All Three Empires per server

[Veteran]

Having characters from two empires per server isn't the best solution. It should be either one or all three, depending on how much risk you feel that people who switch empires during the course of a playsession pose. Having the ability to have characters from all three empires on the same server would help even out the populations, I think.

I personally think a lot of people would make an alternate character from each empire as a way to keep current on what it's like to actually play that empire. As it is, we get an alt from one other empire. Not only will we not be likely to have an alt from that third empire, but we're also more likely to have a tainted opinion of that empire's assets.

I'd probably play a VS more often if I didn't have to use a server on the other side of the country to do so.

[Warborn]

I don't see what the big deal about restricting Empires is. Who the hell really cares if you can log in as one and then the other? Oh no, you can log in and listen to command chat to see that the zerg is going to X base next. Or, oh no, you can log into a different Empire if your Empire sucks, when of course it's the game's job to serve as your moral compass, so it should restrict your access as a way of saying "Stop switching sides you pussy!".

I agree that they should just let you log in as whatever, whenever. It's not like people with two accounts aren't already spying on the other team anyway. And it's not like you can really make a difference by spying. People will automatically go to a base once it gets under attack, as per usual. It's no difference if you know it's coming or not.

[Firefly]

There's a word people throw around, it's called "On-Topic". Perhaps you might try it.

[Visor]

I dont get why they need a 12 hour timer because even in one hour you arent going to make a difference since everything is so rapidly changing.

[scanda]

I agree on the 1 character per server. /sign
btw, SWG is gay, it's a giant sims online.

[Veteran]

I think we'd have less trouble in general if people were _less_ partisan. One character per server leads to acute partisanship.

Three per server. The only logical choice for PlanetSide's future.

edit: SW:G is a joke. Funny how their forum trolls never cite PlanetSide when they try to rip on a successful MMO game to satisfy their feelings of (justified) inadequacy for playing such a horrendous game. PlanetSide makes SW:G look like a bad Flash game.

[Hamma]

I dont think you should be able to switch empires at all on the same server.

[Veteran]

What about people with two br20 characters on Emerald? They kinda opened the barn door with the BCI.

[Mudflap]

I don't think you should be able to switch empires on a server either. Partisanship is what makes battles fun. What fun is it to kill someone you couldn't care less about? You may as well kill teammates! You have to hate them! When I'm playing my NC character, and we're fighting the VS, and the TR try to get on the continent, I can't help but complain about the "pansy ass TR." Now IRL, the TR don't exist, so I don't have a real problem with them, but in the game, it makes it fun. You've gotta hate TR Bursters, and their damn striker(especially when you're in a lightning).

If you do multiple empires per server, you have people who don't care which way the battles go. You begin to have alot of fair weather soldiers who switch to whichever empire is doing best. It's just all wrong man!

[TheRagingGerbil]

Three servers, one empire per server.

That's how it was and how it should have always be. They need give a popup for everyone on the server and have you choose which empire you want your characters to play. Since the duplicate name issues have already been addressed, there shouldn't be any problems changing a characters empire affiliation.

PS - Hey Pork, think before you post. Consolidate all your ideas so you don't have to reply to yourself 3 fricking times. kthnxbye.

[Queensidecastle]

I dont have a problem with it. The 24 hour limitation is sufficient in quelling empire hopping. It doesnt make any sense that you can have only 2 empires and not 3 on each server. If the 24 hour timer is suitable to limit you from 2 then it is even more effective limiting 3

[Mudflap]

It's a 12 hour timer, and it doesn't stop empire hopping. Imagine, I log in as NC, and we're fighting to hold onto our home continents, totally getting our rears handed to us. Well, I might think "Ya know, NC doesn't look like that much fun tonight, but the VS look to be on a good zerg!" So I log out, change to my VS character and join the zerg. Next night, I log in as VS to check things out and repeat.

[Visor]

The limit has no value, what you are going to spy and 12 hours later relay the information. The only reason is to make factions fair but if i faction is losing then next patch another faction is loosing your screwed since you already made a character for the other one. Two character like we have now isnt fair at all since they just go to NC and TR which are more powerfull most (lasher 2.0) of the time. Even 3 characters wont make it fair because it wont matter who you are figting agains since 12 hours later they could be you team-mate.

