a horde based mode for terminator: dark fate; defiance

[harrizar177]

this topic was orginally attempted through an email but I do generally want to see peoples reactions to a new game mode idea, now I know we already have assualt game mode which is kinda like a semi horde mode but assualt seems more on the defensive than being a holding an area of the map whilst making use of other objectives in order to boost the command point available.

This was the Idea I had in mind:

I am writing to you to see how you would react if lets say a horde based wave based mode was introduced into terminator: dark fate - defiance.

Well it would make a nice addition to both skirmish and the multiplayer section and if its possible to get a lobby tracker in the multiplayer so that players are notified when other players are waiting in the multiplayer lobby, this would help gamers know people are waiting for a match to pop up in the multiplayer as i personally think that having three different servers isn't the way to go about it but should be made as worldwide servers so that more people can enjoy what this game brings for your company.

As for the horde mode I was thinking that in has the same mechanics as Domination but with a twist, the capture zones are only there to help provide the player with more resources, the centre of the map will have a capture and hold objective meaning that atleast a unit must be stationed there at all time so the AI enemy waves do not capture it.

The aim for horde mode would be to hold one point on the centre of the map while braving all manners of assault from legion, other miltia factions and even movement or cartel, this mode is not just about survival but to stay in control of one point of the map, if that control point is taken and your units are all wiped out its game over, if the enemy takes the centre, it will begin taking away points the player could use to spawn in more units, the other points on the map are optionial but do not provide more points than the point in the centre that gives points ands holds them for whoever controls the point, if the enemy Ai units have control of all optional points bonus enemy units can spawn in, if the player has control of all optional points a larger increase of points rise for the player to buy more advanced units (tanks or helicopters or rocket batteries etc).

If the player only holds the main objective point they are allowed to spawn soldiers and light vehicles.

If the player holds 2 extra optional objectives then they can spawn in light heavy vehilces (such as the M1113 or striker)

if the player holds 4 extra optional objectives they are given access to artillery and supply vehicles

if the player holds 6 extra optional objectives they get transport for infantry and light tanks (examples are cartel tank or Bradley)

and if they hold all extra optional objectives the player gets given access to tanks helicopters and MLRS, and full inventory of units to spawn into the map.

how the spawning system should work is that units that are spawned get spawned in areas of the map that are away from the centre objective (at random locations on the map), but the spawn option is only available after clearing a wave of enemies, the only exception is if the player has lost control of the centre objective and needs to call in for a back up reinforcement before all their units get wiped out by the enemy units, also I should note that enemy AI units can fight amongst themselves if two or more different enemy AI factions are present that is allowed for them to do a little infighting to control the centre if there's a lack of player units holding the centre objective.

Calling for reinforcements is a limited feature and is consider as the player lifeline if they should lose control of the centre objective, if the player loses this too frequently and loses all units its game over, the player is allowed to call for reinforcements only for 1 time before needed to survive up to 7 waves before this option is then replenished to be used again, players that use this option early may get punished for it later in the waves.

Each enemy wave can hold a numerous different types of enemy units, some could be legion, some could be movement, and some could be cartel (basically the enemy units can be any faction as long as its not the faction the player is playing as (can include other factions to be playable to the player including the cartel), but as far as the waves go the larger the amount of enemy units on the map the more enemy factions are at play.

here is my example of how the waves begin and then end:

Wave 1: this is just the starting wave so the player will have to defeat 3 enemy units with 1 or 2 units at there disposal (1 enemy faction present) the player will mostly likely start with 2 units of there choice.

reinforcement option becomes available to the player allowing them to choose the next units to defend the centre with while maybe using some of the already placed units to hunt for an extra objective (because its still early for the waves the player can only choose 2 units to spawn as by this point the player probably wouldn't have enough points to grab anything more than 2 units), and if the player controls no extra optional objectives the base spawn for the player will always be 2 units each phrase.

