# Operation Assault (Working Title)
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## Abstract

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This document is more my collection of ideas at this point and still has much to flesh out and tweak. Operation Assault (Working Title) is aimed to be an alternative to the Whisky Outpost (WO) game mode utilizing respawning, but it doesn't need to be a replacement to WO. Rather, WO's failings are what I am attempting to address while also utilizing aspects of the game that either don't fit in the regular game mode (e.g. vehicles) or are more rare in the regular game mode.

## Goals

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1. A reasonably short game mode that moves at a fast pace (most importantly via caps to how long a phase can last).
2. A means to use implemented mechanics that aren't currently suitable to the normal game mode or are rarely used.
3. A means to allow re-entry into the game but not negate the benefit of taking out a player.

## Non-goals

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1. Create conditions that can stall out a game.
2. Create objectives that don't involve planning and strategy both for marines and xenos.
3. Use roles that aren't involved in the operation throughout.
4. Create situations that don't require any planning or strategy for leadership roles.

## Content

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### Three phases:
1. **Preparation/Building**: Both marines and xenomorphs are unable to advance past the boundary of their base and must prepare their base in case they fail to succeed the next phase.
* Phase automatically ends after 15 minutes (subject to change) allowing that faction to leave their base (but enemy faction cannot pass it until assault phase).

2. **Capture Objectives**: Both factions can leave their base and attempt to capture a pair of middle objectives (coms towers?) that will allow them to advance into the enemy base.
* A 10 minute timer (subject to change) ticks down every second ever a faction holds more towers than the other; at twice speed if the faction holds both.
* If 30 minutes (subject to change) has elapsed and the above condition is not met, overtime is indicated and the first faction to lose the advantage loses this phase.

3. **Assault (Defend) Base**: The faction that successfully captured the middle objective can now advance and siege the enemy's base. The faction that is defending gets access to a special unit.
* Late joins are disabled after 2.5 minutes (subject to change) to allow retreat and regroup.
* At that 2.5 minute (subject to change) window, the defender's barrier explodes destroying its defenses and allowing all passage.
* The assaulting faction will achieve a major victory if they then successfully destroy the other faction's core: ARES/Hive core.
* The assaulting faction will achieve a minor victory if they then fail to destroy the other faction's core: ARES/Hive core within 60 minutes (subject to change).

### Slotting and spawning:

* Marine slot goals (role authority prioritizes these slot minimums being filled ideally in this order):
* One CO/XO/SO (max 4 - one per position other than SO)
* Two vehicle crewmen: Expected to prepare tank and then man mortar (max 2)
* Two Combat Technicians (max 4)
* Four Corpsmen (max 8)
* Two smart gunners (max 4)
* Two squad leaders (max 4)
* One doctor (max 4)
* Riflemen split between 1-4 squads
* Marines spawn equipped with everything they should need, but limited faction shared supplies are available from squad leader vendors.
* 4 flamer kits
* QOL: Marines choose a loadout to spawn with, and also possibly have the ability to save custom loadouts.
* Xeno slot tiers: For now, same slot behavior as regular (non-WO) game mode except there are no lesser drones/facehuggers.
* Xeno evolution: For now, first come first serve free evolution (as in unlimited evolution points as hive slots allow)
* Xeno stats and abilities: For now, the same as regular (non-WO) game mode.
* Any limited supplies from marine vendors cannot be melted.
* Late joiners can only join when their faction is allowed additional players (for now 2 marines per xeno) during phases 1 and 2 (Preparation and Capture):
* This means late joining marines don't add larva, but rather a ratio of xenos to marines is enforced.
* Late joining marines don't select a specific slot to fill, but rather role authority slots them based on their preferences/what is available.
* Joining the faction that lacks members is instant, but otherwise is queued.
* Respawning is handled as a late join as the marine to xeno ratio allows:
* Marines that perma are allowed to late join again for their faction (entering queue if the faction has too many players).
* Hardcore trait is either disabled - or respawn timer for a hardcore dead player is the same as permaing (2.5 mins - subject to change).
* Xenos that have been dead for 2.5 minutes (subject to change) are allowed to late join again for their faction (entering queue if the faction has too many players).
* Marines that get infected will still die when their embryo matures, but the larva itself will just burrow and not provide any other effect other than permaing its host.

