[Question] Base recap systemic?

[Jonfitt]

I've only explored roughly half the map (diagonally top left to bottom right is all done), and last night I had a base recaptured for the first time. It was the one in bottom right between where the contaminated and irradiated areas start.

It was cool that that can happen, but I couldn't see why it was happening.

I didn't see any enemy bots in the area, it just seemed that I'd turn my back and it would spawn some in a previously empty field. Is that the case? Were they perhaps walking a long distance from somewhere else? I had cleared the cul-de-sac near it, and everything up to the irradiated and contaminated areas. Were they walking all the way from there?

It just seemed that I would clear it, then another faction would take it when my back was turned. Then I'd clear it, then it'd get taken again. I think I captured it 4 or 5 times. Then suddenly it stopped happening.

Is there some way to relay to the player that a base is potentially threatened? Or enemies are approaching? Because other than in this instance they don't seem to roam far until a player triggers them. Up until that point a captured base has stayed captured.

[tomnullpointer]

The recaptures are entirely systemic, in that you can play a full game without it ever happening, or it can happen a few times.. Its unlikely to happen multiple times though, unless you have left 'gaps' in your base territory as you move across the map (as in you have left a few enemy bases behind your lines, so to speak). The bots can sometimes travel a surprisingly long way if they don't happen to run into trouble, so recapping is possible. A few areas are more prone to recaptures because there's more bases within reach and the many patrol routes lead through those areas.

We've tried to balance it so that it doesn't happen too often (some people really hate it) but so that it can happen occasionally to show that the world is 'living' and leave you the choice of whether to go back and recap the base for the surveyors. The icon on the map does change if a base is under attack, but yes it is otherwise impossible to tell, until you get the base lost message. We probably don't have enough time to do too much about it at this stage, (and hopefully its not happening so much that its a gamebreaking issue) but its a good point and we will see what we can do.. thanks

[Jonfitt]

That's cool!
I think they were coming a really long way from contamination zones which I couldn't enter at the time. Not the contaminated area really close, but from another one a long way around a long corner.
I didn't spot that because they would walk past another base (the one under the Surveyor frigate) to get to the one that was being capped.

So it looked like they were just springing up!

[c741535]

I really like this, it creates an RTS feel. Would be great to get a notification as soon as a base is under attack so you have the option of spawning at that base and assisting in the defense.

[SockDog]

I imagine bases come under attack but the defenders repel most attacks on their own. It could become quite a distraction to constantly be alerted to situations that don't need your assistance but there is a request suggesting it's needed. Perhaps some sort of radio chatter could occur, alerting you to an attack and the defences status, ultimately culminating in a desperate plea for reinforcements if the game detects a bigger chance of losing the base.

Putting down your own sentry guns at certain points would also be neat, as would autonomous air droids you could hack into to view what's happening at a base.

I think from my play through I only had a single instance of a lost base.

[Jonfitt]

When I saw the first sentry drop I was sure that we'd get to drop our own in an RTS style, I wouldn't be surprised if that got cut to trim down the scope.