New game-mode idea: SpecOps - Mission

[GrandBravo]

Hi all, 

 

It always interest me how carefree everyone can play the missions on AWE and I&A. Side mission secure, return to base and rearm. AO complete, return to base and rearm. Its a complete back and forth activity with minimal pressure and excitement. Sometimes something interesting happens but those situations are mostly Zeus interactions. That's why I came up with this idea to make players scratch their heads and improvise on the spot. I've been working on this idea for quite a while but I have minimal to no programming experience in Arma 3. I'm hoping that AW will look at it and might consider this as a new game-mode to make AhoyWorld stand out compared to other Arma 3 communities.

 

Idea/story-line:

SpecOps, works in unknown territory. Gathering intel, securing or executing objectives. There are around 5 missions active (see it as side missions on I&A). Each mission is different form the other. Secure a chopper, destroy a radio tower, execute an officer, save a hostage... you name it. Some missions can be succeeded very easily (execute an officer, sniper team just kills him). But some missions may contain intel that you can find on the spot. These intel packages can trigger a random mission nearby that might be time based (a hostage is going to be executed within 10 minutes, rescue him!) or story based (We're known of general Copey's location, get him before he relocates!). This forces you to improvise because RTB might take too long. The Marine's are there to support the SpecOps if shit hits the fan, extracting the SpecOps/hostage/VIP or take care of secondary missions. The main goal of this idea is to put pressure on you and your teammates where critical decisions are made on the spot and RTB is not the next task after a mission. 

 

Start-up:

I can understand that this might be quite a challenge to program. That's why I suggest to start in steps. AW already have tons of scripts and programming experience due to the I&A and AWE servers. It might be possible to setup a trail server to test the basic and obtaining the opinion of the community. Divide the map in 4 a 5 sectors (like you guys did with the FOB's and the AO spawning near that FOB) and spawn in each sector a so called "side-mission". If that side mission in that sector is complete, a new side mission will spawn nearby. AW obtain most of the scripts to complete this idea, they just need some tweaking. The collecting of intel in these mission (further explained in the Idea/Story-line) would be excluded in the beginning just to monitor server performance and game experience. After reviewing the community opinion about this idea, further steps can be initiated like adding the intel related factors and more mission idea's.

 

Server settings: (optional)

Mission time-based: Continuously (Game night)

Accessibility: AW members (can be public of course but fear lone-wolfing attitude)

Map: Tanoa (due to the density of the forest and theme)

Enemies: Rebels

Mods: None

Player count: 20 - 25

- Pilots: 2

- UAV/Commander: 1

- SpecOp team: 6

- Recon team (snipers): 2 (1 sniper, 1 spotter)

- Marine squad: 10 - 12

 

Optional/secondary idea's:

- If you have infiltrated an objective, a random event can occur where (for example) a jeep with a few guys (unaware what is going on) approach the objective. Forcing you to get out of there quickly and miss critical intel or risk being engaging in a fire fight.

- Mission location divided in 4 a 5 sectors (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, middle), each sector can obtain a special character that the SpecOps team is trying to hunt down.

- Add civilians to some missions for experience game play/realism/intel gathering.

- Destroying ammo crates on side mission will lower gear quality of up following missions in that sector. [24-7-17]

- I got a script where you can go undercover as a civilian and not be detected as a hostile. So maybe 2 slots for like CIA? [24-7-17]

- *To be continued*

 

Please give this idea a think-over and I hope that you guys get my vision. Its all a concept so don't assume that whats post here is a must. Additional ideas are welcome as always but lets keep this post clean for now and add suggestions in the steps beyond. 

 

Greets,

 

GrandBravo

[Ryko]

Hi GrandBravo,

 

The problem as you state it:

 

Quote

mission secure, return to base and rearm. AO complete, return to base and rearm.

 

I agree, there is a certain security in being able to always RTB after a mission is complete. I do like your idea, but there's one major problem: what do you do if the players are wounded, killed or run out of ammo or supplies necessary to complete a mission?  In both I&A and AWE, if you're near to the next AO and you have no particular need to RTB, you probably won't - most players want to get on with the next mission.  But if players are out of ammo, or half the group has died and is in the spawn area waiting for pickup - it doesn't make sense to just continue on to the next objective.

 

If you've got a good solution for that - I'm all ears.

[Chutnut]

I like this idea A lot. In fact it could possibly be the reason I don't awe as much. Hopefully I'm not being too cocky saying this but a mission idea I would like to see is steal a vehicle, it can be a BTR or a Helo which will give vortex something unique to do.

[ansin11]

8 hours ago, Ryko said:

Hi GrandBravo,

 

The problem as you state it:

 

 

I agree, there is a certain security in being able to always RTB after a mission is complete. I do like your idea, but there's one major problem: what do you do if the players are wounded, killed or run out of ammo or supplies necessary to complete a mission?  In both I&A and AWE, if you're near to the next AO and you have no particular need to RTB, you probably won't - most players want to get on with the next mission.  But if players are out of ammo, or half the group has died and is in the spawn area waiting for pickup - it doesn't make sense to just continue on to the next objective.

 

If you've got a good solution for that - I'm all ears.

 

Well thats exactly the type of problems @GrandBravo wants the players to face as far as I understood.

[Ryko]

Quote

Well thats exactly the type of problems @GrandBravo wants the players to face as far as I understood.