### The special unit(s) given to base defenders:
* Marines: Tentatively this is a tank.
* Crewmen need to decide how to outfit the tank during preparation phase, man mortar during capture phase (or utilize a siege function on their tank), and man tank if defending.
* If the tank is given the long range mortar functionality, it should result similarly to mortar fire with a similar cooldown.
* Xenomorphs: Tentatively this is the King (or likely whatever ends up being the new siege caste for corrupted towers).
* Selection for a king is made at the start of phase 3
* Mechanically, this is handled like an ERT for living xenos evolving that player if selected and freeing their old slot for the hive.
* Potential passive ability: Shroud Pheromones
* Cloaks self and nearby xenos (likely coded similarly to a pheromone) unless flamed. Fire immediately reveals any cloaked targets, and puts the ability on cooldown.
* Leaving the vicinity of the shroud will semi-quickly unstealth the xenomorph: the goal with this is to allow some xenos a bit of time to lag behind but catch back up when they notice they are losing their shroud.
* Size of this effect is half a screen or 4 tiles in radius (subject to change)

### The map:
* Starting base for Marines and Xenomorphs:
* Marines
* WO already offers much of what the marines need for a defendable base but would need an addition of a vehicle hangar (or whatever to accommodate their special unit they will defend with).
* Xenos
* An adequate base should be pre-built with hive weeds (from clusters and core), some special structures (acid towers/spike pits) but still could use additional defenses from hivelords/drones.
* Hive proper is immune to mortar fire, but outskirts are fireable.
* Barrier for bases:
* An indestructible wall that starts locked until phase 2 (capture) where it then allows passage of the friendly faction through it.
* For marines this can just be a wall with either open doors or automatic doors, but still as a fallback is an invisible barrier to the other faction.
* For xenos, this can be the same wall in its unpowered or destroyed state, but with hive weeded sections that xenos "climb" over (just walk normally over).
* Indestructible sentries/acid towers are pre-placed along the wall that will fire at the enemy faction to prevent camping near this chokepoint.
* When phase 2 (capture) is completed, after the 2.5 minute (subject to change) timer has elapsed, the losing faction's barrier explodes destroying sentries and allows passage for all.
* Middle capture objectives:
* The two objectives are tentatively a pair of separated communications towers.
* Marines must repair to hold (no more effort than the construction of a pylon - likely just a do_after using a welding torch).
* Xenomorphs must corrupt with a constructed pylon that a queen or builder can place, and only a builder can fill.

### The roles:
* Leaders
* CO/XO/SO/Queen: Plan and direct the entire force as a whole.
* SL: Lead their squad, divvy up any special equipment.
* Builders
* Drones/hivelords/queen/comtech/SL: Base builders
* Drone castes/comtech: The only units that can advance the capturing phase.
* Healers
* Corpsmen: The lifeline to keep the force healthy and alive on the front.
* Doctors: Base side medics to supplement any fighting near the base and means to fix any debilitating injuries.
* Killers

## Alternatives

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* Tank/xeno siegeing caste for assaulters instead of defenders
* I feel that turning off any kind of respawning, and the convergence of all forces on a single location means that the defenders - despite having some advantages due to base defenses - will need more to make the engagement worth participating in.
* Allow enemy entry into bases at phase 2 instead of phase 3
* Infiltrating the enemy base to ambush the supply chain is an interesting strategy to plan and execute, but I think this distracts from the main engagement and can potentially throw the game. Even with what will likely be invisible walls, "spawn camping" is likely to occur and may need further deterrents to prevent.
* Add pyro/demo/GL/sniper or their kits to faction special supplies
* If added, SLs should divvy this equipment up or use it themselves. The difficulty is more how to handle recovery of this equipment to keep it as a limited resource. Options could be looting dead specs on the field (but gearing all that equipment on the front would be messy) or fultoning the body to restock vendor (but then you'd only have access to it when someone late joins to spawn it in), or something else.
* Add scout kit as an option for kits
* Similar to the issue with enemy base entry above, I don't think a single unit with a cloak fits with the current objectives. Scout is a fairly self-centered class offensively, although they are the ideal unit for recovering bodies so as more of a support they can work.

## Potential Changes

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* Marine to Xeno ratio
* Timer values
* Slot allowances
* Respawning instead of late joining (but this needs to not have the result like it is for WO xenos)
* Omission of tank/xeno special caste
* More objectives than just coms tower capturing, or something more complex
* Queen selects King instead of an ERT