I'm working on an Invasion gametype idea but I have run into one problem. I need and expert forger to help me with this part. Operation Gilligan: Capture the docks, destroy the relay outpost, free the prisoner to drown the core. So from the beginning, the Spartans are down 1 player, but have 2 falcons. The elites spawn on the Island with a Plasma Launcher and maybe a Shade Turret to defend the docks from the air attack. After capturing the docks, the spartans advance to the relay outpost with a Warthog. The Elites gain a Ghost and a Gravity Hammer. When the relay outpost is destroyed, the large satellite dish "blows up". Here's where I'm stuck. This is where the last Spartan comes in. The Spartans must move on to the Elite base where the prisoner is being kept. The prisoner awaits in a small room to be freed. I'm thinking the escape system is going to be an explosive chain blocking a telleporter in which the prisoner will walk through into the core room and drop it into the ocean. I can't figure how I'm going to make a room where only one person can get in to. It also has to be hard for the Spartans to start the chain reaction to free the prisoner. This is where the expert forger comes in. I need your help on a design for the Elite prisoner and Base.
I can work on coming up with a design for the prison cell and get an escape route working possibly. The major thing I see here is that you will probably need to ignore the fireteam mechanics, due to one of the Sparten teams only having one person. Likewise, the Elites need to have their forces limited, so their greater numbers won't simply give them the win in the first to phases. Also "drowning the core"... you mean the person drops into some underwater room to capture it? Because literally letting it go into the ocean would make it reset... And, during the third phase, do the covenant actually get a chance to stop the guy after he gets the core? Or is all the challange in stopping the Spartans from opening his cell?
Some things to consider in this ambitious project: -Elites are tall as ****. -Spartans are shorter. Solution/recommendations: -Spawn the core in a room only accessible to the prisoner once he has broken free. -As far as the mechanism to free the prisoner himself, create a low hanging wall that goes beneath the prisoner's cell that the elite's cannot fit through. From there, the invading Spartans can activate the mechanism giving the prisoner freedom and access to the core. -To keep Spartans (or elites for that matter) from prematurely springing the prisoner free, make the underhang beneath the prison cell inaccessible via a 'inv_gate' of some sort that disappears after the Spartans destroy the relay. -Make the third phase about the length of two phases i.e. six or seven minutes. -Turn core reset off. Why am I taking the time to give you recommendations? -This is an ambitious project that could work well if done right. -It's a creative new take on Invasion that could essentially add a pseudo-fourth phase. -I find myself liking the concept.
Why not just make the two Fireteam 3 Spartans spawn in a room with no exit at the beginning of the game, then make an INV_GATE which creates an exit once a Territory just outside the cell has been captured? There could be a small window in the cell which overlooks the battlefield and allows the captured Spartans to aid their teammates.
Yea I realized the problem with the fire team mechanic. Can you get around that? No the spartan doesn't just drop the core in the water, there is a capture plate on the water surface so when it captures, it "drowns". I think all the challenge will be stopping the Spartans from freeing the prisoner because that's mainly the third phase. The core is there so it can end and has a story. I never thought about a premature release! Thank you! A gate will be added to prevent a premature release. If you would like to help, send me a message and friend request today so we can begin. GT is MSniperX. I'll be on around 1:00 pm central standard time.
I think fire teams can be disabled in the invasion settings, but then you'd have to set it up so that people cannot choose to spawn on the 6th Spartan with some sort of barrier that prevents spawning. You'd probably have to enclose the 6th Spartan in a tiny room with room for only one player which means no room to move around. I think this will prevent spawning on the 6th Spartan as the game will be unable to find a place to spawn the player. If this doesn't work, you'll have to rely on honour rules and find a group of players who are willing to understand and play the game how it's supposed to.
Or you can disable "Spawn on teammate"... Also, a way is definately needed to stop the prisonner fom killing himself, along with giving him something so he isn't bored out of his mind the whole round.
The prison will be a big room, so if you decide to spawn in him, your just hindering your teams chances of winning. I'll probably turn off fire team. As for keeping the prisoner occupied and not killing himself, I didn't think about that. If he kills himself, he prevents his team from winning.
And now Shoe comes in to crash the party. Problem 1: The prisoner. I don't know about you, but I would not want to be stuck in a room for most of a round of invasion (often 10-12 minutes long.) Even with something "fun" to do in the cell, you are still sitting there while all your friends enjoy a fast paced assault. Problem 2: Fire Teams. You cannot turn fire teams off because they are essential to invasion, they are what make the game type itself and there is no option to take that aspect away. Because of this, two guys will be in the cell. Absolutely. You simply can't stop the fire teammate of the prisoner from spawning on him unless you could find a way to kill the other spartan without killing the prisoner. Even then, if the prisoner can die then you can't offer any spawn options outside the cell for that fire team. This idea sounds cool but has a lot of holes with the prisoner aspect. Remember that this isn't campaign: Everyone is a real player and so needs to enjoy the experience. Prisoners could be NPC's in campaign, but they do not fit in an all-player multiplayer game.
I'm not trying to make this into a competitive game type, more of just a fun Mini game like Run! Or Toy Factory. So I can't turn fire teams off? Well the prisoners teammate doesnt have to spawn on the prisoner. He has a backfield spawn and a tier spawn. If he spawns on the teammate, well he screws himself and his team over. I know the prisoner would be bored the entire game, but again, it's just gonna be a group of friends game type. You'll just need a person who is cooperative enough enough to sit still for a round.
He could be bored. OR you could set the prison high up and give him an overview of the map where he can call out enemy locations. You could even venture so far as to give him a mid-range weapon to provide support for his rescuers.
Actually, you can 'turn off' fireteams by setting all of the spawn zones to be spawn-sequence 4 or something, iirc. And the option to spawn on teammates can be disabled in the gametype options.
Do the fire-team based spawns work? If they do, you could let a whole fire-team be separated completely for phases one and two, and have them "escape" by themselves, causing a two-front battle, one side an infiltration mission for a Spartan or two and the other side a full-scale invasion to get the guys out. Objectives could require indirect teamwork somehow and they could finally unite in phase three, allowing you to achieve the rescue while keeping the prisoner/s occupied. I know that's not exactly what you had in mind, but I think it would be similar to what you suggested and make for a unique take on invasion. For example: Phase 1: Main Spartan force takes the docks and in the process disable a power grid where the prisoners are, allowing them mobility inside the outpost. Phase 2: Prisoners do what they can to distract guards as they try and reach the internal controls to blow up the satellite while the rest of the Spartans attempt to blow it up from the outside. Phase 3: The prisoners escape the facility with the core to reunite with the main body of Spartans and secure the core. As I said, it isn't exactly what you wanted but I figure it solves the problem of keeping the prisoner occupied, allows him to be killed with his fire-team without messing everything up and makes for fundamentally different invasion. IF fire-team spawning works; I heard somewhere that it is bugged but I'm not really an invasion guy so I dunno how valid that statement is.
Ok, right now I'm not concerned about the game type as much as I am about the map design. I will sort out game type problems later. I started working on the docks today. The objectives on the dock are large guard towers. There is one on the left and right. I will still need help on the prison part.
I like the idea of being bored out of my mind as a prisoner. That is what being a prisoner is all about, isn't it? No one would vote to play your map a second time once they were a prisoner. I think it would be cool to stage a jail break by having the prisoner's battle buddy spawn in the jail with him, then they melee each other to death simultaneously... Now that would be epic...