Getcher Interesting Warzone Concepts Here

[Genghistwelve]

Several Possible New PVP Environments, Warzones, Open-Worlds, Etc.:

 

1. Kuar, The Plains of Harkul:

 

Summary Desc: King-of-the-Hill, Combined PVP-PVE Free-for-All

 

Reference Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War. For those who need reminding, the Plains of Harkul was (were?) where Ulic Qel-Droma dueled Mandalore the Indomitable, mano-a-mano, for the right of gaining Mandalorian servitude at the onset of the Sith War. Now, at the time of TOR, the Mandalorian remnants with or without other cultures come here as a place of revering battle for battle’s sake. The Warzone thematic motto is “Fight or Die, there are no other options.”

 

 

Kuar – The Plains of Harkul Warzone is presented primarily as a “King-of-the-hill” perpetual Instance something which might not work behind the scenes code-wise, but there’s possible alternates and variations on that theme, such as just making it a new planet, limited to solely the open-world PVP area.

 

Simply put, it’s just what that description implies, including the meaning of “perpetual” – not necessarily any set end time; it keeps going while its minimum player conditions remain fulfilled. “Free-for-all”: Any player can attack any player, regardless of faction. Kuar, The Plains of Harkul is primarily about personal achievement as an end goal, not about combined teamwork. The in-universe point was personal honor, not faction or team goals, although as we explore further, there can be some room for team play, even if faction-achievement is irrelevant.

 

The Plains include a large hill or mountainous plateau with the “King of Harkul” banner at the top and within an area denoted as the Mandalorian Battle Circle (say 10m to 15m diameter). When the instance begins, the “King of Harkul” banner at the top is clickable. The path to the banner could be one long winding spiral road and/or stepped rock ledges; those with CC can pull their way up through mobs, and push people down impeding progress. Alternately, there can be a “race to the top” as starting locations are individually randomized per player, and have their own initial path through the Plains to the Hill; once at the Hill, all paths should at some point converge into a single common path to the top, regardless of starting location. You could include handles up the side for those players who purchased gadgets like that Alderaani magnetic rope thing-a-ma-bobbery tool to jump and pull their way up (or have an in-instance vendor sell them to you). The first player of the instance who captures the flag (say 20-second click action duration on the banner), has “King of Harkul” status bestowed upon them. The status is a mixed bag. The status remains in effect only until death or otherwise leaving the Warzone instance. While “King” status is bestowed, the flag is not clickable. Upon the King’s death, “King” status is instantly removed, the banner instantly becomes clickable once more [also upon the “King” leaving the WZ, logging off, quitting, dead link or otherwise leaving the Warzone instance or world].

 

Let’s explore the different elements in detail.

 

The “King of Harkul” Banner: Activating the Banner does multiple things. First, it bestows King of Harkul status on the activating player. This will trigger a King of Harkul token to be emailed to the player. Next, it activates (or sets countdown timer for) respawning PVE content at the top of the hill. Finally, the Banner shuts down until King of Harkul is killed, his status terminates, at which time the Banner instantly resets.

 

The King of Harkul Token: Received via email from some Mandalorian steward. The token moves from email to inventory when accepted. When activated from inventory, it allows the title, “King of Harkul” for 24 hours from activation. After 24 hours has elapsed, the title is no longer available. Note, per this scheme it would be possible to receive a token each time the banner is activated, which might be multiple times. If it appears that it becomes too easy, or the tokens too plentiful, then this might be limited to only the first time a given player activates the banner, or limited to single time within 24 hour (or other) period of time. For example, in a single instance, a skilled/powerful/luck player might activate the banner several times, which would then trigger multiple emails and allow multiple tokens, which could be sold at auction if so desired. Reasonable controls could easily be worked out to promote or curb that.

 

The King of Harkul Status: The first thing that King of Harkul status triggers is a timer on the player. The timer will be used to track multiple items. First, various metrics might be tracked such as “Time as King” and globally retained on a leaderboard; this can be tracked as any number of desirable things such as total gross time of all instances, maximum time per single instance, and average time for all instances. Another item which could be keyed to this timer is accrual of sort sort of global award such as Valor, commendations, money and/or some other similar type of player stat to max or otherwise camp points on to feed the beast; it’s gained simply as long as Player holds King of Harkol status.

 

Next, come location-dependent items. While only within the Battle Circle -- a certain area near the banner, etc. -- further benefits and awards are accrued by the King of Harkul status. “Benefits” might be multiple tracks of various things. Stat buffs might be gained; critical/surge might accrue +0.01% every second of status within the ring, +1 END starting at 15s and accruing +1 every 60s thereafter, STR +1 starts at 30s and accrues +1 every 60s thereafter, PWR +1 starts at 45s and accrues +1 every 60s thereafter, etc., increasingly more powerful buffs might be bestowed (one type of buff at 60s, a better buff at 2:00, an even better at 3:00, etc., might include health regeneration of some rate), might be centering bonus, money chests might be bestowed at time milestones, such as small chest at 60s, medium chest at 3:00, large chest at 5:00, boxes might be bestowed at other time milestones, or some new type of metric could be bestowed or tracked. For perpetual Warzone version, if there is below the minimum number of players, the Warzone needs to quickly end.

