Arena/Crew Abilities Recommendation
TheVerge04
✭✭✭
in Make It So!
A discussion in The Bridge (About that arena revamp...) made me consider an update to the way Crew and Ship Abilities could be designed to allow greater playability. I am reposting my suggestion here to provide better visibility to the devs:
The following suggestion pertains to the fact that the arena has become a cloning ground of the same ship and crew for success:
MtG took a page from Rock, Paper, Scissors (or, since we are in the Star Trek universe: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock). When designing abilities, they took their time and made a conscious decision that each attribute/spell/power (whatever you want to designate it) was better than one of the others and could also be subordinate to another. As in rock, paper, scissors, each choice could beat or be beaten by another choice.
Timelines could find a way to do something similar. If the meta game is filled with all of the same collection of attributes, then make sure there's an attribute that could overcome the current meta game. For instance, the introduction of a skill such as "jamming" could negate the first damage round of damage enhanced by each opposing crew when active. This would overcome the direct damage feat (but, only when up...so timing is critical).
So:
Jamming could negate/weaken instant damage
Position could negate/weaken jamming.
Stealth could negate/weaken position.
Boarding could negate/weaken stealth
Instant damage could negate/weaken boarding
See how it goes full circle? There could, if designed properly, always be a way to slot your crew to logically be able to attack the meta game.
Further, it enhances playability by making each crew member more valuable (or at least less obsolete).
Sorry for the book...I *do* have trouble with brevity.
The following suggestion pertains to the fact that the arena has become a cloning ground of the same ship and crew for success:
MtG took a page from Rock, Paper, Scissors (or, since we are in the Star Trek universe: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock). When designing abilities, they took their time and made a conscious decision that each attribute/spell/power (whatever you want to designate it) was better than one of the others and could also be subordinate to another. As in rock, paper, scissors, each choice could beat or be beaten by another choice.
Timelines could find a way to do something similar. If the meta game is filled with all of the same collection of attributes, then make sure there's an attribute that could overcome the current meta game. For instance, the introduction of a skill such as "jamming" could negate the first damage round of damage enhanced by each opposing crew when active. This would overcome the direct damage feat (but, only when up...so timing is critical).
So:
Jamming could negate/weaken instant damage
Position could negate/weaken jamming.
Stealth could negate/weaken position.
Boarding could negate/weaken stealth
Instant damage could negate/weaken boarding
See how it goes full circle? There could, if designed properly, always be a way to slot your crew to logically be able to attack the meta game.
Further, it enhances playability by making each crew member more valuable (or at least less obsolete).
Sorry for the book...I *do* have trouble with brevity.
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