Now we've all played games where at start a couple people seem dead centered on being scouts. Not only are the scouts extremely useless at start (engineers are the only start class needed), a bunch of scouts at start can sap away needed engineers and cost a team a match. My suggestion is to make the different classes in Empires researchable. At start the only playable class would be engineer, giving the teams the ability to spread out and get bases up. A commander can then further research other classes if needed, or simply focus on tanks/turrets/ect. Pros Removes the Scout From Start Gives the Commander more control over the team Puts in a lot more customization Promotes strategy Makes it easier for new players to get into the game Cons Rather restrictive Could be a pain for dedicated class players (although they could branch out with this) What do you guys think? EDIT: 1. Will it benefit game-play in empires? Definitely. It will add another layer of depth to the game while at the same time making it easier for new players. 2. Does it fit into the empires universe? Maybe. An infantry division may call in a squad of grenadiers when needed. 3. How feasible is it to introduce to the game? I'd think it would be quite feasible. Then again, I'm not a code Meister. 4. Is the usefulness of the suggestion relative to the effort that will go into making it. Very. New players are often overwhelmed their first time playing Empires. It will be a lot easier for them this way. * What will this idea encourage, for good or ill. This idea will encourage even more strategic thinking of the commander and better coordination between squads. * Is it helping teamwork or hindering it? Definitely helping. This will increase communication between the com and the players. * Is the game more tactical/fun for its inclusion? Much more tactical and customizable. The fun part may take a hit, but it should be relatively easy to research the classes (making it easy to bring the fun back). * Does it help balance the game does/ does it unbalance it? Absolutely. We won't have to worry about rogue scouts any more. If a com sees experienced scouts on his team, he can still make it available to them though.
I don't think players should be that limited at the start of a match. IMO, a better solution would be to make engineer the default class. At least then noobs could be semi-useful during their first game, and the other experienced players can pick their class of choice (dubee = grenadier :p) If I'm not mistaken, 2.2 will have engineer as the default class.
What about if engineer is the only selectable class in the commander selection phase? The others become selectable later on?
Nah, it's during that time that you set up skills and such, you don't have time to do that when you have spawned, just think of how important it is to rush early game, sometimes a sneak attack with a rifleman + engineer can do wonders. Hi pete.
How about make it a tactical decision - make the other classes available after an armoury is made, if a team wants to rush, they would have to be organised