 

Likewise, location-dependent King status doesn’t just bestow benefits – it also taketh away: while the King is OUTSIDE of the Battle Circle, the timer kicks in negative effects. First, all stat, skill/power buffs wear off at a doubling rate – they’re removed quicker than they were gained. For example, if critical was gained at +0.01% per second, then critical is removed outside ring at rate of 0.01%, then 0.02%, then 0.04%, then 0.08%; they can be gained again once more in the ring. As time away from area accrues, it further increasingly debuffs beyond any buffs that were gained, such as speed penalties, and/or even stat, skill/power debuffs including at some point damage; this is so that a very powerful King doesn’t jump off the hill to get away from the increasingly more powerful PVE content intended to kick him off if no one else can and make sure he doesn’t just plant down somewhere safe to grief/keep others from becoming King. More importantly, these debuffs don’t just reduce the Ring-granted buffs, they can also eat into base stats once the Ring-granted buffs have been peeled away, until the stats reach “1.” Map should be laid out such that it is easy to push, pull, kick, or otherwise toss the King off the top through CC, and then he has to manage his way back up all the while his buffs wear off and further if he loiters outside the ring debuffs are imposed. The goal is for all the non-Kings to do anything and everything they can to force the King off the hill, where they can then beat on him until he’s no longer King. Game should be balanced so that King gets a lot of buffs early as reward for becoming King, and slowlyand linearly ramp up from there for as long as remains as King. After some beta testing, a proper balance of buffs, awards, and debuffs can be developed; also devs can establish what time – if any --they want to impose an arbitrary term limit on the King’s term through PVE Boss.

 

PVE: When a player activates the flag, some ridiculous epic PVE boss – say Durge-like, a Naga Sadow Great Wyrm abomination, a Great Heepish battle droid, or some other suitable mega-boss slumbering beneath the Plains of Harkul -- should awaken and spawn near the base of the hill. Stretching from his long slumber, he begins his trek up to knock the King off the hill. He should have access to both a melee weapon and ranged; his reach should extend at least to the entire area of the Ring, so he can hit the King wherever the King is accruing buffs and awards; should also consider possible allies of the King who might be pew pewing ranged fire from beyond the ring in support of their teamed King. While PVE Boss is outside the ring, making his way up, he should generally focus on advancing rather than combat; but he can take occasional potshots or melee whacks on those nearby just for some fun. Once in the ring, he should be split 2/3 CC and AOE damage to all within the ring and 1/3 specifically against the King. The boss includes a counter which increases each time he’s killed. Once killed, he – or rather IU, one of his immediate family members -- quickly respawns (30s?) more powerful than before, at a different random part of the base of the hill. Balance should generally be a slow but steep power ascent relative to King of Harkul buffs to which at some point the Boss overwhelms the King. Note, the King is being buffed while standing inside the ring; everyone else is not. There should be no limit to the respawn power multiplier of the PVE Boss, since teams working together to support the King of Harkul are allowed; the King’s possible power multiplier becomes immense, and so therefore must the PVE Boss’. It’s conceivable – say that ALL players within the whole Warzone instance/Planet conspire to keep the King in place as long as possible – at some point, the PVE boss should simply become overpowering -- Godzilla vs. Bambi -- killing the King, removing King of Harkul status, and resetting the whole shebang. His lot in life is to die, become crushingly powerful, and then sleep, until the cycle begins again. If so desired, “harassment” minor PVE opponents can also be littered around the Plains and up the hill. They should only be a nuisance, slowing people down, and be given berserker ADD as their AI; they should womp on all player targets in range, not stopping to focus on any one. They can also exist to allow a “leap” chain for players to quickly advance up the hill. These supplemental PVE opponents should never scale in power.

 

Alternately, instead of instantly spawning once the Banner is activated, the PVE Boss could be used only as King-killer of last resort, coming later or the end of the instance (can set this milestone at 10m, whatever); in effect, he will be the time limit to either – or both – Time as King, as well as the overall instance itself. In this case, just make the LVL 50 SOB super-powerful on the first life, nigh invulnerable to all attack, attack no one on his way up the hill, beginning with full resolve, shrugging off all that attack with say 75% immunity against slowed, incapacitated, etc, enter the ring and then immediately womp on the King and all who might be there. Essentially, it can be sole PVP action until the very end; in this case, things won’t be a perpetual instance. Time as King stats can still be tracked. Once the King is dead, the several things can happen. If it’s a perpetual instance, then everything simply resets within the same instance, provided there remain the minimum number of players. If it’s not perpetual, then the WZ instance ends. But, if the earlier dynamic of an increasing PVE Boss is desired, then that can be done too.

 

Individual player teams and/or guild-teams are welcome and are retained within the Warzone instance, to allow their individual members to become King of Harkul and coordinate to help him remain King (also they can still attack each other individually for some good backstabbing-to-become King action if so desired). Individual teams or guilds might also accrue their own rating metrics while their members are King: Time of Guild as King, etc. There could be two versions 10-49 and 50; in 10-49, all players are scaled to 49 within the instance.

 

Alternately, if a perpetual instance isn’t desired for whatever reason, the entire instance can stop the moment the PVE Boss simply kills the King of Harkul.

[Genghistwelve]

2. Aargau -- “The Third Law”:

Summary Desc: Opposing Team/Faction Goal Oriented

 

Reference Marvel Comics’ Star Wars #48, “The Third Law.” The planet Aargau was an independent banking world powerful enough to impose a truce on both the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance within its borders. In the story, Leia and Vader oppose each other, but must do so diplomatically and without open hostilities.

 

Aargau – The Third Law will clearly be a Warzone. However, I’m not certain whether it would work best as a single-instance version a la Huttball or Civil War, or as a multiple-instance version like the Voidstar. There’s dynamics which could work well or better depending on this factor.