The only fix is to make the faction somewhat equal like the AA maxes they are diferent yet equal with their advatages and dis-advantages.

[Arkitan]

I dont see what the big deal is with playing on the other servers, most people that play this game have a pretty good net connection, I know that my ping on markov is below 100 back when I was playing CS I would have killed someone to get a ping that low.

I have a ping of around 36 - 37 on emerald and around 70 - 80 on markov I notice no difference at all. They are both playable.

[Veteran]

Some people can't stand to play on a server if it's not the absolute fastest it can be.

For me, Emerald is 40 ping and Markov is 100 ping. It drives me nuts to play without the best ping, despite Client-Side Hit-Detection.

[BadAsh]

I gotta go with Veteran on this one. Further, I think you should be able to play all 3 empires on any server you want. Why should I take a hit of 100+ or 200+ to my ping to play across the country or play in Europe just to try out another empire? And why should I have to start over at Br1 and Cr0 if I want to play with some buddies who are on another server?

One thing I dislike about PlanetSide is the divisive effect it has on the community. If I am a regular to one server I never meet any of the players from the other 2 servers. So right there 66% of the community is isolated away from me. Then is the effect of trying other empires. To do so I have to abandon play with my friends and go to another server where I don�t know anyone.

I much rather play with my friends either for or against. It�s pretty fun to hang with your outfit buddies and then the next day go against them. Some of my best and most humorous taunts have been against my friends. It�s just fun.

Personally I�d like to see the following:

Allow 1 character per empire per account
Allow the player to play any character at any time
Have the player designate a �Home� server and allow him to �visit� any of the other servers at will. (It�s only database info and there is no technical reason this can�t be done)

Each character can have a �title� based on his/her combined BR/CR level. The series of titles would be Server specific. In this way you could easily tell what player has what Home server in the game. E.G. Player 1 -�Hey I don�t recognize that Br20 Cr5�. Player 2 � �He is from Markov because his title is Suzerain and that�s the top title on Markov�. You can only join Outfits on your Home server and when visiting another server your server title would show under your name rather than your outfit to mark you as a visitor. You may still Squad and Platoon as normal and gain BEP and CEP, but not Outfit points. This would allow you to visit other servers without having to start a new fledgling character, but encourage you to stay on your home server for the Outfit benefits.

Anyway, that�s just my initial idea with a little �flavor� in the form of server specific titles added because I think it would be cool to know where someone mainly plays. This would bring the community in closer together and people in Forum groups like this could jump onto any server and play with their new friends at any time.

Dividing a whole community into 3 groups and forcing them to stay on specific teams is a mistake. Some of my best friends in this game are formidable opponents I�ve faced. There is a respect there and an enjoyment of the competition. Why not let us team up together if we want to add even more fun? I don�t like being hindered by limitations on playability that ONLY exist to prevent abuse.

IMHO SOE should just spank abusers HARD (like BR and CR reduction penalties, character deletion, temp, and perm banning, etc.) to deter them and not punish the rest of us with a �preemptive� playability design. I don�t know the exact statistics but I firmly believe that each abusive customer you lose due to banning you would gain SEVERAL more that would flock to a game that would be mostly PUNK-FREE. SOE�s PS would have a reputation for fun and serious gaming with intentional TKers, Spy/Saboteurs, exploiters, and cheaters actively and effectively hunted by CSR�s.

[Jagd]

What kind of abuse are we talking about here? Spying is has a negligible effect, since any CR5 can reveal enemies and force size indicators, hacked/generator/spawntube icons and more make it simple for anyone to track their enemies movements.

Also, I think in the scheme of online gaming, we are way less separated than with the vast, overwhelming majority of other games. You're talking about being split between 3 servers x 3 empires as being too much? Try playing any other FPS game out there, and you could be talking anywhere from a hundred servers to thousands!

I agree though, if they're going to allow 2 empires per server, they may as well make it 3. It is just an arbitrary limitation, after all.

