How do you guys feel about Random Ordnance Drops? Do you feel they fit in a matchmaking setup? Do you use them on your own maps? After a few months of playing, what are your thoughts on them. Personally, I don't like them. I like the idea of being able to put a multitude of weapons in them (so long as you are careful with what goes in.) but I don't like the idea that one team can suddenly get a drop for a weapon that the other team won't get an equivalent to. For example, say you are playing on Longbow and power is shifting back and forth. Then all the sudden, Red team gets an extra sniper rifle and uses it to make a push, or gets rockets or a shotgun and is able to use these to tip the scales. Now maybe blue team gets one too and they push back. Or maybe they don't get one. Maybe Red keeps getting them or blues are dropping in not as useful places. This is the reason I don't like them. While a team does have to be good enough to use the weapon, teams are basically handed the tools to win based purely on luck with this system. Instead of trying to fight for weapons, players just find the best spot on the map and hope for random ordnance drops nearby, while in the meantime stockpiling personal ordnance drops in that location. Basically, games are more affected by random occurrence than before and players are less motivated to go to dangerous areas of the map, because there is no good weapon there to draw them away from the good locations to fight from (center mid of almost every map in BTB, Longbow's top building.) So what are the rest of the communities thoughts? Are there redeeming factors I'm overlooking, or even more factors that made them bad I missed?
I think you have detailed a good reason why they are less than desireable in matchmaking, but I strongly beleive that Forged maps can use them effectively. For example, I find that I enjoy using 2 symmetrical random drops to compliment a few initial ones with timers. In the random drops I often place a high chance for needlers, SAWs, and grenades. I view these all as rather equal weapons in power (The needler being slow firing and with low ammo, but powerful. The Saw is wicked, but has long reload time and looses accuracy after a moment. and the grenades are a needed resupply, the drop giving an opportunity to randomly grant one of 3 different kinds of grenade.) I have found this set up works rather well. Sometimes I throw in a small chance for a scattershot or grenade launcher, but mostly the earlier mentioned ones come up (and these two arent overly powerful either). In your example with rockets or sniper, I agree wholeheartedly. Power weapons such as those should not be random, they should be precise on their appearance. This is why the matchmaking drops are not as fair as the forged ones can be. At least, that's my view on it. In short, i would say I really do like them, but you still have to be careful what you place.
I say if you use them, place them strategically so wherever they land, they land between both bases. I don't use random ordinance just anywhere on the map with just any weapon. You could have power weapons be random or just casual weapons... but you list for that one drop has to be balanced ( rocket & splaser or shotty & saw) and place them to where it's fair. Anything else should be initial ordinance or old school weapon pick up.
I understand a little Audience o Phone, but I still hate the idea of only 1 team getting the bonus. Even if it's just a needler, it's frustrating that that team get's the weapon by luck, and that the other team gets squat. But to each his own.
Personally, I believe the placement of powerful weaponry should be defined by the location, thus the number of instances in which random weapons drops can be used appropriately is close to none IMO given that the efficiency of weaponry predominantly depends on the setting they are utilized in. In regards to a competitive setting, the idea of retrieving certain weapons by chance is just not balanced no matter how I look at it. but yeah, to each their own and such.
I use them very sparingly and only in neutral-ish areas, and even then only with lower-tier power weapons. The whole random nature of ordnance bothers me anyway; it's bad enough without adding in actual Random Ordnance.
Yeah, I try to use them by these same standards as well. It seems like I'm more lenient on it though. I would never use the power weapons in this way, but i feel like throwing in some random drops with lesser weapons can make the gameplay highly varied so that its not so repetitive.
I think it would be cool if you could add in a random initial drop. It would be nice for there to be equal but different randomized starting weapons on each side of the map. I often use random drops in bases with grenades or load-out weapons to refill ammo, but I typically don't use them for power weapons. They can be good for casual play but competitive maps should use them sparingly if at all.
I like random ordnance for the fact that it *does* shake things up a bit. A certain weapon spawn may not always have Rockets, for example. A Railgun or a Spartan Laser or a Sticky Detonator may spawn there instead, and each team will have to be ready to deal with that when it does spawn whether they get it or not. That being said, I don't necessarily like the idea of each base having it's own random ordnance. That will ultimately lead to an obvious advantage for one team based solely on chance. I'm more of a fan of random ordnance when it's used on more neutrally positioned weapon and/or grenade spawns throughout the map, with the more consistent initial ordnance being used for weapon spawns for bases.
I reeeeally dislike random ordnance being used the way they were supposed. Random weapon drops means random gameplay. The only thing that makes random ordnance drops useful is having a gametype that goes along with it. For example, I will be releasing a new gametype soon (DMR starts, Br, Lr and Carbine secondaries) that will have the Infinity Settings spawn a random ordnance at a minimum of 120s and at a maximum of 120s, creating a static weapon drop. Now with the random ordnance settings set up like this you can either have one item that spawns consistently every 120s OR have two items that switch back and forth every 120s. I have to credit aPK for mentioning this about random ordnance, I did not know this beforehand.
I've had sooooo many experiences where my team was getting hammered, then the game drops an incinedary cannon right in front of me. It seems like the game uses random drops to help out the losing team. Just me?
That static trick is great. Couple limitations, though: 1. Can only do it for one or two power weapons (this is sufficient if you're going for rockets / overshield or something like that) 2. Only so many timers you can choose from 3. Flaws of Ordnance in general (overheads, etc) It is still a large step up in terms of gameplay, but it doesn't beat drop-spawning yet.. All this wouldn't be an issue if drop-spawned weapons didn't disappear so quickly.. @Erupt It might seem that way because when you're winning and you get an incineration cannon, you're still winning, whereas if you're losing, it is a bigger deal. Not a proof, though..
I'm wondering if using the glitch mentioned in an earlier thread about ordinances on top of each other, if you could get random initial drops. I've been able to do this in testing so in theory you could have timed random drops that spawn 1 ordinance on the ground level of the map and then several below with what you want to randomize it with. This could allow for initial drops to be randomized without changing up the game-type. Would this actually work?