Reserves, done right [Archive] - PlanetSide Universe

morf

2011-03-02, 07:43 PM

So I had an idea today about f2p/ reserves in Planetside next. I think that if something like this is implemented it should be used to improve the gameplay experience for subscribers and if done right, it can kill several birds with 1 stone. Here's my idea:

Players would be able to download and play the game as a reserve for free, provided that they verify with a credit card, so that hackers can't just create unlimited accounts. However, the reserve experience would be quite different from a subscriber.

First and foremost, free players should not be able to choose their empire. They should only be allowed to play for the empire with the lowest pop. In any free to play system I think this is an absolute must. The last thing I want to see is one empire with 45 percent pop with a horde of free players that could be distributed to even up the sides. A reserves program is a great opportunity to fix one of the most aggravating things in planetside.

Secondly, I was thinking that reserves could be instant action only. Hear me out on this one. The idea would be to have an advanced instant action system to funnel reserves right into the fight. When a reserve dies, instead of choosing a respawn point, he is instantly transported to wherever the game decides he is needed. He spawns, already equipped with weapons and ready to fight. The weapon choice could be standard (I.e. medium assault and rexo) or preferably, it could even be contextual, I.e. if he spawns in a tower surrounded by planes, he might be in an AA max, if he spawns in the middle of an indoor defense, he might be in rexo with an MCG. The game deploys reserves to where they are needed on the battlefield, with the equipment they need.

NOW here's my favorite part of this idea... how many times have you sat in a CY screaming for a tail gunner for your lib? People are quick to pile into the bomber slot but without a tail gunner you're toast the first time a mossie sees you. But with the improved reserve system, this is no longer a problem. Simply use the "WE NEED A GUNNER" voice macro and a few seconds later, the next available reserve spawns directly into your gunner slot, ready to go. Same goes for passengers in your gal, you can put together raid drops ON DEMAND.

So basically, people who just want to jump on and shoot at some people can do so for free and it improves the game for the rest of us. The reserves miss out on the persistence and character development aspect of planetside, but they get an experience similar to what a traditional FPS offers, you spawn, you shoot, you die, you respawn. They get all of this for free and hopefully they will see how much fun the rest of us are having and subscribe.

Now I know some of you may argue that stripping out character progression will be a turn off, but most people here are recommending br6/10 for free, either of which could be achieved in 1 night, and at that point progression goes out the window anyway. I think that if there is a reserves program, it should be implemented in such a way to improve the game for subs, rather than just catering to the reserves by giving them unlimited freedom while we suffer with unbalanced pops and empty gunner slots.

Thoughts?

Bags

2011-03-02, 07:49 PM

I'll TLDR your post:

Reserves:
Require legit CC to setup account
Max BR 6 CR 2
Has to wait in bottom of queue.

There ya go.

morf

2011-03-02, 08:06 PM

Thanks for not reading. Your idea does very little to improve the game experience, at least read what I wrote about empire populations, it's a must if there is f2p in this game imo. Why have imbalanced pop issues when in all likelihood 20+ percent of players will be playing for free. At the very least push them to the least populated empire when they log in instead of just letting them further contribute to the imbalance. The idea here being not just to get more players in the game, but to put them where they are needed.

Bags

2011-03-02, 08:18 PM

brinkdadrink

2011-03-02, 08:39 PM

It might be nice but its probobly hard to spawn someone with the correct equipment every time. The other concern i have is since you cant coordinate or really do what you want like if you were BR6 you just run around and never understand what the game is truly about.

If they were BR6 or something at least they could pick something with certs they want and get a gist of the game and if they are in an outfit (or not) and like the comradery they will eventually sub and play with everyone else.

Traak

2011-03-02, 08:43 PM

Reserves: eliminate from existence. There. Rampant hacking problem solved. Any time it's free, you are going to have guys with 2,3,4, 20 accounts running at once, all free.

Effectively, they are running remote cameras to spy on the action. All for free.

Nah, raise the game cost to 50 bucks a month, and nobody plays for free. Then we will see who has two accounts, or five. Not many, that's for sure.

