Multiplayer PvP mode - hear me out (not coop!)

[Anxarcule]

Huge fan of FTL and have only played 1.5 hours of this game so far but am LOVING it so far. To be perfectly clear I am happy to keep this as a SP game, and don't think co-op would work, but this could potentially work as a PvP mode, although it would be quite niche as there would be downtime between turns.

No expectations, no demands here, just an idea I had that I hope may receive good feedback from the community and potentially reach the eyes and ears of these awesome devs... if anyone could make a fun MP mode for this game, they could.

To put it simply I see the game play designed as follows:

1. Map is randomly generated (maybe player choice for region), and is shown to each player
   
   
2. Mech player chooses their starting team / custom team, as well as upgrades. Each mech chosen as well as upgrades selected would be worth a certain number of points, and points spent by the Mech player give the Vek player the equivalent number of points. There would be no need to put a cap on what the player chooses as each buff you take also buffs up the Vek's arsenal. Alternatively point pool can be static for both players (to save time)
   
   
3. Vek player decides on starting three units, as well as reinforcements. The Vek player can decide on squares that will receive reinforcements for each subsequent turn - clearly there would need to be a limit of reinforcements per turn so they don't spawn 10 artillery units at once, although that could be cool :) The reinforcement square placements are hidden to the Mech player.
   
   
4. Once both players are have chosen the Vek places their initial 3 starting units, followed by the Mech players
   
   
5. Vek plays their turn, moving each unit as desired and flagging how they want to attack during their attack phase. Vek players can undo movement as desired, but once committed to a planned attack they cannot undo (as the Mech player). They cannot reset a turn.
   
   
6. Mech player plays their movement and attack phase, being able to see where the Vek player is planning on attacking, as well as reinforcement that will show up next turn. Just as in SP, the Mech can reset a turn once per battle
   
   
7. After the Mech's attack, the Vek units follow through with their intended attacks and new creatures spawn, then back to the Vek player to move phase.

Essentially, this isn't very different from the current game only allowing the player to control the Vek. Maybe the AI will overall be better than most players, but as the Vek you are controlling more units with constant reinforcements - every decision you make during setup can be planned turns in advance, essentially turning this into a chess-like game, planning multiple unit movements, attacks, and environment hazards several turns in advance.

One big drawback of this mode is it could be very slow in the initial setup, and each player's turn can be somewhat slow. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing though, as this is a strategic TBS and isn't meant to be a quick reflex based game.

WDYT?

[Cidec]

I think it would be cool if they did this with a lobby system like Frozen Synapse. You could do it with correspondence style play like in chess. I would be super into that.

[McMurphy]

any news woul be dope at online PvP

[Terin]

A problem with human-controlled Vek is that the base game kind of relies on the randomness of the AI to give the mechs a chance. If a human is behind the Vek, if you dedicate every possible unit to damaging buildings, they'll almost always win to attrition. The base game relies on the AI sometimes relenting and deciding to attack your mechs to make it work. Otherwise, you just don't have enough actions to come out on top.