This is basically an addition the already existing challenge thing.
Basically, you issue a challenge to another player (or even a public one to everyone), then someone accepts it. Up to this point, it acts like any normal challenge, with the catch the player accepting it can’t see your fleet, and it’s played out over several matches (e.g. best of 3, bo5, bo7, etc), with the ability to change fleet inbetween.
Having boX matches with the ability to change fleet inbetween, would greatly enhance the game, since it’d add the ability to react and change for both players, which the game currently lacks.
So, I can see it working like this.
1.A player sends out a challenge.
2.Someone else accepts it.
3.Both players can now watch the battle, check ending statistics, etc.
4.They can also queue a new fleet for the next round.
5. Repeat 3-4 until a victor is decided.
This would work really well with Corbeau’s suggestion of Incremental Deployment. You’d really have lots of opportunity for getting in the mindset of your opponent.
I think a “competitive” mode would be really nice. This way both fleets are created under the same uncertainties. Basically you make a fleet once, and it either wins or loses.
When I do challenges now I don’t attack until I’ve set up everything best I can. I feel like it’s almost cheating if I just throw a fleet against another just to see what it has.
For the best of series it could be set up a few ways. Say it’s a best-of-7. Either both sides could make four fleets, and the winner of one automatically faces the next. Or each side could make one fleet. Once the first match is played the loser gets to make the next one. Oooor, each side could make 7 fleets, and each fleet only plays once. Lots of options here!
I think this idea is fantastic. At the moment the main problem with the current challenges system (neat as it is) is that the challenge-issuer can’t see their posted fleet actually battle it out with someone else’s fleet who accepts the challenge. All you can see is the attempts/wins, which isn’t nearly as satisfying (or interesting) as actually seeing your fleet crush your foe’s.
A suggestion of my own is that it would be very nice if you could load a deployment .txt file for the opposing side even in a purely local match, in the same way that you can already reload a saved deployment in a standard single player mission/scenario. That way you could test your own fleets against one another, play a ‘hotseat’ game with a friend, or even try your fleets against any fleets you might download off the web (for example, posted on these forums), and so on – without having to set up a challenge or waste the game server’s bandwidth.
I agree completely. The big thing I’m missing out on challenge mode when playing with friends is both of us being able to watch the battle at the same time. Hearing them describe my fleet ripping theirs to shreds over skype is just not the same as seeing it in action! And the best of however many matches would also make online challenges more interesting - more like an actual battle than a puzzle to solve, which is what it’s like at the moment. Loading deployment files to play against would also be nice.