User:CrazyEddie/Draft Commander Framework Proposal

This is a framework for a new commander morphing system:

• The framework provides guidance for balancing commanders at every morph level.
• The new morphing system structures commander morphs in a way that supports the framework.

Design Goals and Constraints

• The Commander should remain an important unit throughout the entire game.

As the strength and number of units in the game increases over time, comm morphs can be used to ensure the Commander continues to have an important role.

• The Commander's role should be active, rather than passive.

The Commander should be used, rather than merely protected or simply ignored.

• Commanders should not be the exclusive focus of the game.

A Commander-centric strategy should still include significant numbers of other units that must be managed and used.

• Using morphed comms should be a viable strategy.
• Not using morphed comms should also be a viable strategy.

• The outcome of the game should not be decided solely by the death of the Commander.

• The morph system should not allow comm builds that are game-breaking.

Framework Design

At any given morph level, a Commander can conceptually be considered to have a cost, a unit value, and an economic value. The cost is the actual cost in metal to morph the comm to that level. The unit value is an approximation of the metal cost of a comparable unit; this is mostly a measure of the comm's combat effectiveness, but can also take into consideration its capabilities as a builder or as a support unit for things like area cloak and shield. The economic value is based on the metal and energy produced by the comm, and is an approximation of the amount of metal that would need to be invested in order to produce an equivalent output through other means, such as investing in gridded power generators.

Framework Balance Rule:

For every 100 metal in cost spent on morphing a Commander, the comm will gain 75 metal worth of unit value (UV) and 50 metal worth of economic value (EV).

This rule ensures that morphing a Commander is cost-effective, but only under the right circumstances. If the comm is morphed but remains in the base where its combat capabilities will be largely unused, the player will have spent 100 metal for only 50 EV and would have been better off spending the metal on economic development directly. If the comm is morphed and used as a disposable unit in battle in an attempt to make cost in kills while expending the unit, the player will have spent 100 metal for only 75 UV and would have been better off spending the metal on units directly.

With this rule, morphing a Commander is cost-effective only if the player makes use of the morphed comm's capabilities, either offensively in battle or defensively in high-threat locations, AND the player keeps the comm alive to get the payoff from the morphed comm's increased resource production. If the player can manage to do that then the morphed comm is very cost-effective, as the player will be getting 125 metal worth of benefit for only 100 metal cost.

The balance rule encourages players to upgrade their comms and make use of them because doing so is effectively free metal, but it also increases the risk in order to claim the reward. Making use of the morphed comm offensively or defensively puts the comm at risk; higher morph levels have both a higher payoff - an extra 25% of all metal spent on the morph - and a higher risk - a larger UV and larger EV combined in a single unit that could be killed. This creates a strategic decision. Morphing a comm is neither definitely correct or definitely a mistake; the player must evaluate the trade-offs and make the best decision given the circumstances.

Morph System Design

The new morph system is similar to the current one and uses the same infrastructure. In order to support the Framework, the morph levels are more rigidly structured. The number of levels is limited, capped at Level 6. The levels grow progressively stronger, and each level in the new system is significantly stronger than the corresponding level in the current system.

Modules are organized into tracks, with the modules in each track growing stronger as the upgrades progress along the track. The modules available at each morph level, and the costs of those modules, are structured such that all Commanders of a given level will have the same cost regardless of which weapons or modules have been chosen. Accordingly, all Commanders of a given level will have the same UV and EV. This allows us to estimate that, for example, all Level 2 Commanders are roughly equivalent to a Minotaur.

Starting Commanders (Level 1) are roughly equivalent to an Ogre, Felon, or Jack in combat strength, but also have build capacity and economic production. The highest-level Commanders (Level 6) are substantially stronger than a Grizzly, Likho, or Cyclops, but still substantially less powerful than striders such as a Scorpion or Dante.

Level Chart

Level	Upgrade Cost	Added Econ Value	Added Unit Value	Total Unit Value	Roughly Equivalent Units
1	n/a	n/a	n/a	600	Ogre, Jack, Felon
2	200	100	150	750	Phantom, Minotaur, Impaler, Emissary
3	400	200	300	1050	Revenant, Lance
4	600	300	450	1500	Crab, Jugglenaut, Tremor
5	800	400	600	2100	Grizzly, Likho, Cyclops
6	1000	500	750	2850	Between Cyclops and Scorpion

In the chart above, the 600 Total Unit Value for Level 1 Commanders only includes their combat capability. The list of equivalent units assumes that only combat-relevant modules have been chosen. Commanders with non-combat modules will be less combat-capable than the equivalent unit, but will have other strengths to compensate.

