Ansty
Radio Bob Approved
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2022
- Messages
- 306
- Thread Author
- #1
So thinking back to yesterdays firefight i thought about the current problem of there either being an total victory for the Rebels or for the Combines with no in-between one side will either kill everyone on the other and accomplish their objectives with maybe only loosing one or two of their own with no exception so i suggest an idea. So an idea i came up with is by actually including it in the games system much like turn based or down state. Just throwing ideas here and im not a veteran of this server so take it with a grain of salt. Not to mention this is a very hard to code idea that i have no idea how to do and i know the Willard dev team is very small.
In Company of Heroes retreat is a core game mechanic, it as an order you can issue to all infantry and squad weapons in the game, when you issue this order the squad will shout some over the top line like "This is hopeless, retreat !" At which point an icon will pop up above the squad indicating they are retreating and the squad will start sprinting at almost triple speed as normal back to their sides base. While they are retreating there is no way to override the order, they cannot fire back or change direction and will run in the fastest way as possible, they also receive HIGH and by that i mean HIGH damage resistance so if two squad members with half of their health are alive and given the retreat order they may even be able to literally run straight through a small enemy formation along the way. Once the squad reaches their base the retreat effect immediately wears off and you can heal them up and replenish lost squad members and immediately send a new bunch of drafted teenagers that replaced the lost members off to die in war. Why would you do this instead of ordering new squads you may ask ? Ordering new squads is a lot more expensive them replacing lost squad members, and a squads that survive engagements in which they do things, receive Veterancy levels which grant them major benefits such as increased accuracy, faster ability recharge etc. even if only one squad member makes it back home and is joined by replacements.
When you are in a retreat mode much like when you are high there should be a text displayed "This person is too hurt to continue fighting and is attempting to retreat" or something like that and similarly to Company of Heroes ability you could give people high damage resistance or just straight up make them invulnerable. But that doesn't stop the opposing faction from walking up to them and taking them prisoners or do an actual /me Kills the. At which point the other side will have to accept their death, but maybe much like pk kill motivation there should be some immunity to this included in the Pk policy for rebels and combine alike. Since the other side cant return fire just let them go if its Rebels who don't have the resources to take prisoners coming across a retreating Cp whether the motivation be some noble goal like "Because we have to show them we are the good guys were better then them right" or just a lot more effective and cold reason like "Bullets are expensive" and "Another jackass will replace that cop anyway". With Cps coming across retreating rebel on the other hand they could take them as an actual prisoners snack for interrogations and such. OTA on the other hand can simple do a /me Kills the man because im super badass robot killer and we cant waste time. And rebels coming across a retreating OTA can kill them all the same.
I should mention that for this to work as well, deathchecking should just not be a thing so you cannot kill people only unconscious them and let the retreat chance decide their state.
To clear up confusion as well an explanation about grenades is let retreating people throw grenades perhaps but only smokes and flashes and perhaps incendiary if used only to create a literal firewall but if you do throw flash or incendiary grenades Rebels and Cps alike lose their Pk immunity from people simple walking up to them and typing /me shot the since now you are considered and actual threat to them, Incendiary would be more useful during retreats from zombies or Antlion hordes
0-1 You die on the spot from your injuries.
2-3, You're character is too weak to attempt a retreat and moving you in this state would kill you HP is reduced to 5HP. (You could still be moved just treat it as unable to be moved all the way to the retreat point without dying so you will have to stick with you're group who will have to keep you in check.
4-9 You are in sufficient condition to survive the trip to the retreat point but unable to move on you're own you will need help from someone who is either still in the fight or is retreating as well.
11-17 You are in sufficient condition to move on you're own and help others in a worse state to the retreat point but you are unable to focus sufficiently to sprint.
18-20 Although not as badly hurt, you're instincts for survival and adrenaline rush takes over you can still sprint but cannot return fire as you are more focused on you're survival rather then shooting the other side.
