Now that I shared my point of view about the current MMR feature on my previous post (glad I put that out of my system), I can move on to secondary subjects. This topic is dedicated to general suggestions and insights on how to improve gameplay, which may prove to be simple, in the developers' standpoint, and game changing, in the players' perspective. Or neither. But the thoughts listed below are three ideas to solve one problem: unsuccessful missions due to technical or individual issues.
#1 - Connection
Spacelords requires one among four raiders to host the session (an antagonist cannot host the match). If communication between members of the team is not stablished - in other words, if the team is random -, the host is unaware of his connection status to other players and may compromise the entire session. There is a voting feature to abandon the match, where three out of four raiders must vote in favor, but why isn't one to change the host? Adding such a function may prevent unsuccesful missions due to lag, passing the host to the next suitable member of the team and so on, without having to rely on the host's disconnection. 'Oh wait', you may have pronounced. 'If the session lags, the vote closes before it even starts'. Well, not if it remains open until the end of the match. What does it need a timer for in the first place?
#2 - Learning Curve
So let's say connection issues have been solved, but still, missions fail. Well, Spacelords is not a game for the average player. The learning curve is longer than most titles of the genre, as it requires a much deeper knowledge of the characters available, mission's objectives, maps and mechanics. To put it bluntly, it takes experience and practice to be up for the challenge. New players often have a frustrating first experience with the game due to the difficulty and diversity of missions. To counter it, Spacelords grants access to training after completing the match. 'Wait, what? We have to complete it to train?' Yes, although it should be the other way around: 'We have to train to complete it.' In what planet do humans learn before they practice? Definetly not in the Broken one. So open training as the episodes are unlocked and encourage newcomers to complete it on solo before applying to it on coop. Remember those solo mission pop-ups for those waiting too long for a coop match? Yeah, pop it up for those who haven't completed the mission before, instead.
#3 - Accolades
So the new players have trained and are now more prepared for the real deal. Time for a coop match, eh? Perfect! Or almost. During a mission, one or luckily two members of a random team may be required to carry the rest of the raiders throughout the session, and at the end of it, their heroic performance falls short of proper rewards. They are accountable for the accomplishment, completed it with most kills, fewer deaths, most aleph, and nearly all objectives, but receive none of the accolades. Why aren't they rewarded for their role played in the match? These raider heroes should be awarded medals in the form of the good old bonus resources, such as gold, faction points, projects and XP cards. An efficient way to encourage players of all levels to try harder.
Off the top of my head, that's what I have. For now!
As always, feel free to share your thoughts below.
