TimberWolf2K
2003-08-13, 01:01 PM
(I posted this on the planetside.com forum, but I thought you might like to read it too)
PS took 3 years to get to where it is now and it still has some of the most basic of FPS problems game designers solved years before PS
1) The Zerg force, and unstoppable rush of players 30 - 40 going from one base to the next, capping and moving on. Not really fighting anything, just causing lots of lag and TKing eachother for fun.
2) Time sinks; PS as it stands is a time sink. You spawn at your sanc and if your lucky there is some kind of frontline / battle / enemy base 1 jump away, if not then your in for a 10 min fly / run / drive to the next conotent.
Then you got shot and killed, its a FPS, it is the nature of the beast, but PS handles this in the most ridiculous manor. Forcing you to spawn on 1 or 2 areas, sometimes miles away from where you died or your team is. (Even if your faction owns 10 bases you can only spawn on 1 or 2 of them. bull shit!)
In PS it takes FAR too long to do anything its not a fun FPS
3) Its more of a bane than a boon to be a vehicle user, a) if you wish to take part in a battle (if you can find one) you must drive from the closest base from the battle because you can�t spawn anything from a hacked base. b) a 5 min timer on vehicles, wtf? if I die (remember FPS) I need to sit around the Vpad for 5 mins and wait for a new tank. Battles happen in and around bases, therefore you wont be traveling very far before you meet some hostiles or get blown up 5 mins is bullshit.
Couple problem 3 with problem 2 and you soon see that it�s not worth it owning a tank or any form of ground vehicle
4) Tumble weed, the sheer lack of any fighting that happens in PS. I've had PS for 2 days and I have never been so frustrated with a game before. its a FPS with 2000+ people but it seems like they are all running around in a clockwise direction around the world capping bases while the next faction comes in behind and caps. no real combat happens PS needs rules ( I�ll get to that soon )
How to fix PS
The player base for PS needs guidance. They mill around searching for action, getting frustrated.
SoE wanted something original, a persistent world, a never ending war, something semi realistic to a real war.
They seem to have the bases of this but have no way of guiding players to each other in order to have fights.
My idea. �Dynamic Play Fields�
Split each continent into smaller play fields of 2 bases and 2 - 3 towers. These will be like your standard FPS maps. You will join these maps from the sanc (warping straight to the spawn tube of your factions base, no waiting ). From the map screen you can see the number of friendly and enemy players in the map.
The lattice system can stay in place, if your faction owns a base that links to the enemy base a Play Field will be created and players can warp in.
"But TimberWolf you noob this just means that everyone will warp in and zerg the bases and it will be easy to cap a base!!1!"
Fair point, but this is the beauty of the Play Field system, there will be a player cap in place, just like a normal FPS. no more than saayyyy 32 players can join a 2 base map (maybe more if the devs find that 15 a side is spread too thin).
This gives 15 Soldiers and 1 commander per side.
The Commander can split his 15 troops up into teams and give them orders as s/he sees fit. It�s up to this commander and his team to insure the survival of his base or the capture of the enemy base!
There can be a minimum player cap too, sayyy ummm 6 players per side or there is a full weapons lock until more join (play fields without enough plays can be shown in red on the mission board)
Lets say, The VS own Kaang on Cyssor and the NC own Gunuku (Map Here (http://myplanetside.station.sony.com/worlds.jsp?action=change_world&worldId=15)) a Wall, like a warp gate field will be built surrounding the 2 bases and the 2 towers closest to them ( making a dynamic field of play ) only NC or VS can warp into this field of play until it is full. So the even sided battle wages, 15 vs 15 with each commander safely hidden away giving orders After 30 mins the VS make the last push and take control of the Gunuku tower, then its only a few minutes before a cloaker sneaks in and hacks the CC. lets say that the NC have 60 secs after the hack is made to counter hack or the base is lost (I�m unsure if an instant hack n� cap would cause matches to be over too fast)
So the VS hack Gunuku and win the match, the NC have no where to spawn so they lose.
The Field around Gunuku and Kaang dissipates and is reformed around Gunuku and Honsi.
A server wide messaged goes out that announcing Commander VanuScum has led his forces to victory at Gunuku!
The players can a) choose to warp to the Honsi vs Gunuku play field b) warp back to the sanc and choose a new play field or c) stay at Gunuku
I�m not trying to change the Dev�s vision, I�m just trying to give them an idea of how they could �round up� enough players to have an even sided non-Zerg battle and make PS fun.
Squads and the New playfield system
The way squads work as it is would change a little. You wouldn�t need to sit around in the sanc waiting for a squad. All you would do it go to the �Mission Board� look for a battle with room in it. Select that playfield and warp in. WHAMMO! Instant action that works and isn�t a zergfest
I believe that this new system will bring squads and outfits closer together. They will all know the mission, they know if they fail their empire will lose precious ground and they will be trodden under the purple heels of their enemy. If they succeed then they have made a difference
So that�s my idea to fix 90% of PSs problems. I have to admit I had high expectations for this game, but I cast those aside when I first played it, now all I expect is Fun.
