Disclaimer: this is a long post (Wall-of-Text category) and there is no TL;DR. I worked on this for a long time since I hate the new Spawn System with all my hearth for a number of reasons, but mostly because I am not able to spawn where the fight is more intense which I find incredibly stupid, whereas I can spawn freely to a lot of bases where nothing happens. Here it is. It will never be adopted of course but I hope it will show DBG that something better than the current system can be done. Proposal: This alternative spawn system is aimed to create big, intense fights over a restricted front, integrate Cortium in the game-flow, emphasize the role of Medics/Engineers and ANTs and promote coordination as opposed to fights over several locations in an uncoordinated way. The proposal is structured in four parts: 1. Spawn Management – how Planetmen and Vehicles are spawned 2. Bases Management – where Planetmen and Vehicles can spawn 3. Cortium Management – how Cortium production affects spawning 4. Repair/Heal/Revive versus Respawn – what is the main (and big) difference 1.Spawn Management Infantry Spawn Points (Spawn Rooms, Routers, Elysium Spawn Tubes), Vehicles Terminals (Air and Ground) and Sunderers requires Cortium to operate. The amount of Cortium required to spawn something is roughly proportional to the amount of Nanites needed. For a Planetman: half a Flash Each Base is provided with underground Cortium Storage with a finite amount of Cortium. Once the Storage is empty, it is no longer possible to use the associated Infantry Spawn Points or Vehicles Terminals The Warpgate has unlimited Cortium available Routers and Elysium Spawn Tubes get Cortium from the associated Cortium Silo. When the Cortium silo is empty, the Routers and Tubes stop working. Sunderers have a built-in Cortium tank. Once the tank is empty, the Sunderer can no longer spawn Planetmen The Warpgate is able to replenish automatically active (see “Bases management”) Bases with a finite amount of Cortium per hour. This amount of Cortium is fixed and not related to the territory owned by the associated Empire. This amount of Cortium is limited because it will be distributed. ANTs also can be used to replenish both Bases and Sunderers. To replenish a base, the ANT must stop within a certain distance (a circle) from the base and then deploy. Once deployed the transfer will start automatically. To replenish a Sunderer, the ANT will use the same procedure used to replenish a Cortium silo. The amount of Cortium per hour transferred in this way is usually greater than the average amount of Cortium received from the Warpgate 2. Bases Management Bases can be active or not. When a base is active its associated Spawn Points and Vehicle Terminals can be used, otherwise not. Each Empire limits the number of active bases because the amount of Cortium that is distributed automatically is limited. The mechanism to activate or de-activate bases is the same for all Empires. At any point in time bases are active in these regions (all other bases but the Warpgate are not active): 1st Line Region: any Region bordering an enemy Region 2nd Line Region: any Region bordering a 1st Line Region Isolated bases (not connected to the lattice) are not active Routers, Elysium Spawn Tubes and Sunderers are always active as long as they have Cortium available 3.Cortium Management As written before, the Warpgate is able to replenish bases over time. However, since the amount of Cortium per hour is fixed, the more active bases, the less Cortium they will receive. Conversely, the less bases are active, the more Cortium they will receive. This is a counter-balance mechanism to help a losing Empire to get more Cortium in its bases and slow down a winning Empire warring on several fronts at the same time. The amount of Cortium received by an active base from the Warpgate won’t be enough for intensive usage unless there are only a handful of active bases. It means to sustain prolonged fights (either offensively or defensively) ANTs must work, looking for Cortium and coming back 4. Repair/Heal/Revive versus Respawn Medics and Engineers are way more important that before. This is because Repairing, Healing and Reviving will NOT cost Cortium, whereas Respawning does - Side Notes: The proposed mechanism does not eliminate Zergs, nor does prevent Zergs from forming up and moving. Instead, it forces Zergs to be more structured, organized and do not waste resources A Zerg must be properly supported by an adequate number of ANTs ready to replenish frontline bases and nearby Sunderers spawning Planetmen like crazy: otherwise both bases and Sunderers will quickly run out of Cortium and be unable to keep the initiative Medics and Engineers must be present in good numbers to keep Planetmen and vehicles in good shapes, otherwise even with the support of ANTs the Zerg will run out of Cortium In other words, “good” (balanced, organized) Zergs will survive. A motley, ragtag collection of vehicles and Planetmen running around without coordination and organization will consume the available Cortium pretty quickly and fade away gradually Tuning: - The following parameters, once introduced, can be fine-tuned to get the best results: 1. Amount of Cortium required to Spawn a Planetman or a Vehicle (depending on vehicle type) 2. Size of the Base underground Cortium Storage 3. Amount of Cortium per Hour distributed by the Warpgate 4. Amount of Cortium per Hour transferred by an ANT to a base or a Sunderer 5. Range of the circle around a base where a deployed ANT can transfer Cortium UI Changes: - The following graphic elements must be added to the UI: 1. Add a marker (e.g. a shape with a fill) to each Base, Router, Elysium Spawn point, Sunderer to highlight how much Cortium is left 2. Add the cost in Cortium for a vehicle and the amount of available Cortium at Vehicle terminals
