New feature: Challenges

[Zarel]

I'm thinking, this being a good idea and all. Would you scrap the Tutorial level? Or move that into the challenges? As I feel this is a much better thing to have in there then that.

At the very least, the Tutorial button should stay there, even if we reimplement it using the Challenges system. We might want to move Fast Play over, though.

[Malcore]

I just joined and I saw your Challenges topic. I think that one of the Challenges should be a "Survival", where your score is based on how long you can survive. You could start out with a basic hardcrete base and get energy per wave/kill to upgrade your base or buy units. The enemies would come at you in waves or costantly ( O_O ), whichever. Please give this some consideration.

Malcore, Self-Proclaimed King of the Rick-Rolled

[Per]

The "Ultimate" difficulty challenges are already pretty much "Survival" modes, where the score you get is the length of time you have managed to stay alive. Zarel insists that there are people on this planet who could win on them (without cheating), but... I'll believe it when I see it

As for getting energy from destroyed enemies as a possible setting, that isn't part of the plans yet. I'll think about it when the rest is in place.

[fisk0]

perhaps the tutorial should be changed (or more tutorial mission added) to let new players know about more of the features in Warzone 2100?
the original tutorial mission was made in a time when most games expected the player to actually read the manual, or at least have it nearby if they got stuck. Nowadays most games does not even come with a printed manual, and the gpl'd Warzone 2100 download comes with none at all (I don't think all new players will go to wz2100.net and look through the user guides), so I think the tutorial (or additional tutorial missions) should introduce the player to the use of sensors, the interface and anything else that might be new to the player (both a player new to RTS games and players used to other RTS, which might need to know about the differences in Warzone 2100). I'm sure such additional tutorial missions could work in the challenge mode, if there is a function for timed and/or context based messages to the player (context based messages would mean that there appears messages on the function of sensors once you researched them, or information on how commanders work once you have built and selected your first commander etc.).

[Avestron]

Sounds like what you would like to see is the replacement of tutorial with a training camp.

Actual instruction phases could be included in the mission section of the menu - similar to researches except that they don't get deleted when played.

I could see a number of small exercises occuring in a small map with an ever more advanced base and ever more tenacious targets (scavs and other tech up to nexus).

It would be fitting if a tech category could be trained between missions.

However by now I realize that this would take a lot of work and a mod to do - and it would be a little silly to teach players how to use a nexus turret when they haven't even broached light cannon yet :c)

My thoughts.

[2frame]

i think we are getting of topic here. the challenges are for experts of the game, not people who dont understand the game. because of this i think challenges should not be avalible until after the campaign is done. wat do u think oh great devolper of the challenges!?

[guciomir]

bad idea, do i have to complete campaign every time i reinstal warzone? do i really have to play campaign if i am an expert in skirmish?

[Zarel]

i think we are getting of topic here. the challenges are for experts of the game, not people who dont understand the game. because of this i think challenges should not be avalible until after the campaign is done. wat do u think oh great devolper of the challenges!?

No, the difficult challenges are for experts, the easy challenges are for beginners.

Also, as guciomir mentioned, it's really pointless to make anything require beating campaign. What about people who reinstall Warzone? Or people who want to play at a friend's house? Or me? Most people consider me a pretty good player, but I've never beaten campaign since 1.00.

[Per]

i think we are getting of topic here. the challenges are for experts of the game, not people who dont understand the game. because of this i think challenges should not be avalible until after the campaign is done. wat do u think oh great devolper of the challenges!?

Well, some of those who mostly play against other people have never completed the campaign and probably never will, like the above-mentioned developer...

[2frame]

you have a point there. but if you get a player that has never played before and he jumps right into challenges, he wont know wtf to do. hence there needs to be some type of requirement to play challenges.

[Zarel]

you have a point there. but if you get a player that has never played before and he jumps right into challenges, he wont know wtf to do. hence there needs to be some type of requirement to play challenges.

Yes, he will. That's what easy challenges are for. o_O

And players would be just as lost if they jumped into, say, skirmish...

[2frame]

exactly. and whether its easy or hard they will still be lost at first. and most wont understand the tech tree, hell theres still some of it i dont understand.

i thought of a new feature. make the timer count down as well. so u have to complete your task in so much time.....the quicker you beat it the better your score. the goal should be something easily done. like collect all artifacts on the map, and dont lose a single unit. that particular one would have to have scavengers, and not an actual ai player.

[iMac]

Challenges could also be made so that the user must win using a specific strategy. Maybe create dumber AI's for just that challenge. The AI could attack in just one fashion but the user must be able to defend & overcome that AI using just a few technologies available. That way others can learn strategies other than truck rush/turtling/swarm/attrition for use against online human opponents. They could be thought of as hands on tutorials but still expand the game & give the player more options/variety to play with.

[BlueMaxima]

I think that the challenges need a little more customisation. For now, they're just multiplayer matches. Challenge makers should be able to do things, like, spawn extra units after about 5 minutes, buildings, maybe even print messages for the player. I reckon that would be awesome. Not to mention different challenge types: Skirmish, Survival, Scavenger Hunt, Turtle-Breaker, and so on.

[Tenoh]

So what kind of building restriction are we talking about cause it sounds a bit unfair,already i got all AI's against me is more then enough handicap.