Suggestion talk:20120919 Call Backup
Call Backup
| Timestamp: A Big F'ing Dog 02:08, 17 September 2012 (BST) |
| Type: Radio Operation Subskill |
| Scope: Survivors |
| Description: One thing the game lacks are epic sieges, like it once had. To counter that I'd like to see a skill that gives survivors a strong incentive to all gather and defend one location, so they're easy for hordes of zombies to find. My idea:
Call Backup This skill allows players to broadcast on one channel otherwise off limits even to those with Radio Operation. The purpose of this channel is to call for a supply drop-off from the external military forces. A supply drop off can turn any building into a resource building, allowing first-aid kits and ammunition to be found there at the same rate as a hospital or PD. The search rates would not stack with existing search rates though, so turning a hospital into a drop-off location would let you find ammunition there but would leave FAK search rates the same as before. A very effective choice would be to convert a Necrotech building, allowing it to provide a trifecta of syringes, ammunition, and health-kits. Malls and forts would not qualify for the bonus, since it's a bit redundant with what you can already find there. There's a catch though: the military has limited resources and can only assist one building at a time. Whichever building has had the largest number of players broadcast on that channel would receive the benefit. Only that building would be upgraded. The vote would be based on largest number of players transmitting, not most transmissions overall, so there's no benefit to each player broadcasting more than once. The bonus would move around the city, leaving one building and going to another, whenever a building's vote tally gets higher. A survivor can only vote for one building at a time, and broadcasting in a new location cancels their existing vote (if any) and gives it to the new building. Ruining a building would reset the tally of votes there to 0, and votes could not be placed in an already ruined building. If the building with the bonus itself gets ruined then the bonus is removed from Malton entirely for 24-72 hours (randomly picked), after which the current vote leading building would receive the bonus. This would give survivors a strong incentive to defend a specific location, and not to flee, or their precious resource bonus may be stolen away and placed somewhere far off in the city. While a building has a bonus everyone in Malton would receive a message once a day letting them know which direction that building lies in:
Before long a very large crowd of humans and zombies should assemble, resulting in an epic battle like in the days of old. The nice thing about this suggestion is that now sieges could theoretically happen anywhere in the city, not just mostly confined to malls. |
Discussion (Call Backup)
I like the idea, though a suggestion, I would look into mall corners, they are often densely populated but they would recieve no benefit out of ammo or faks. -- 
Thadeous Oakley Talk 20:06, 18 September 2012 (BST)
I'm ok with this if zombies have an easy way to detect it, whether that be through building descriptions or "there was a supply drop (10 North, 3 West)", etc.--Shortround }.{ My Contributions 20:11, 18 September 2012 (BST)
Can we have a similar skill, under feeding groan for zombies? Most "Banshee Wails" on the same square increases barricade hit rates. --I'm not the Ross UDWiki needs, I'm the Ross it deserves. 20:15, 18 September 2012 (BST)
- Might be interesting, but it shouldn't be a barricade breaking bonus like that. Survivors can flee and hide, so if there was one "zombie bonus square" survivors might just go elsewhere. Maybe it should be an informational bonus instead of an attack bonus? For example, maybe bellows could be upgraded so they are echoed by the crowd and travel 1 square further for every 10 zombies outside the building, up to a maximum of 10 extra spaces? --A Big F'ing Dog 01:59, 19 September 2012 (BST)
Strangely, I kinda like it. That said, there needs to be a message in-game along the lines of "You heard the sound of military helicopters flying by as they headed north" or "Helicopters hovered overhead, unloading some cargo before leaving". To me, at least, this sounds like great fun as a PKer, since it basically tells you where there's a building full of people. That said, I'd make it so that it can't be used at malls or forts, otherwise it'd be a bit boring. —Aichon— 20:52, 18 September 2012 (BST)
- Agreed. Everyone in game should receive a message saying where the new depot is (wouldn't cause spam because the building wouldn't change too often). Not the precise building but maybe the suburb like: "You hear helicopter flying overhead on their way to East Grayside." And yeah, it probably shouldn't work in malls or forts. Other normal resource buildings are fine though I think. --A Big F'ing Dog 23:04, 18 September 2012 (BST)
- Eh...I wouldn't add that much specificity. It doesn't make sense for someone on the south side of Malton to know where exactly the helicopters landed if they're going to the north side of Malton. And on an unrelated note, maybe bump it to something other than a week (either up or down), that way the day it happens each week varies. As a result, I expect that people will lose track of when it should happen, making it more interesting whenever it does happen. If people can expect it every Monday or whatever, it'll become rote, rather than fun. —Aichon— 23:15, 18 September 2012 (BST)
- True, but in that case the helicopter message should play again once a day as long as the bonus lasts to help zombies track down the building. I also agree about randomizing when the bonus is granted. What about this: the bonus lasts until the building is ruined. Then nobody gets the bonus for 1-5 days, upon which a new building is randomly selected. That way when zombies ruin the building they get the satisfaction of knowing they erased the bonus from Malton for a significant period of time. --A Big F'ing Dog 01:11, 19 September 2012 (BST)
- I like the idea of helicopters coming in daily if the bonus lasts until the building is ruined, since that means they're constantly resupplying. I don't like the idea of a random building being selected, but if it's the next vote-winner, I'm cool with that. I also like the randomized gap between ruin and new resupplies. —Aichon— 04:38, 19 September 2012 (BST)
- True, but in that case the helicopter message should play again once a day as long as the bonus lasts to help zombies track down the building. I also agree about randomizing when the bonus is granted. What about this: the bonus lasts until the building is ruined. Then nobody gets the bonus for 1-5 days, upon which a new building is randomly selected. That way when zombies ruin the building they get the satisfaction of knowing they erased the bonus from Malton for a significant period of time. --A Big F'ing Dog 01:11, 19 September 2012 (BST)
- Eh...I wouldn't add that much specificity. It doesn't make sense for someone on the south side of Malton to know where exactly the helicopters landed if they're going to the north side of Malton. And on an unrelated note, maybe bump it to something other than a week (either up or down), that way the day it happens each week varies. As a result, I expect that people will lose track of when it should happen, making it more interesting whenever it does happen. If people can expect it every Monday or whatever, it'll become rote, rather than fun. —Aichon— 23:15, 18 September 2012 (BST)
Made some edits taking everyone's comments into account. Thanks! Any more ideas, improvements?--A Big F'ing Dog 01:31, 19 September 2012 (BST)
