balancing gamemodes for low-midpop

A place to record your ideas for the game.
Locked
User avatar
Tokiko2
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 12:18 am
Byond Username: Tokiko1

balancing gamemodes for low-midpop

Post by Tokiko2 » #22223

This should not be NTstation exclusive but I will post it here since Basil is dead (for now atleast) and Sybil is highpop.

Almost all gamemodes in the game are balanced for highpop. If you played on Basil or play on Artyom, you probably know that this causes problems on low-midpop. Some gamemodes are only avaible for 20+ pop, some gamemodes don't work well with anything below 30 players. Lowpop is suffering, but it shouldn't be that way.

So I'd like you to post ideas to make any of the gamemodes more fun/balanced for low-midpop. Maybe even ideas for low-mid only gamemodes? After all, low- and midpop rounds tend to be a lot less chaotic. I am sure there is potential for some fun gamemodes in there.

I'll start:

Nuclear Emergency

This mode is really problematic on low and even midpop. Usually there is few or no security and/or no heads to properly secure the disk... and then suddenly 5 heavily armed players storm the station and easily destroy anything blocking their path.

I think this could be improved greatly by scaling the amount of operatives based on the amount of security and overall players. Even if there is no security, fighting only two heavily armed operatives seems pretty doable even for a lightly staffed station. They should still get the same amounts of TC however! This could also lead to more varied rounds. Maybe there is only a single operative who decides to buy a mech and fight against the entire station by themself? Or maybe just two operatives who have an easier time to try and go stealthy. It seems like a better thing than the 5 player mass murder squad that we have right now.
lumipharon
TGMC Administrator
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:40 am
Byond Username: Lumipharon

Re: balancing gamemodes for low-midpop

Post by lumipharon » #22267

Sounds good. Perhaps wizard with less spells? Dunno how you'd make blob more balanced for lower pop, without doing a lot of tweaking to numbers (energy charge rates/hp of shit, or whatever).
Cipher3
In Game PermaBanned
Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 11:17 pm
Byond Username: Cipher3

Re: balancing gamemodes for low-midpop

Post by Cipher3 » #22309

A wizard who means serious business can kill any amount of people, though. It's hardly designed for balance as is.
Spoiler:
Nathanael Greene has made a woman of Bryce Pax!

Valerie Sinnet says, "Nathaniel Greene charged the brig with a fucking HONK."

[Common] Assists-the-Crew hisses, "Walker Quinn s-s-s-ss-stole the HoP's-s-s-ss-s door"

OOC: HotelBravoLima: I literally can't be removed from power.


I demand this ban be lifted right now. ~Bibliodewangus

Erin Wake whispers, "You should ready up on Badger and boink with me..."

"I think you guys are just tired of drinking hitler and now you want diet hitler.
I've got all that great hitler flavor but only half the hitler calories." - Anon3

You seem to be under the mistaken assumption that PR matters. ~MisterPerson

DEAD: Ichigo Momomiya says, "Coravin's just an ass."

Linus Johnson says, "Hey you know I got this game Skyrim last week"
Linus Johnson says, "I have a level 19 ranger and its so fun"
Weston Zadovsky says, "did he just"
Weston Zadovsky says, "fucking hell"

The emergency shuttle has been called. It will arrive in 10 minutes.
Nature of emergency:
Coravin, just Coravin.

Beryl Nyuphoran says, "Fucking get out."
Coravin Vattes asks, "Please?"
Beryl Nyuphoran says, "Please get the fuck outta my lab."
Coravin Vattes exclaims, "Okay!"
[Common] Beryl Nyuphoran {RD} asks, "WHO GAVE CORAVIN ALL ACCESS?"

Lindsay Donk stammers, "L-Luc-ck w-was-s-s s-s-such-h a beaut-tifu p-p-p-pr-r-rom-m q-q-q-queen"

Ty Andrews curls up in a ball on the floor and purrs.

by oranges » Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:15 pm
Get out bluespace, you've not been relevant since you lost the elections

That said, I think there are a shitton of degenerates here and I'd probably gas the lot of you if I had the chance. ~Loonikus


Image
lumipharon
TGMC Administrator
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:40 am
Byond Username: Lumipharon

Re: balancing gamemodes for low-midpop

Post by lumipharon » #22375

perhaps having certain spells not avaliable under certain pop levels? jaunting/blinking faggotry when there's like 1-2 guys with guns is even more awful then when it's large pop.
User avatar
Tokiko2
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 12:18 am
Byond Username: Tokiko1

Re: balancing gamemodes for low-midpop

Post by Tokiko2 » #24601

I've tried and made a few changes to some of the gamemodes to make them nicer for lower pop:

Cult changes: https://github.com/NTStation/NTstation13/pull/958
Blob changes: https://github.com/NTStation/NTstation13/pull/959
Nuke Op changes: https://github.com/NTStation/NTstation13/pull/960
Gun Hog
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:19 am
Byond Username: Gun Hog

Re: balancing gamemodes for low-midpop

Post by Gun Hog » #24611

Put up your polls!
User avatar
Jacquerel
Code Maintainer
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:10 pm
Byond Username: Becquerel

Re: balancing gamemodes for low-midpop

Post by Jacquerel » #24657

I regularly play on a server that averages 12-20 people. The climate's a lot different to tg and people are a lot less generally interested in murdering each other at the drop of a hat just because some text said they could without being banned, but I guess I should still have a little bit of insight.
Cult, revolution, blob, and nuke ops are pretty much all completely unviable and eventually got turned off, just because the balance of heads/crew, fullness of departments, and general crew manpower levels shift dramatically and unpredictably every time the round ends.
Those minimum player counts look about right according to my own experience.

We even tried making nuke ops scale with playercount to the point that you could have solo operatives but that still wasn't very much fun for anyone.
Locked

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users