Master and slave devices
Main devices would be the ones that grant victory points to the side of the conflict that captures them. They would operate similarly to zone flags—within the application it would be displayed that a given zone is controlled by a specific side of the conflict.
Secondary devices would function as extensions of the main device. They would be deployed within the zone of a main device, and capturing them would affect the number of points generated by the main device in that zone.
For example:
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a “power plant” — increased “power” would multiply the number of points generated by the main device (e.g. ×1.5),
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a “communication mast” — activating it would reduce the point-generation interval of the zone’s main device.
Such a solution provides many opportunities for developing game scenarios, for example with five main devices and several secondary devices that are crucial to the final score.
It is essential that secondary devices communicate with the main device. If the main device is captured by the Red team, the “enhancements” apply only to the Red team within that main device’s zone.
If the Blue team captures a secondary device (e.g. a “power plant”) in a Red-controlled zone, they can only set the device to a neutral state, meaning it no longer provides additional points for the Red team in that zone. If the Blue team captures the main device in that zone, all secondary devices switch to neutral mode until a Blue player activates them for their side.
It would then be possible to add various functions in the application, for example allowing only “engineers” to activate secondary devices. It would also be possible to introduce upgrades for secondary devices—finding the appropriate codes, using an authorization card, and so on—which would allow them to be upgraded to level 2. In the case of a power plant, this would increase the bonus from 1.5× to, for example, 2×.
There are many possible options.
I like all of this! The more "effort" you put in one zone, more points are generated.
E.G. use a ATB as "master" by its buttons, so everyone can capture the main zone. And then placing Miniboxes for the sattelite devices. Hand out a small amount of RFID tags to specific persons "engineers" and there you go!
I also love the idea of "upgrading".
The overall idea is excellent and opens the door to many game upgrades. The only technical concern is that all boxes would need to remain constantly connected to the Ares Alpha servers. I also expect that traffic will increase significantly. However, the concept is definitely worth exploring further.