A Couple of Necessary Gameplay Evolutions

[FunkOff]

1. Tech upgrades require tech.

You need a tech HQ to build tech 2 tanks and tech 2 factories, right? Well, a tech 2 factory and/or tech 2 engie upgrade should be required to upgrade mex from tech 1 to tech 2, tech 2 to tech 3, etc. Same for radar, shields, etc. Why can you upgrade these things before you have the tech? It makes no sense. Also solves the balance problem of eco a little bit.

2. T3 mex cost less, ~1600 mass, and produce less, ~12 mass

Half the reason this game is so turtle is because it cost SO MUCH to max out your economy. Lower the cost of T3 mex so that you can max out your economy faster, and make them produce less to balance. This game isn't sim city with robots. Let's make fighting go faster.

3. SCUs cost more (~4 or 5k) and come with teleport ability as standard.

Anyone who's Telemazer'd someone knows how much fun teleport is. Teleport was SUPPOSED to be a central gameplay mechanic is supcom. Hell, the ENTIRE CANON is based around quantum gates and teleportation. It would also liven up the end game quite a bit. I personally think it would be awesome if quantum gates could teleport groups of units too (like in that one mod) but one thing at a time.

[dstojkov]

Half the reason this game is so turtle is because it cost SO MUCH to max out your economy. Lower the cost of T3 mex so that you can max out your economy faster, and make them produce less to balance. This game isn't sim city with robots. Let's make fighting go faster.

FAF balance since his very beginning has only one master : NERF


So I would not except a real change on this part unless another global patch or another lobby


In aeolus chat ppl are still choked that you could spam asf with 2 t2 energy plant in 3599 ....

[speed2]

I like the eco nerf idea even though I wouldn't know how to play anymore, since Im an eco whore

[IceDreamer]

I like all of these, especially the first...

[Karottenrambo]

Funk, I do admire your endurance, although I don't think its healthy.

[Lionhardt]

I find the reasoning behind the first idea lacking and don't see its merit. Neither is it logically consistent. Why no need t2 tech to upgrade to t2 factory? ...

[Exotic_Retard]

idea 1:
well that depends on how its implemented - assuming that you can upgrade all mexes as normal, but only if you have an hq built (the most sensible way of doing this)

it does slow down the game and focus it more on spam but in some cases like maps with few mexes/mass it can really cause a lot of problems, and it just removes the entire concept of early t2 mex as a strategy, instead making t2 rush the only viable option really, and its going to be a pain especially on maps with huge reclaim amounts where mexes are usually used as mass sinks

idea 2:
something very similar is already implemented in ithilis mod. t3 mexes give +16 mass and with storages + 20.
I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet, it has upsides like you described, also its smooths out the transition between t2/3 eco (you know that mass stall that everyone has on their 1st t3 mex?) and downsides like - having less mass to spend just slows the game down rather than making it more fighting based as you would think - building exps on 150 mass is still done, but on 250 its the same things but faster - this might throttle you but not change the gameplay much.

idea 3:
well at the very least you got the numbers completely wrong. that mass cost for tele is OP. you just send sacu in, it dies and to death explosion you can snipe anything of value for a reasonable cost. game enders have no chance.

theres a reason it costs 15k mass as an upgrade. because there isnt any special anti tele defense against it - you need to think how it will look to the enemy player - you are sitting there playing your game then suddenly a sacu pops up and blows up something valuable - its not very fun for you, its only fun for the person doing the teleporting. same with mercies and beetles, and i would say its best to avoid such mechanics. its one thing if they are already in the game but bringing in more like that would not be best imo.

also if you increase the price they are kinda useless for a lot of other tasks, so theres that too.


hope this helps

[D4E_Omit]

Fully +1 to Exotic's post, there are upsides yes, but I think how you stated it right now there's going to be more downsides than upsides to the changes. And like exotic said the third change will basically make using SCUs for RAS or building totally obsolete because of the extra mass cost (obviously only 5k mass is ridiculous and would make SCUs horribly OP.)

[FunkOff]

idea 3:
well at the very least you got the numbers completely wrong. that mass cost for tele is OP. you just send sacu in, it dies and to death explosion you can snipe anything of value for a reasonable cost. game enders have no chance.

theres a reason it costs 15k mass as an upgrade. because there isnt any special anti tele defense against it - you need to think how it will look to the enemy player - you are sitting there playing your game then suddenly a sacu pops up and blows up something valuable - its not very fun for you, its only fun for the person doing the teleporting. same with mercies and beetles, and i would say its best to avoid such mechanics. its one thing if they are already in the game but bringing in more like that would not be best imo.

also if you increase the price they are kinda useless for a lot of other tasks, so theres that too.


hope this helps

5,000 mass is probably too cheap. However, my main point is that teleportation is should be a common core gameplay mechanic that you see in every game. Could you imagine playing a setons game without ASF? Well, I want you to be unable to imagine it without teleport, too. There are CLEARLY not enough viable end-game mechanics and strategies... strat bombers, nukes, long range artillery. What else is there? We need something new. Teleport!

[Valki]

Supreme Commander is already a game full of pitfalls (snipes), I don't think teleporting SCUs would ruin it. Coming from a low-level player who usually doesn't get to T3 in ladder, when progressing in rank in this game you learn to know them and how to deal with them.

There are plenty of de-facto game-enders for the players who are not prepared:

• TMLs - counter with TMD
• Gunships - counter with flak
• Stratbombers - counter with AA
• Experimentals - counter with experimentals or heavy defense
• Strategic missiles - counter with SMD

Adding:

• Teleporting SCUs - counter with PD

...would only add a further step of escalation.