Multiplayer Mapping and Classes

Unity Engine
1

Hello! I’m new to the Unity forums so excuse me if this isn’t in the right category.

I’m working on a class-based first person shooter and I’m asking about how to create maps designed for multiplayer in this regard. This can be seperated into a few subquestions:

  1. What weaknesses can each class have? (weak point in the legs, shooting a jetpack will disable it, etc)
  2. How can classes counter one another specifically?
  3. How can I design multiplayer maps so classes can feel like they have a use? (for example, snipers have long hallways, the stealth class has flanking routes, etc)

CLASSES
Each class can have one of two abilities, and each ability defines their role (eg a Juggernaut using Slam is a Brawler). Only one class mod can be equipped.

Scout
The Scout armour is optimised for reconnaissance and survival in any terrain. Good for veteran players
Roles: Recon (long range, marking enemies), Gunrunner (fast CQC)
Ability: Mark
Mark enemies that you look at directly. Marked enemies can be seen through walls, on your radar and by your team
SAB (Speed and Health Boost)
When SAB is injected; the leg muscles contract and the armour’s integrity will go into overdrive, meaning that the user will run faster and armour integrity will quickly regenerate.
Passive: Jump higher and gain the ability to slide
Scout mods: Marker (marked enemies stay marked for longer), Weak Point (marked enemies take more damage), Shock Absorbers (Shoot while sprinting when under the influence of SAB)
Weaknesses:
Health: 100
Speed: 2m/s

Stealth
The Stealth armour is designed for infiltration missions. Good for intermediate players
Roles: Infiltrator (spread chaos among groups), Assassin (single enemy takedown)
Ability: Cloak
By refracting light, the user will be harder to track and spot.
HST (Heat Signature Tracking)
Built-in infrared goggles allow the user to see any heat signature through walls.
Passive: Make less sound, deal more melee damage when behind your enemy
Stealth mods: Mapper (Enemies revealed by HST can be seen by friendlies and are marked on both yours and friendlies’ minimaps), Echo (HST’s radius is increased), Low Profile (Firing weapons will not disable Cloak), Battery (Cloak’s duration is longer), Execute (While Cloak is active and a target is in your crosshairs, melee to dash forward a short distance and perform a special melee attack), Killing Blow (Killing an enemy with a melee attack fully restores Cloak’s duration and cooldown)
Weaknesses: The Cloak ability works by refracting light, so too much light from say, a helmet-mounted flashlight ought to short it out. All standard Cloud Army armour suits regulate heat, so try staying still or crouch walk and don’t fire your weapon.
Health: 125
Speed: 1.75m/s

Aerial
The Aerial armour is suited for long range combat and elevated terrain. Good for veteran players
Roles: Sniper (long range combat), Bomber (elevated bombarding)
Ability: Jetpack
Enough power from the twin rockets strapped to the user’s back will allow them to fly.
Drone
Send out a drone that will attack enemies
Passive: Reduced fall damage.
Aerial mods: Efficient Fuel (Jetpack can be used for longer), Hover (ADS in the air to stay stationary), Strafe Rockets (Jetpack gives more movement control), Afterburner (Improved Drone movement speed), Dreadnought (Increased Drone health and damage), Laser Guided (Using the Drone skill while looking at an enemy will pinpoint them. The Drone will focus on the pinpointed enemy and deal more damage to them)
Weaknesses: Shooting jetpacks or drones will disable them.
Health: 150
Speed: 1.5m/s

Foot Soldier
The main infantry of the Cloud Army. Good for beginner players
Roles: Offence (attacking objectives and rooms), Defence (defending objectives and rooms)
Ability: Particle Bubble
Create a bubble that allies can group up in. Allies gain an extra layer of armour integrity while in your bubble
Gyre Rockets
Launch an unguided rocket salvo
Passive:
Foot Soldier mods: Amped (allies do more damage so long as they have touched your bubble), Protector (the armour integrity buff lasts outside of your bubble), Missile Rack (gain three extra Gyre Rockets), Last Resort (When your armour integrity breaks, your Gyre Rockets will fire regardless of cooldown)
Weaknesses:
Health: 175
Speed: 1.25m/s