 

In general, for this Warzone, teams must “get the proof” to discredit the other team, then bring the Proof to the “Judge” through a locked door or doors, which first need to be unlocked. The “proof” can of course be a huttball-type of object. Unlocking the door to the Judge is like the Voidstar blastdoors, except in single-instance fixed map version, they’re not blown one time, but rather the door is simply unlocked (and defended and/or reset by opposing team) without limit. I figure the map can be a large”spoke wheel” ring. Each side starts at the N or S, the single proof is in the center, and then each side has an E/W path to their own Judge. At some point, there’s one or multiple choke points with ideally three different passages converging to a single passage with a door lock that has to be unlocked (and again, can be reset). When the proof-handler is defeated, the proof can leap to the nearest opposing player or back to center like Huttball. If one team has the proof and is projecting forward to unlock their door; in lieu of stopping them, someone from opposing team can sneak back and unlock their own opposing door in anticipation of that team getting the proof; this means that a defender would need to be peeled off too to head that off. Someone from proof team can likewise sneak back and reset lock or stay back and defend the door after their team passes.

 

The game then is balance between getting the proof, unlocking your door, and bringing it to your Judge. Ideally for complete chaos, in single-instance fixed map version, there will be at least two lock areas with multiple pathways, and the locks can be changed on the fly, trapping people in an area where they need to unlock the door first. The opposing team needs to then kill the proofholder, keep the opposing team’s door locked, obtain the proof, and then unlock their own door and deliver it.

 

Now the kicker. At some other difficult to reach area, and behind its own locked door exists the Aargau Mediator who when activated (10-second click duration), will declare that there has been too many hostilities and Third Law has been broken, resets the proof back in the center, sends everyone to their own area but reverses the current status of all locks everywhere. Each team can send members to the mediator as insurance against the proof getting too far to the other team’s judge, but does so at the risk of changing the dynamics of the pathways for each team. For a team that has projected very far to the Judge, unlocking the doors, those doors will be locked, making it difficult for them again. However, with some coordination, teams can lock doors behind them, coordinate with the Mediator to unlock them and leave an easy path when the proof has been reset. In single-instance fixed map, the number of times proof has been delivered is simply scored and winner is highest score. For the locks, there different things which can be done. One possibility is that only the Mediator reverses lock status; when proof is delivered all locks reset to locked and Proof is sent to center. For more complexity, is that locks are never reset to default, but reverse on all action including both when Mediator is used, or when Proof is delivered. I like this way better; a better planning team is then rewarded for taking the trouble to keep track of the status of its own as well as opposing locks; really organized teams can give themselves easy pathways to victory with proper lock control, anticipating reverses at scores and Mediators, etc.

 

Alternately, this Warzone can also be dual-instanced like Voidstar using just half the map, with each side alternating “Prosecuter” (“get the proof to the Judge”) and “Defense” (“keep them from getting proof to Judge”) roles rather than single-instanced with fixed map and both sides playing same roles. In this case, locks are opened one time. It becomes greatly simplified, with the complexity just in which pathway to defend if there are multiple doors.

[Genghistwelve]

3. Odacer-Faustin – The Red Harvest:

 

Summary Desc: Free-for-All or Opposing Team Zomb-pocalypse Warzone

 

Is it any surprise? The Sith were at it again. Reference Joe Schreiber’s novel, “Red Harvest.” At the Odacer-Faustin Sith Academy, Darth Scabrous unleashed the Sickness upon the galaxy. It is stopped by Jedi Padawan Hestizo Trace using a special sentient black orchid.

 

This WZ can be single-instanced like Huttball/Hoth or double-instanced like Voidstar, switching roles. In single-instance, the game is a faction independent free-for-all; there are no factions, there is just the living versus the unliving.

 

First things first; this is survival horror – so the radar and maps are switched off; sight and sound only. Chalk this effect, IU, up to mysterious and lingering Dark Side influence of Darth Scabrous (who despises anyone – Sith or Jedi – who later come to his abode). Under the guise of Odacer-Faustin / Scabrous’ keep, the entire layout then should be a complex “house of mirrors” maze, a pain in the butt to work your way around. Ideally – but I’m not sure how feasible, the layouts should not be fixed, but changed per instance (or perhaps have a finite number of layouts which rotate through the instances and difficult enough to easily distinguish from one another until some exploration is done.)

 

A new status is granted: “Sickness.” Half the players are randomly chosen to be zombies and receive “Sickness” status. Three new “Throw the Huttball” like skills are granted to everyone as appropriate. Anyone with “Sickness” status gets an “Infect: Passive” skill that tacks the chance of adding “Sickness” status on the recipient of any melee damage and Force damage (wahey!?! the Sickness can move through the Force). Likewise, anyone with “Sickness” status also gets an “Infect: Active” skill which must be activated, and target selected up to 5m range (can be self-infected), and has 100% hit rate. Anyone who dies with Sickness status respawns again with Sickness status (i.e. they respawn as Zombie); there is also 10% chance that respawn does not include Sickness status when respawned. Sickness also allows player to attack anyone, including those of same faction – the Sickness zombies are raving monsters who crave brains, remember, and care nothing for mortal distinctions. Not having Sickness status is limited to attacking only those of opposing faction; Sith still hate the Republic and vice versa.

 

Sickness status also includes the following effect; Regular healing does damage to players with Sickness status; i.e. Zombies cannot be healed, only damaged. In this Warzone, healers become additionally useful as damagers.

 

Additionally, Infect: Passive and Infect: Active also may remove “Sickness Cured” status should it also exist. Anyone not having “Sickness” status in the instance gets “Healing” skill which has a 5 second duration and which adds “Sickness Cured” status. Or rather, Healing skill should be active unless “Sickness” status is active.

