Love how populations work now

[Mudflap]

Last night I had a ton of fun playing my VS character and fighting for Cyssor. We only had the Southeast three bases, and were fighting the NC and TR. Nice little threeway. Well, I watched the TR use something new to the game......tactics! The TR had Gunuke to begin with, but it looks like they pulled out and hit Chuku to put the NC squarely between them and us. The NC were crushed.....although not too quickly, because they didn't cover their rear and let the enemy outmaneuver them.

The battles don't seem to be stalemates, unless you just have two forces banging their heads against eachother. I'm beginning to see the real use of tactics like bombing raids on vehicle terminals, taking down tech plant gens, stealthers destroying tubes, tank formations, and the like. Not that I never saw them before, but certainly not with the same frequency as last night.

[TheRagingGerbil]

That fight on Cyssor has been the exact same for the last 4 days. I'm bored of it now. Even the fighting on Hossin last night was getting boring. I can only kill the same guy so many times. He spawns, rushes my backdoor, and I kill him...rinse and repeat for like 3 hours.

[Jagd]

It is just so much harder to force the decisive moment with so many enemies running around trying to get something else done.

[SilverLord]

It is just so much harder to force the decisive moment with so many enemies running around trying to get something else done.Hm...maybe it's just me but whats that supposed to mean?

[Jagd]

It just means there are so many enemies running around everywhere now, it is very difficult to actually gain any ground on the hotly contested continents. Good thing? Bad thing? Too early to say for certain, but it can definitely be frustrating.

[SilverLord]

Are you sure what your talking about? The new population cap let's less enemies from another empire in your continent. If anything, I am seeing smaller battles and thank god for that, my comp was about to explode during those fights.

[Jagd]

Mostly I've been experiencing bogged down stalemates since the change, sounds like Gerbil is too.

[Veteran]

All experience earned by the squad leader should be converted to CEP.

It's stupidly hard to advance CR now.

[Jagd]

Agreed.

[SandTrout]

What Jagd is saying, I think, is that while there may be fewer enemies from each empire on a continent, the combined # of enemies is much higher. this combined with the defending force also haveing fewer troops results in stalemates like what has been seen on cyssor, emerald.

The NC don't have enough troops to push the VS off the continent without leaveing their flanks exposed to the TR, so the TR get bases that are reletively undefended. If the NC try to push the TR off our continent, we don't have enough troops to hold against the VS.

[Mudflap]

I suppose I would like to see something put into the game. How about if a faction has no place to spawn on a continent, the continent becomes locked to them for 30 minutes? The reason for this is obvious. If all three factions have equal representation on the continent, nobody will ever lock it. If you do manage to push one faction off, they can simply come right back the second your forces move to the next base. With this modification, pushing a faction off the continent could actually accomplish something, and it would set a minimum time that a continent would be locked for.

[SandTrout]

Or have it set so that unless your empire has a base on the continent, it acts like it is under enemy lock. That way, tr geting a base on cyssor wont allow the VS to start drop-poding all over the continent.

[Jagd]

That sounds like a better solution, Trout, good call.

[TheRagingGerbil]

Ohh, I like that idea trout!

[Veteran]

The HART is the enemy of solid strategical thinking all over the map. Until you can HART only near friendly SOIs, the efforts of well-rounded squads will never be fully recognized.

What's the difference between a full Deliverer that captures a tower and a lone infantry that uses the HART to silently insert them near a similar enemy holding?

The HART sucks. Boy howdy but that kills the tactical side of PlanetSide in record time. Just make it so it drops people around friendly SOIs alone. Is that so hard?

[infinite loop]

All experience earned by the squad leader should be converted to CEP.

It's stupidly hard to advance CR now.

Yep, and it should have always been this way, now even more necessary. At least make like 10% of each kill xp count towards cep, you gotta give commanders something, or they're going to go freaking nuts trying to gain rank.

[infinite loop]

The HART is the enemy of solid strategical thinking all over the map. Until you can HART only near friendly SOIs, the efforts of well-rounded squads will never be fully recognized.

What's the difference between a full Deliverer that captures a tower and a lone infantry that uses the HART to silently insert them near a similar enemy holding?

The HART sucks. Boy howdy but that kills the tactical side of PlanetSide in record time. Just make it so it drops people around friendly SOIs alone. Is that so hard?

OMG I actually agree with Vet today, what's the world coming to? :p
But seriously, I have always hated how easy it is for some hart droppers to take back that tower you just spent 30 mins trying to cap, etc. There is no real feeling of front lines in the game because of it. There's always a way to get around defenses with the hart. I would love to see them change it. Good idea Vet.

[SandTrout]

Heh, this turned into a petition to kill or criple the HART. Bring back the 10 minute timer on the HART at the very least please.

/sign

BTW: I know how you feal infinate, it's scarry.:scared:

[Liquidtide]

I'll sign for the HART being INSIDE freindly SOI ONLY!!! Then the time wouldn't matter.

That OR,

A dual ring around the bases, the SOI and then the HART range, where the HART can only drop between the two rings... follow me?

~Tide

[TheRagingGerbil]

I'd go for the friendly SOI only.

