Originally posted by DMax
So Dok, if HTC handed ya over the keys, what would you do to fix it?
...
A bunch of relatively easy things that myself and others have posted recently ...
- Implement a revised capture system along the lines Kweassa has suggested whereby the number of bases is reduced and cities are moved away from bases and must be captured first - by land, sea, or air - before a base capture is possible. Move the furball a sector or so away from over the airfeild, but still no further than a sector or so from any airfield. You can still get to a fight quick, it just won't be right overhead when you take off all the time. (i.e. you must capture C23 before you can catpure A23 ... so the first stage of the battle happens over and around the city with tanks, tank busters, tac bombers, jabos, ... everything.)
- Reduce the fuel mult to 1.5 since there will now be longer transit times to enemy bases.
- Bring back the night - even if it only lasts 20 minutes - especially if there will be some lasting land battles for cities ... allows for troops to be snuck in under cover of darkness. (This is probably the hardest item as it may require FE changes.) Keep things challenging.
- Field and city captures require 2 loads of troops. Anyone who contributed troops to the capture gets a percentage share of a larger perk award.
- Barracks are hardened targets (like ord ... assume the troops at least dug slit trenches) and require a large bomb to destroy or soften. Pork-based tactics are incredibly damaging to overall gameplay.
- City buildings are immune to small-calibre gunfire - you must bomb/rocket them down - or blast them down with panzers.
- Perk bomber formations. If you wanna Jabo a B17, you only get one life for free.
- Implement the ENY extension I suggested the first week it went in whereby it only affects captured fields. As long as you're flying from home turf (bases you owned when the map reset) you never get an ENY penalty.
- Change the "kills landed" messages to only state the squadron affiliation. You don't get your name in lights anymore, only your squad does. Also announce assists landed.
- CV's and CA's require at least one torpedo hit to allow them to be sunk. Maybe enable a perk award just for landing the torpedo on target - regardless if the ship sinks from it or not.
- Once a month have a "1942 week" where only pre-43 planes are available. Just to (a) let people explore the whole plane set, (b) let people learn more, and (c) keep the MA from getting to stale.
- Increase the chance of pilot wounds for Osties and M16's - these are, afterall, open-topped vehicles.
- Bring back accountability. Stuff like fleet hiding and off-map HQ raiders detract from the MA. These should be reportable offenses.
No one of these changes will affect the course of the MA. But taken together, they reduce pork-based tactics, reduce some of the idiotic crap that goes on, provide better battles with less vultching, increase the value and visibility of teamwork, and open up the tactical bombing game in many ways.
These are merely adjustments or extensions to what we have now to deal with the things that are hurting gameplay. I really don't think a complete re-write or re-structuring is needed. But the MA needs to be redirected. Getting things done should require skills and specialization and cooperation. Lawn-darting a barracks or B17-kamikaziing a CV doesn't fall into any of those categories. Grabbing territory is a good metaphor, but with the current arrangement and reward system, it slides very quickly to vultching instead of air assault tactics (i.e. CAP, screens, escort, tac bombing, torp boming, etc.).
-DoK
