CombatTraining - A lite version of the pre-existing combat mod revived by Nin for pre-match seeding

IeptBarakat

In a similar vein to overwatch's skirmish mode, I believe combat would work well alongside the upcoming match seeding system as a means of pooling players together who are waiting for their match.

Combat has long been a staple of Natural Selection as an easy to jump in and out game mode that lets players get into the action and learn about movement mechanics without the stress of throwing the game for losing a lifeform. With some additional tweaks to bring it towards a more vanilla experience the combat mod revived by Nin would fit this role perfectly.

Goals:
Allow players to join while opting for match seeding if no immediate games are available, join directly in the main menu via CombatTraining quickplay, or through the server browser.
Keep player vs player mechanics as vanilla as possible (no shade ink, emp, faster sprint/fast reload, stacking similar hive type upgrades)
Prioritize early to midgame engagements for training.
Servers can switch between CombatTraining and regular NS2 and maintain whitelist status.

Ideas:
Each hive type upgrade has a level, each level requires an upgrade point, limited to one upgrade tree per type. (cara 1, 2, 3)
Ink, emp, fast reload/faster sprint removed
Onos, Exo, Biomass 3 unlocks during overtime (possibly weapon/armor 3 as well)
Limited to one hive type per biomass upgrade
Round time reduced to 15-20 minutes before overtime

Feel free to post any ideas of your own.

Osmium

I think scan should also be removed, mainly because I think it makes marines a bit OP on most combat maps.

Further changes that I have in mind would require big changes to the game mode.

My thinking, is if you want this to be a seeding mode you should ditch the pacing/balance focused on 15-20 minute games. Upgrades should be accelerated greatly. Possibly just giving players a bunch of upgrade points at the start, or perhaps just getting rid of the upgrade system entirely.

This would certainly make the game mode less fun, but ultimately I think that's a good thing for a warmup/seeding mode, as it shouldn't be the "main event".

But at that point, it is basically just a massively improved warmup mode(something I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to).

But overall I think this game definitely needs a mode like combat to help players practice their mechanics.

IeptBarakat

Warmup as it stands lacks depth and tech progression, which makes it a messy experience and one that makes it difficult for players to train in relative tech scenarios. I'm fine with the idea of speeding up round times but I'd like for the gamemode to be sustainable on it's own which is important to keeping these servers populated.

Osmium

I think a crucial aspect of this as a warmup mode, is it should be endless for people seeding. A way to keep people entertained would be a built in protocol to just restart the round if one team wins, until teams vote to start the game when they've decided there are enough players.