The cop that was downed on the other hand gets a sufficient roll to survive the trip but cannot get there on his own so another CP will have to switch their task to help bring the cop back home. One OTA dies on the spot and the other is in sufficient condition to retreat on his own but should still Rp his injuries imagine an OTA soldier walking up to the CMU clinic and saying <: Medical attention, now :>
The aftermath for both sides will still be remember and taken seriously as real players got pked for the rebels but it wasn't everyone and wasn't biased in any way either you either got a good roll or a bad one or didn't get downed to begin with.
in this state unless they treat it ridiculously and walk up and act like a human shield. And from there sort of like all BMD stanches retreats points will be highlighted on the map at which point if its to much to script it players could simply log of on their own.
Retreat ability in Company of Heroes
So a mechanic inspired by a WW2 RTS series Company of Heroes in which a core game mechanic is the retreat ability. Ill quickly go over how it works in that game and then explain how it could be adopted in Willard.In Company of Heroes retreat is a core game mechanic, it as an order you can issue to all infantry and squad weapons in the game, when you issue this order the squad will shout some over the top line like "This is hopeless, retreat !" At which point an icon will pop up above the squad indicating they are retreating and the squad will start sprinting at almost triple speed as normal back to their sides base. While they are retreating there is no way to override the order, they cannot fire back or change direction and will run in the fastest way as possible, they also receive HIGH and by that i mean HIGH damage resistance so if two squad members with half of their health are alive and given the retreat order they may even be able to literally run straight through a small enemy formation along the way. Once the squad reaches their base the retreat effect immediately wears off and you can heal them up and replenish lost squad members and immediately send a new bunch of drafted teenagers that replaced the lost members off to die in war. Why would you do this instead of ordering new squads you may ask ? Ordering new squads is a lot more expensive them replacing lost squad members, and a squads that survive engagements in which they do things, receive Veterancy levels which grant them major benefits such as increased accuracy, faster ability recharge etc. even if only one squad member makes it back home and is joined by replacements.
Retreat chance in Willard networks
So a way this may work in Willard networks is like this, when you are knocked out and waiting for a revive you can click on option that says something like say "Attempt retreat" or "Run away" or something like that those probably aren't very good description for people who are downed for the first time so ill still have to work something that clearly says what it means for that one. What happens if you push this button is a roll is taken and depending on the number you get will decide how successful you're escape odds are. A simple system could simple be that you either get a good roll and get a change to run away or a bad roll reduces you're downed HP to only like say 5 and you remain downed. Should you receive a good roll however, You stand up again and have to get to a "retreat point" Much like BMD pickups these could be all over the place, In Vents, The usual underground forcefield rebels hold, The slipgates where the Payday 2 smuggler spawns, etc. And for combine The nexus or the checkpoint. Once such a point is reached the character is temporarily killed for 30 minutes perhaps, and to give OTA an incentive to use this as well if they make a successful retreat they can go in right back as a fresh OTA soldier. Once they return much like lots of accepted Pk appeals they should still Rp their injuries.
When you are in a retreat mode much like when you are high there should be a text displayed "This person is too hurt to continue fighting and is attempting to retreat" or something like that and similarly to Company of Heroes ability you could give people high damage resistance or just straight up make them invulnerable. But that doesn't stop the opposing faction from walking up to them and taking them prisoners or do an actual /me Kills the. At which point the other side will have to accept their death, but maybe much like pk kill motivation there should be some immunity to this included in the Pk policy for rebels and combine alike. Since the other side cant return fire just let them go if its Rebels who don't have the resources to take prisoners coming across a retreating Cp whether the motivation be some noble goal like "Because we have to show them we are the good guys were better then them right" or just a lot more effective and cold reason like "Bullets are expensive" and "Another jackass will replace that cop anyway". With Cps coming across retreating rebel on the other hand they could take them as an actual prisoners snack for interrogations and such. OTA on the other hand can simple do a /me Kills the man because im super badass robot killer and we cant waste time. And rebels coming across a retreating OTA can kill them all the same.
