Co-Op Thread

Would a dedicated co-op UI help ? Maybe a simple pre-vis to help players/devs envision stuff better ?

 

I meant a common UI that allows easier co-op matchmaking than:

These steps are multiple mouse clicks, can we cut down setup time/costs with a single better interface ?

 

One of yesterday's co-op games! @RawFeNriS @Fifjunior7 @Magic Elves @Arzeny @goome @gaudaloht

 

Would coop be easier if folks used a voice chat system to coordinate their teams? And is there any way we can help people organize that?

 

missed that one too

 

Kudos to CT5 for videos. Tho it was painful watching the recruiting. I broke down the process and its largely 2 flags.

a) A player wants to lead a co-op party
b) A player wants to join a co-op party

Off my head, I'd suggest a status indicator preferably in the lobby name list with a button option to set the co-op preference. Party leaders can just scroll and invite whoever has that flag up or vice versa. Would this streamline the party recruitment ?

Not saying voip isn't viable, just that in reality not everyone has a mic.

 

That's good that you guys are talking about this. It's pretty tough trying to organize a co-op game!

Could you add a new chat window which supports multiple people so that anyone trying to organize a game isn't hogging the world chat? The team chat only has 2 other people, and then you're trying to talk with 3 other people, and then more people ask about playing co-op.... how about a "co-op chat"? XD
Or at least a group conversation option in addition to normal 1 person messages?

I know this has bounced around before, but it would also be REALLY useful if you added team square marking/flagging. Trying to explain to your team mate which square you want them to click on is a headache.

 

Yes, a Co-op chat room in the lobby would help. This would be a good place to put a "Co-op Help" button that explains how everything works.

Or how about a button to send a message to all your friends who are online, maybe with an option to not send to any that are currently in battle?

 

Having many years of experience with how poorly the average person follows simple instructions, I doubt you've much to worry about. Besides, if it's gonna happen it's gonna happen. Slowing the process only makes things drag for everyone.

IMO, humans are grossly over-rated.

 

Imho, the main gist of any co-op experience is not each player involved taking his actions autonomously, but rather coordination. A ping functionality would make coordinating much, much easier, which I see as a welcome feature, rather than anything potentially dangerous.

As for tools making co-op easier, I would start from the very basics: i.e. create a Co-Op sub-forum.

 

From my experience in co-op, there's a few general command structures teams fall into at the moment.

1. General anarchy towards the goal of winning. Usually doesn't do too well.
2. General anarchy, but with people passing on their own when they know someone really needs a move.
3. One experienced player tries to co-ordinate, but it doesn't work out too well with the other two players.
4. Two experienced players agree on most strategies. Newer third player offers less advice.
5. General autonomy with players handling the fine movements on their own, but asking/saying when they need help from another player.
6. Direct brain-to-brain communication, total consensus between players. I've only had this happen in a 2v2 with @Inkfingers so far, though the 3v3 with @Fifjunior7 came close.

With pinging added, I could see the most change happening in 1, 3, and 4. Scenario 1 would probably become a mix of semi-conflicting pings, Scenario 3 would be more co-ordinated at times, and Scenario 4 would move closer to Scenario 6.

 

and 6 it would make everything faster (the game yesterday with me BVD and fif was alot like 6 which is what took so long)

the problem i found with 6 is that it tends to take abit to co-ordinate which is what lead to people with certain custom makes with no timer. however not everyone has one/knows how to make one. causing panic late game due to time making the game over all less fun

may i suggest an automatic timer extension when the game realizes its a co-op match?

can the game make that distinction? (i would assume so)

 

Considering the timer is tied to the map instead of what mode it's in, I would think not. Dedicated co-op maps selectable in-game would be a good way of getting around that, as well as be a stepping stone to reimplement 4v4 and 5v5 as they could be made specifically for larger parties. They wouldn't even have to be unique maps, just altered versions of ranked maps. For example, I was semi-considering expanding Celestial Dojo to 4 Victory squares by copying the center area again to allow for 5 spawn points.

 

Great ideas here. And yes Magic Elves, the point you make about player strategy and more experienced players is entirely valid. Sometimes we can question the actions of our teammates. It would be nice to have a more efficient way to communicate strategies. One possible solution is no time. It would be useful to have set co-op maps with no time instead of having to create one of your own.