 

Anyone without Sickness status respawns as a living; they don’t respawn with Sickness status, and Healing skill is active. Anyone with “Sickness Cured” status respawns as a living with both Sickness and Sickness Cured Status removed.

 

Instance has a set time limit. Winners and losers can be determined in any number of ways. 1) Survival: Living (original living) wins if time expires and there remains a single living person. Map should have a lot of nooks and crannies. 2) Quantity: The team with the most of its kind when time expires wins; equal numbers means no winner. 3) Gross Quantity: The team with most instances of status change of its kind wins; in this case the healers “Healing” skill becomes instant rather than 5 second duration.

 

In double-instanced version of the game, the Sith always start as the zombies; and begin the game scattered throughout the map. Republic begins together In double-instance, each side switched roles. For the zombies, each living person they kill respawns as a zombie. For the living, each zombie they kill respawns as a living – “cured” by the orchid. Game proceeds until either time runs out or one side kills/heals all of the other side. Then roles reverse.

 

A new temporary title, “Zombie” can be added via wins. In single-instance version, side who won as a zombie can receive a title token for the win which bestows “Red Harvester Zombie” as title for 24-hours. In multiple-instance version, any/all teams winning their zombie instance can win the temporary token.

[Genghistwelve]

4. Far Outer Rim Asteroid – Invasion:

 

Summary Desc.: Multi-faction Teamed Free-for-all

 

Reference original KotoR; Canderous Ordo’s anecdote about encountering a Yuuzhan Vong coralskipper at an asteroid in the far Outer Rim. Now, some 300 years later, at a Republic (or Imperial) research station under attack by the opposing faction, there is an even darker threat looming.

 

The Warzone instance begins as a regular PVP arena; the layout can be your random Nar Shadda / research base layout; a few connected rooms, some stairs to mezzanine levels, etc. There should be multiple locked and dormant blastdoors scattered around the maps’ perimeters. At a random time, varying between instances (or small chance of no time at all), the base should be flooded with an infinite amount of annoying PVE mobs – Yuuzhan Vong invaders; set to attack both factions. As the Vong invade, one of the blastdoors, chosen at random, is activated; the door to the docking bay. Now, the goal is to get to the door and unlock it, opening up a new layout. Now, groups need to make it to their faction’s docking bay control center and open up their faction’s hanger doors. Then, once the hangar doors have been opened, they need to reach their ship. The ships will actually be their own area, with players scoring “defender” points for sitting there.

 

This can also exist as either single-instance or multiple-instanced Warzone.

 

In single-instance, everyone must make it to their own ship for a win. Doors can be relocked, confounding progress for those players still to make it to the ship; those on the ship can leave. The hangar door can be relocked, confounding progress. All the while PVE Yuuzhan Vong can annoy everyone. For additional medals, you can include one or more mob bosses to beat.

 

In multiple-instance, it generally becomes Voidstar with mobs. Take it one step further and one team can actually be the Yuuzhan Vong, including getting new skins for their ‘Toon for the instance that they play as Vong. I’d still make it so that the entire team needs to “activate” the ship for a win to count.

[CeruleanNite]

Even though I am not a PvPer, you have done a great job of posting your ideas and making them sound like something I would want to try.

 

Good work.

[Genghistwelve]

5. It’s Party Rockin’ – The Boarding Party, That Is:

 

Summary Desc: Team Domination

 

Classic “pirate” ship-to-ship boarding duel.

 

The Boarding Party Warzone is set up as two side-by-side capital ships, one Sith and one Republic. Connecting between them are two different docking umbilicals, one fore and one aft. Keeping the concept simple, the majority of the strategy boils down to whether each faction zergs a single umbilical, splits their forces up and focuses first on defense or attack; will that likewise match up versus what the other team does?

 

Each faction begins the game on their own ship. Each ship can have multiple achievement goals to activate, both for team which goes towards winning the WZ and personally which goes towards commendations/medals; call these achivements “control stations” IU. There should be a control station for all of the common functions: 1) hyperdrive control (aft); 2) bridge control (fore); 3) fire control, 4) comms, 5) armory, 6) access etc., and they should be littered all throughout both ships.

 

I think the best point structure is classic “domination” -- for teams to simply start at zero and constantly accrue points based on control of stations to the controlling faction every second of the instance, with some additional personal achievement points going to the players that activate them. In this case, all of the stations of a given ship are set default to that faction at the beginning; if no one does anything to the opposing team, then the points accrue equally to each team and become a wash with no winner. But, if one enterprising team manages to TB the opposing faction’s ship, taking control of any or all of that opposing ship’s stations, then they will begin accruing additional points from the opposing team’s stations, giving them the edge to win the WZ. The WZ is won by the faction with the most station points accrued at the end of the set time period; in case of tie, no one wins.

 

The Kickers: Any or all can be included for some additional chaos.

 

A. Lock Control: The umbilicals can include some additional complexity; either single- or perpetual operation. For single operation, each of the two umbilicals has its own faction-independent lock, accessible from both sides. The first player to activate the lock gains goal achievement points for himself and towards his faction’s WZ victory. Once unlocked, doors stay unlocked throughout the instance. This adds a blind rush element for teams to be the first to unlock each door for WZ points, but then may be at a disadvantage once doors open. If only one door is zerged, then it’s possible the other door is zerged by the opposing team, making these points a wash. If only one player is sent to one door, while the rest of team is sent to other, then single may get immediately overwhelmed, opening up unimpeded flow to the opposing ship’s stations. For perpetual operation, the locks can be locked and unlocked at will, with smaller amount of points (or none at all) being granted; should have cooldown.

