I’m trying to think of a reference point for the idea I have, however, all examples I could think of revolved around tasks which were unrelated to the game itself that would simply keep the player pre-occupied, such as a short obstacle course for in-game currency.
First, I’ll start off by explaining the main idea I have and then I’ll provide specific examples afterward which might be useful for determining its applicability to your project.
Main Idea
You could potentially incorporate a temporary free-roam/sandbox mode which players will automatically be placed into during intermission periods (which could be when not enough players are there to start the next game, in-between games if you have a reset period, etc.)
I was originally going to reference the good old Roblox Derby because I thought that it had this sort of mode but it appears that I didn’t recall it correctly.
Temporary Free-Roam/Sandbox
-
Pros
-
Allows players to familiarize themselves w/game mechanics
-
Could act as a playground for players to experiment on their own without being confined to a limited amount of required & specific tasks from a tutorial (tutorials are still good, though)
-
Enables you to provide crucial information to the player that they might’ve only been attainable from experience/trial and error against other players
-
Upkeep would be low-maintenance/you wouldn’t need to update it often if players don’t spend much time in this mode if they aren’t the first two players in the server
-
This could end up being a fantastic way to incorporate new content that players can provide feedback on before implementing it into normal gameplay (such as a beta test without placing it in a separate game or something)
-
For players that join and never end up having enough people to experience the main gameplay, this mode might give them a good enough idea if they would consider rejoining in the future when more users are online
-
Cons
-
Some players might get attached to the mode and prefer it over the primary gameplay – this could be mitigated if the mode is only accessible during intermission periods
-
Might not be very engaging (this is heavily dependent on what aspects of your game are transferrable to a sandbox, however)
-
If implemented incorrectly, it could provide a poor impression of actual gameplay
-
Unintended consequences could come from having too many players in this mode under the assumption that they could attack each other’s vehicles and etc.
Suggestions
Considering you’ve made a comparison to Armored Patrol, I’ll utilize that as an example for what you could include in this gamemode.
Let’s say you have a variety of different vehicles (jeeps, tanks, helicopters, etc.) – these different vehicles could be included in the sandbox mode for players to freely use and see how they could be used.
For example, you could have distinct ranges for each of those vehicles that contain the environments in which those vehicles thrive the best in. While the tank section could have various targets and structures that they may be specialized to attack, the jeep section could have marked zones where players would need to transport supplies that would be used to build those structures in the first place.
Conclusion
As I’ve never created a game within this genre before (and I’ve never made a full game at all), the perspective I provide here is a mix between the knowledge I’ve gained from a player-standpoint and the intuition I have from my experiences with development. I absolutely loved playing Armored Patrol in my early years of Roblox so I’m very excited for the prospects that your game could end up having!