So let's talk about spawns...

[Sgt Pepper]

From me this is more specifically about spawns on the siege maps, which is the mode I mainly play in but I welcome input not just on this but the spawns on other modes as well.

So, let's examine it from the attackers' perspective first.

The best form of defense is attack and in larger siege games with more people this seems a popular tactic. Whilst effective I think it breaks the flow of siege and the whole thing descends into a team deathmatch rather than siege.

I'm honestly not sure what can be done. I can think of some measures but they could be a little too restrictive and potentially require extra props that could add unwanted bulk to the game.

Measures that could be more effective include:

1) 3 seconds of spawn protection. Nothing worse than respawning than to have a defenders' cav run through you before you've even had chance to move.

2) Make it harder to get horses out of the castle. Okay, in some cases cav spawn on battlements and a work around for that could be hard but those who spawn at ground level and backward walk their horse up stairs? Feels to me like a glitch, correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I wonder if horse and riders should be able to get through the sally door. If the main gate was the only way for cav to leave a castle that would mean at least the defending team have to take more of a risk to get their cav to attack the attacking team's spawn.

Now onto defenders.

Naturally they're not spawn camped as such but situations can arise. I can live with the 20 second time out that defenders currently face. What sucks is to spawn after 20 seconds right in front of an enemy...with your back to them. You've not even had chance to move and bam! You're dead. Another 20 second time out.

So, would 5 seconds of spawn protection be unreasonable? The reason I suggest 2 extra seconds of spawn protection for defenders over attackers is simply down to the fact that the penalty for being spawn killed as a defender is a 20 second time out as opposed to the attacking team's 3 seconds.

Realise I'm not putting these forward as suggestions at this stage. I want to open a discussion and see what others think first, see if there are better alternatives and so on. Heck, I may even be alone in thinking there's a problem at all 

Over to you guys 

 

[Reapy]

One thing to help would be better falling damage for jumping off the castle walls. That way defenders could come down to fight but would always do so at a disadvantage. Of coarse, when the siege ladders get up then it sort of cancels this out.

In terms of the spawn invulnerability, that is a good idea, but, it should just be probably 2 seconds, OR until the first time you click the left mouse button. But it is still unfair to the guy who is near you, because just as often as you get spawn killed coming in, I've been killed by a guy spawning in behind me.

 

[Alhanalem]

I already made a thread about cavalry spawning on the battlements. I don't see how it would be hard to limit the spawn points useable by a player with cavalry selected.

I know you cant go forwards up the stairs on a horse, if you can do it backwards, that's probably a bug. However, i'm not sure why anyone would want to do it. Cavalry units would be absolutely terrible in such tight quarters anyway.

 

[Sidus Preclarum]

So, there's a system that prevents horses from climbing up stairs/ladders, at least from one ditection? That's interesting. Because, eh, couldn't that be applied to humans and ladder? I mean, I've always fond the stairs to the attic my ex-girlfriend's house scarily steep, yet the guys in M&B apparently can run down stuff that's as steep, but without steps. Worse, they do it without using their arms, so they can throw stuff while holding a shield at the same time...
WOuldn't it make sense that you can't move up or down a ladder (not a ramp, or a flight of stairs) if you're not facing up?  Also, that the less hands free, the slowlier the movement? (This may be seen as detrimental to the defending team, but, hey, they shouldn't be using ladders to make sallies, no more than they should jump off the walls outside, that's what the gate and posterns are for. Also, to compensate, kicking the ladders down should be easier: usually, they require you be totally exposed, AND the particular spot you have to look at to do it is sometimes extremely difficult to find)


Spawns are a tricky matter. ESPECIALLY in a map where there's a defending team, which is in a *surrounded* position, which can be attacked from all sides. You risk spawning in the middle of a group of enemies, which is rather bad for immersion, and will get you killed. Or spawn in a part of the castle the attacker can rightfully consider to have cleared. And it makes it looks like TDM.
You could define zones, besides the main objective, as being occupied or not, and if it's not, no spawn there for the defender, untill he caps them back. But then you'd also have to provided at least a few (one would be too easily spawnexitcamped) secure spawn zones if all said "capturable" spawns have fallen.  Maybe combined with increasing spawn timer as more zones "fall" into the hands of the attacker, that would maybe recreate the impression, of, well, a castle in the process of falling, more than this "let's all rush for the flag" thing that I find a bit gamey (albeit enjoyable). But, yeah, fine tuning such triggerable spawns and timers would be some work.

 

[Albretch]

So, there's a system that prevents horses from climbing up stairs/ladders, at least from one ditection? That's interesting. Because, eh, couldn't that be applied to humans and ladder? I mean, I've always fond the stairs to the attic my ex-girlfriend's house scarily steep, yet the guys in M&B apparently can run down stuff that's as steep, but without steps. Worse, they do it without using their arms, so they can throw stuff while holding a shield at the same time...
WOuldn't it make sense that you can't move up or down a ladder (not a ramp, or a flight of stairs) if you're not facing up?  Also, that the less hands free, the slowlier the movement? (This may be seen as detrimental to the defending team, but, hey, they shouldn't be using ladders to make sallies, no more than they should jump off the walls outside, that's what the gate and posterns are for. Also, to compensate, kicking the ladders down should be easier: usually, they require you be totally exposed, AND the particular spot you have to look at to do it is sometimes extremely difficult to find)

Actually, you can go up the stairs in castle 1 on a horse..going foward.