 

The problem with these problems is that it tends to lead to players disconnecting, and there's no point making a game mode that people don't enjoy. Yes, it's more difficult, and more rewarding when it works, but when it doesn't work, or if players feel like it's too much of a hassle to play, then they will stop playing.

[GrandBravo]

Hi Ryko,

 

12 hours ago, Ryko said:

I do like your idea, but there's one major problem: what do you do if the players are wounded, killed or run out of ammo or supplies necessary to complete a mission?

 

This is indeed a problem but also the challenge that I want to create in this game-mode (what @ansin11 also mentioned). You need to approach the mission on a complete different way and try to achieve it with the gear you have. You don't have to kill all the AI, getting the intel or killing the officer is good enough. If you sneak into the base and kill just 2 guys to succeed it, good job. It brings out the SpecOps, infiltrate and secure (nice game-mode name I&S ) the objective without them knowing you where there. If the base is too heavy guarded, maybe you want to coordinate with the marine squad for them to create a diversion or something.

 

Ammo wont be a big problem because you can scavenge ammo and equipment at the missions from the dead guys or possible ammo crate. It might not be the same ammo type that you have so you might need to make the decision to drop your weapon and continue with a different one. 

 

Wounded or killed is indeed a problem, but thats what all servers and game-modes are facing. To counter the change of you getting killed, I thought of making the theme Rebels. With this I mean you have inexperienced/amateur AI with low equipment like a light to no body armor and light armored vehicles for example offroads (so no viper teams or similar). In rare cases you might fase a Mora but you wont face a T100 or a Tigris. There is always a change of you getting killed but if you keep your heads cool and approach the mission tactical enough, the change of survival is high. If you end up in a big fire fight, a trigger might occur that reinforcements are underway (but that is one of the later steps). Furthermore, you are not facing an AO of 100 infantry and 20 tanks but a "side-mission" with 10, 20 or maybe even 30 AI dependent the mission objective. Aside that, the server is meant for low amount of players, 20 a 25 men, easy enough for Vortex to transport the respawned guys over or reequip the teams with vehicles and gear.

 

If this doesn't satisfy your question Ryko, we can always look at additional solutions like a mobile spawn-points, arsenals or even an FOB. However I personally wouldn't like that idea because it removes the pressure of tactical play.

[GrandBravo]

@Ryko

Also I mentioned a Start-up to experience player opinion about this game-mode. I estimate this wouldn't be a lot of work to just get a concept running but I wouldn't really know due to the lac of programming experience 

 

13 hours ago, GrandBravo said:

Start-up:

I can understand that this might be quite a challenge to program. That's why I suggest to start in steps. AW already have tons of scripts and programming experience due to the I&A and AWE servers. It might be possible to setup a trail server to test the basic and obtaining the opinion of the community. Divide the map in 4 a 5 sectors (like you guys did with the FOB's and the AO spawning near that FOB) and spawn in each sector a so called "side-mission". If that side mission in that sector is complete, a new side mission will spawn nearby. AW obtain most of the scripts to complete this idea, they just need some tweaking. The collecting of intel in these mission (further explained in the Idea/Story-line) would be excluded in the beginning just to monitor server performance and game experience. After reviewing the community opinion about this idea, further steps can be initiated like adding the intel related factors and more mission idea's.

 

[ansin11]

1 hour ago, Ryko said:

 

The problem with these problems is that it tends to lead to players disconnecting, and there's no point making a game mode that people don't enjoy. Yes, it's more difficult, and more rewarding when it works, but when it doesn't work, or if players feel like it's too much of a hassle to play, then they will stop playing.

 

Well it's clearly a far more MILSIM scenario :-)

[Lindi]

Antistasi had a system where you had an arsenal, but basicaly you start with AK74-Sus. Once you kill enemies you pick up their gear and return to arsenal with them, once you've collected a preset amount of a specific article it is white listed.

Goes for all types of items.

[GrandBravo]

20 hours ago, Lindi said:

Antistasi had a system where you had an arsenal, but basicaly you start with AK74-Sus. Once you kill enemies you pick up their gear and return to arsenal with them, once you've collected a preset amount of a specific article it is white listed.

Goes for all types of items.

 

Thats not quite the goal of this idea. Maybe in the future we'll look to the arsenal and figure out some system to create that a challenge as well. But first we need to get the developers and the community interested in this plan and get a startup running! Although tnx for your input  

[Lindi]

6 minutes ago, GrandBravo said:

 

Thats not quite the goal of this idea. Maybe in the future we'll look to the arsenal and figure out some system to create that a challenge as well. But first we need to get the developers and the community interested in this plan and get a startup running! Although tnx for your input  

 

I was trying to think of a way to limit the RTB fully restocking and returning to mission thing. You sort of have to work for the stuff you have. I do realize that it's not perfect since once you open an item you always have access to it.

Maybe something along the lines of earning points/money/interstellar megabux to buy equipment?

[Guest]

20 hours ago, Lindi said:

Antistasi

Some people I know from other communities that run this mod say that their server performance is quite poor when running this mod with crashes etc.

[Lindi]

1 hour ago, McKillen said:

Some people I know from other communities that run this mod say that their server performance is quite poor when running this mod with crashes etc.

 

Quite true, the mod spawns a lot of AI both friendly and enemy. It all gets quite taxing on performance.

I'm not going to say it is the best mod by far, but it was quite amusing and had a few ideas that could work else where also.