First Contact revamp suggestions

[Koenigsegg]

Greetings,

It's time for a bit of brainstorming and discussion. It has been noted that the First Contact gamemode does not attract all that much interest. Originally, according to the devs, it was a gamemode with the sole purpose was to test weapons and various features. Now it has changed, it is now a more relaxed gamemode that focuses on roleplay and character involvement.

It has been decided to open suggestions in order to eventually repurpose the gamemode, be it by suggesting ROE changes to meet specific IC needs. It could be having splinter factions that are part of an already existing faction but work on their own, for example. You can go wild in this thread and suggest whatever you want, granted you are serious. The core mechanics of the gamemode will likely stay the same, however it is entirely possible for us to get rid of the 'FC' part and make something new out of it. Different timeline, different goals, etc.


Emphasis on the go wild part. Literally anything that crosses your mind might be considered.
Do not suggest on the discord, we will only keep track of the suggestions that have been posted here. We are nice and involved but going through logs just to read John Halo begging for his very own secluded base which is an autistic fort 2.0 will simply be a waste of time and energy.

Now forgive for the shitty announcement, but my bed is calling for me.

[SpanishTomato]

I think FC needs at least some form of objectives for, at minimum, the Covenant. Though the URF could use them as well, possibly. The RoE is good as a guideline, but the Covenant are essentially objective-less besides "don't get seen and get forerunner artifacts." This is good to a degree and allows some great RP, but can mean extended periods of nothing as the Covvies just sit in space wondering where to go if no one takes charge.

Some degree of randomization is needed for this, I think, such as having the Covvies be searching for a SPECIFIC artifact somewhere in system, or they've been ordered to locate and steal one back from KS7, or they're needed to stop ONI from messing with holy artifacts on VT9, etc. Like traitor objectives, but for the whole faction, I guess.

It also means having actual artifacts to find, that do something other than be a spoon sprite called Alien Spoon or Weird Alien Tool. It also gives civilians/researchers/miners something to find and explore.

It does mean the Covvies need more tools, though. As of now they barely have flashlights and have a hard enough time walking through the various caverns on the planetside maps without getting lost or stuck.

[Joe4444]

honestly, I think its just a lack of content which puts people off FC.

it boils down to basically what GC was, the URF fight the UNSC over VT9, eventually one side winning and the round basically being over.

some more things for factions to do would be great, right now its just "sit over VT9 and wait for something to happen" for the UNSC, "wait for the admins to raise taxes/give people a reason to join us" or "just bumrush VT9 lamo" for the URF, and the covies spend most of the round cloaked and not doing much, from personal experience.

KS7 doesn't really do much, its just kinda there and has no significance, so no one really has to go there for anything important. Its a simple backwater mining colony, which there's nothing wrong with, as long as there is something there to do. It really needs something worthwhile there, for all of the sides.

ONI honestly just sit there and don't do anything, ever. Maybe once or twice they'll pump out a mech or orion, but that's if they even have a researcher in the first place, I think it'd be better if we just kinda...removed them, or maybe put them hidden away on KS7? A hidden ONI research base in the snow could lead to some amazing stories, IMO.

the "uknown signal" planet hasn't really been doing much, and I don't think anything's there tbh. might be best to save it for another GM.

tl;dr: condense things so its not as spread out and give people more to do, as for how to do those things, if they're not listed, i'll leave it up to you guys if you have any ideas.

[subdon]

how about if you revamp ONI from a planet base to a SECRET mobile space station with stealth capabilities?

stealth could be broken several ways like shooting or just covie stealth tech.

[BDpuffy420]

I think FC needs at least some form of objectives for, at minimum, the Covenant. Though the URF could use them as well, possibly. The RoE is good as a guideline, but the Covenant are essentially objective-less besides "don't get seen and get forerunner artifacts." This is good to a degree and allows some great RP, but can mean extended periods of nothing as the Covvies just sit in space wondering where to go if no one takes charge.

Some degree of randomization is needed for this, I think, such as having the Covvies be searching for a SPECIFIC artifact somewhere in system, or they've been ordered to locate and steal one back from KS7, or they're needed to stop ONI from messing with holy artifacts on VT9, etc. Like traitor objectives, but for the whole faction, I guess.

It also means having actual artifacts to find, that do something other than be a spoon sprite called Alien Spoon or Weird Alien Tool. It also gives civilians/researchers/miners something to find and explore.

It does mean the Covvies need more tools, though. As of now they barely have flashlights and have a hard enough time walking through the various caverns on the planetside maps without getting lost or stuck.

At the moment there actually a forerunner artifact that spawns every round underground

[vampire1329781234]

I think changing the Covenant ROE a bit would be a great thing, maybe make human interaction a tad more laid back, my most favorite rp comes out of human interaction as a covvie, when neither side does not immediately shoot each other, maybe this won't be possible for the covvies, so perhaps we can add Kig-Yar pirate roles, or banished as a side faction, both would be a fun role, rp wise and game wise, at least in my opinion. It is also a great way to more interesting combat situations, like alien v alien. Would certainly make rp faction politics interesting. This is all personal opinions, mostly, I don't know if anyone agrees or not.

[WingedDarkAngel]

Heavily limiting the URF comes to mind. taking away the asteroid base and the thorn and replacing them with a smaller hideyhole on KS-7, limiting the amount of URF slots on top of that (say one commander and three or four regular schmucks a round). that way Die hard Innie players, like myself, can be in the round but arent a major aspect, making FC more about the UNSC and the Covvies.

