What do you think the commander vehicle should be?

I thought this thread was going to be about the physical model itself.

Anyway, the real problem is boomtanking. We increase the health, we encourage boomtanking. We slow it down, then it becomes insanely harder to escape if the commander gets caught. The solution might be to increase the commander's health even more past that though, so that the commander can't escape unless it has a number of friendlies helping it.

 

It is fine as it is honestly.

 

The real problem is that the winning condition is focused only on the CV and nothing else. I don't know a single RTS where you can lose the game with all your base still intact.

 

Company of Heroes?

 

With no prior assumptions, I think the ideal CV is a really slow, really strong vehicle that can never be trapped.

• Too slow to boomtank - effortless for infantry to dodge
  
• Too strong to ninja - it takes so long to kill that the enemy would have to set up a secure perimeter around the CV
  
• Can't get stuck - It can always push props, vehicles or buildings (i.e. walls) out of its way (or "drive over" them).

Other technical issues and design choices make that a bit of a pipe dream.

We'd need a better heat system that can more "smoothly" slow vehicles down instead of the mostly "binary" system in place today. We'd also need walls & turrets to get destroyed when the CV hits them. Finally, we'd need better scripts that let the CVs shove other vehicles around.

 

All easy to implement.

The com can push down walls easy...
Com tank comes up against a buildable wall and he pushes against it... it starts taking damage at X amount per 1/5 second (no matter the team who placed it).

Buildings... could be the same except only damage unbuilt enemy buildings so you can't trap coms with crap like that.

I say the com could destroy a turret on full speed ram.

 

Yes. Encourage boomtanking. That's exactly what we want to do.

 

That is not the point, its to prevent the com from getting captured so easy.

The counter is the com will be to slow to run away. The com tank change I made makes them slower but, stronger. You can not push them like you could before unless you are a heavy with turbine. The com tank can generally push you out of the way though.

You can still wall in the com provided you keep repairing the wall he is ramming. Or you can do as you are supposed to do... sticky stun his ass.

Providing the wall/turret damage mechanic makes it possible for non-engy class to escape walling. Otherwise your screwed. (you should not be out in front lines anyways... HOBBS but, meh)

 

Note that I'm arguing against boomtanking in it's entirety. Not just solo boomtanking, but using it as a weapon in general, even if you are pushing with teammates.

Simply because it isn't the point doesn't mean it won't happen. You give people the ability to hurt walls and buildings with the CV, I guarantee you that boomtanking rates will shoot the fuck up.

That's the beauty of boomtanking. You don't give a shit about running away, so making him too slow to drive away isn't much of a deterrent.

I'm sorry, but if you're out there all on your own and manage to get yourself trapped by a single engineer, then you deserve to get caught. The moral of this story is to not use the CV offensively. If you're walled in your own base, then you should be near a barracks. If your barracks is destroyed, why the fuck didn't you leave sooner?

 

a robot

 

Yeah, but what if you're so slow that people can just dodge you?

Bonuses are that a slow com can't effectively run around to get refs or do that thing where they drop turrets and shield them with the CV. Both of which I use extensively, but don't really like.

 

CV needs to regenerate health.

 

Good point.

I've always thought that the armor needs a tiny regen so you can't sit there for 20 min comming and still be missing a plate or two.

 

Buildings, walls and turrets can't dodge last time I checked. I wouldn't care about players if I can just unstoppably wreck everything else around me.

 

Yeah, that's problematic. Idk, maybe you make it cost armor/hull damage to do damage to buildings/walls/turrets.

But the point is that CVs should be discouraged from boomtanking by feeling vulnerable. In exchange, they shouldn't be able to be trapped as easily.

Making the CV really slow would do a ton to stifle that (and would reduce the desire to trap the currently-super-mobile CV). Idk how much you boomtank, but the ability to quickly get out of danger is my biggest reason for rationalizing getting into danger in the first place.

 

Can we just give him a protected Shot Gun from inside the vehicle ? It's boring as hell being com - might be nice to pick off opponents in addition to watching everyone else play. Remove his mini-map when he's manning the turret, so he is not watching his team and being a good com when he is shooting at someone. A negative with every positive.

Also enhanced vision once he steps into the vehicle regardless of his class. Don't make him go Scout/enhanced vision just to watch for an attack. This works on large matches but a com has to contribute on small match's by building ALOT. Most com's on 8 or fewer games will have top score due to the amount of building they do.

A gun will aid in boom tanking, so you could reduce the range of the gun to be more like a shotgun, close range.

Might be nice to make his armor more susceptible to damage the further the vehicle is from a rax. This will reduce boom tanking or at least make it very risky. Close to a rax - strong armor, far from rax - weak.

 

How about range from armory instead. They are cheap to put down and he can plop down a chain of them fast.

 

Let the CV change armor/engine at a repair pad and let repair pads repair the CV.