Flashpoints logistics meh

[vparez]

I am quite disappointed with flashpoint concept. It is just the copy of the last few connected missions from the main campaign, concept-wise.

There is nothing new here.

I was expecting no repair, no healing, no restocking of ammunition between missions. I was expecting same drop to go through missions. I have a full Argo of assault mechs and a full barracks of 10101010 mechwarriors, so the fact that now i can play a few consecutive missions using that entire army at will is really not that challenging...

Before flashpoints thats exactly what i was doing anyway: i would take as many missions as fast as i could find them without waiting for my mechs or pilots to become operational again. Just to see how many i can get done with all those mechs in mechbays... The only problem was that frequently there werent enough missions to play in one system so you had to travel...

This is such a disappointment. I thought they were going to make you use a single lance, and they could have put ammo dumps (guarded or not) on the maps within missions for you to resupply. That you would need to think very carefully which mechs to take, or sacrifice firepower for more ammo onboard... Or something like that... There was so much more that this expansion could have been...

What we got is just a repackaging of what already was in the game.

And another thing i just have to mention: if you introduce a hand-to-hand combat mech, for crying out loud, do it when you introduce a more detailed brawling system. Hatchetman now means nothing but a higher brawling damage value.

So many missed opportunities... Sad.

 

[Havamal]

You've played then all already, hmm?


They all have different stipulations...

 

[ronhatch]

My excitement for Flashpoints boils down to just two words:
Branching Storyline

Yeah, maybe my excitement is based off of the potential rather than the actual delivered content, but that's such a massive tool for mods that I think it's appropriate to evaluate it based on its potential.

 

[vparez]

@Havamal, I havent played all already, no. I will play them.
So are you saying that some flashpoint do not allow you to field other mechs or replenish ammo?

 

[Havamal]

@Havamal, I havent played all already, no. I will play them.

OK, that's good. :thumbsup:

@Havamal,
So are you saying that some flashpoint do not allow you to field other mechs or replenish ammo?

Is that your only concern now?

They are hand written scripted short story string encounters like campaign, not like the random proc gen stuff as they are may have branching options, some have consecutive encounters where you can't refit, some you can. Some may have allies.

It's more campaign stuff in short story level.

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ns-of-flashpoint.1131720/page-5#post-24899899

I haven't played them all either of course.
Consective deployments Are in with no refit, or swapping mechs ect
I don't know about ammo, doubtful but that was never a thing in TT. Didn't take long to reload ammo from a truck after a fight, before encountering reinforcements and even some Armor was handled that way often in the rules.


This adds legit story type content after/outside/between campaigns, and now that the mechanic is in place, they can add more. It gives life to the procedurally generated sim game, and after campaign.

I understand if it's not anyones cup of tea, but imho it's a little early to be disappointed.
This was a very highly requested feature.

 

[Shrike]

Try that in career mode on default settings, and tell me if that is not a massively different and far more difficult and enjoyable experience. Of course I could have just played through some flashpoints with the ludicrously powerful 15 assault mechs I have from my campaign save but I feel flashpoint and 1.3 has massively changed everything about the late game for the better, which frankly was the main complaint by people correctly before flashpoint as after the campaign it just became an endless grind of assault mech vs more assault mech with the possibility of getting one you didn't have.

 

[D-Day]

I don't know if this helps, or if it's entirely accurate but if I were to explain Flashpoints I would describe them as like the old table-top scenario packs (e.g. https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Cranston_Snord's_Irregulars_(scenario_pack))

 

[Havamal]

I don't know if this helps, or if it's entirely accurate but if I were to explain Flashpoints I would describe them as like the old table-top scenario packs (e.g. https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Cranston_Snord's_Irregulars_(scenario_pack))

But with dialogue too.

 

[mjbroekman]

@Havamal, I havent played all already, no. I will play them.
So are you saying that some flashpoint do not allow you to field other mechs or replenish ammo?

Pre 1.3: Each mission resulted in 1 day passing. Meaning you could start repairs on a mech damaged in one mission and get some repairs completed after another couple. Same with healing pilots.
Post 1.3: Each mission takes 0 time. So mechs damaged in a mission don't get repaired until you deliberately spend time in orbit or head off to another system. Same with healing pilots.
The disappointment with the final campaign mission (because a lot of folks didn't need any repairs), was that there weren't MORE of those kinds of drops.

Flashpoints: Some have consecutive drops where you can swap out damaged mechs but can't burn time repairing. Some do not have consecutive drops.

Consecutive Drops: The only thing you CAN'T do with consecutive drops is initiate repairs. Armor / Ammo is all restored because those are "free". But anything that involves the Mech Bays is out. If you have other mechs ready, you can replace damaged mechs with undamaged ones.

Flashpoints introduces the consecutive drop mechanic as an open mechanic. Anyone can use the Flashpoint editor and create their own Flashpoint stories.

 

[vparez]

Thanks for all replies!

I will play some more flashpoints before i make another statement, the original post was a first impression opinion. I do think first impressions are just as valid and could be just as useful to the developers, regardless of the kneejerk reaction it might cause.

The stuff I was mentioning (ammo depletion, small field repairs, etc.) isnt in the TT but is very in the BT lore. Look at a description on sarna of any ballistic centered mech and you will see a caveat that it suffers from problems in protracted campaigns. So, having to worry about ammo would introduce not only an additional challenge but would enable HBS to inject new gameplay into the missions.

For example, there could be an intel briefing about possible ammo dumps on the map. Based on their availability you could choose to go in with ballistic mechs but that would require you to make a detour and replenish, possibly having to fight additional enemy forces for it. Alternatively, you could go around it with a lance less dependant on ammo, and focusing on the primary goal only.

The fundamental thing here is to introduce a more non linear battle experience once you are on the map. This is what IMHO is really lacking in this game conpared to the classic turnbased games.

 

[Jade_Rook]

First reaction posts are certainly valuable.

Personally, I didn't start the expansion with a post-campaign save. I went straight for Career mode. I don't really care for the post-campaign that much. I have never had a 10/10/10/10 pilot.

I would be interested in a more in depth mechanic for ammo and armor. I can understand why the devs simplified it (as well as keeping the battles relatively compact and quick). I think the current mechanics work well for this game, but I don't think they are the only valid option.

Tabletop games have WAY more flexibility than a computer game.