Upgradeable Hydro

[Karottenrambo]

Simple idea: Make the hydro upgradeable, so it is more important in lategames. Currently its just an nice push at the start and is then very fast unimportant and you dont care if it gets destroyed or not(except 1on1s on small maps).
Of course there are some problems to realize that:
- There are no models, textures and blueprints for t2/t3 hydrogens, so somebody must make them.
- If t2/t3 hydros have the same advantages as the normal hydros, you can access more energy earlier ingame, which propably changes the gameplay.

I dont want suggest now, how exactly the t2/t3 hydros should be realized. I just want to point that the hydro currently has wasted potential.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not a "Funk-Suggestion", you dont have to auto-deny it.

[FunkOff]

I will re-iterate my previous stance.... adding new units, such as tech 2 or tech 3 hydros, is against my opinion of what FAF should add... so I'm going to auto-deny this because it requires adding new units.

[Legion Darrath]

It shouldn't add new units yet you want to add a completely new gameplay mechanic involving Quantum Gates being used for teleporting?

[FunkOff]

New functionality if okay... just not new units.

[uberge3k]

Upgrade levels for hydros aren't new units, it's simply "new functionality". Problem solved.

Karottenrambo, BlackOps already has this, and I personally liked it. It might be useful to start there and see how they did it. It would indeed change the dynamics of most games, however.

[FunkOff]

Upgrade levels for hydros aren't new units, it's simply "new functionality".

Actually, upgrade levels are new units. They require new blueprints, new models, new code. "upgrades" are when one unit kills itself and turns into another unit. (Acu upgrades are technically called "enhancements" in the game code and do no operate the same way.)

The cybran shield, for instance, is 5 separate units.... ED1-5.

[uberge3k]

I don't particularly care about peculiarities of how the engine handles things internally. If I did, I could nitpick your quantum gates idea to death with technicalities of "reusing" beacons etc. Or the hydros could be "enhanced" instead of "upgraded" and we call it GG NO RE.

I'm looking at this strictly from a player's perspective. To me, upgradable / "enhanceable" hydros are exactly the same. This is a "balance" forum, not a "technical discussions of modding" forum.

[Kekouse]

I understand Funkoff. On one side we have a building not used (Gateways) and a simple mod can give a use to this building. Ok it will maybe not used on competitive games but I'm sure "casual" players will love the addition.

On the other side we have another building, the hydro, used in every games. after 5-10 minutes it's not useful but it's ok.
Yes we could mod it but:
-It will change more things than the teleport ability.
-It need more work (blueprint, models)
-It need far more testing and balancing.

Before adding upgradable Hydros, we should change all those unused units (SCUs, Gateways, Carriers, Game-enders like Scathis and Mavor).
After this why not...but it's not "broken" so we don't need to fix it...now.

[FunkOff]

Kekouse understands: I'd rather make use of the units we have now than add new ones... if we add new ones first, then we're stuck with a whole bunch of useless clutter, and I don't think anybody wants that.

[Treble]

Simple idea: Make the hydro upgradeable, so it is more important in lategames. Currently its just an nice push at the start and is then very fast unimportant and you dont care if it gets destroyed or not(except 1on1s on small maps).

Hydrocarbons complicate the game. They are a secondary source of energy and new players dont know when to build it, or why. But it has a purpose, on most maps there will be a short fight, usually with LABs, over it. That is beneficial to gameplay.

Hydro is basically a T1.5 pgen that you get one, maybe two, options to build early game. Why cant we leave it as that? T1 pgens arent upgrade-able, you dont care if someone destroys it later in the game when you have T2 pgens, and you dont really care if someone destroys your T2 pgen when you have T3. It seems like it would just add more micro-management to the game. You have to, along with upgrading mexes, surrounding mexes with storage and building higher tech pgens, also upgrade your hydro at the right time.

So increasing complication that doesnt add any benefits doesnt make sense. I just dont see the need for upgrade-able hydrocarbons.