I should mention that for this to work as well, deathchecking should just not be a thing so you cannot kill people only unconscious them and let the retreat chance decide their state.
To clear up confusion as well an explanation about grenades is let retreating people throw grenades perhaps but only smokes and flashes and perhaps incendiary if used only to create a literal firewall but if you do throw flash or incendiary grenades Rebels and Cps alike lose their Pk immunity from people simple walking up to them and typing /me shot the since now you are considered and actual threat to them, Incendiary would be more useful during retreats from zombies or Antlion hordes
Roll chance bonusses suggestions
Feel free to send you're own suggestions here as well but here are some i think about. I think the requirement for getting the retreat chance shouldn't be handed out like candy but also it shouldn't require an ultra high roll like +18 so my idea for the structure could be. The roll should also be generic to not make it another grindfest to make sure both sides are jacket with drugs. to just automatically surpass the deathchance with the raw boost alone
0-1 You die on the spot from your injuries.
2-3, You're character is too weak to attempt a retreat and moving you in this state would kill you HP is reduced to 5HP. (You could still be moved just treat it as unable to be moved all the way to the retreat point without dying so you will have to stick with you're group who will have to keep you in check.
4-9 You are in sufficient condition to survive the trip to the retreat point but unable to move on you're own you will need help from someone who is either still in the fight or is retreating as well.
11-17 You are in sufficient condition to move on you're own and help others in a worse state to the retreat point but you are unable to focus sufficiently to sprint.
18-20 Although not as badly hurt, you're instincts for survival and adrenaline rush takes over you can still sprint but cannot return fire as you are more focused on you're survival rather then shooting the other side.
How this could possible look like if it was implemented ?
So lets use yesterdays battle for example, if this system was implemented at this point but things went down the same a lot of the rebels and combines alike could still be downed. But instead of everyone just getting deathchecked and Pked rebels and the few combines that died as well would click the "Retreat chance" option at which point various rolls would show up for both sides, once that is done the people with sufficient rolls can immediately go through the forcefield, which would perhaps shift the narrative for the healthy rebels from Hold the line because we need to overload it to Hold the line because our wounded need time to get away. Along the way one or two rebels get bad retreat chance rolls and get Pked on the spot and another rebel who cannot move on his own gets picked up by a healthy rebel who attempts to bring him to the forcefield but is gunned while carrying him as well. With several others successfully escaping but with serious injuries, two rebels who hold the line last after most of everyone else has withdrawn get gunned down along the way, get a sufficient roll to stand up and walk but they can only limp there and are quickly surrounded by the combine and taken prisoner.
The cop that was downed on the other hand gets a sufficient roll to survive the trip but cannot get there on his own so another CP will have to switch their task to help bring the cop back home. One OTA dies on the spot and the other is in sufficient condition to retreat on his own but should still Rp his injuries imagine an OTA soldier walking up to the CMU clinic and saying <: Medical attention, now :>
The aftermath for both sides will still be remember and taken seriously as real players got pked for the rebels but it wasn't everyone and wasn't biased in any way either you either got a good roll or a bad one or didn't get downed to begin with.
How much of this would have to be scripted ?
That is up for discussion but i think that perhaps the only things that would need to be scripted would be , Players not taking damage after being downed and the actual roll chance option and from there the roll is given which either kills you on the spot and either pks or NLRs you or gets you up with an automated message being simple given in chat to the player sort of like old WW3rp that explains what is you're medical state based on the roll you got. This is visible for other players as well and make the people invulnerable
in this state unless they treat it ridiculously and walk up and act like a human shield. And from there sort of like all BMD stanches retreats points will be highlighted on the map at which point if its to much to script it players could simply log of on their own.
Closing notes
That is all from me thanks for reading through the whole thing whether you agreed with me, disagreed with me or thought i should kill myself and go back to playing my gay little rebel in the sewers. Feel free to suggest you're own tweaks or balances to this suggestion below. Or ask me any questions if you're confused about anything i said.