The possibilities of .76

[Daniella]

Before you read, no this is not a rant. I'm not going to bash the game. I'll let you form an opinion of the game on your own. But I see potential, so instead of complaining about the changes that were made, I'm going to suggest how they could be made better without changing much of the game.

Namely, the Damage %. If you haven't played .76 beta yet, you definitely should give it a go. You'll notice that every time you shoot someone a little message will appear saying the damage % and the fall off damage %. Bam, instant idea formed in my head. RPG style FPS Sandbox game.

DISCLAIMER: I am not trying to turn AoS into an RPG. That would be silly.

Okay, Okay, hear me out. I know that sounds ridiculous. No, I do not mean equipping armor or fighting dragons. I mean what if every time you captured the intel you got an upgrade? Nothing major or game changing but something that gives the intel REAL value and puts the focus back on capturing it and not getting as many kills as you can?

And that's when I made this: http://imgur.com/8aDqw
(Doesn't fit in the post :c)

The Blue arrow points to your "Damage indicator". Instead of it being displayed in the chat it will pop up above your health for 5 seconds or until you hit someone again.

Here's where things get complicated; Upgrades.
Every time you cap the intel you can select between upgrading 3 things. You can only upgrade one specific thing 5 times.

Defense

1st upgrade: +25 Health
2nd upgrade: +25 Health
3rd upgrade: +25 Health
4th upgrade: +25 Health
5th upgrade: -10% Damage taken

(Full upgrades: 200 Health and -10% damage taken from everything except headshots)

Offense

1st Upgrade: +2 Ammo
2nd Upgrade: 10% Damage increase
3rd Upgrade: +2 Ammo
4th Upgrade: 10% Damage increase
5th Upgrade +1 Ammo

(Full upgrades: +5 Ammo and +20% Damage)

Builder

1st Upgrade: +15 Blocks
2nd Upgrade: +15 Blocks
3rd Upgrade: +15% Spade Damage
4th Upgrade: +15% Spade Damage
5th Upgrade: +20 Blocks

(Full Upgrades: +50 Blocks and +30% Spade Damage)

Q/A

Question: What about players who just joined the server and have to face people with max upgrades?

Answer: While these certainly help, the upgrades aren't going to make someone with terrible aim the best player on the server. Skilled players who just joined the server might be at a disadvantage but it's certainly not one that can't be overcame. If anything, it only motivates the players to capture the intel.
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Question: What if this is too confusing for new players?

Answer: While playing, all of this info won't be thrown at your face all at once. When a new player captures the intel for the first time he will be asked which upgrade he wants in a selection method similar to picking a gun.
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Question: What do the icons on the right side mean?

Answer: The Health Pack is defense, the bullets are offense and the block is building. The numbers by them show the number of upgrades on each one.
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Question: What if I don't want that menu there all the time?

Answer: It won't. You can bring up the menu by pressing "~" in a similar way to pressing tab to see teams.
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Question: Did you steal this idea from Aloha's intel RPG game mode?

Answer: It was heavily inspired by that, yes. A lot of credit to whoever came up with that game mode. But, It definitely needed to be toned down if it were to become a core part of the game.
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Question: What about other game modes such as Territory control, arena and Babel?

Answer: This is difficult, especially for game modes with as little intel caps as Babel.

Territory Control: Capturing 2 tents gets you one upgrade.
Arena: Getting the last kill gets you one upgrade.
Babel: Capping the intel gets you one upgrade.
Infiltrator: Everyone on a team get one upgrade once they "score" in their own method. (Defending or capping)
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Question: How does this benefit the game?

Answer: It diverts the focus from getting kills and puts it back on getting the intel. Y'know, the main objective of the game. For comparability reasons, go to any CTF server and time how long it takes for the intel to be captured. Now go to aloha intel RPG and see how long it takes for the intel to be capped.
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Question: Doesn't pyspades have a reward for capping intel already?