[BadAsh]

Also, I think in the scheme of online gaming, we are way less separated than with the vast, overwhelming majority of other games. You're talking about being split between 3 servers x 3 empires as being too much? Try playing any other FPS game out there, and you could be talking anywhere from a hundred servers to thousands!

I agree with you assessment that the abuse potential is negligible at best in this game.

As to your comments about other games with many many servers, this is true, but there is no restriction as to what server you can join. So you can play anywhere you get a reasonable ping. In PS I have a few friends that are regulars on Emerald while my main characters are in Markov. It would be nice to be able to visit the other server and not have to start all over with a newbie character. This is especially true if that new character is of the same empire and will have the same certifications as my veteran character. Now, for no real reason I have to re-earn my stripes just to get my certs and implants up to the level I already earned. Why? Just to play with my friends? What did I do wrong to endure such a playability penalty?

IMHO the only time I should have to re-earn my stripes is if I start playing for another team (empire). I�d sure like to see SOE open up the unnecessary borders that divides this community.

[TeraHertz]

2 empires is uneccessary and unwanted on Werner. Change it to 3 and I'll leave, put it back to one, and I'll do a little dance.

[Arkitan]

Have the player designate a �Home� server and allow him to �visit� any of the other servers at will. (It�s only database info and there is no technical reason this can�t be done)

Think of it this way the database files may be small but the amount of different files being moved around all the time creates unnecesarry traffic on the network, and unnecesarry burden on the servers, therefor slowing down server response times, and creating more lag.

Yes the lag would be intermittent but any lag is bad lag.

[Mudflap]

The potential for abuse is HUGE like this. I don't know what you guys are thinking, but removing empire change timers and allowing all 3 empires on the same server is a massive mistake. You think we have population imbalance now? Imagine if someone being zerged can, anytime they want, join the zerg instead! Die-hards like you or me aren't going to do this, but we all know that the majority of players are pansies.

[Queensidecastle]

I don't know what you guys are thinking, but removing empire change timers and allowing all 3 empires on the same server is a massive mistake.
Thats certainly not what I am thinking. What I am saying is that with the 12 hour timer in place now, it makes no difference if the server is limited to 2 or 3 empires so they might as well make it 3 for the people that want to play all empires with thier buddies

[Happy lil Elf]

As to your comments about other games with many many servers, this is true, but there is no restriction as to what server you can join. So you can play anywhere you get a reasonable ping. In PS I have a few friends that are regulars on Emerald while my main characters are in Markov. It would be nice to be able to visit the other server and not have to start all over with a newbie character. This is especially true if that new character is of the same empire and will have the same certifications as my veteran character. Now, for no real reason I have to re-earn my stripes just to get my certs and implants up to the level I already earned. Why? Just to play with my friends? What did I do wrong to endure such a playability penalty?

That's how every other MMO works /shrug. The reasons are different and so they don't generally apply (main one being economy) so it's not really a valid excuse but unfortunately it's the way it is.

I've never understood what the big deal is with allowing people to have characters of more than one empire on a server. There's little to no opportunity for exploitation, and honestly? If you really wanna take the time to log onto another character to find out where the zerg is heading and then switch back, go for it. The info isn't very useful and you can figure it out soon enough when you get the "MASSIVE ENEMY FORCE" warning anyways /shrug

As far as the arguments of encouraging partisanship is a good thing because then "they're the bad guys". No. That's like saying you should only be able to play one faction in Tribes 2. Or CS. It makes no sense. Why I really don't like it is that partisanship in general leads to stupid things. I'd much rather deal with people who can look at things with an open mind then ones who simply have the mindset of "You play NC/TR/VS. I don't and therefore you're wrong". If people could play all three there would hopefully be less partisanship which, I think, would equate to less bullshit arguements about empire balancing and there's no way that could be a bad thing imo.

In the end we're not NC players or VS players or TR players. We're all gamers who enjoy playing Planetside.