 

There’s another wild dynamic which can be included in lock control, a “blind” open command. In this case, the faction’s own ship’s locks can only be opened from their side. In this case, a faction rushing to the doors can activate only their own lock, the door opens to another locked door of the opposing faction. However, on each ship, the comm. station can include an over-ride panel. When the over-ride panel is activated, then one door of the opposing team changes status at random. Or, alternately, an Access Control station can be added, with a separate panel. The Access Control panel is ship dependent. The panel on your own ship, when the Access Control station is under your control will reverse the status of your own ship’s umbilical doors. The panel on your opposing ship, when the opposing ship’s Access Control station will reverse the status of your opposing ship’s umbilical doors. With each activation, both team and personal WZ achievement points can be granted,

 

B. Fleet Attacks: The Fire Control station can also include a separate panel for some additional chaos. When your own faction’s ship’s panel is activated, a turbolaser volley is unleashed against the opposing ship. Everyone located on that opposing ship takes damage, and a very small amount of team points and personal achievement is gained. However, if a faction can overcome the opposing team’s fire control station, then activate the opposing ship’s Fire Control panel, it overloads, doing much more damage to everyone of the opposing faction. In this case, the Fire Control station should reset back to the original default faction status.

 

C. Hyperdrive: The Hyperdrive station can include its own separate panel too. When a hyperdrive station panel under your own faction’s control is activated, that ship IU lurches, doing damage to everyone in and within the vicinity of the umbilicals. Again, team and personal achievement can be granted.

 

D.Armory and/or w/ PVE Content: The Armory station can include its own separate panel. There’s a few ways this fun can be handled. Keeping it simple, when an armory station panel under your own faction’s control is activated, a PVE mob loyal to your faction floods your ship and attacks anyone of the opposing faction they see. They won’t (willfully) cross the umbilicals but can be pushed or pulled into them. But, to kick it up a notch, you can add in opposing factions’ panels. Your own ship’s panel will spawn mobs on your own ship. Your opposing ship’s panel, first has to be under your faction’s control, spawns mobs loyal to you on your opposing faction’s ship. A team that controls its own armory and the opposing armory can have a bunch of new friends to help out. Power level of the PVE mobs should just be enough to harass, painful enough that they can’t be ignored. The mobs stay and do their thing until dead.

 

E. Comms: The map/radar AND chatline can be tied to control of the Comms station. Default setting is that both map/radar and chatline are set to disabled. There is additionally a separate panel for some really insidious fun. Your own faction’s ship’s Comms panel, if in your control, will activate your chatline and enable map/radar only for your faction only on your faction’s ship. Your opposing faction’s Comms panel, if in your control, will enable map/radar for your opposing faction’s ship.

 

The Comms Stations are specifically tied to each ship, independent of faction control. When your own faction’s Comms station is in your control, then your chatline is active for your entire faction and your map/radar are enabled for your own faction’s ship; the limits of these only extend to within your own faction’s ship -- both chatline and map/radar do not extend to opposing faction’s ship. I.e, if your faction’s Comm station is active, but you are on opposing faction ship, you won’t see the chatline and your map/radar won’t work for the opposing ship’s limits, messages that you send while you are within the opposing ship cannot be seen. When you control your opposing faction’s Comms Station, then chatline and map/radar become active for the opposing ship’s limits. I.e. your map/radar is active within limits of opposing ship. Messages you send can be seen by your faction’s players also on the opposing ship; messages sent by your faction also on opposing ship can be seen by you. A team that controls both their own and the opposing Comms Stations essentially have full functionality of their map/radar and chatline.

 

Now, for the really insidious twist, we get to the Comms station Panel functionality. Activating your faction’s ship’s Comms station panel in your control will scramble the Comms for the opposing faction; everything is wiped out for them for a certain amount of time. Activating your opposing faction’s ship’s Comms station panel in your control will feed dis-information to both the map/radar and also the chatline. Ghost images appear on the map. In the chatline, players on your faction will bot messages such as “<PlayerX> Everyone take the armory!,” “<PlayerY>: Try and kill me, I’m the best!” The messages should vary between actual WZ operational misinformation, “Everyone back to our ship!” versus making opposing players stay stupid stuff or be a *******: “Why am I on a team of such losers,” “ClassZ su>< so baddddZ!” The devs can simply watch general WZ chatter as well as the forums for some common phrases to pull, both operational disin as well as the goofy crazy talk (“Man, I’m so stoopid!” “<Insertclass> needs to be nurfed!”) I think for this to be effective, the opposing team’s chatline should also become available for your faction to see, greyed out or something like that, to the faction activating the opposing team’s Comms panel. This is purely for bragging rights just so they can witness the fruits of their labor. The fun of this panel activation is that the operational messages might actually hook some noobs, and those veterans of this WZ just might like to see all of the crazy things they’re having the other team say to each other. The greatest feeling could be seeing a player carry on a conversation with bot disin (“Bot-DisinPlayerX: Everyone return to ship!” “PlayerY: On my way!”) Sure, one could also add in an ability to feed messages to the opposing team’s chatline, but I think this works best if no one can tell the difference – if it’s clear that the chatline is compromised, then everyone will simply ignore it. Although, admittedly, there definitely would be a nice feeling of accomplishment if you can send messages to the opposing team’s chatline and you know they’ll have to read them, but they can’t send anything to you. (“You all su><><or -- wee so 1337! L00sers!”). Giving you the ability to have your way with the opposing team’s chatline/emote log kicks the standard “<PlayerX> laughs at you” emotes to an entirely different, extreme level. To supplement this WZ, a sticky thread in the official WZ forum should be then made, “Craziest Things Seen When The Boarding Party Comms Panel Was Activated,” or alternately, it can be substituted or supplemented with “Craziest Things I Was MADE TO SAY When the Boarding Party Comms Panel Was Activated.” New bot phrases can be rotated in weekly. Don’t like it, suck it up and pop the opposing team’s Comm station’s panel; alternately, grin and take it, the duration will be a finite amount of time, and the pain will always end when the WZ is over.