I�m hoping the Devs read this and at least realize that PS these problems
Thank you for your timeHere (http://myplanetside.station.sony.com/worlds.jsp?action=change_world&worldId=15)
PS took 3 years to get to where it is now and it still has some of the most basic of FPS problems game designers solved years before PS
1) The Zerg force, and unstoppable rush of players 30 - 40 going from one base to the next, capping and moving on. Not really fighting anything, just causing lots of lag and TKing eachother for fun.
2) Time sinks; PS as it stands is a time sink. You spawn at your sanc and if your lucky there is some kind of frontline / battle / enemy base 1 jump away, if not then your in for a 10 min fly / run / drive to the next conotent.
Then you got shot and killed, its a FPS, it is the nature of the beast, but PS handles this in the most ridiculous manor. Forcing you to spawn on 1 or 2 areas, sometimes miles away from where you died or your team is. (Even if your faction owns 10 bases you can only spawn on 1 or 2 of them. bull shit!)
In PS it takes FAR too long to do anything its not a fun FPS
3) Its more of a bane than a boon to be a vehicle user, a) if you wish to take part in a battle (if you can find one) you must drive from the closest base from the battle because you can�t spawn anything from a hacked base. b) a 5 min timer on vehicles, wtf? if I die (remember FPS) I need to sit around the Vpad for 5 mins and wait for a new tank. Battles happen in and around bases, therefore you wont be traveling very far before you meet some hostiles or get blown up 5 mins is bullshit.
Couple problem 3 with problem 2 and you soon see that it�s not worth it owning a tank or any form of ground vehicle
4) Tumble weed, the sheer lack of any fighting that happens in PS. I've had PS for 2 days and I have never been so frustrated with a game before. its a FPS with 2000+ people but it seems like they are all running around in a clockwise direction around the world capping bases while the next faction comes in behind and caps. no real combat happens PS needs rules ( I�ll get to that soon )
How to fix PS
The player base for PS needs guidance. They mill around searching for action, getting frustrated.
SoE wanted something original, a persistent world, a never ending war, something semi realistic to a real war.
They seem to have the bases of this but have no way of guiding players to each other in order to have fights.
My idea. �Dynamic Play Fields�
Split each continent into smaller play fields of 2 bases and 2 - 3 towers. These will be like your standard FPS maps. You will join these maps from the sanc (warping straight to the spawn tube of your factions base, no waiting ). From the map screen you can see the number of friendly and enemy players in the map.
The lattice system can stay in place, if your faction owns a base that links to the enemy base a Play Field will be created and players can warp in.
"But TimberWolf you noob this just means that everyone will warp in and zerg the bases and it will be easy to cap a base!!1!"
Fair point, but this is the beauty of the Play Field system, there will be a player cap in place, just like a normal FPS. no more than saayyyy 32 players can join a 2 base map (maybe more if the devs find that 15 a side is spread too thin).
This gives 15 Soldiers and 1 commander per side.
The Commander can split his 15 troops up into teams and give them orders as s/he sees fit. It�s up to this commander and his team to insure the survival of his base or the capture of the enemy base!
There can be a minimum player cap too, sayyy ummm 6 players per side or there is a full weapons lock until more join (play fields without enough plays can be shown in red on the mission board)
Lets say, The VS own Kaang on Cyssor and the NC own Gunuku (Map Here (http://myplanetside.station.sony.com/worlds.jsp?action=change_world&worldId=15)) a Wall, like a warp gate field will be built surrounding the 2 bases and the 2 towers closest to them ( making a dynamic field of play ) only NC or VS can warp into this field of play until it is full. So the even sided battle wages, 15 vs 15 with each commander safely hidden away giving orders After 30 mins the VS make the last push and take control of the Gunuku tower, then its only a few minutes before a cloaker sneaks in and hacks the CC. lets say that the NC have 60 secs after the hack is made to counter hack or the base is lost (I�m unsure if an instant hack n� cap would cause matches to be over too fast)
So the VS hack Gunuku and win the match, the NC have no where to spawn so they lose.
The Field around Gunuku and Kaang dissipates and is reformed around Gunuku and Honsi.
A server wide messaged goes out that announcing Commander VanuScum has led his forces to victory at Gunuku!
The players can a) choose to warp to the Honsi vs Gunuku play field b) warp back to the sanc and choose a new play field or c) stay at Gunuku
I�m not trying to change the Dev�s vision, I�m just trying to give them an idea of how they could �round up� enough players to have an even sided non-Zerg battle and make PS fun.
Squads and the New playfield system
The way squads work as it is would change a little. You wouldn�t need to sit around in the sanc waiting for a squad. All you would do it go to the �Mission Board� look for a battle with room in it. Select that playfield and warp in. WHAMMO! Instant action that works and isn�t a zergfest
I believe that this new system will bring squads and outfits closer together. They will all know the mission, they know if they fail their empire will lose precious ground and they will be trodden under the purple heels of their enemy. If they succeed then they have made a difference
So that�s my idea to fix 90% of PSs problems. I have to admit I had high expectations for this game, but I cast those aside when I first played it, now all I expect is Fun.
I�m hoping the Devs read this and at least realize that PS these problems
Thank you for your timeHere (http://myplanetside.station.sony.com/worlds.jsp?action=change_world&worldId=15)