[Fenrys]

+1 for only being able to HART in/near friendly SOI's.

Perhaps we could get a new vehicle or add a feature onto an old one (LS/AMS would be good candidates) that would act as a moble HART-pod landing zone. Even a beacon (a pistol-slot deployable simmilar to a Router telepad) would work, allowing an Infiltrator to sneak in and set up a landing zone for the rest of his team.

[TheRagingGerbil]

Hmm, do I smell additional command rank abilities?

Allow a CR to call in reinfocements. This ability would be available for use every 20 minutes. When triggered the CR5's current location triggers an active landing zone. This zone has to be outside of an enemy SOI. The next time the HART leaves, following the request for reinfocements, players will have the choice of any friendly SOI, or the CR designated landing zone.

This request will also redirect every Instant Action for a short period of time, say 3-5 minutes. If there are multiple zones available, the person who is instant-actioning, will be able to choose.

[infinite loop]

Hmm, do I smell additional command rank abilities?

Allow a CR to call in reinfocements. This ability would be available for use every 20 minutes. When triggered the CR5's current location triggers an active landing zone. This zone has to be outside of an enemy SOI. The next time the HART leaves, following the request for reinfocements, players will have the choice of any friendly SOI, or the CR designated landing zone.

This request will also redirect every Instant Action for a short period of time, say 3-5 minutes. If there are multiple zones available, the person who is instant-actioning, will be able to choose.

Kick ass! :groovy:

[Tannim]

I agree that it's harder to make a decisive battle. It's always a 3 way lock. I'll give a for instance. Last night on Cyssor, we had the VS pushed back to 3 bases from a waygate. My squad leader decides to do a Spec op. We sneak into the base next to the waygate and blow the gen. Then set up to push back the invaders. As luck would have it, about 1 min after we kill the gens (elimiinating the spawn tubes), The NC zerg shows up and we occupy the base (it was an accident that couldn't have been planned better). Now we've got VS all but cut off and make a big push to get the other 2 bases.

What happens? TR notices a lower count of NC at other bases and starts back hacking us right away. The result? We have to pull out of the push we're in to keep from being wiped off the map. End result? Return to a WWI style status quo. We've got the trenches and they aren't moving.

I really think that 3 sides are too many for this style of game. :(

[Seer]

Wah wah, so the game is hard now. Cry me a bloody river. So all of a sudden, when you can't roll over haplessly outnumbered defenders, you whine because of the stalemate?

Give me a break.

[Veteran]

Nobody is whining. This is polite discourse.

[Tannim]

Out numbered? The cont was pop locked. Meaning everyone had the same amount. At least know what you're talking about before you open your mouth. Otherwise you just look ignorant.

[Marsman]

If conventional tactics are now leading to stalemates with the new population changes, seems to me it's time to change the tactics. :p

[Jagd]

Out numbered? The cont was pop locked. Meaning everyone had the same amount. At least know what you're talking about before you open your mouth. Otherwise you just look ignorant.

The population lock numbers you see on the map, are only in relation to your empire's population level on that continent. The TR could have a lock, while the NC and VS still have 100+ slots remaining. There is no indication of how many enemies are on a continent once you get past 25 per empire.

[Tannim]

There were two messages. Empire Pop lock and Pop Lock. I've seen both labels on the map.

[Seer]

Sorry, I apologize. I'm on defense all the time, and it used to be that my time in ps consisted of being brutally crushed by waves and waves of enemies. Now that they can't lock out defenders and are forced to a reasonable size themselves, the game is actually enjoyable.

It makes me pretty mad to hear people talk about stalemates, since that is not the game's fault. What we got with this fix is the chance to fight fairly, and if the forces are stalemating then, as Marsman stated, something needs to change on a player level. This is fantastic.

Secondly, I don't think they really know what a stalemate is. It's been more difficult and has taken more time, but I've seen plenty of entrenched defenders pushed back, plenty of continents change hands, and plenty of innovative, previously neglected strategies be successful. Mostly they were used against me, but I can even respect that.

I think it makes the game a more rewarding experience. Forces can still be overwhelmed by superior numbers, but they can't be unfairly locked out from reinforcing themselves. Previously the game moved quicker, but one side was usually having to bend over because of game mechanics.

I do agree that CEP needs to be looked at.

[XxXMaRiNeXxX]

I've always thought the HART should leave at any time, but you could only take it once every 10 minutes or so. That way, rather then recalling and having to wait the timer to get in, you hop right in, assuming its been atleast ten minutes or more since your last drop. And Yeah, you should only be able to drop by friendly SOI's

[KIAsan]

OMG, some of these HART ideas are the best new ideas I have seen in months. Please, please, please post your ideas to the official forumns (maybe a joint PSU sponsored link, so we can all go there and back you up). If the hart only allowed you to drop into friendly SOI's, that would create the front lines they always talk about and make GALs golden. The CR5 call for reinforcements would be excellant. As well as a new portable Hart beacon. BTW, you handle the SOI drops by making a few HART beacon pads in the base. That way, if the base is hacked or gen is blown, the beacons are off-line. Then you could eliminate the HART timer completely! This really would put a new breath of life into the game!!!