I'll start with some context on this. For the pith of the suggestion, scroll down to below the :IS2:
Let me start by saying that recently I have had the mixed pleasure of playing me some realism mode again after a period on classic-only. Now, before that certain guy comes in decrying my foul attempts at meddling in "other people's" modes, let me clarify that I am okay with realism and while no longer as pivotal for me as classic, it is still "my" mode as well. It is only certain aspects of it that I feel could use with a dose of tweaking.
Which brings me to currently the most irksome aspect of that mode for me: spawn on SL.
I am a believer in spawn on SL, I really am, have been since the second week after RO2 was published (which is when I got the game). However, it's current implementation works not — at least not to my (and I understand some other people's) satisfaction. These reservations about it I have also had from the very moment I experienced the feature, but I never mentioned it on the forum, as I did not want to pour oil into TWI's fire at that time.
Now that Classic has been out for some time, I'd like to bring this up, however (and I know spawn on SL has been extensively discussed).
:IS2:
The suggestions:
Option A: current system of Spawn Leader
The current implementation is ridiculous. While it rewards the SL for staying alive by spawning friendlies nearby (ideally: in or near the capzone, thus bringing victory closer), it does nothing but promote a zerg rush mentality in the spawnees, bringing to my mind this certain YT vid I've recently seen (I mean specifically the first 2 minutes):
Call 2 Action (Call of Duty spoof) - YouTube
(So ridiculous is the current implementation, that in the heat of battle I sometimes accidentally did in fact refer to the SL as the Spawn Leader, for he is nothing short of that.)
Hell, were it even the way it is in that video, but it's not even that as experienced on the servers I frequent. What you get is an infiltrating SLer who spawns his offspring while zipping around the capzone, or somewhere near enemy spawn (think Grain Elevator and Germans taking over floors before B is actually capped).
Like I stated: the SL may be rewarded for staying alive (like he rightfully should), but his offspring are not and thus having little incentive to stay alive they become cannon fodder who seize capzones not by virtue of tactics, but by virtue of nadespam and autospam.
And all this because the SL is a viable spawnzone as long as he remains alive, meaning he can be spawning his brood every reinforcement wave. That's it, all sense of progress and achievement won by team-effort thrown away. A no-no to me. (I get it that it can simulate the Rattenkrieg confusion of Stalingrad, but takes from gameplay more than it brings.)
Option B: SLer with a limited amount of spawnable reinforcements
Not my preferred option yet, but this would be a system akin to what PR has: a SLer has a server-side configurable number of reinforcements that can spawn on him before his ability is depleted.
The downside to this system is that it penalises the SLer for staying alive after he depletes his allotted reinforcement count, which is again something that disqualifies it to me. I am only including this option because I, perhaps misguidedly, wanted to be constructive and offer more than just a polar choice.
Option C: SLer with Force Spawn functionality akin to TLer
By far my preferred choice, as it ties in with the Force Spawn functionality (meaning it's on a 2:30, or whatever the timer is, cooldown period) for the TLer and also because, more importantly, puts a cap on the SLers breeding frequency. Thus, staying alive is incentivised both for the SLer and his squad, as dying prematurely may mean they won't be around the action until the SLers Force Spawn is off cool-down (or they have to take the hike from a regular spawn).
It puts a bit more responsibility on the SLer, as the decision to spawn is on him and could be prone to exploits, as in when a SL sneaks into a pivotal area and suddenly spawns a full squad (who'd been waiting for this) all around him; or as in when a dunce SLer simply refuses to use the function, despite repeated entreaties. However, squad mates would retain their ability to choose a spawn point, allowing them to avoid that. And as for the problem of a full squad appearing out of thin air: have a limit of perhaps two or three spawn waves (meaning the full 20-odd second periods it takes to spawn) you can wait for a SLer to use his Force Spawn ability. More than that, and you are reverted to a regular spawn. This should serve to encourage the SLer to only use this ability where relevant: i.e. when squadmates need to be reunited with their squad.
Now the TLers Force Spawn would override the SLers Force Spawn, instantly removing the cool-down on that. (Just an idea, I'm all ears for improvements on this) This would again encourage more cooperation along the TL-SLs axis, hopefully lending itself to greater tactical interactions between the teams.
The way I see it, the feature wouldn't even need a hell of a lot of work, save for the indefinitely deferred spawn limitations that ought to be put in place.
---------------------------------
Now, as it seem no suggestions board thread would be replete without a mandatory poll these days, I'm including one as well.
I realise this may be seen as a drastic change to what some may feel is an already well-grounded game-play feature and that people are naturally resistant to change, but I honestly feel it would be to Realism's benefit were it reworked in the fashion proposed.
