: 2007-11-15 Member: 62924Members
Join Date: 2007-11-15 Member: 62924Members
So, listening to the podcast they talked about wanting to have diverse features of the environments (maps). One thing I haven't heard talked about is the possible impacts of different ways the aliens and marines meet, ie. what happened before the map starts?
How long have the aliens been at the location before the marines arrive? If the marines arrive shortly after an evacuation everything would still be functional and in working order. If some time has passed, the infestation would have spread over most of the map, with things messed up or broken by aliens. This could also reflect on the gameplay, for example alien-defend/marine-attack and alien-attack/marine-defend maps. What if the marines were there as the aliens initially attacked? What if they set up defenses in preparation for the aliens?
How have the aliens come to be at this location? As far as I know this is still up for grabs and for once a sci-fi geek's knowledge might be of some use, to give examples of ways aliens could spread. I'm sure some of them would have implications on the environments, for example if the initial attack was a quiet killer like a virus the environment would look different than if it was a physical attack.
Just some curiosities of mine.
How long have the aliens been at the location before the marines arrive? If the marines arrive shortly after an evacuation everything would still be functional and in working order. If some time has passed, the infestation would have spread over most of the map, with things messed up or broken by aliens. This could also reflect on the gameplay, for example alien-defend/marine-attack and alien-attack/marine-defend maps. What if the marines were there as the aliens initially attacked? What if they set up defenses in preparation for the aliens?
How have the aliens come to be at this location? As far as I know this is still up for grabs and for once a sci-fi geek's knowledge might be of some use, to give examples of ways aliens could spread. I'm sure some of them would have implications on the environments, for example if the initial attack was a quiet killer like a virus the environment would look different than if it was a physical attack.
Just some curiosities of mine.
Comments
Nice idea! This could actually be a different game type worth thinking about, having objective type maps (like Team Fortress 2 or Enemy Territority).
Its not as stupid as Combat, but its also a little more arcade style than Classic NS.
Usually the NS1 maps are based on the idea that the Aliens have barely setup a hive just as the Marines drop in following an evacuation. However, I can see how mappers could branch out a bit.
Probably a good idea for the modders to setup, probably not going to be a huge priority of setting up for the core release.
Capture the flag (or item)
Destroy, Protect the objective (bomb, etc)
Control the Territories (or points of interest)
Assault (defend, attack)
Fragfest (Slayer, Free for all)
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Original NS took a couple of these and mixed them into a strategic cocktail of awesomeness...
Destroy the Objective (Hive, CC)
Control the Territories (Resource nodes)
Fragfest (Kill enemy team)
And accomplishing one of these things individually was only one part to the whole of beating the enemy.
Finding a way to do all three, balancing the economy and achieving victory is where the RTS comes in, otherwise it's just a FPS with goals.
Remember, if the Commander isn't playing a fundamental role, then why is he there at all?