Hello everyone,
I wanted to just throw out couple of ideas I had that would possibly attract more people to a multiplayer format. I'm interested in getting peoples' feedback on whether the ideas are solid and/or can be implemented.
1) "GM Multiplayer Mode" - The idea here would be to allow a person to start a multiplayer game in "GM mode" that allows him/her to choose a map and place units. One to four players would then be allowed to join to fight against the GM's OpFor. The GM can elect to take direct control of units, or let the AI run the battle. This would allow GMs and players to develop their own battles with custom victory conditions, and eventually string these battles into campaigns. GMs could also field custom designs, giving players additional challenge.
2) "Persistent Campaign Mode" - The concept would be to set either an expansion, or "Battletech 2" during one of the major warring eras (4th SW, 3039, Clan Invasion, Civil War, Jihad, Republic Era...take your pick). The campaign would play out online as a persistent campaign with shifting borders, depending on territories/planets won by different factions. Players elect to sponsor a faction (or even better - work as a mercenary over all the factions), and the community's victories/losses would change which faction controls particular planets over time. It would play out similar to a MMORPG, but not quite. Players could elect to work together or solo to take on certain missions, but everyone's actions contribute to the direction of the overall campaign. Wins bring a faction more planets under its control, losses the opposite. For those looking for competitive opportunities, those players could still go 1-on-1 with another human opponent, and the results contribute to the campaign. The campaign would likely have to be reset from time to time, say around every 2-4 months.
Why these ideas?
There are some people who like the challenge of online PvP multiplayer, but I think most people who are playing this game are Battletech fans first. I think that means the majority of players have a group they game with and like to keep things non-competitive and friendly. Battletech is also very much a story-driven game, so I think opportunities for groups to get together to develop their own campaigns would appeal more than the perceived cutthroat challenge of playing against another person. I'd love to hear what people think and whether this would be possible to implement in the future.
I wanted to just throw out couple of ideas I had that would possibly attract more people to a multiplayer format. I'm interested in getting peoples' feedback on whether the ideas are solid and/or can be implemented.
1) "GM Multiplayer Mode" - The idea here would be to allow a person to start a multiplayer game in "GM mode" that allows him/her to choose a map and place units. One to four players would then be allowed to join to fight against the GM's OpFor. The GM can elect to take direct control of units, or let the AI run the battle. This would allow GMs and players to develop their own battles with custom victory conditions, and eventually string these battles into campaigns. GMs could also field custom designs, giving players additional challenge.
2) "Persistent Campaign Mode" - The concept would be to set either an expansion, or "Battletech 2" during one of the major warring eras (4th SW, 3039, Clan Invasion, Civil War, Jihad, Republic Era...take your pick). The campaign would play out online as a persistent campaign with shifting borders, depending on territories/planets won by different factions. Players elect to sponsor a faction (or even better - work as a mercenary over all the factions), and the community's victories/losses would change which faction controls particular planets over time. It would play out similar to a MMORPG, but not quite. Players could elect to work together or solo to take on certain missions, but everyone's actions contribute to the direction of the overall campaign. Wins bring a faction more planets under its control, losses the opposite. For those looking for competitive opportunities, those players could still go 1-on-1 with another human opponent, and the results contribute to the campaign. The campaign would likely have to be reset from time to time, say around every 2-4 months.
Why these ideas?
There are some people who like the challenge of online PvP multiplayer, but I think most people who are playing this game are Battletech fans first. I think that means the majority of players have a group they game with and like to keep things non-competitive and friendly. Battletech is also very much a story-driven game, so I think opportunities for groups to get together to develop their own campaigns would appeal more than the perceived cutthroat challenge of playing against another person. I'd love to hear what people think and whether this would be possible to implement in the future.