 

There should be a fairly long CD on these supplemental panel activations, but not so long that it can’t be fired off multiple times during an instance. You can set CD to the overall effect they may have. More substantial effects like Amory and Fire Control can have longer CD, whereas Hyperdrive and Comms can have very short CD’s. If the kickers are used, there needs to be enough quantity and variety of stations spread throughout the ship to make it complete chaos. A team could simple stay on its own ship, firing off its beneficial effects and perhaps accrue enough points over the opposing team to win. WZ achievement points accrued for activating an opposing station might accrue at a slightly higher rate than points accrued from your own stations. Retaking your own faction’s stations might award a one-time WZ points, along with gaining accrual of points from that station. Since panels aren’t controlled, only stations are, then one-time WZ achievement points given for activating an opposing team’s panels should be healthy.

 

PVE Content: For additional fun, randomly respawing PVE mobs can exist on your own faction’s ships. They can generally be controlled by the flow of stations. For example, their greatest priority will be to check that all stations are under the faction’s control. If any station fails the check, they can zerg to that station or stations to supplement the faction’s chances of retaking the station. They do this in some hierarchical order. Additionally, teams could activate stations under their control to give orders to the PVE mobs; when a station already under faction control is activated by player, any available PVE mobs are sent to patrol that station; this setting remains in effect until another station already under faction control is activated. This can likewise extend to PVE mobs triggered by the armory station panel; stations on opposing ship’s already under control can pull that faction’s PVE mobs, if any, to that station.

[Genghistwelve]

6. “Mid-Rim Story” – Control the Juvie Gangs:

 

Summary Desc: Team Domination and/or Capture-the-flag

 

In this backdrop of the Great War, Juvie gangs have become plentiful. So plentiful, in fact, that both the Republic and the Empire want to curry favor of the more prominent juvies, which could allow unrestricted access to supply lines and territories. How do the factions curry this favor? By tagging key locations of the city to show that faction’s mad juvie skillz.

 

I’m not set on whether there will just be one single “Duracoating Spray Can” which both factions will have to fight over, or whether each faction gets their own spray can, or whether all players get their own spray can. Other complicating factors can be included such as if each faction or all players get a spray can, that spray can first needs to be liberated from the opposing faction’s area; this can work equally well for single can per faction or all players. If you die holding the can, you then have to run back into opposing team territory to first get the spray can before you can start tagging things. The dynamics of the WZ are then greatly dependent on that factor.

 

Next, Spray cans can be permanent or disposable. Permanent, the spray can stays with the player until death. Disposable, spray cans can exist for either a set time limit (60s), or set number of uses; if set number of uses, it can bind to player even through death until used up, or not.

 

Regardless of who/how many spray cans are available in the instance, there will be prominent “tag” locations set up all throughout the WZ. Points can be accrued for each location controlled by a tag. Locations can be tagged by opposing teams, shifting control. Locations can be ranked by difficulty to reach. For instance, players’ datacron-hopping leet skillz can be showcased, by putting high-value locations at the top of a building spire, reachable by traversing a pipe to a canopy to a wire. All the while, low enough to be within range of snipers and pulls, but high enough to make access difficult.

 

Personal achievement points/commendations can be granted for obtaining spray can and tagging locations. Team achievement points are accrued only for locations in team’s control with a tag.

 

Maybe before the WZ begins, while players are queuing up, each individual player can choose their own simple phrase that gets carried into the WZ as a tag graphic.

 

The WZ is won by team with most points.

[Xorto]

What's all this about.. where did you copy / paste those from ?

[Genghistwelve]

Copy /paste? They're from 'me noggin.

 

Doesn't anyone have any imagination on their own anymore?

 

All you need to do is add some nice window dressing on the modes of play we've all been doing, hell dating back to Wing Commander, X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Unreal Tourny.

 

I mean how much fun would something like this be...

[Genghistwelve]

7. The Great Hunt – The Holocron Heist

 

Summary Desc: Teamed DPS Damage Domination

 

Admittedly, there’s now various definitions of what constituted the events known as the Great Hunt. We’ll defer to the oldest usage of them – the crusade taken by the Jedi/Republic after the end of the Great Hyperspace War to gather up Sith artifacts left over from the invasion. (To confuse matters, since TOR, this same term has also covered a series of activities by Mandalorians and BH;s but that’s beside the point.) Both the Sith and Jedi appreciate their own trinkets. How many times throughout history have ancient holocrons or other artifacts been at the heart of conflict. For those reading the comics, the rogue Jedi Shadow Covenant had vast storehouses of collected esoteric. The goal here is to storm the opposing faction’s arcane storehouse and destroy as many trinkets as possible.

 

I think this will be most fun if it’s set up dual-instanced, Voidstar-style. The first segment can be the trek to the storehouse. The second segment can be making your way through the storehouse to the money room. And the final segment is a free-for-all inside the money room, which is where all the fun will be.

 

Imagine the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. A vast open room filled with damageable objects of varying health; table and tables of them, rows upon rows of them. For the attacking team, it becomes the goal to damage as much and as many objects as possible. Each object can exist as a mob, allowing the full range of players’ skills to trigger. BH’s can spam missiles; Sentinels can use the objects to pop Zen, whatever. You can have trinkets of different health, rows of trinkets of increasing health,epic trinkets, boss trinkets, whatever. Remember, damage is capped at the object’s health, so smart players will do small damage to small trinkets and unleash their alpha strikes on the few epic trinkets.