Modules and Tracks

At every new morph level, the player can choose various modules, similar to the current system. Unlike the current system, the modules are organized into tracks, and each track has a sequence of modules that must be added in order.

The tracks are:

• HP
• Regen
• Speed
• Build
• Range
• Damage
• Cloak
• Shield
• Drones

Each track has three levels of module: Minor, Major, and Ultra. The lower module levels are prerequisites for the higher module levels.

Each module level has a certain Unit Value as a target; modules are designed and balanced such that adding a module increases the Commander's capabilities by roughly an equivalent amount of metal. Minor modules are worth 50 UV, Major modules are worth 100 UV, and Ultra modules are worth 150 UV. As an example, the Regen track might consist of:

• Regen I (Minor): +10 HP/sec
• Regen II (Major): +20 HP/sec (total of +30 HP/sec)
• Regen III (Ultra): +30 HP/sec (total of +60 HP/sec)

We can add more tracks and modules as inspiration and balance allow. Possible examples might include Jump with Jugglenaut-like damage at the Ultra level, or Sensors (but see below for Radar as a possible stand-alone module).

Stand-alone Modules

There can be some modules which are not part of a track and which can instead be added on their own without prerequisites. One example might be the Lazarus Device; another might be Radar. Stand-alone modules are still classified as Minor, Major, and Ultra, which determines at what morph levels they can be added (see "Upgrade Sequence" below). A module's classification depends on how many UV the module's capabilities are worth. As above, Minor modules are worth 50 UV, Major modules are worth 100 UV, and Ultra modules are worth 150 UV.

Weapons

Weapons are similar to the current weapons, but more carefully balanced. Commanders begin with a primary weapon slot and at Level 4 gain a secondary weapon slot. The secondary slot can be filled with a second primary autofire weapon, a special manual-fire weapon, or a heavy autofire weapon which occupies both slots.

Like modules, weapons also have Minor, Major, and Ultra upgrades. Like modules, these upgrades are designed and balanced to achieve target Unit Values: 50 UV for Minor, 100 UV for Major, and 150 UV for Ultra. This means that every primary weapon has four different levels (base, I, II, and III). Every secondary weapon has three different levels (I, II, and III); they don't have a base level, as they are considered already "upgraded" to Level I when they are added to the secondary weapon slot.

The weapon upgrades follow Quant's Rule, meaning that the capabilities added (whether increasing a stat like Damage, Range, or AoE or adding or increasing an effect like Stun, Slow, or Fire) should serve to make each weapon more specialized rather than more generic. The weapons upgrades replace and incorporate the current morph system's Weapon Booster modules.

Weapons are automatically upgraded with each new comm morph level. Weapons upgrades are not chosen as specific modules; instead, choosing to equip the weapon implies upgrading the weapon as the Commander upgrades overall.

Chassis

Each Commander level adds some capabilities to the comm's chassis. These additional capabilities are not represented by modules, and the player does not need to select them. They are added automatically as the Commander is morphed.

Each level adds a certain amount of HP regardless of the chassis. In addition, a number of Unit Value points are added to the chassis, where as usual UV indicates an upgrade roughly equivalent to that amount of metal. The UV points for each level are split between three different areas, depending on the chassis type:

• Guardian: HP only
• Strike: HP and Speed
• Recon: Speed only
• Engineer: HP and Build

The bonuses provided by chassis upgrades are in addition to any bonuses provided by modules. So, for example: a Guardian chassis will gain HP as it upgrades, and in addition may also choose the HP I, HP II, and HP III modules for even greater increases in HP.

Each chassis has a different set of weapons, tracks, and modules that they can equip. For example, it might be that only the Engineering chassis can use the Drones track, or that the Strike and Recon chassis cannot add the HP III module (but can still add HP I and HP II). These chassis-specific restrictions have not yet been fleshed out in this proposal.