Medic
The Medic armour is designed to assist friendlies mid-battle. Good for beginner players
Roles: Healer (healing friendlies), Buffer (buffing friendlies)
Ability: Recharger
Adds the Recharger mod to all guns. Press the ability button to heal an ally that you look at and is close enough. The healing beam will stop if the ally leaves your vision, gets too far away or you press the ability button again.
Damage Totem
By placing a totem, it will supercharge allies’ weapons, increasing damage within its radius.
Passive: Regenerate health
Medic mods: Ion cell (Recharger travels further and heals faster), Booster (match the speed of any faster healing target), Plural (Heal multiple allies at once), Portable (Damage Totem is activated on your person and has a larger radius)
Weaknesses: Shooting a Damage Totem will destroy it
Health: 200
Speed: 1m/s

Shock Trooper
The elite and deadly of the Cloud Army. Good for intermediate players
Roles: Support, Breacher
Ability: Particle Wall
Create a wall that allies can shoot through
Concussion Rocket
Fire a rocket that bounces enemies towards it and slightly stuns them. The trajectory of the rocket can be changed to lob it in an arc. The travel path of the rocket can be seen while readying the rocket.
Passive:
Shock Trooper mods: Portable (Particle Wall is activated on your person and is wider), Defender (Particle Wall’s health is increased), Amped (Outgoing damage from Particle Wall is increased), Countermeasures (Concussion Rocket can disable projectiles by shooting it at them)
Weaknesses:
Health: 225
Speed: 0.75m/s

Juggernaut
Powerhouses of the Cloud Army, Juggernauts can take a lot of firepower, and return it. Good for intermediate players
Roles: Bulwark, Brawler (melee-focused combat)
Ability: Slam
By diverting power to the axillaries located in the suit’s arms, the wearer can slam the ground, stunning any caught within its radius and potentially killing them.
Fortify
By forcing the armour integrity to go into overdrive, this will make you invincible, but stop you from firing your weapon.
Passive: Increased melee damage
Juggernaut mods: Expand (Fortify increases your hitbox, protecting allies), Direct (Slam travels in the direction you’re looking), Protector (Fortify becomes an increased layer of armour, increases your hitbox significantly and allows allies to shoot through the hitbox), Earthquake (Slam’s area of effect is larger), Brawler (Increased melee speed and range) Sentry (Fortify instead adds a shield to the front of your gun, allowing you to shoot but only protecting you from the front), Vanguard (While Fortify is active, your allies regain health and armour integrity)
Weaknesses: Shooting a Juggernaut in the legs will slow them down
Health: 250
Speed: 0.5m/s

If you feel that I am not providing enough information or am being vague, feel free to say so and I will reply to it to the best of my ability.

2

You’ll undoubtedly get more interest in this topic if you post it over in the Game Design forum, as this forum is generally more about technical networking issues.

  1. I don’t really understand the question. As far as what weaknesses a class can have is really just up to your imagination.

  2. It sounds like you’re going for a rock, paper, scissors approach to your classes, which I think is great for RPG and RTS games, but I’ve never liked in an FPS game. It feels unsatisfying when you encounter an enemy player whom you are supposed to lose against. I do think it is fine to tread lightly in this area, where a certain class is just suboptimal to use against another class.

You’d want to combine that with some form of squad play, so there is always the possibility of having a member in your squad that is strong against whatever your team comes up against. In something like solo deathmatch though, you just get the feeling you always lose, since you remember every time you die to someone where it seems unfair, but not necessarily where you did the same thing to another player of a class that is weak to yours.

  1. I’m not sure what to say other than be careful with this to avoid making a single class too powerful in a specific map. Everyone playing that map will just play the overpowered class for it. Wide open area maps may just be full of snipers and flying guys for example, since the up close classes don’t have a chance. You run the risk of making maps like this pretty boring.