Hello, I know this might not be the right place to post this but there Isn’t a place for “suggestions in general”, so here we are. I’ve been playing dirty bomb for a while and I love it! I just noticed a few things I think could use some fixing, so bear with me here:
“Stacked Teams” issue:
Often in games we end up with what players call “stacked teams”; when there is a large level gap between the 2 teams players. this makes a large impact on the match, as a team of level 5’s obviously don’t have the same experience and overall skill level as a team of level 20’s. One major problem with this is that it can quite easily turn players away from the game, which is not good for the game at all. I propose 2 possible solutions to this:
-
add an auto team shuffle at match start, mixing up the high and low levels to balance the teams. players of course are free to switch teams if they do not like which team they’re on, and it would not be hard to implement lines of code to keep steam friends on the same team. I suggest this because often players don’t notice/care if the teams are stacked, especially the winning team. but shuffling teams at match start would be a quick way to help ease the problem of stacked teams with very little amounts of code.
-
different lobbies for different levels. A more complicated and time consuming fix, this would be the most effective way of preventing stacked teams. it goes without saying that a new player should not be plotted against a seasoned pro, so making different lobbies only players of certain level ranges can join would keep the newbs playing against the newbs, and the pros against the pros. While it may be a harder change to implement, I believe it would drastically improve players experience to play with and against players of similar experience, and work their way up to the pro level lobbies.
XP boost for snipers:
I enjoy sniping, and its well known that sniping, especially in a fast paced game like DirtyBomb, requires a lot of skill and is more difficult. this is why I think snipers should have higher rewards for their kills, especially since on average a sniper gets less kills then others. one simple fix would be a range boost in XP, meaning the farther away the target was, the more XP for sniping it. this would be a very simple thing to implement, just some lines of code saying “if kill was with sniper rifle and over __ meters, give XP boost of __ times distance to target”. This would make it easier to level up as a sniper and more fun to play as one.
Anti-SpawnCamping measures:
SpawnCamping, while often stemming from stacked teams, is its own kind of annoyance and problem that can be hard to rectify. Its not hard to imagine how dying seconds after you spawn can decrease overall enjoyment of the game, and so I think measures should be implemented to keep the fight away from spawnpoints. One simple fix would be to implement some kind of boost the closer you are to spawn, like a health regen or damage boost when you are close to your spawn point, making it much easier to fight back. another simple way would be to implement a sort of “immunity” to damage for a short time after spawning, allowing players time to asses their situation, gain their bearings, and fight off spawncampers.
those are all the issues I can think of that can be fixed easily, but while I’m here and your reading still, here are some ideas for additions I have:
-An XP boost for killing medics and snipers, thus encouraging more tactical target choosing
MERC ABILITIES:
-revive station; like a health station but it revives nearby downed allies. simply combine the code for bushwackers turret and sparks revive gun, and add a limited amount of revives. this would be a great ability for a new or existing medic to set them apart from the others.
-Riot shield: a Merc with the ability to pull down a shield (be it plexiglass or hologram based) that absorbs damage would be very unique among the other mercs, but also fit in well. you could also make the shield big enough to shield multiple players, or make it of the deployable variation that you place and gain XP for shielding players.
-Armor station: like a healing station but nearby mercs get a boost in resistance to damage, able to take more hits based on how close they are to said station. this would be another unique yet well suited addition to the support classes.
-quick move ability: a Merc with an ability to quickly move in a direction, or just gain increased movement speed, would be great for hit and run attacks or quickly getting into cover.
-glue bomb: a grenade that works like the flashbang, only it slows down affected enemies movement speed and jump height for a short time, making them easier targets.
-deployable wall: its all kind of in the name, but an ability that creates a barrier of some kind (with its own health of course) allowing quick area denial or redirection of enemy activity
-tazer pulse: a Merc that can send out an electrical pulse to make nearby enemies shake like theyve been shot for a short time, making ti harder to aim.
-flamethrower: similar to rhinos minigun, a ability-gun suited to close range area-denial; with a large spread but a very short range, users of this would have to get close, thus endangering themselves. but if hit, an enemy would sustain damage and possibly be lit on fire for a sort of bleed type of damage.
Thus concludes my textual-brainstorm of ideas for this wonderful game, let me know what you guys think! Ill post more in the comments if any more come to me.