Upgrade Sequence

Level	Added Unit Value	Benefits
1	n/a	Beam laser
2	150	Choice of primary weapon Choice of two Minor upgrades 50 UV of chassis improvements
3	300	Choice of one Major upgrade Choice of two Minor upgrades Minor weapon upgrade 50 UV of chassis improvements
4	450	Choice of one Major upgrade Choice of secondary weapon with Minor upgrade 50 UV of chassis improvements
5	600	Choice of one Ultra upgrade Choice of one Major upgrade Choice of one Minor upgrade Major upgrades to primary and secondary weapons 100 UV of chassis improvements
6	750	Choice of one Ultra upgrade Choice of one Major upgrade Ultra upgrades to primary and secondary weapons 200 UV of chassis improvements

Unit Value Allocation

Level	Upgrade Cost	Added Unit Value	Total Unit Value	Chassis	Primary Weapon	Secondary Weapon	Track 1	Track 2	Track 3	Track 4	Track 5
1	n/a	n/a	600	350	250 (Beam Laser)
2	200	150	750	400	250 (Choice)		50 (I)	50 (I)
3	400	300	1050	450	300 (I)		150 (II)	50 (I)	50 (I)	50 (I)
4	600	450	1500	500	300 (I)	300 (Choice, I)	150 (II)	150 (II)	50 (I)	50 (I)
5	800	600	2100	600	400 (II)	400 (II)	300 (III)	150 (II)	150 (II)	50 (I)	50 (I)
6	1000	750	2850	800	550 (III)	550 (III)	300 (III)	300 (III)	150 (II)	150 (II)	50 (I)

Stats: Weapons, Modules, and Chassis

The main goal of this proposal is to create a design that will enable Commanders to be balanced in a coherent fashion. The Framework Balancing Rule is the foundation of that goal. It sets, for each Commander level, a Unit Value that the Commanders should approximate. That Unit Value can be compared to other units or sets of units of equal value, and the relative strengths of those units and the Commanders can be evaluated both by looking at the stats and by actual playtesting on the battlefield.

However, balancing any unit is partly objective, partly subjective, and certainly a matter of debate. Ultimately balance decisions will rest on the best judgment of the developers and contributing players. My goal here is to provide some guideposts that the balancing decisions should aim towards.

As a starting point, we can just use the existing weapons and modules. Treat each of the stackable stat boosting modules as Minor modules worth 50 UV, and build Major and Ultra modules by stacking them two or three times. Treat the existing primary weapons as base primary weapons worth 250 UV; for weapons upgrades, use the stackable stat boosting modules and choose the ones that best follow Quant's rule, and/or add effects like Stun and Slow and Fire as Major weapons upgrades. Likewise, we can use the current starting chassis definitions as a starting point, and change their upgrade schedule to match what's proposed here.

But once that's done, all the weapons, weapons upgrade levels, modules, and chassis upgrade schedules will have to be playtested and refined. This will likely take a substantial effort.

Economic Value

"Economic value" is hard to define. As I use it here, it is intended to be the economic benefit (metal and energy production) that would result if the player spent the EV's worth of metal on economic production rather than on morphing the commander. Since in Zero-K there's no way to directly purchase metal production, this has to take the form of purchasing energy generators.

The first hurdle is to define how much energy production you get from spending a given amount of metal. For our purposes here, I propose that the right value to use is a fusion reactor: 1000 metal spent for 35 energy production. Fusions are more efficient than solars, less efficient but more accessible than singus, and much more durable than windfarms. It makes a reasonable comparison for energy generation that's tied to the Commander chassis.

The next concern is that energy generation is tremendously less valuable if it is not connected to mexes. Ungridded energy generators are essentially of no value as long as you already have a net positive energy income; if your energy bar is full and is going to stay full, then there is no point to adding generators that aren't and can't be used to power overdrive. Accordingly, I propose that energy generated by Commanders be considered attached to the largest grid owned by the Commander's owner or allied team. This will require new code, but hopefully the benefits will be deemed worth the effort. With that change, defining EV becomes straight-forward.

Thus: every 200 metal spent on Commander morphing produces 100 EV, and every 100 EV produces 3.5 energy which is added to the largest grid owned by the Commander's owner or allied team.

Level	Upgrade Cost	Added Unit Value	Total Unit Value	Added Econ Value	Added Energy Production	Total Energy Production
1	n/a	n/a	600	n/a	n/a	6
2	200	150	750	100	3.5	9.5
3	400	300	1050	200	7	16.5
4	600	450	1500	300	10.5	27
5	800	600	2100	400	14	41
6	1000	750	2850	500	17.5	58.5