 

The simple goal of the attackers is to become the bull in the china shop; doing as much damage as quickly and as humanly possible. The goal of the defenders is to stop that from happening. Ideally, the entire screen should be filled with damage trackers flying all over the place. Of course AOE classes and the high-damaging melee DPS classes will really get to shine here. Hell, even make it so healers can heal object’s health giving them something to do.

 

The team which simply does the most damage wins. The beauty is that once in the money room, there’s no time delay to damage anything – no running to find an opposing player, no running to turrets or to huttballs or goal lines, there’s literally hundreds of possible targets all over the place. Get to it.

[Coyotecalls]

Dear OP: You should write books.

 

Because.. yeah.. those are all cool but in actual game design they design the game play first.

 

You have to realize your average MMO player will have -no idea- what most of your posts are talking about and not care enough to read it.

"Get the ball, throw the ball, get the ball to the opposing teams line and your team gets a point."

 

This is the level of your average MMO goer when it comes to caring about back-story in PVP.

People who play MMOs are lazy. If you tried explaining those posts to your average player they "TLDR *lol*" at you. I'm not saying that people who play the game are stupid, I'm saying people play the game to turn off their brain and just enjoy. Anything which involves a chapter summery isn't going to fly. Focus on the game play mechanics if you want to design games.

 

Huttball is fun because you can pass and catch the ball, because of the obstacles and the vents.

 

The gun defense is fun because of the attacking/defending using terrain to your tactical advantage.

 

Guarding the doors on the lost warship is hectic and simple.

 

Each of these WFs have good, simple qualities that make them great. History, back-story and setting are things we spacebar through to get the fun part started.

 

Now, if you said "I would like a warfront where there are speeder races" or "I want a warfront where there are mine fields that can blow you up in the air." or "I want a warfront that lets you earn an Ewok minion every time you kill someone. But it resets when you die. Eventually, if you live long enough there will be a small army of Ewocks rushing over the hill with the players while the empire has a small army of... droids or something.. the empire never did cute, well. "

 

These would be the kinds of suggestions people could use in an MMO. Game play first, then just a sprinkling of story.

[Genghistwelve]

You're right, the KISS concept can't be ignored. But, peel away all of the flashy window dressing and what is really there?

 

Kuar - Plains of Harkul: King of the Hill. A game that pretty much everyone knows around the world and has probably played as a kid at some point. What does a player really have to do here? Press a blue banner, something already intuitive to the game. Make the King glow or something, and you have an even bigger, more obvious target that screams "I'm the King of the Hill, come knock me off."

 

Red Harvest: Easy. Just stay alive if you're living, and kill if you're undead. Everything more complicated than that like heals damage zombies, Sickness allowing infected to attack anyone, can be left to the enterprising and interested players to figure out.

 

Aargau - The Third Law: It's simply a mash-up of the WZ modes of play everything is already well-acquanited with; it's simply just a combo of Huttball object/score and Voidstar door control.

 

Yuuzhan Vong Invasion: Simply run for your life; the whole team has to make it to a ship to win.

 

Boarding Party: Perhaps the most complicated besides Kuar at first blush. But what is it really? Classic domination. Control key locations for points. All anyone needs to know is hold your blue panels and get more of your opposing team's panels. If you see blue, click on it. Nothing more complicated than that. Those who are interested can strategize whether it's best to hold one station over another, or whether one station's special function is more important overall to win the objective. And why shouldn't those types of players be rewarded for their efforts?

 

Mid-Rim Story: Again, classic domination. It's essentially Civil War with just a different facade, mixed with with a Huttball element.

 

The Great Hunt: We hear about how much damage so-and-so class does versus another, whether AOE is better than ranged or melee. Well, heck, let's put it to the test. Nothing can be simpler than do as much damage as you possibly can just for damage's sake.

 

I don't necessarily disagree with you. To a degree, collectively "people" may be too stupid or uncaring to appreciate some of the deeper levels of play, even if individual persons are not. But why limit everyone to the lowest common denominator? If you could care less about Ulic Qel-Droma and Mandalore or that they even fought at a place named Kuar, so what. It doesn't hurt that the backdrop is drawn from Star Wars continuity; it's simply a bonus for those who might care. I mean we all have to fight somewhere, right? So, why not capitalize on the rich universe that is Star Wars.

 

I like the Ewok army idea. That'd be some great fun.

 

How about a classic escort mission, like the few that TOR pilots have already had to run...

Edited February 25, 2012 by Genghistwelve

[Genghistwelve]

8. EPIC Battle Series 1: The Betrayal of Darth Revan – SecCom Showdown

 

Summary Desc: Dual-instanced Team Convoy Protection

 

The EPIC Battle Series is proposed as a unique series of Warzones, perhaps quest-related or some other trigger event that will seek to recreate exciting battles of TOR history. Unlocking EPIC Battle Series of specific WZ’s of the EPIC series could be set up as perhaps a one-time trigger. Once you fulfill the requirement, it opens up the possible Warzone to include all of individual EPICS; I suppose there would have to be enough people queued up that also unlocked EPICs for something like this to work.