Answer: Yes and No. While you do get a reward for capping intel (10 kills) it defeats the purpose. Instead of putting focus back on the intel, it only strengthens the idea that getting the most kills is the main priority of the game. And even if that weren't the case, it's a weak reward. Most players can easily get 10 kills in the time it would take to make a long tunnel or fight their way through hordes of players, or go around the corners of the map. Hell, you could probably get ten kills on your way to the intel. It's not worth the trouble to most players.
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Question: But... But... this seems TOO bizarre and far fetched to be added to the game.

Answer: That really isn't a question but whatever. And it's not too bizarre, in fact a system like this is already in a few popular games, namely Call of Duty and Battlefield. Completing match objectives gives you experience which in turn gives you weapon upgrades and perks. But instead of doing it in the traditional way, I've made it more appropriate for this game.
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Question: What if I hate the icons?

Answer: Now you're just being nit-picky. Yes the icons are rough around the edges (literally) but that was thrown together in about 4 minutes. The developers could make much better icons later, that's not important. And if you really hate them you can change them... like everything else in the game.
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Question: Isn't a bit too late to add a change this massive to the game?

Answer: Well I could argue that it really doesn't make that much of a difference but I guess that depends on how you play. But, I could say this: AoS is ALL about change. Every update has brought something new to the table (for better or for worse) and those could be seen as much bigger changes. If you compare the rifle from .54, .75 and .76 which are only a few updates apart, they almost seem like 3 different rifles entirely. Or the fact that the new Rocket Launcher makes grenades useless as they go further, destroy more and (logically) do more damage. Or even the crates that fall from the sky that could make the CP restocking you useless. I could go on and on. The main point is that this is not that much of a change to what's already in the game.
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Question: Can I marry you now?

Answer: No.
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Question: Do upgrades carry from game to game?

Answer: God no. That would defeat the purpose, once you upgrade everything you have no reason to ever cap the intel ever again as well as the fact that this could be abused by people who create their own servers and cap the intel while no one is on it.
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If you have more questions/ suggestions feel free to post, and remember this is only an example. This can be tweaked or modified to have more or less effect on the game. But please... just make getting the intel matter again.

Blank Template:

Defense

1st Upgrade:
2nd Upgrade:
3rd Upgrade:
4th Upgrade:
5th Upgrade:

Offense

1st Upgrade:
2nd Upgrade:
3rd Upgrade:
4th Upgrade:
5th Upgrade:

Builder

1st Upgrade:
2nd Upgrade:
3rd Upgrade:
4th Upgrade:
5th Upgrade:

[TheGeekZeke101]

May I ask why the hell your not a dev? Pure genius! The game layout looks amazing!

Can I marry you now?

[USABxBOOYO]

So basically intelrpg with different rewards.

[CrisisFlarez]

Its okay Zeke nice try

[swim]

Oi, shouldn't this be under suggestions?

[Daniella]

So basically intelrpg with different rewards.

Non Game-breaking rewards, yes.

[Airsoftr]

Not bad. I wouldn't mind having these.

[CrisisFlarez]

This honestly now that I have though about it more Could be nice to have

[Hotketchup]

It could be cool, I still have some mixed feeling about it though.

[Pulchritude]

Like it. Sounds good, too bad people can't read the entire thing and will ask repetitive questions that have been answered already.

[Fluttershy]

Non Game-breaking rewards, yes.

Being able to survive a head shot, especially given the new rifle, is pretty game breaking.

[Daniella]

Non Game-breaking rewards, yes.

Being able to survive a head shot, especially given the new rifle, is pretty game breaking.

Headshots do around 150 damage depending on the range you're shot at. It isn't that big of a deal :P

[Paratrooper]

Ack, I think the intel rewards should be distributed throughout the whole team (after all, it requires teamwork to capture the intel). It would make lone wolfing easier and easier every time since caps increase max health. I think enemy markers could accomplish this instead of having health upgrades.

Apart from that, the new HUD you're proposing looks nice.

[Tek2]

These rewards for capturing intel are bad.
Get 3 captures -> shotgun is extremely bad againts you.

This also fights with the philosophy that everyone on the field have equal chances. Some are just better players than others so they win, not because they have collected XP which they used for fancy upgrades. (or played in a server longer)

[lolpwned23]

Maybye, I like the new layout but the rewards of capturing intel means that on people with just camp next to the spawn points