In the past, a variety of gameplay mode ideas have come up for multiplayer, and Simon recently
brought up the issue again now that the coding for multiplayer in D Lix commences.
In this post I'll try to list and discuss most feature ideas that have popped up in the past. The main considerations are how much complexity they'd add to the game (and the UI), and how much gameplay value they add.
Survival mode. There there are no exits, and it times the death of your last lix. The objective is to outlive all opponents. I think this always boils down to the same gameplay at the end, a 1 vs 1 fight/dexterity fest, possibly with some strategies such as bunkering. Clones had it and it was called Quantum Quarrel, and I think it didn't see much use (and wasn't particularly fun).
I don't think it warrants a special game mode as it will probably not spark many new level ideas. And it's possible to kinda make it work anyway as in "Last Man Standing".
NaOH's Ark-like mode. You play an asymmetric level twice, with the player positions swapped. Whoever saves more cumulatively wins.
I think this can be done by consensus and doesn't warrant a special game mode, especially if it's possible to pre-assign hatches to colors in the lobby.
Race mode. The game times your first save, or maybe your n-th save. The objective is to be fastest. There are two questions here.
(1) How interesting is "first to save n wins" where n > 1. My hunch is that it'd only particularly be used in levels with little interaction, where the goal is to be the fasted to solve the level (basically each player plays a singleplayer level at the same time).
(2) Are we also interested in 2nd, 3rd, ... place and their times?
If the answer is yes to both questions, a game mode where in the final standing players are listed with their time might be warranted. If the answer is no, and only first to the finish is of interest level-design wise, then just having a nuke that finishes the game instantly if you've saved at least one lix and the overtime is set to 0:00 seems simpler and would just do the job.
Neutrals. A post above mentions the capture-the-clone mode from clones. There is one or a few designated clones that nobody controls, and you win if you get one of them. I'd propose the following generalization which I believe has a lot of gameplay potential: Neutral lixes. They could be pre-placed in the level, or come out of neutral hatches. Nobody can control them, they just wander around. One caveat is that all neutral hatches should release lixes simultaneously rather than sequentially, to be able to achieve perfect symmetry in 2P levels. These could even be an interesting addition to singleplayer. Either way, they could be a game-mode flag "only neutral lixes count", or this counting could be implicit whenever neutral lixes are present. I don't consider the latter simplifying gameplay though, as the player would still have to check which mode is in effect; a flag instead would also allow to have everyone count which I believe (but I'm not as convinced) is also interesting. Note that with an instant nuke (see below) this also implements the capture the clone mode.
Nuke modes. I think a lot of options have been floating around here. Cuber nuke, burner nuke, stunner nuke... Note that the idea is always that nuke triggers overtime if at least 1 lix has been saved by the player. Let me discuss 4 of the nuke ideas here:
- Regular nuke: It's a bit disruptive, and you can badly mess up other players' routes. While this could be a strategic element, a lot of the effect is quite random. Maybe we just like it because we're used it, and it's gimmicky because "fun! flinging!".
- Cuber nuke: Just as gimmicky but not as cool. Don't see much use in it.
- Burner nuke: Player can set a timer for the game to end, but without disrupting the game. Other players can still finish their routes and nuking with the hope of messing up the other players' paths doesn't work anymore.
- Concede: Trigger overtime, but your lix keep walking around, you just can't control them anymore. You'll think twice here if you nuke, and also you can't bail-out nuke when your bunch is walking towards someone else's exit. You can even nuke before your lix have entered your exit if you think they are safely walking into it. Could be implemented by turning the lix into neutrals. But at the same time they shouldn't be neutrals for counting purposes in the "only neutrals count" mode.
I think at most two different nuke modes should be implemented, and the last one is my clear favorite here. It could be visualized with white flags on the nuke button instead of the explosion. (Though that might be associated with losing the game, so maybe checkered flags for finishing the game?) I think I almost prefer the burner nuke over the regular one, but it's closer to the concede option while the regular nuke is the polar opposite, and has fun flinging. So I'd propose concede in addition to the nuke that we already have. Concede with overtime of 0:00 could also immediately end the game, thus indirectly implementing the first to the finish mode.
In particular, I feel that 0:00 in the editor being infinite over time is an artefact, and the editor should offer infinity as a time option (now that the cool infinity symbol is in).
In summary, personally I'd propose the following game-mode additions:
- Concede in addition to regular nuke
- Neutral lixes, and "only neutrals count" mode
I think this is a rather lean addition without too much extra complexity, but a lot of gameplay potential.