Maybe add the option of spawning in a "Civvie" URF ship to make up the lack of space faring from removing the thorn without relying on commandeering regular civvie ships all the time.

The idea is also to help keep the Insta round start validing to a minimum and solidate the URF playstyle to be more guerrilla which the URF are kinda lacking gameplay wise.. its kinda hard to go full "behind enemy lines freedom fighter" when your flying around in a big Stolen UNSC vessal with a "HEY! WE'RE THE ENEMY!" sign printed on its hull.

Also might encourage people to play the local law enforcement or regular, potentially URF sympathising, civvies.

[Koenigsegg]

I suggest that we move the timeline further to 2553.
This is a period that I believe will still give the possibility for players to play a covenant vs humans or covenant vs covenant, like with the Sword of Sanghelios against the Servants of the Abiding Truth and remnants of the covenant faction. Summary below (source: https://www.halopedia.org/2553 ):
---
2553 was the first year that saw relative peace for humanity as the Covenant ceased to exist following its collapse during the Great Schism and its defeat at the end of the Human-Covenant War. The war formally came to an end in March 2553 with a treaty agreed upon between the Unified Earth Government and the Swords of Sanghelios. Despite the end of large-scale hostilities and the absence of humanity being threatened with extinction, new factions sprung up in the power vacuum left behind by the ancient empire and new battles followed. 2553 was a year that saw the United Nations Space Command make major advances in terms of its technological prowess and military capability, despite a lesser reach over the galaxy incurred by the loss of so many colonies and assets during the decades of war. Ex-Covenant societies were faced with the challenge of redefining their purpose in a galaxy that no longer provided them with the rigid structure the hegemony had. Some sought revenge on humans and some on others from the Covenant. Some sought to be left alone and others made grabs for power. And some, such as Thel 'Vadam's Swords of Sanghelios, made in-roads with their former enemies for the mutual benefit of all parties.
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There are many splinter factions that comes with the collapse of the covenant faction and would allow for more freedom in term of objective and roleplay. Summary of splinter factions below (source: https://www.halopedia.org/Covenant_remnants ):
---
Covenant remnants are splinter factions originating from the former Covenant body and remain active after the dissolution of the Covenant, though no single group uses the specific term "Covenant remnant" to refer to themselves. These factions vary greatly in ethos and motives; while some consider themselves as upholding the legacy of the Covenant as it used to be, others have been shown to pursue more extensive reforms or their own specific agendas. Although many former Covenant members discarded the Prophets' religion and the belief in the "Great Journey" altogether in the wake of the revelation of the truth about the Halos, many Sangheili in particular have reverted to their species' ancient ways of worshiping the Forerunners and their technology, while others continue to maintain their belief in the "Great Journey" free from the influence of the Prophets. Thus, the various Covenant remnant factions range from pragmatic mercenaries to fanatical religious cultists.
---

Spartans could also be a thing, same for the URF and the ONI. This timeline is great because it does not involve an open war, as in each encounter should result in one or both sides being obliterated, but instead have all factions be 'divided' into subfactions (splinter factions) so they can pick whichever they want and pursue the goals that attract them the most. For example, a player could join as sangheili as part of the Servants of the Abiding Truth, worship the forerunner and attack the Swords of Sangheilios, or fight along the Keepers of One Freedom then help the URF fight the UNSC. Otherwise, there are always 'covenant' assets that are loyal to the Great Journey.

It is a very flexible timeline for all aspects of the lore. As to compensate the potential lack of clear objective, there could still be forerunner artifacts hidden on some maps, eventually. I don't have many ideas for objectives. Maybe an objective to host the 'peace treaty talk', which can be disrupted by other factions with organized attacks and the like.

[xXgoodieXx]

I think FC needs at least some form of objectives for, at minimum, the Covenant. Though the URF could use them as well, possibly. The RoE is good as a guideline, but the Covenant are essentially objective-less besides "don't get seen and get forerunner artifacts." This is good to a degree and allows some great RP, but can mean extended periods of nothing as the Covvies just sit in space wondering where to go if no one takes charge.

Some degree of randomization is needed for this, I think, such as having the Covvies be searching for a SPECIFIC artifact somewhere in system, or they've been ordered to locate and steal one back from KS7, or they're needed to stop ONI from messing with holy artifacts on VT9, etc. Like traitor objectives, but for the whole faction, I guess.

It also means having actual artifacts to find, that do something other than be a spoon sprite called Alien Spoon or Weird Alien Tool. It also gives civilians/researchers/miners something to find and explore.

It does mean the Covvies need more tools, though. As of now they barely have flashlights and have a hard enough time walking through the various caverns on the planetside maps without getting lost or stuck.

random events with in FC without admin having to start a key event would be nice. like random chances of flood or a outbreak or objects that a faction has to achieve like for e.g. (URF: has to capture or kill  'name of person'... UNSC: has to protect 'name of person')

having random events such as random iron storms that spawns in on the map and moves randomly could change ship gameplay as well as well having reason to be careful when using a ship in gun fights or moving place to place. having space junk that flys around in space could be another thing to add in that spawns in rarely could be another thing

[Aeleto]

I'd love to see it being more compact, we could benefit from ONI being moved to KS7 under the depot, new players often become ONI guards and ghost, not really leaving a good impression because there is nothing to do and it's honestly boring. FC somehow ends up being more sparse than GC mode because of VT9 and KS7.