 

If you don’t know the general story, what are you doing even playing TOR? Stop now, go buy the original KotoR off Steam or Amazon Collector’s bundle, or whatever. The gist is that a Jedi strike team led by Bastila Shan stormed Darth Revan’s flagship to confront him. What actually happened is that during the battle between Darth Revan and a very lucky and in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time Bastila, Darth Revan’s apprentice Darth Malak took a target of opportunity strike against his boss’ flagship to kill two birds with one stone, in an attempt to whack both the Jedi and his boss to become the new DLOS. That’s the short end of the deal. Further refined details were specifically flushed out in a RPGA convention module, “The Betrayal of Darth Revan” for WotC PaP RPG, which really covers the lead-up to the strike as well as covering the pawns.

 

This Warzone is all about classic convoy protection. It will take place entirely on Darth Revan’s flagship, a converted Pelagia Duplex Command Assault Gunship.

 

This Warzone will be scored as domination-style. Both teams start at zero points, and accrue points while certain domination conditions are held. When time runs out, the team with the most points wins. In this case, the domination condition is your own team's moving convoy.

 

The Imperial Faction: For the Sith faction, Darth Voren is key. Darth Voren learns vigilantly from one of the Sith Knights under the direct command of Darth Revan and typically remains aboard the dark lord’s flagship to help control the ship’s security forces. (Secretly, he hopes to eventually remove at least one of his superiors to help him rise through the ranks more quickly). While he commands the flagship’s security forces, Bastila Shan will be impeded from confronting Darth Revan. The Imperial faction must therefore keep Darth Voren alive throughout the duration of the instance from the time it takes him to walk from the security room to one side of the bridge blast-door. For every second Darth Voren is alive, points tick for the Imperial faction.

 

The Republic Faction: For the Republic faction, Bastila Shan is key. Bastila Shan leads the strike force and seeks to confront Darth Revan on the bridge. The entire duration of the instance is then the time it will take Bastila Shan to walk a long, circuitous path from the docking bay to the bridge blast-door on the side opposite Darth Voren’s.

 

Along both Darth Voren and Bastila Shan’s routes are “save points,” whereby if they reach this point then should they die, they respawn at this point. So from Security Room (docking bay) to SP1, Voren (Bastila) will respawn at original location. Between SP1 and SP2, they respawn at SP1; between SP2 and SP3, they respawn at SP2, etc.

 

Should either party arrive to the blast-door before the other; that faction wins. A team of Darth Voren and Darth Revan are too much of a match for Bastila Shan and her strikeforce; Darth Revan becomes victorious. Should Bastila Shan arrive before Darth Voren, the Republic wins – Bastila is able to confront and beat Darth Revan before Malak’s attack.

 

A third behind-the-scenes timer is also ticking. Darth Malak’s strike. Say 8min. or 10min. Should Darth Malak strike before either Voren and Bastila arrive at the bridge blast-door, then the flagship is blasted, ending the instance and canon is preserved.

 

As a reward for unlocking this EPIC Battle, short videos narrated by Master Gnost-Dural can run for each of the three AU/IUcases: 1) Darth Revan conquers the Republic and then comes to the Sith Empire where he makes the Sith Emperor kneel before him; Revan gains immortality and leads the Sith Emperor’s Sith Empire into a Great War against the Republic. 2) The Republic beats Revan, and capitalizing on the success, they are able to repel the Sith Emperor’s invasion; they live in a light side utopia free of the Great War. 3) canon is preserved: a recap of KotoR, KotoRII, and the Revan novel.

 

Temporary title tokens can be granted for winning the WZ: for Imperial win, everyone in Imperial faction gets “Protector of Darth Revan.” For Republic win, everyone in Republic faction gets “Protector of Bastila Shan.” For draw (Malak win), both factions get “Betrayer of Darth Revan.” When token is activated, title can be available for 24 hours and then disappear.

 

A possible complicating element which could be added to make team points more variable is to include multiple mob elements within each side’s convoy. Instead of just Bastila, it’s Bastila with a cohort of heroes (say Aldren Dayos [human Jedi Consular], Anyara [Cathar Jedi Knight], Lt. Kagen Brendel [human Republic trooper], Haden Vazzar [human Republic healer trooper], Samar [Khil Republic SIS Officer], and Mara Davos [human gunslinger]). Instead of Darth Voren, it’s Darth Voren and an equivalent number of Sith marauders and battle droids. Certainly Bastila and Voren would grant higher point accrual than the others, but their singular health becomes less important. These supplemental pawns need not respawn; once they’re taken out, they’re lost for remainder of the instance.

 

Also, point accrual can be different for each save point segment; for example between SP1 and SP2, points are accrued at 1/s; between SP2 and SP2, 2/s; between SP2 and SP3, 3/s, etc. This can apply to the mob pawns too. So note that while Bastila and Voren are the key targets, it will be painful to completely ignore taking out the mob pawns too, since they’ll accrue points at an increasing rate the further they progress; note that since the mob pawns down’t respawn, their progress will begin to diverge from Bastila/Voren.

 

Both Bastila and Voren should be insanely hard to kill; and they should regenerate very quickly from point of last damage, with say 4s (or even 2s) delay from damage. The key then should be for at least one person of opposing faction always to sustain damage on them, then they can go down This will also reward team play. The moment that 4s (or 2s) is allowed to elapse from last damage, then the long grind to kill them starts all over again. Made all the more difficult if the pawn mobs are all still alive.

 

Also note that another key is that Voren will walk from a starting point near Imperial team’s respawn point to a point closer to the opposing team’s respawn point. Vice versa for Bastila. While Voren and Bastila respawn at save points, players do not. In this way, the more you die at the end of the instance, the harder it will be to protect your side’s convoy – you’ll have to trek from your respawn to wherever it is on their route that your convoy is respawning at.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Genghistwelve