[Mudflap]

As far as the arguments of encouraging partisanship is a good thing because then "they're the bad guys". No. That's like saying you should only be able to play one faction in Tribes 2. Or CS. It makes no sense. Why I really don't like it is that partisanship in general leads to stupid things. I'd much rather deal with people who can look at things with an open mind then ones who simply have the mindset of "You play NC/TR/VS. I don't and therefore you're wrong"

So what's your motivation to fight the other empires? Do you want to "think outside the box" and make peace? Come on, hate is what keeps you going, not fun. You don't become an infiltrator and boomer people in the tube so that you and them can both "have fun." You do it to piss them off. You don't have the voice macro "You gotta try harder than that" so that you can pal around with your enemies. You have them to piss them off! That's what's so damn fun about this game. You can piss off your enemies because they'll never be on your side. It's genius!

[Jagd]

I dislike all my enemies, and even some of the smacktards on my own damn team. Who needs a bubbling pit of rage to enjoy gibbing people? Not most gamers that I know of. We're all pot-smoking hippies, who like to pretend we're soldiers.....??? What a messed up world we live in.

[Happy lil Elf]

So what's your motivation to fight the other empires? Do you want to "think outside the box" and make peace? Come on, hate is what keeps you going, not fun.Please, tell me why I play this game. No really. I need your advice because I don't know. :rolleyes:
You don't become an infiltrator and boomer people in the tube so that you and them can both "have fun." You do it to piss them off.No, you do it to try and cut off their supply of men and make capping a base a lot easier.
You don't have the voice macro "You gotta try harder than that" so that you can pal around with your enemies. You have them to piss them off!No, I generally don't do that, unless of course the person I just killed is a cocky little shit who needed to die. But then I'm not doing it because they're a different faction, I'm doing it because they we're a cocky ass who needed killing.
That's what's so damn fun about this game. You can piss off your enemies because they'll never be on your side. It's genius!
The fact that you seem to play this game only to piss people off is sad and a little frightening. I play because I enjoy playing with the people I play with and because shooting people in video games amuses me. I don't play NC because I hate TR of VS. Why don't I hate them? Well, because that would be stupid, very stupid. Hating someone because they clicked a different icon than you. Jesus, that's so dumb it's almost mind boggling. Now granted if you don't really hate them per se, but simply feel extremely competitive that's definately a lot less idiotic and for the most part another discussion.

If you're just in it to piss people off though, stick to flaming on boards, people Xanga's sites, etc. It's much easier to piss people off and you can save yourself 12.95 a month.

[Lonehunter]

I dont think you should be able to switch empires at all on the same server.
:nod:
Porkfryer, try using the edit button.

[Jagd]

You know, if I see one more post about the edit button, there's gonna be hell to pay. And not to whoever isn't using it, but to the fuckers who multiply the spam by 100x with posts that say "use the edit button." Argh, it's obvious that PorkyHomer is not getting with the program, and now you guys have turned yourselves into spamm cadets every bit as bad as him! Pshaw!

[Mudflap]

Entertaining Elf, but taken way out of context, and seemingly personally. I do however like this quote:

No, I generally don't do that, unless of course the person I just killed is a cocky little shit who needed to die. But then I'm not doing it because they're a different faction, I'm doing it because they we're a cocky ass who needed killing.

I can feel your hatred! LOL! It's insane to think that your teammates were determined by the click of a button, but that's how the gaming world is. I like persistent worlds, and it seems a shame that so many FPS fanatics have come to this persistent world and tried to levy their FPS ideals on it. Your enemies STAY your enemies, your friends REMAIN your friends. Why don't we break down all persistent ideals and make everyone choose what BR and faction they want to be when they log in? What's the point of a persistent world when you can customize everything the second you log in?

People who want things to be able to change everything quickly and easily can always play CS or BF1942. They're great games, but I'll stick to the persistent one...thank you very much.

[Incompetent]

I dont think you should be able to switch empires at all on the same server.
/signed

[Happy lil Elf]

Entertaining Elf, but taken way out of context, and seemingly personally.

Umm, thanks I guess. Hardly taken personally however. I simply find needing "hate for your enemies" to enjoy playing a video game or playing a video game for the express purpose of pissing off your opponents to be extremely stupid and just a bit on the pathetic side. Of course that's simply my opinion and it shouldn't really matter all that much to you. I do appologize it wasn't worded a bit more diplomatically but I've never really sugar coated any of my responses.

