A Radical Idea for a New Game Mode

[Quakes72]

Guten Morgan!


Intro (More details to follow for those who have interest):
In the previous months Colonial Marines has undoubtedly become one of the most popular servers to play SS13 through. The servers unique game play, unique map, quality hosting, and superb staffing make is a go to for anyone looking to add a little more action to the normal station.
A few short weeks ago Paradise station released a new (and rather revolutionary) game mode that takes place on a dedicated server. Those who have played it are surely aware of the changes they have made to create a "Prison Station 13" (For those who have not heard of this station and mode I suggest taking a look at it).
Though the new game mode and station have proven to be a moderate success in the recent trial periods changes can surely be made to make it a new favorite among the SS13 player base especially through the addition of a Colonial Marines aspect being added to the idea. I feel that this is a perfect time for CM to take advantage of our quality staff team and player base.


Overview:
What I am suggesting is that Colonial Marines test out a variation of this new game mode with our own CM spin on things.
Posts have been made and much talk has gone into having other game modes; having other challenges for the Colonial Marines of the Sulaco to face, and this prison idea may just be the next possibility to change up CM. In order to get this project underway we would need a dedicated team who all ideally have prior experience in designing maps. More than that we would need to support of the player base and server staff to support this project to ensure the hard work that will have to be done will not be in vein. If you still have interest in this idea here is where we will start to get down to business.


The Right Team for the Job:

In order to do this one of the first tasks is to build a team for the project. As far as I can see the list of the talents we need are as follows:

-2 Mappers
-2 Coders
-1 Spriter
-1 Person in charge of lore details
-Infinite people to help with ideas for this new map


"I can be a Mapper!"
In order for this to work as it should we will need to build a map from scratch. This map will also have to be capable of housing the special game mode which means it will not be like any map you have worked on before. If you think you are up for the job post below!

"I can be a Coder!"
For this mode to work we will require many changes to the code and many custom items to be created to enhance the mode. This is often a frustrating job but it is crucial to making this work properly. If you think you are up for the job post below!

"I think I can be a Spriter!"
With any custom map and mode new items will be made and without a quality image to go along with the item it loses so much of the value. Your work will be some of the first things that players experience when they join the server. If you think you are up for the job post below!

"Well I sure do have plenty of ideas to share!"
I was hoping you would say that. For this project the team will need tons of help from all the creative minds out there. This project could take a series of weeks or months to properly finish and during this time you can count on the team asking the player base here what they think about certain things and what they would do in order to make it better! Really everyone here who is not opposed to the making of this project is a team member!


The Potential:

Lets take a moment to imagine this:

A full server of Colonial Marines with 17 seconds left before the round starts. The last of the players declare ready and then it begins. Spawning into the nice cozy Sulaco the marines race into their prep-rooms and gear up. A few minutes later the commander stands among them in the briefing room and explains "As of 0400 hours we have been re-tasked to NT station 75; a maximum security, run for profit, prison with no connections to the government. The worst of the worse prisoners are held here and recently something has gone very wrong. Communication with the station was suddenly halted 32 hours ago. NT assumed that this was just a communication failure until 9 hours ago they received a message from the station. The message was created by the newly liberated prisoners of the station and it detailed a serious of demands and included proof of some of the stations staff still being alive. We are now in shuttle range of station 75 and we will be proceeding with rescue and recapture operations shortly. Objectives will be assigned by your over-watch officers shortly. Lets get this done fast and clear marines. Roll out!" Suddenly the entire room is on their feet rushing to the shuttle bay. Boarding the shuttles they take their seats and strap in. The engines come online and they are rushed off in the stations direction.
The shuttle docks and the airlock shows that the environment of the hanger is stable. The doors of the shuttle slide open and squad after squad of marines deploy from it only to be met by heavy gunfire from prisoners entrenched down the hallway behind various makeshift barricades. The marines take the first of their casualties, the medics rush to the wounded's aid and the combat engineers rush to set up defenses of their own. Minutes seem like hours as hundreds of rounds are fired off by both sides until finally one brave squad leader yells into this headset that they need a strike package delivered. The over-watch-officers scramble into action and deploy an automated attack drone that has been newly equipped in place of the Sulaco's drop pod 30 seconds later it is in range of the station and that brave squad leader grabs his beacon from his vest and rushes in the direction of the prisoners! He activates the button and lobs the blinking red beacon near a bunch of prisoners and just seconds later a rocket from the attack drone smashes into the prison station. When the smoke clears there is nothing left of the prisoners in that hallway but blood and bodies. The marines then regroup and then slowly continue closer to the heart of the station....