Wave 2: 6 enemies spawn in and the player has to kill all 6 before the wave ends ,some of these enemy units may travel to other optional points on the map to start capturing them giving the player incentive to do the same (these points are only capturable when during the wave (meaning that a barrier would be present in stopping the player from moving units to this objectives even when they aren't capturable, this barriers are then removed when the wave begins), they should not be capturable during the reinforcement phrase which gives the player about 3 minutes to move there forces on the map before the next wave comes into play.

reinforcement option comes available meaning by now the player should have 1 or 2 optional objectives taken over if 2 optional objectives are taken the player gets access to light heavy vehicles and can spawn about 4 units in, if only 1 optional objective the player can only spawn in 1 extra unit.

Wave 3; by this time the player should have around 6 to 8 units on the map now by this wave the enemy units get a bit more larger, now the player has to defeat 12 enemy units but now there is a second enemy faction at play, can be any faction that isn't currently in play so like for example if the player is playing as the founders, the enemy AI has been playing as movement or a random survivor faction, the next factions the enemy AI could bring in is legion or the cartel forces so now the player has 2 enemy AI factions to face that have spawned on different areas of the map from one another (but because tehy arew a different faction they can fight each other for the optional objectives.

there should be 11 objectives in total 1 being the main centre objective that needs to be kept in control of and the 10 others that will decide the player's fate.

reinforcement phrase begins by this time the player should be in control of 3 or 4 optional objectives if 4 they get the next tier for spawning more units in by this time the player would be spawning in at least 6 or 5 units with what ever units the player still has in control on the map again if the player has no optional objectives taken he will only be given 2 units to spawn with with the normal points rate of the centre objective.

wave 4: the enemy units have grown to 18 units and some of these units may have a heavy unit involved but again as two different enemy factions.

reinforcement phrase of 2 or 8 unit spawns depending if the player now controls 6 optional objectives or not giving them another access to more unit options.

Wave 5: this wave is where a third enemy faction gets involved with the player now facing down 30 enemy units, 10 per enemy faction. this is where things get harder for the player.

reinforcement phrase by now the player should have controlled all of the optional objectives meaning he should now have full access to all unit options and can spawn up to 12 units, if the opposite is true and the enemy AI have full control instead now they get a bonus wave amount times 2 to put it simply.

Wave 6; there are now 4 enemy factions at play coming at every direction of North, East, South, and West with a total of 12 units each, 48 units in total if they hold all optional objectives at the start of the wave then that number turns to 96 units on the map, 24 units each for each enemy faction of 4, by this time its a fight for the players survival.

reinforcement phrase this last phase will determine the players success or not though if he has all optional objective again by the time he has managed to survive the large 48 or 96 enemy wave, if the player holds no optional objectives be this point the player will struggle to survive.

Wave 7 the last wave of the entire wave set will contain about 100 units or though half of these units will be infantry the other half will be heavy vehicles and airborne vehicles, the two last enemy factions would come from directions East and West each faction controlling about 50 units each with 25 being infantry and the other 25 being tanks or flying vehicles. this last wave will be dubbed as the annihilation wave, the player must survive this wave if he wants to beat this first wave set, if successful another wave set of 7 begins but this time resources points are slightly higher than normal and the optional ojbectives now give 2 unit spawns instead of the usual 1, this number will increase by 1 with every new wave set done.

but that being said the higher the wave sets the player goes the more higher the enemy AI units and factions will be at play (maximum enemy wave factions should be 4 meaning that this mode can also be shared with a second player Aswell but the players can't choose the same faction they must be different human factions, the legion faction is the only faction the players are not allowed to play as in this mode. (just because the last wave of each set sits well with the legion faction)

the last set is wave 35 set 5 once the player/players finish this wave the horde game mode is over (if there was some sort of progression system in the entire game horde mode could give bonus xp when completing horde mode)

I hope you liked my example of a horde based mode on Terminator: dark fate: defiance and I wish to see more from slitherine, also working with the modders on nexus mods would be good in helping address any bugs or issues that happen when these mods are added to the game and who knows if it goes well you guys could add steam workshop support for modders for this game before you work on your next entry to terminator: dark fate defiance story.

Its a little more depth but let me know if anyone agrees with this, because I always felt that assualt was fun and all but it alone didn't satisfy my hungry for a wave based horde mode.