Speedrunners
321tapChanges in Speedrunner's Multiplayer Rules
Posted by Cas | Filed under SpeedrunnerHD, Design
Hi all!
Today I'd like to talk about some of the changes I've made so far in the rules of Speedrunner's multiplayer mode. The inspiration for writing this post came from seeing this video in which four enthusiastic French players play a couple of exciting multiplayer matches. It's a really fun video, as the guys all even dress up as their game character!
Anyway, seeing that video made me attentive to the small changes I've made in the rules of a speedrunner multiplayer match, and I wanted to share these changes with you, so that you can already give me feedback if you think those changes are for the good or for the bad.
- Rocket Trajectory
In the XBLIG version, when you fire a rocket it goes up for a little while before going in to 'homing mode', in which it flies straight at its target. The idea of this was that you should be wise when you fire a rocket, as when you do it in a small space you might end up only blowing up your self. In the PC version, this is still true, but in a lesser extend. The rocket goes up a little less high, and the transition to 'homing mode' is also less abrupt.
- Grappling Hook Homing
In the PC version of the game, the grappling hook (when used as a weapon) will always connect with its target, unless that target is sliding. The XBLIG version of the grappling hook had around 80% chance of connecting with its target, depending on the angle between the shooter and the target, but that was quite confusing and isn't the case anymore.
- Switch Block Resetting
The 'switch blocks' (the yellow-and-black-striped platforms that open and close when you pass a switch) now reset after a little while. This means that each round (every time you encounter such a switch block) it will be in its default position.
- Always start with 3 lives and no life-gain
Players now always start with 3 lives, and the possibility of re-gaining a life is now removed.
- 3 Crates instead of 1
The 'dropped crate' weapon now gives you 3 crates to drop. So it is now a bit more powerful.
- Death Handling
When you jump into a spike, instead of getting stuck at that location, you will be picked up by one of the scientists and returned to your last based position. This gives you the chance to get back into the game, but it's not easy. The reason I did this was get some more edge-of-your-seat gameplay, but also because some obstacles in the game or not so static anymore as the spikes are, so it would be weird if players get stuck in the air, without the obstacle being there anymore.
- Sudden Death Triggering
Finally, I'm still working on when to trigger the Sudden Death. In the XBLIG version, sudden death is triggered at kind of a vague point in the game; the exact rule is: "when there are only two players left and neither of them have scored a point in the last round". However, I think that this can feel a bit too random to players. So I'm now thinking about simply always triggering Sudden Death after a set amount of play time, like 5 minutes.
That's it! Tell me what you think; are these changes good? Or do you think they will break the game or ruin the fun for you in some way? I'm especially interesting in hearing what you think about the current and future implementation of Sudden Death. Also, if you have suggestions for other changes you'd like to see in the multiplayer rules, feel free to let me know!
Cheers, Casper
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