So correct me if I’m wrong, but the devs wanted one of the focus points of F.P. to be random fighting occurring around the map. Why, then, are they pressuring you to keep moving to the next point by telling you where it’s going to be and when it’s going to open immediately after the previous point is captured?
It’s such a convoluted design. Do you want random fights to break out or do you want people to capture points? It’s incentivized to ignore fights when going to point, yet the maps are made so big and open, so that these fights can happen anywhere and quite frequently. I don’t get it.
I don’t think there is any way for a capture-point style mode to mesh well with massive maps, especially if you’re only able to fight one point at a time. If you could contest multiple points (maybe make the capture points smaller, so that it’s more suited for 1v1s/2v2s), it would make the mode more fun.
Because the players didn’t like the totally random nature and having to walk all the way across the stage after winning when the losing team just spawns right there.
Pressuring players to walk to the point doesn’t change the fact that players who died are going to spawn closer. That happens regardless of whether or not your moving to the next point.
Haven’t thought about that. But it would be interesting to see how the game would change if instead of announcing the next point and unlocking after 40 they waited 25s to announce the next point and then unlocked it after 15.
Instead of everyone just walking straight to point the teams would gravitate to the middle of the map and fight over map control so that they’re in a favourable position no matter which point is unlocked.
Also spawn system should change imo. The new spawn shouldn’t activate until 30s after the new point is unlocked. The fact that the fastest way to some points is to jump of a cliff is just lame imo.
This is, indeed, incorrect. They never said this, nor does the mode design support it. They talked about fights that may occur in transit from point to point, which do happen sometimes, but are neither a necessary, nor an inevitable part of Flashpoint.
It seems Aaron wants to make a more team-oriented strategic game rather than FPS.
But I think most of his idea, including FP(team-based map control) and stadium(less mechanical skill more builds), suit top-view or third-person PoV with a distant camera.
It’s somewhat clunky to play as a team in the first person PoV in a big map and such team strategy parts feel almost random as you describe in everyday competitive.
I wonder if flash point would be fun if it were to have 2 points open at a time (one activating after the other reached 25% capture by either team) so that the map would encourage players strategically deciding which point to contest and when. Maybe leave it in quick play only for a while to make sure it’s balanced (fun doesn’t always mean balanced)
This way the mode wouldn’t feel like a nasty walking simulator but rather a meaningful choice in “which point do I feel I can make more impact in”, and “do I go with my tank or do I try to pop off and secure the other one without my tank with my ult” or something.
But there is. It’s dependent on who wins the point. The losing team gets the advantage for the next point by having it be closer to their initial spawn.
The order of points unlocking isn’t really my issue with the mode.
It’s the fact that you are guaranteed to see the enemy team transitioning to the next point as you go to it, but are incentivized to not shoot them at risk of losing point control. It makes for this very awkward truce state where you’re just staring at each other while running in the same direction.
“The appeal of Flashpoint lies in the element of surprise. Since you have to move from one point to another, without being able to anticipate where you will have to go, the combat zones are much more unpredictable than in other game modes.”
- Ryan Smith, Overwatch 2 Flashpoint Mode Development Manager
The random fights can still happen as there’s a number of chokepoints between multiple points, and it tells you where the next point is immediately because it’d suck to be a low mobility character on the opposite side of the map.