[BadAsh]

If you're just in it to piss people off though, stick to flaming on boards, people Xanga's sites, etc. It's much easier to piss people off and you can save yourself 12.95 a month.


I agree with Elf here. I don�t hate the other players in the game and I�m concerned with their level of enjoyment as well as my own. Without motivated good competition what fun is there in the game? Hence all my thoughts here about game balance. If a fair set of variables is not perceived then people will leave. I want more people playing and having a blast, not less. It�s a game and is supposed to be fun.

As for the taunt macros and their purpose I see a more benign and silly usage behind them. Sure you can have your petty blood feud with another player and taunt each other, but I like to have fun with them. I once spammed the voice taunts right after I mowed my Outfit leader in the Sanctuary with a Basilisk. People were in stitches and it was a blast. Of course I saved the screenshot as a trophy of my �skillz�. In any event, if you are getting too hyper because some 12yr old voice taunted you or you are getting your panties in a bind over the same player owning you too many times in a row the problem is solely with you. It�s a game, relax, and think of a way to take your nemesis down. If you don�t thrive on the challenge and are genuinely getting angry and frustrated I have to ask, um, what do you do for fun? Cuz, this ain�t it.

[KIAsan]

If they keep the timer, no problem. Without the timer, you would have the sabatouge problem (we already have it, but not to a great extenet). Imagine, just cant take that base? Log in as the enemy alt, blow your own gen, switch back and get the xp.

[Riyu]

For me:

1 Empire per server.

Why? I like knowing who the "bad-ass" guys are on the server. If I see certain uber people in the kill spam either killing or being killed, I will either make a move to hunt them or run the hell away.

When Markov was joined by Johari, it took me a while before I could add the new uber people to my attention.

I like knowing having the enemy population be stagnant so I know who to look for.

[Renegarde]

Allow 1 character per empire per account
Allow the player to play any character at any time
Have the player designate a ***8220;Home***8221; server and allow him to ***8220;visit***8221; any of the other servers at will. (It***8217;s only database info and there is no technical reason this can***8217;t be done)

Each character can have a ***8220;title***8221; based on his/her combined BR/CR level. The series of titles would be Server specific. In this way you could easily tell what player has what Home server in the game. E.G. Player 1 -***8220;Hey I don***8217;t recognize that Br20 Cr5***8221;. Player 2 ***8211; ***8220;He is from Markov because his title is Suzerain and that***8217;s the top title on Markov***8221;. You can only join Outfits on your Home server and when visiting another server your server title would show under your name rather than your outfit to mark you as a visitor. You may still Squad and Platoon as normal and gain BEP and CEP, but not Outfit points. This would allow you to visit other servers without having to start a new fledgling character, but encourage you to stay on your home server for the Outfit benefits.


I love that idea. Either use that or something like it, or put the 1 empire/server cap back in.


You know, if I see one more post about the edit button, there's gonna be hell to pay. And not to whoever isn't using it, but to the fuckers who multiply the spam by 100x with posts that say "use the edit button." Argh, it's obvious that PorkyHomer is not getting with the program, and now you guys have turned yourselves into spamm cadets every bit as bad as him! Pshaw!


Lol, Jagd, you're doing that yourself.

[Visor]

The sabouteur problem can be eliminating by placing a timer even ofr 30 minutes.

The only bad thing with 3 empires per server is that you dont get to keep your grudge against someone since the next day they are your teammate. No honour between enemy and you.

Back with only one character per server i knew who were good and who died easily now theres 3 times more names because of the merge i can no longer keep track who are skilled and who are n00bs. With 3 empires per server there is going to be even more names taken original and stupid the devs will have their ands full with bannings.

[Renegarde]

Why the hell can't I edit my godamn post?

Oh, =P Button was there, just invisible.

Nevermind.

[Jagd]

*sigh* :rolleyes:

Riyu-- if you want a faster way to find those you seek, look for backpacks. I am always hunting enemy CR5s.