Base Missions... Another crazy idea..

[ivioin]

I don't know if anyone knows a dev, but how hard do you think it would be to make defense missions? What if you had an ambush mission just like the Kings Row mission where when you click the object in the last room you begin to get ambushed by wave after wave and you have to make it to the entrance of a base, but it would be one of the players bases. Of course, you couldn't have a one room base, so the base would have to qualify for it maybe. Or it could be a base that the devs create and you have a limited time to set up defenses to help with the invasion of it. You could set up turrets traps and other things, but make it have a twist where your team has to be split to make it happen or just make it easier. This would have to be a hard mission to make the split necessary. Maybe, you have to keep certain things from getting destroyed or you fail. The defend points could be random, it could scale with level, or it could increase with the difficulty setting you have for the team. Of course, the base would have to be something new and amazing, but I think it could work. What do you guys think?

[Player2]

NPCs raiding my base?  Sounds like fun... but how to do it?

 

Even a small base could work.  Just make it smaller raid with number of enemies a factor of the number of rooms.  So if someone has a one room base, they'll only get a trickle of foes coming in.  And the more things you add in your base for defense (turrets and such), the more it increases the number of foes coming at you.

 

One of the problems I could foresee is what is the goal?  Bases cost nothing these days, so destroying an object (or objects) just makes more work for players when they want to rebuild a base and if something was placed "just so" to achieve a specific effect in base design, it might be very difficult to get it back into place.  I think a better idea would be something akin to the arson side mission in Safeguard missions where the enemies come in to attack in waves while somewhere in your base a small dedicated group are setting up bombs to burn your place to the ground.  Another objective would be to defend specific objects from being destroyed/stolen; create a new class of base items specifically for these kind of base missions which you can place in your base like any other.  The item defines what kind of raid(s) can occur.  For example, you could set a Mystical Object that your enemies see as a prize and they're coming to take it.  Who?  Circle of Thorns, obviously.  Tech Object?  Here comes Crey!  Stolen Money?  Longbow is coming to reclaim it.  Stolen Rikti Tech?  The Rikti are coming to take it back.  Maybe make a specific object for each NPC group that can be set as base attackers.  When the raid is trigger, the object becomes a destroyable item that players must defend; and when it is "destroyed" it means that the enemies have broken through any force field or other safeguards protecting it and will then head for the door to escape with it... so you technically can still win the mission even if they destroy the item.

 

But how do NPC base raids trigger?  My gut instinct tells me the best way to do this would be to have it something that can be initiated by someone with proper SG permission(s).  However, if it could be randomly triggered at anytime anyone is in the base, that would be pretty cool.  Number of enemies would be determined by the number of people in the base at the time the raid starts, or perhaps it could be dynamic and adjust if numbers changed... like numbers wane if people started rushing to leave, but NPC numbers could surge if more people suddenly show up in the base.  Imagine using the base password thing to enter someone else's base and while you're there, NPCs attack and you could try to intervene.  Of course, there's also the problem of foe levels.  For best results, NPCs should be the level-less kind that are a threat to any level players... especially with the possibility of high level threats being set as a possibility and overwhelming low level players passing through.  But I could also see a possible solution for regular leveled foe groups.  When a base raid starts, give an alarm and text warning of impending attack, including what level range is appropriate for the threat.  A short advance warning will give people time to decide if they want to stick around or make a hasty retreat before enemies too powerful to handle start arriving.

[Rudra]

I don't know how SG base PvP works, but I do know that my MM pets typically can't follow my MM anywhere in my bases. And if mobs (like pets) can't navigate a SG base, they aren't a threat to anyone. Also, if it were to be implemented by the devs? It would have to be an option for the SG to enable. I for one don't want random enemies raiding my bases. (Though I do want to be able to have 0 XP/0 inf' mobs roaming my maze to threaten and challenge those that enter it....)

[Greycat]

*nods* What RUdra points out is the big problem. When creating maps for zones and missions? As I understand it, there's some sort of pathing baked in (that takes time) for NPCs and pets/henchmen to follow. Sure, move slow enough and yours will follow you, somewhat, but that's hardly useful in a raid.  Seem to recall it's a fairly CPU-intensive process - though at least for mission and zone maps, it only has to be run once. (Or a few times to correct stuff, but then it's done.)  For even somewhat "basic" bases that tend to continually evolve, not to mention some of the complex, multi-level ones and/or ones with teleport points going "through" doors or being used as elevators or secret areas?

 

Eesh.

 

Plus, really, even if that weren't an issue... the NPCs are pretty dumb. It'd be fairly trivial to toss up some walls - or even cabinets - to funnel them through a point, or just find somewhere to hole up they can't get to, stock up on inspirations and the like.

 

So, idea? Yeah, sure, might be fun. Realistic, given the ins and outs of the game and its mechanics? Ehhhh...