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Mod request: Demon Gate KotH

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This idea came about in a discussion about score- and time-based victory conditions. Here is a victory condition that is based on score and almost guarantees that the game ends after a fixed period of time.

The two teams are trying to summon a demon (to take over the world or whatever).
  • Summoning the demon is the win condition (not actual demon mechanics are required).
  • Summoning occurs by sacrificing units in demon gates.
  • A demon gate is a circle on the map and a cost threshold.
  • As soon as one team has at least the cost threshold in metal within the circle, the units are killed, the gate disappears, and the team receives one victory point.
  • Gates spawn at fixed times at random locations such that gates are equally distant from both teams start boxes.
  • Gates spawn with zero radius and grow until they eventually encompass the entire map.
  • The cost threshold of subsequent gates ramps up over time.
  • First team to three victory points wins.

This game is guaranteed to end by the time the 5th gate encompasses the entire map provided that the total assets of each player never drop below the cost threshold of the 5th gate. To get around this caveat, perhaps the threshold could also decay slowly over time. This would also solve weird integer efficiencies, such as a gate that would like to efficiently consume one Bandit or inefficiently consume two Glaives. Consuming one Glaive would be a matter of holding onto the gate a bit longer, rather than forced inefficiency.

There is also the potential for a starvation 'issue' where both players have total value below the threshold and a gate covers the whole map. The player with the most total value would lose to having everything sacrificed first (provided they did not already have two victory points). This seems very unlikely with the types of thresholds I'm thinking of.

The sacrifice mechanic is intended to generate comebacks and make the middle of the map a bit dangerous for porc fortresses. It should be possible to move units out of the way before a gate spawns. The early gates would have relatively low thresholds. I imaging hanging onto control of a gate and paying the cost later would be pretty powerful, but it runs the risk of your opponent sneaking some units in.
+4 / -0
2 years ago
This is a great idea!

"Gates spawn at fixed times at random locations such that gates are equally distant from both teams start boxes." I think gates spawning at known locations in a random order would make for more interesting games =)

I also think there should be a short-term reward system for sacrificing units... itd be more fun imo: the gate could give back a sacrified unit (after X metal sacrified) with demonic powers. Or an AI could spawn some units and attack your opponent.

What do you think about it?
+1 / -0

2 years ago
What if it just drains HP instead of killing?

You can use units to hold as they get drained and then retreat.
It adds strategy to have close placement to gates for repairs, or snipe mid/low hp units being drained for points.
It eliminates issues of accidently sacrificing units and going over thresholds if a unit is worth significantly more than the cost of the current point.

Would be like a chicken game of standing in the pool of acid.
+1 / -0


2 years ago
quote:
What if it just drains HP instead of killing?

Afaict in the OP, the attribution of sacrifice is instant - whoever passes the threshold loses the units, and gets the victory point.

Health drain is continuous, so victory point attribution becomes less straightforward.
+1 / -0