Should I pursue a riot/upheaval type mod?

[Ennui]

Yes, this is a mod idea thread. If you don't like that, then leave.

In any case, I was watching some show on SpikeTV, and they were showing tapes of riots. I thought it would make a fun multiplayer mod, rioters vs. riot police; if it could be believeably balanced some way, I think it could be a whole lot of fun. In addition to molotov cocktails and small handguns, the rioters (who would obviously have an advantage in numbers over the police) would have the ability to pick up any bit of rubble on the map and use it as a projectile, throw bricks and bits of rock and whatnot. Maps would be very destructible and the gameplay would probably be until either side is dead or incapacitated.

Do you think this is a good idea and if I should try to pursue making it, or not?

 

[nagual678]

it would be fun

 

[Ennui]

yeah, I could probably get the design issues worked out fairly easily, but do you think that other people would be willing to help out with it?

 

[nagual678]

the best way would be to have a precise design and ask people if it would be interesting enough for them to join and mod it.

 

[Ennui]

decent advice - I was more asking if I should bother spending the time to design it, since I don't know how it would be recieved.

 

[nagual678]

you don't need to be extremely concise IMHO, as details will come along the modmaking. just lay down a basic, yet concise layout :
realistic mod ? number, name and description of player teams and weapons ? vehicles ?
you see what i mean

 

[Ennui]

yeah.

I'll update this thread tomorrow or later tonight then, but anyone feel free to drop your comments.

 

[Lorka]

Sounds like a highly atmospheric multiplayer, but like BF, a rioting mod would have to revolve around quite large numbers of players in a server. When reduced to 4v4 or so, it could play out like any typical themed mp fps.

Careful balancing of weapons and tactics could make something very interesting.

 

[polypod]

tear gas that makes you dizzy, stun grenades..
objective could be to cut off traffic at key parts of the city..
and i always wondered when we'd see duct tape in a video game, perhaps this is a good one for it=)

 

[Ennui]

heh heh, duct tape.

yeah, tear gas, stun grenades, rubber AND real bullets, molotov cocktails, signs, duct tape (if i can think of a way...) and all sorts of other fun things.

 

[Cunbelin]

Stay away from any State of Emergency references, and avoid any particular incident being your focus. There are a few issues with it in general, namely that very rarely do the rioters win, and of course there is the issue of the police not trying to kill anyone. I don't see how the gameplay can really be fun for either side, and there are of course technical issues as there would have to be a large number of players to really convey the feeling properly. I think the only way you can really go with it is to make a CS clone. Feel free to prove me wrong, but I think the end result isn't going to be a generic tactical shooter. On the other hand the general idea could make for an interesting single-player experience. Ah well just my thoughts, take them how you will.

 

[Ennui]

Single Player would be insane for this, scripting out the wazoo, and a lot of new AI coding. This will not be ANYTHING like State of Emergency, and it won't focus on actual incidents, except perhaps Tiananmen?

It would be interesting to implement a rewards and punishment system for the police officers, most nonviolent or least painful way of nullifying the rioters gets them points, killing or shooting them takes away from points and possibly makes them sit out one or more rounds? I think it would be possible to create a system that would cause police players to think twice about killing rioters.

Another thing possible: the mod could evolve into an all out chaos mod. If any of you have read Samuel R. Delany's novel Dhalgren, you know the idea of a lawless zone... perhaps a ruined city could play the place for something like this? It's not as original as a riot mod, but it would be far easier to implement and explain.

Thoughts?

by the way, the riot mod would have an emphasis on realistic damage and effects, but it won't be a CS clone. At all.

 

[jheaddon]

Sounds like could be very interesting, although not sure what the playablility timeline would be, could get boring fast unless very well planned.

Can only be tear gassed and riot shielded so many times before you get bored, need to have proper strategies and gameplay modes to keep it fun. A system where the mapper can choose gameplay modes and objectives would be best

 

[Ennui]

yeah, that is how it would be implemented.

Got to write all of this up soon

 

[polypod]

heh heh, duct tape.

yeah, tear gas, stun grenades, rubber AND real bullets, molotov cocktails, signs, duct tape (if i can think of a way...) and all sorts of other fun things.

actually the civil disobedience in SF when the war started involved duct tape being used to block traffic..(although i always wondered exactly how that worked.. probably because they didn't want to get tape on their car so they wouldn't bust through it.. hmmm..

 

[Ennui]

how in the world do you use duct tape to block traffic?

 

[polypod]

they had wrapped it around light poles and crossed the street at a few different heights.. it worked too.. another tactic was a gang of bicycles would get on the expressway and make traffic slow to their pace.. then disperse before authorities got there..

 

[Ennui]

Okay, well I've written up a design document - it's still very sketchy, since I wrote it in my spare time at school then typed it when I got home - but I think it communicates the premise well, even if it's extremely hasty.

 

[DieScreaming]

it could be incremental, in one stage their would just be runner bullets, and shiled, and in the next they could have real bullets

 

[Tynan]

I hate to be a downer here, but...

I've been doing mod design for over four years. I've coded, mapped, modelled, animated, skinned... pretty much everything. So this is where I'm coming from.

I think that the riot mod is problematic for two reasons:

1. It's technically impossible with current computers/graphics cards/net speed.
2. Even if you got it working, it wouldn't be fun past the first half hour.

Technical problems: A riot requires large numbers of people in one space. However many you need, it's a lot more than the 16 or so who can be rendered and net-updated fast enough for the game to run decently. Even 16 is pushing it. If you want to test performance with a certain number of characters, just start HL2 and spawn that number. Plus they all have to be constantly updated over the netcode. Don't even get me started on using physics over the internet like that.

Gameplay problems: There are rather few decisions to make. Games are based on decisions. When to reload, when to run, when to charge, spend money, jump, stick with friend, take other route, whatever. Riots involve few decisions. The two sides essentialyl just pound away at each other.

Again, I really hate to burst the bubble here but this is my honest opinion: There is zero chance you'll ever release this mod (unless is it massively modified of course).

 

[Ennui]

Yeah, that's actually true. I'll file this under ideas in the portfolio and move on. Got plenty of other work on my hands as it is