I have an idea for a new res model, to improve early game resource harvesting.

Lets say that resources aren't given out by how many res towers you have on the board, but the ratio of how many you have vs the other team. Total res given out would be 'total map nodes' + 'total capped nodes' / 'your teams ratio'.

Let's take a map with 10 res nodes. Both sides start with one each, meaning the ratio is 1:1. Ok, now let's say that the resources you get are 10, +1 for each capped res tower, divided up by the ratio of towers your team has to theirs.

So, in the first instance, each side gets 6 res per ping. Let's say marines build a res node, now the ratio is 2:1, so marines get 13 / 3 * 2, or about 10 res.

This will encourage a LOT more res node capping and take the emphesis off hive lockdowns.

There is one problem in this logic though; killing enemy res points slows overall res collection, but improves your side's ratio.

Other suggestions, flames whatever invited.

Its an intersting idea, but I think it puts WAY to much emphasis on individual res nodes. The marine team will just rush 3-4 nodes and have the entire game won easily under this type of set-up.

Why?

If the aliens are out securing, building and protecting their resource nodes like good little skulks this wouldn't be an issue.

Besides, you can always tweak my numbers.

Its not the number tweaking that especially changes this. Right in the beggining of the game, if you put a res node up before the other team and get that ratio of 2:1, you have just given your team a near 20% res revenue increase, while also dropping the other team's res by 20%. A 40% advantage is a large one in anyones books. I dont see where there is any room for number tweaking. It just places way too much emphasis on individual res nodes, which can only detract from hive importance.

Hives are important, but they shouldn't be so important that locking them down with turrets and stuff is more than just a minor hassle.

The team that dominates and has the run of the map should be the ones in front. Aliens actually tend to do that more in the early game, because scouting skulks move very quickly from one part of the map to another, where as scouting marines tend to move more slowly.

So suggesting that marines would get a big advantage from this is flawed. EITHER side can put up a res tower quickly, and the amount of time the marines have in advance of the aliens doing so is not going to advantage them greatly.

How is this an improvement? I'm pretty sure that all it does is speed up res income for both teams. The ratio of res that one team receives compared to the other doesn't change.

Well first of all a turteling commander will be short on res.

Secondly, if you have only 3 nodes, but manage to destroy the enemies nodes you will have a greater advantage than you have with the current system.

Correct.

It moves emphesis from strong points to map control.


Doing this will make marines defend res points more, and encourage skulks to attack undefended resource points more often instead of confronting marines directly.

This will also make electrify a justifiable expense.

And what if one team has zero RTs? 'Divide by zero error' and NS crashes to desktop?

Marines would secure 4 RTs much faster than aliens. Plus, 4 starting RTs means 2 skulks, which isn't very much to defend the 4 RTs.

Heh, you could easily adapt this idea to enable the "long" games that supposedly every real NS player longs (no pun intended) for. When one side has more RTs than the other, they get less of a benefit from each RT they gain. And the other side gets more res from each RT.

Just my random thinking. But anyways, it IS an interesting idea, but it really would make it easy on the Marines at first, especially on pubs where its every skulk for himself ------> ONOS! in the first few mins.

If the marines buy 4 res towers quickly, that is going to mean they are spread thin, it should be possible for the skulks to take out at least one.

I just like the idea of being able to destroy resource towers to not only slow the enemy's resource collection, but to help cripple it. It encourages skulks to get out, be sneaky, and make sure they dominate the map.

It also encourages marines to be more goal focussed and less like rambos.


You could adjust it slightly if you wanted the numbers to be closer. for example, say both sides get an 'adjuster' to their ratio automatically.

let's say, 5 'ratio points'. At the start of the game, you have 1 resource tower and starting 5 points. so the ratio is 6:6. Marines build a resource tower, the ratio goes to 7:6. so even if you have NO resource towers, you'd get some res, but the other side would still dominate the map making it much easier for the side that dominates to get res, without necessarily stopping the concept of 'the comeback'.

This further idea complicates the original concept a little, it is mainly an idea to help silence the Ney sayers.

Actually the idea of "ratio points" is making me start to like this model much more than the current model used in NS. It puts enough emphasis on map domination to help make NS the RTS that we want it to be. With Ratio points it also doesn't cause the early game to be a big screwover for one team or the other.

*Votes yes, with ratio points*

Edit: Fixed some more of my ramblings, man its late.

well, also, a good way of doing this could be setting a switch on it... so, once every node has been capped at least once, turn it on... that way, if an alien wants to save for a hive while a couple kill, and a couple gorge, you only have like 2 or 3, and the marines drop say like 5, the marines get a large advantage in the beginning.

so, if you make it turn on when all the res have been capped at least once, then the struggle for res/map control becomes a lot more effective.

and, if you make all the maps with an odd number of res nodes, than that can make it even more interesting...

very interesting idea, need sum twecking on valus i think tho.

I think this would make games LONGER rather than shorter. It seems like a decent idea, but I haven't thought about it too much right now, so I don't know the full ramifications.

Without a doubt, this idea would have to be play tested a lot to determine if it is viable.

Keep in mind that the resource model is one of the few things that keeps CO_ different from NS_ classic. Altering the resource mode can help make classic better without affecting combat.

And no divide by zeros would occur, if you happened to know a little about programming, you'd know how easy it would be to get around it.