Idea: robbing bases

[temnix]

A few days ago I ran this concept by people on Indomitable to hear their feedback. Now I'm going to post it here, but one of the things I heard said was that Homecoming hasn't got the manpower and budget to introduce new gameplay mechanics, assuming they would even want to. If this game is really a "weekend project for the developers" and they are content with fixing bugs, sometimes adding a new power set, adding one archetype, then there is no point in suggesting deeper interactions. The role-playing suggestions thread is probably like a mass grave of all the things that could but won't. But who knows? I am quite done playing now, but writing is writing.

 

The idea is that supergroups can declare themselves open to PvP robbery by other supergroups or solo characters. Here I have to mention that in the old times there was a mechanic, aborted before long, for raiding bases. It was limited to supergroups, it was very abstract and had the character of a sports match: the raiding party tried to capture an "item of power" from the defenders' base. In that form that mechanic must have had little appeal. To make it appealing the process must be made very simple, open, left to players to sort out between themselves, and the goal of a raid lucrative. Hence robbery. Changes can be made, but they should not be in the direction of making things harmless, plush, cumbersome to start, difficult to understand or again abstract like a 0:1 score, because then once more no one will bother. Chopping beets, cabbages and tomatoes into anything will turn it into borscht. Real interaction is driven by desire for advancement and passion. Take those away, and you have beach volleyball at most.

 

Now, I imagine that a supergroup opting into this system is listed in some easily accessible window. It could be directly a part of the interface, but for better immersion information kiosks might be the way (some equivalent for the Rogue Isles where they don't have kiosks on the streets... oh yes: pimps, leaning against walls in white suits and feathered hats). A combination would probably work the best: accessing a kiosk for the first time would give the character a mobile app (21st century), a temporary power. Pimps would just give their phone numbers. Both ways the player would get to see all of the information, including current wealthy bases. On the hero side they would be listed as "public exhibitions," on the villain side as "rich mofos." Heroes would be liberating ill-gotten gains, villains would be ill-getting them.

 

To have their base listed a group needs to commit some Inf and any selection of Enhancements, recipes and salvage the members contribute to a treasure chest. The group can put any amount of Inf there above a bare minimum, in principle even a small sum, to attract those who like a fight for a fight's sake, but naturally the better the stash, the more tempting it will look to more viewers. Make it real, and people will come. (My late character would certainly have killed for the money that would relieve him from having to spend half of his time grinding for Enhancements.) The contents of the chests are all browsable from the listing so that potential robbers know what they stand to gain. A total value of the chest, in converted average market prices, is also shown. The chest's contents can be changed only once a day, which immediately delists the group for the next day.

 

The strength of defenses, in points, is also shown. Defenses might include turrets, golems, svelte succubi with deadly kisses (double up as cocktail waitresses in peace time), powers nullifiers, fiery moats, fields of slowed time, dragon heads, hired goons from one of the mob groups etc., but this is unknown beforehand. The base can defend itself, but the listing is only active while at least one member of the supergroup is online. He plays the part of sentinel without having to be at the base. All of the members are informed if a base is invaded and might use their teleportation powers, if they have them, to get there quickly, but every one has to decide whether to quit the current mission at this signal. No extra information is provided, like the number of attackers. Too much knowledge stifles initiative. E-mail can be configured to send out these warnings to offline members.

 

I won't dwell on how the attack itself must go except to say that the robbers' goal is to crack the treasure box, not to destroy all defenses, that any defenses and other items that do get destroyed regenerate quickly after the end of the fight, that the group might set a time limit on the robbery (also shown in the kiosk/beggar info) and that the attacker may not teleport out but must either win the prize or end up in the hospital. This rule is a protection against vandals. If the supergroup makes the treasure box inaccessible, that is grounds for complaining to support, but otherwise the invisible hand of Ares gets to sort it all out. A base with a small chest, lots of defense points and a time limit will probably never give a chance of entertainment to its defenders, who have only wasted salvage putting up useless protections, while an expensive and easy-looking base might tempt many and end up being well-served by a host of teleporting members.

 

Would-be robbers can get extra information before an operation for a non-trivial price. At auction houses heroes and vigilantes can pay a logistics specialist for a profile of any listed group. This gives a full list of members of the group and their levels and powers but costs one fourth of the treasure value. Villains and rogues can consult the black market and obtain the floor plan (minimap) of the base with generic markers for defenses, something that also costs one fourth of the prize. This makes it important for groups that want to specialize in the assets of others to recruit characters from both sides of the fence so that they might get the most complete recon info where the prize is big enough to justify the expense. Recon money goes to the hosting group's common budget with a day's delay, that is, the robbers are betrayed after a day, and the investigated group can then pay another, smaller, fee to find the identity of the customer group or master thief, if the attack has not happened. This should motivate robbers to act on the information quickly (if they dare, after what they find out) and lay the groundwork for some backlash. This second fee is wired back to the attacking group one more day later so that they know that the others know that they know.

 

If the chest is cracked, the robbers, or, again, the solitary king of thieves, all escape. Dividing loot can take some form of an escrow window, or the group's leader can make all the decisions about distribution, or the plunder can be automatically sold at current market prices and handed out. In villain-headed groups PvP is in force during these deliberations, and whoever kills the leader can make the decision instead. In hero groups this is not allowed. Naturally, squabbling over a dead man's chest is bound to lead to some expulsions, bitter feelings, wandering ronin and revenge brewing in breasts. Very good.

 

What can be the benefits for groups to build their dungeons? Excitement is one. Getting to know people is another, and who better than the ones that wanted to bump them over the head? A place to apply new recipes and salvage is third. Recon fees are fourth. And then, of course, they can get badges. You can always give people badges. "Badgered" may even be one. Those animals build such elaborate mazes, and they are fierce in a fight.

[Rudra]

Holy hells, WALL OF TEXT. Let's start. First off:

 

19 minutes ago, temnix said:

svelte succubi with deadly kisses

What is with you? You do this for every post where you have females listed.

Now that pet peeve is dealt with, on to WALL OF TEXT:

 

SG base raids used to be a thing in CoX. They were disabled.

 

SG bases do not have path markers for mobs to follow. Not even MM pets or Controller/Dominator pets can follow their PCs through a SG base.

 

SG bases cannot store inf' for their SG members, so how would they store inf' for raiders?

 

SG bases are not standardized maps. So purchasing maps for them could be problematic for the raiders. Especially since those maps can be altered at any time. (Edit: And also especially since the most elaborate bases build above and/or below their base maps using base items to create their floors, walls, and ceilings. You know, things that won't show up on the base map.)

 

What good is an e-mail notice to offline members if they are at a job where they can't take the time to participate or are asleep?

 

Back on Live before the SG base raids were disabled, they were coordinated by both sides. Why aren't you maintaining that?

 

Your proposal is way over the top complicated. Is that necessary and could it be simpler? Like how base raids used to work. (Assuming pets can be made to work somehow.)

 

Why in the hell would you want to promote expelling players from groups, bitter feelings, and revenge in a game meant to be fun?!

Edited March 24 by Rudra

[Glacier Peak]

This sounds exactly like how Items of Power from the old Cathedral of Pain trial used to work.