Comments, questions, dirty jokes?
Let me start by saying that recently I have had the mixed pleasure of playing me some realism mode again after a period on classic-only. Now, before that certain guy comes in decrying my foul attempts at meddling in "other people's" modes, let me clarify that I am okay with realism and while no longer as pivotal for me as classic, it is still "my" mode as well. It is only certain aspects of it that I feel could use with a dose of tweaking.
Which brings me to currently the most irksome aspect of that mode for me: spawn on SL.
I am a believer in spawn on SL, I really am, have been since the second week after RO2 was published (which is when I got the game). However, it's current implementation works not — at least not to my (and I understand some other people's) satisfaction. These reservations about it I have also had from the very moment I experienced the feature, but I never mentioned it on the forum, as I did not want to pour oil into TWI's fire at that time.
Now that Classic has been out for some time, I'd like to bring this up, however (and I know spawn on SL has been extensively discussed).
:IS2:
The suggestions:
Option A: current system of Spawn Leader
The current implementation is ridiculous. While it rewards the SL for staying alive by spawning friendlies nearby (ideally: in or near the capzone, thus bringing victory closer), it does nothing but promote a zerg rush mentality in the spawnees, bringing to my mind this certain YT vid I've recently seen (I mean specifically the first 2 minutes):
Call 2 Action (Call of Duty spoof) - YouTube
(So ridiculous is the current implementation, that in the heat of battle I sometimes accidentally did in fact refer to the SL as the Spawn Leader, for he is nothing short of that.)
Hell, were it even the way it is in that video, but it's not even that as experienced on the servers I frequent. What you get is an infiltrating SLer who spawns his offspring while zipping around the capzone, or somewhere near enemy spawn (think Grain Elevator and Germans taking over floors before B is actually capped).
Like I stated: the SL may be rewarded for staying alive (like he rightfully should), but his offspring are not and thus having little incentive to stay alive they become cannon fodder who seize capzones not by virtue of tactics, but by virtue of nadespam and autospam.
And all this because the SL is a viable spawnzone as long as he remains alive, meaning he can be spawning his brood every reinforcement wave. That's it, all sense of progress and achievement won by team-effort thrown away. A no-no to me. (I get it that it can simulate the Rattenkrieg confusion of Stalingrad, but takes from gameplay more than it brings.)
Option B: SLer with a limited amount of spawnable reinforcements
Not my preferred option yet, but this would be a system akin to what PR has: a SLer has a server-side configurable number of reinforcements that can spawn on him before his ability is depleted.
The downside to this system is that it penalises the SLer for staying alive after he depletes his allotted reinforcement count, which is again something that disqualifies it to me. I am only including this option because I, perhaps misguidedly, wanted to be constructive and offer more than just a polar choice.
Option C: SLer with Force Spawn functionality akin to TLer
By far my preferred choice, as it ties in with the Force Spawn functionality (meaning it's on a 2:30, or whatever the timer is, cooldown period) for the TLer and also because, more importantly, puts a cap on the SLers breeding frequency. Thus, staying alive is incentivised both for the SLer and his squad, as dying prematurely may mean they won't be around the action until the SLers Force Spawn is off cool-down (or they have to take the hike from a regular spawn).
It puts a bit more responsibility on the SLer, as the decision to spawn is on him and could be prone to exploits, as in when a SL sneaks into a pivotal area and suddenly spawns a full squad (who'd been waiting for this) all around him; or as in when a dunce SLer simply refuses to use the function, despite repeated entreaties. However, squad mates would retain their ability to choose a spawn point, allowing them to avoid that. And as for the problem of a full squad appearing out of thin air: have a limit of perhaps two or three spawn waves (meaning the full 20-odd second periods it takes to spawn) you can wait for a SLer to use his Force Spawn ability. More than that, and you are reverted to a regular spawn. This should serve to encourage the SLer to only use this ability where relevant: i.e. when squadmates need to be reunited with their squad.
Now the TLers Force Spawn would override the SLers Force Spawn, instantly removing the cool-down on that. (Just an idea, I'm all ears for improvements on this) This would again encourage more cooperation along the TL-SLs axis, hopefully lending itself to greater tactical interactions between the teams.
The way I see it, the feature wouldn't even need a hell of a lot of work, save for the indefinitely deferred spawn limitations that ought to be put in place.
---------------------------------
Now, as it seem no suggestions board thread would be replete without a mandatory poll these days, I'm including one as well.
I realise this may be seen as a drastic change to what some may feel is an already well-grounded game-play feature and that people are naturally resistant to change, but I honestly feel it would be to Realism's benefit were it reworked in the fashion proposed.
Comments, questions, dirty jokes?
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