Warning: this idea is great. Please take time to read the whole text. Yes, it’s much, but there are many aspects.
After we became able to build our first base and before we got all these control points, I suggested one thing I like to pick up again.
Additionally there are some great changes to the existing base-stuff and control points system.
Let’s start:
When we became able to build our first base it was nice to have this new feature.
Fast there were wishes for a (1) base building area in every region to have some varity.
Additionally I suggested to have some independent spots where we could be able to build something, too.
You know what we got:
First the positive thing, random FNIX bases that can be destroyed. But at which costs?
We got a total of 27 control points in just 3 regions instead of 7+1 (one for each region + Himfjäl).
We lost many locations of previously good farming areas and therefore many guaranteed machine spawns per region.
We also got performance issues and crashes due to too many bases. Some lost bases due to bugs.
But we also got some more to do. Spend ressources, build bases, defend them against waves of machines or destroy enemy bases that may pop up like mushrooms.
At least for me: building a base can be nice from time to time after too much action. But if I finish a base, that’s it. Although the attacking waves have been much improved and are challenging and fun, I don’t want to remember each base to be able to rebuild it after a not as succesful base defense mission.
I have 14 bases, but most of them just used as fortified safehouses, not as strongholds against massive waves of machines.
And we don’t know the plans of the devs.
It seemed that they wanted to add control points to each region. At least Mountain region seems to be prepared in some way.
But where are the bases for the other regions? And, much more important, when do soviet bases come?
Has this development even been stopped due to technical limitations?
There is a simple solution. Simple, but of course in some way time intensive. I just think that most players would love these changes.
1. Do a 360° turn. Focus on one strategic important location per region.
Announce them to enable us to deconstruct the bases that will be abondoned. Deconstruct the built bases and give us the ressources.
This frees ressources of the game which allow you to add one control point in mountains region, marshlands, northcoast, archipelago and Himfjäl.
We still should be able just to build a base at half of the locations, or better: at a maximum of 4.
2. Revamp the region score/level system.
Currently there is just one score and level value per region, but counting everything you do. We need seperated values for soviets and FNIX. It just doesn’t make sense that killing soviet rivals reduces the values that are needed to get a chance of getting a reaper. And why should it bother fnix (with a higher region score) if we just destroy soviet machines?
Why can’t we get a reaper because our 8th rival in a region is a soviet machine?
Seperated scores and levels would affect which rivals may spawn and when. It would bring more logic to the battlefield and it would open a way to add a soviet Boss machine which could exist next to a reaper.
3. Soviets
Talking about soviets, less control points and less system load needed for them should enable you to also add soviet bases.
With seperated scores/levels for each region we could even have a system that allows the game to calculate chances for whose base may spawn.
If FNIX has higher values, a FNIX base could have greater chances to spawn. If soviets have higher values, soviets could have a higher chance.
That also counts for base defenses.
When starting to defend your base, you would never know who will start to attack it. Yes, the higher the values of a faction, the higher the chance.
4. Random base defense missions
Ok, now we have less bases which can be attacked by FNIX or soviets by triggering a base defense mission. But what if we still don’t want to start it because we love our bases as they are?
There could be some random attack waves that are not controlable by us. It could be a weekly or monthly event that is announced by a (for example) 1h or 2h countdown which just runs down as long as we’re in the game and in our world. By that we have enough time to finish our current mission and to prepare our base and ourselves against the attack.
Depending on the seperated region scores there are chances that the attack can be by soviets or fnix. The higher the score, the stronger the attack wave.
When you lose, the control point becomes neutral and may be claimed either by FNIX or soviets… Or by the player again after a cooldown.
5. Additional procedual missions/ bases
Ok, now we have a constant fight about the 7+1 regions. I think we still have many free ressources. And in the meantime we got the feature of procedual missions. What if the other previous locations of control points could be used for additional procedual base assault missions once per day or week?
There could spawn a base (either FNIX or soviet, depending on chances by region score/level) that just can be destroyed. It wouldn’t offer a control point for base building after destruction. And there would just be one per week.
If we chose not to destroy it, there spawns a new one in the next week. The previous one would be abondoned (explanation: instead of us the soviets could have destroyed a FNIX base).
6. Fortification of safehouses (or special locations). (DLC)
So now we still should have some free ressources, I hope. What about becoming able to build a very limited amount of structures in a very limited radius at safehouses or special locations (Location with icon on the map)? Not for a special purpose like defensive missions, just for fun and against randomly roaming machines.
There could be some sandbags, traps, turrets, cosmetics that could be placed next to these locations to make them individual for each world/player.
This could even be sold as DLC.
Finally we now should have less of annoying base assault missions which produce less system load, we get much more variety, covering all regions and factions, we get random elements and some additional features.
At least for me it sounds great and I hope you like the idea, too.