This a brand new type of mission for the marines to take on! The current Xeno mode already incorporates many of the same aspects that would be seen here in this mode but now a more objective set game mode would allow the best off what Colonial Marines has to offer to shine. Let me go over some of the aspects incorporated into this new idea

-3 fractions will be present in each round
-The Marines
-The Prisoners
-The former staff (Both captured staff and those hiding in the depths of the prison)
-Combat
-The need to remove the prisoner threat from the station will ultimately lead to the use of all the weapons each fraction has to offer.
-Deception
-With the station now in prisoner control who is to stop the prisoners form changing into a security officers uniform to get into the marine FOB before making his attack.
-Strategy
-The shuttle used for this game mode will use the same type of system that a nuke-op shuttle uses allowing the command staff of the marines to choose a starting location for the marines to begin their operations.
-Negotiation
-With the primary objective to rescue the captured station staff the command crew of the Sulaco may find an alternative to going in guns blazing
-Role-play
-With marines no on the station maybe a prisoner who values his life more than the lives of the other prisoners will cut a deal to trade information for his safety with a squad leader.

The addition of this would allow for a completely different game mode and experience for the players and at the same time would allow for the values that CM is based on to be held in focus.


Thanks for reading through this guys. I am well aware of how much of a long shot this idea is but I wanted to write this up to get people thinking a little more about a potentially new game mode. If you have interest in this project don't hesitate to ask to join. Even without the support of the hosting staff here at CM i think it might be worth while to build up a station and a mode just for the sake of having fun beating a challenge. Of course this is open to suggestions. Don't be afraid to say "Quakes you come from Germany and you are probably a NZI or something like that so we wont do this" and certainly don't be afraid to say any suggestions you have for how this could be accomplished or tweaked. Thanks a ton Folks

[Sargeantmuffinman]

So a hostage game mode.

[xomega000x]

TL;DR but I like the concept of having this "prison" stuff.

[Quakes72]

So a hostage game mode.

I disagree. There is more to this than the idea of having hostages. I think the map is almost more important than what we do as a game mode. A new map would be set in a prison complex and hostage rescue would be one of the scenarios but at the same time you could also run the game in another way. The station, once built, could easily be converted into a station under the control of the marines. Once that happens you could have a variety of modes. You could have a riot mode where a large number of prisoners have an uprising against a smaller number of marines or have an unknown faction make an attack on the marines facility in order to rescue one or more prisoners.

The best part about this idea is that it is endless. The things we could do with a map like this could provide us with 5+ new game modes.

[MrGabol100]

Just make a fury map, not a space map, It's just easier all around and we can deploy arty strikes there.

[Mac]

I'm fairly certain that half of the staff would quit if this ever became a mode. It sounds cool, but many staff have voiced their opinions of human vs human combat.

[Arachnidnexus]

The amount of team grief that's possible through accidental or intentional means would be insanely high. The only scenario I can see human vs human combat not result in a metric shit ton of ahelps and banning is a 'battle royale' mode where nobody is on a formal team so there is no team griefing.

[Minijar]

This isn't official or anything people, and you're (assumedly unintentionally) making it sound like it will infact be a thing for the main server.

[xomega000x]

The only type of human vs human Is If a small squad of 4-5 PMCs are sen out to kill the MAHREENS on the station, or even on the planet.

[Adjective]

Not official. No staff were asked beforehand and no plan was developed beforehand. The chances of this being a thing are slim.

[apophis775]

Locked. This is NOT official, and will probably never happen.

Players Vs Players combat is literally as follows:

1. Marine gets shot
2. Marine has shrapnel
3. Marine must return to get shrapnel removed

Imagine now, FIREFIGHTS like that.