Moshpits: Game Mode Concept

[iVialeko]

An offline/online battle mode, located as a separate shop like Tableturf & Battle Dojo. This mode is primarily a spin on laser tag.

Objectives:

-Each player will wear a vest. (vests are the objective) Both teams have objective meters of HP. Players will work towards lowering the opposing team's objective meter by inking their vests. The end-goal for players would be to completely drain the enemy team’s objective meter, effectively destroying their vests in a KO.

Rules & Gameplay:

-Players will carry the same weapon into battle, showing equal starts. (Starting weapon would be a Splattershot or Splattershot JR)

-Gear, although can still be worn, will NOT gain any advantages. (gear abilities are disabled) Instead, there are various abilities that a player can pick up around a stage in various amounts of AP. Ability durations will last around 10-15 seconds.

-There are special weapons placed in specific positions of a stage, protected by zapfish pods. (use special cans from hero mode)

-There are sub weapons scattered around a stage, which will be one time use. (can only pick up one at a time as well)

-There are select main weapons laid out around a stage with limited ink. The amount of ink for these weapons won't necessarily be a whole tank, but just enough to give players a chance of lowering a team's objective meter. EX: one full charge with a splat charger.

Stage Identity & Interactions:

-Moshpit stages could be exclusive, (kelp dome, port mackerel, toad's factory) or taken from the game's existing rotation.

-Story assets could spice up gameplay. EX: Balloons with ink filled in them could speeden up traversal, or serve as a means of landing large amounts of ink at an opponent, increasing the chance of breaking a player’s vest. Targets that rotate, fold out, hide platforms, etc.

Overall, the devs can really get creative with the sandbox, allowing multiple different ways of attacking and approaching within the Moshpit gameplay. And, given the resources, players could figure out how to deplete their opponent's objective meter quickly to win.

Moshpit Variations:

Boss Battles: Players are pitted up against AI in boss fight esq matches. There could be rewards for defeating the more difficult bosses. This would be a mode for players to go away from PVP, as well as a tutorial for anyone to learn Moshpit gameplay.

PVP: Players will be sporting vests, and the objective will be to ink them! HP will decrease from each team's objective meter as players inflict ink on each-other with their vests. Whichever team has the most HP remaining from their objective meter wins. A KO occurs when one team's objective meter has fully depleted. (vests are destroyed)

Free For All: Players have a ginormous ink tank as their objective meter. (inkometer) Inkometers drain as players fire starting weapons, use any sub, special, or main weapons picked up in a stage, and inflict ink on opposing players. Whichever player has the most ink left in their inkometer wins.

 

[The Salamander King]

I've heard a lot of potential game mode ideas in my time, but I think this might be the only good one (or at the very least, the best by a long shot).

8 different ink colors on the map at once might be kind of confusing. That's the only think I'm iffy on, but I don't know how else to do it.

The vests should have at least 800 Hp. Heck, I'd actually give them closer to 1000. Otherwise Splatlings would just tear through the vest like it's nothing. Slow weapons like Chargers and Stringers should probably have an increased damage multiplier, 1.25x or so to balance it out.

I like to imagine that a map could look like a polygonal octopus, with each player spawning in from one of it's eight legs.

 

[iVialeko]

Man, that means a lot to me coming from you. (and I've seen you a lot throughout various posts in Splatoon, very much thanks)

As far as the ink colors go, it'll only be two different ink colors from the two game-type variations that I had, since they are 2V2 & 1V1. (although there maybe could be a free for all or 4V4 variation, didn't think of that though at the time) One player with a vest vs one player with a vest or two players paired alongside each other against another pair of two all with vests. (and I thought maybe there would be slightly less HP per vest in 2V2's compared to 1V1)

The reason why I initially thought of smaller numbers like this is because I thought maybe it would be easier to balance and less chaotic with not having a bunch of players, and I would think it would also be easier to get games with lower player counts. But I suppose there could be 4V4 or even a Tri Color type format though as well, didn't really put much thought into that. ^ So thanks for sharing your insight of how a larger scale Moshpit could work on that note. ^

Thanks for the insight on the health of the vest, needed much appreciated help and suggestions with a rough HP estimate for them. ^

 

[The Salamander King]

Man, that means a lot to me coming from you. (and I've seen you a lot throughout various posts in Splatoon, very much thanks)

As far as the ink colors go, it'll only be two different ink colors from the two game-type variations that I had, since they are 2V2 & 1V1. (although there maybe could be a free for all or 4V4 variation, didn't think of that though at the time) One player with a vest vs one player with a vest or two players paired alongside each other against another pair of two all with vests. (and I thought maybe there would be slightly less HP per vest in 2V2's compared to 1V1)

The reason why I initially thought of smaller numbers like this is because I thought maybe it would be easier to balance and less chaotic with not having a bunch of players, and I would think it would also be easier to get games with lower player counts. But I suppose there could be 4V4 or even a Tri Color type format though as well, didn't really put much thought into that. ^ So thanks for sharing your insight of how a larger scale Moshpit could work on that note. ^

Thanks for the insight on the health of the vest, needed much appreciated help and suggestions with a rough HP estimate for them. ^

Yeah doing smaller numbers of players is a better idea. I think either a 2v2 or 1v1v1v1 would work. 1v1 could cause snowballing issues where the first player to get ahead has a heightened advantage for the rest of the game. 2v2 or 1v1v1v1 fixes this because players can only concentrate on one enemy at a time, so having more players makes advantaged players easier to kill.

Also, thanks so much for the kind words! I've been getting back into the game after a brief semi-hiatus to work on some other projects and I'll hopefully be posting on here more often.

 

[iVialeko]

Np! Thanks for your feedback, I really do appreciate it. ^ And I do agree with the snowballing effect that could occur with 1V1. I was actually thinking about some work arounds with some plot-holes with this today on that note. ^

I was pondering different win conditions today within the main objective of the vests, and I'll add them at some point in the post under the variations section.

I feel that with the hiatus, and I actually took a few month break from Splatoon 3. It's sort've how I ended up trying to brainstorm a few things during this passing time while watching other people play on Twitch xD. Is good to hear though you are doing well since, and I look forward to seeing some more of your posts in the future. :)