I was thinking that it would be nice to have some variety in types of PvP matches, and I started thinking about what types of matches I'd like to play in.
I'd like to suggest a match in which there's no respawning. Once you're dead, you get to watch the match but can't participate in it. And the winner would be the side with the last man/alien/creature standing. I think a match like this would be fast (unlike some of the really drawn-out ground PvP I've been in lately) and would require some real planning and cooperation among allies.
A match like this might even be too fast, so it might be nice if a "match" was actually a series of three fights, each in a different arena. The entire team spawns in the arena, they fight, and then when one side wins, everyone is transported to the next arena for the next fight. We already have three ground maps and more space maps, so it could be done without any new artwork. (Although I'm seriously wanting some new arenas).
One requirement before this could work would be that the queue would have to work properly. Both teams would have to enter the map at the same time, with the same number of members. And the area where each team enters would have to be secure, so that if one side did spawn first, they wouldn't just be able to camp their enemy's spawn point. It's bad enough when you join a regular match and find you are alone against 5 enemies -- it would be a nightmare if you were spawned, instantly killed by those 5 enemies, and then were done for the rest of the fight.
Ohhh, what if we combined this idea with something from Counterstrike?
You join "Last Creature Standing (Space)".
You are given a fully outfitted T1 starter ship. You cannot change the inventory.
You fight. If your team wins, you get a big chunk of cash (only good for this scenario). If your team loses, you get a small chunk of cash.
As the next round begins, you can visit a store and buy various canned upgrades. Higher tier ships. Different weapon loadouts. You get 60 seconds to make your purchases, adjust your bridge officers as best you can and away you go for another round.
This game would simply be running nonstop. You can join and leave at any time. Maybe it could even save your progress so that next time you join, you're back with the ship and money you had from the last time you played.
Maybe while you're dead you can either do a free-camera roam around the map (like Counterstrike) or visit the store and have more time to plan your next ship layout.
Anyway, the idea is a little rough but basically I think it would be fun to have a game that's not only "Last Creature Standing" but also gets us to revisit some old ships and old equipment. I will never use my K'Tinga again, but maybe I could in a game like this.
I personally advise switching to the "#2" layout anyway, with your officers at the bottom.
It makes it much easier to switch between ships, switch officers around, etc, without totally TRIBBLE up your hotkeys. My only hotkeys now are my Captain abilities, which don't change.
(Although for the record, your complaint is with my hijacking of the original idea, not the original idea itself.)
I personally advise switching to the "#2" layout anyway, with your officers at the bottom.
It makes it much easier to switch between ships, switch officers around, etc, without totally TRIBBLE up your hotkeys. My only hotkeys now are my Captain abilities, which don't change.
(Although for the record, your complaint is with my hijacking of the original idea, not the original idea itself.)
The game's UI does an awful job of auto-assigning hotkeys, and rearranging BOs on the fly would be potentially rough. I like to have all my abilities assigned to specific hotkeys, and ship changes have historically forced a reset on the powers tray.
Plus it might just be my screen, but I ran out of space on the #2 layout a long time ago even after banishing transwarp, batteries, and most individual weapon firing controls to a hidden tray. Heck, I'm out of space on #3 layout too.
And yes, it was in reference to the "ship scramble" concept, not the OP "series of matches" idea.
Comments
You join "Last Creature Standing (Space)".
You are given a fully outfitted T1 starter ship. You cannot change the inventory.
You fight. If your team wins, you get a big chunk of cash (only good for this scenario). If your team loses, you get a small chunk of cash.
As the next round begins, you can visit a store and buy various canned upgrades. Higher tier ships. Different weapon loadouts. You get 60 seconds to make your purchases, adjust your bridge officers as best you can and away you go for another round.
This game would simply be running nonstop. You can join and leave at any time. Maybe it could even save your progress so that next time you join, you're back with the ship and money you had from the last time you played.
Maybe while you're dead you can either do a free-camera roam around the map (like Counterstrike) or visit the store and have more time to plan your next ship layout.
Anyway, the idea is a little rough but basically I think it would be fun to have a game that's not only "Last Creature Standing" but also gets us to revisit some old ships and old equipment. I will never use my K'Tinga again, but maybe I could in a game like this.
you play till reaching a certain number of waves, get a chance to visit a shop for a limited time, and back into the action.
I personally advise switching to the "#2" layout anyway, with your officers at the bottom.
It makes it much easier to switch between ships, switch officers around, etc, without totally TRIBBLE up your hotkeys. My only hotkeys now are my Captain abilities, which don't change.
(Although for the record, your complaint is with my hijacking of the original idea, not the original idea itself.)
The game's UI does an awful job of auto-assigning hotkeys, and rearranging BOs on the fly would be potentially rough. I like to have all my abilities assigned to specific hotkeys, and ship changes have historically forced a reset on the powers tray.
Plus it might just be my screen, but I ran out of space on the #2 layout a long time ago even after banishing transwarp, batteries, and most individual weapon firing controls to a hidden tray. Heck, I'm out of space on #3 layout too.
And yes, it was in reference to the "ship scramble" concept, not the OP "series of matches" idea.