Bags

2011-03-02, 09:09 PM

Reserves: eliminate from existence. There. Rampant hacking problem solved. Any time it's free, you are going to have guys with 2,3,4, 20 accounts running at once, all free.

Requiring a legit CC pretty much fixes this.

Furret

2011-03-02, 09:28 PM

Bags

2011-03-02, 09:33 PM

I started reading it, insta facepalmed and was about to troll the comments much like Bags, and then i saw "hear me out" so I decided to read the rest of it.

I like it a lot, and I can't think of a better way to give free players the best taste of the whole game, but still force them to want to subscribe. Very good idea, I hope it gets implemented this way.

Sorry, but having an opinion doesn't mean I'm trolling. I feel reserves were perfect in their original implementation. All they need to do is force them to play on the lowest pop side and require a legit CC.

Raymac

2011-03-02, 09:35 PM

Nah, raise the game cost to 50 bucks a month, and nobody plays for free. Then we will see who has two accounts, or five. Not many, that's for sure.

That would be the worst business move since ABC passed on the Cosby show. I don't think you are really being serious about paying $50/month though.

As for the OP, I think it's an interesting idea. You let people experience alot of different sides of the game and would encourage people to subscribe if they liked the game. I just wonder how much is could actually work.

For me, Instant Action has always been notoriously unreliable. Now it's been a long time, so I'm sure they can make improvements as they've done on the graphics. However, it sounds maybe a little too forward thinking to put people in just the right place with just the right loadout.

Also, with the gunner idea you run into a problem of someone just bailing out on you, or on the flip side, the reserve being held captive in the gunner seat if they can't get out.

I don't think this idea should be dismissed out of hand, because with just some minor adjusting, it could work and be really cool. Even if they just implement the idea of reserves automatically going to the lowest pop, that would certainly benefit gameplay.

morf

2011-03-02, 09:39 PM

I was just thinking, new cr5 ability: deploy reserves. Spawns a strike team of 10 reserves with various weaponry at a friendly tower. Maybe mix in a max unit or 2.

Bags

2011-03-02, 09:47 PM

I was just thinking, new cr5 ability: deploy reserves. Spawns a strike team of 10 reserves with various weaponry at a friendly tower. Maybe mix in a max unit or 2.

Can the reserves level my account for me and farm me gold? :D

morf

2011-03-02, 09:50 PM

So a reserve jumped out of your tail gunner slot? No big deal. Reserves are like cabs in NYC, you'll see another one in 10 seconds tops.

Bags

2011-03-02, 09:51 PM

I can't wait to fly over the water in my liberator, spam VNG, and boot anyone who spawns in it out.

morf

2011-03-02, 09:55 PM

haha, as fun as it would be to use the freeloaders as human bombs, I was thinking friendly soi only. or at minimum, you must be on the ground.

Edit to add:
I actually think it's pretty trivial to implement a contextual loadout system. The current planetside game already tracks who kills who and with what weapon and displays this information on your screen. It also tracks the locations of these kills, hence the hotspot indicators on the map. So if the game looks at the last 10 kills and sees that 6/10 TR that have died in the area were killed by reavers/mossies, it spawns the next few TR reserves with the loadout profile that is designed to counter reaver/mossies. If 8/10 were killed by infantry, it spawns an anti-infantry loadout, etc. It doesn't have to be right 100% of the time, but the information is already there to make a pretty accurate guesstimation of what type of soldier is needed.

Kyonye

2011-03-02, 10:08 PM

I would say no more than Command Rank 1, if not none at all. I like the idea, though. I'd rather see reserves get no CR. CR should be reserved for people willing to pay. Reserves is a good idea. Things like that can lead to more people deciding to pay monthly for it. If they get addicted, they'll want to go farther in BR and CR, and all the weapons, etc.

Rbstr

2011-03-02, 10:13 PM

I like this idea to some extent.
Don't want to pay? Be forced to the whims of balance. Or worse! A CR5s whims!

Gotta watch out that the reserves aren't just wantonly chucked across the game though. It'd be amazingly frustrating to die and have to load a new continent every time. There should be some consistency.

I'll TLDR your post:

Reserves:
Require legit CC to setup account
Max BR 6 CR 2
Has to wait in bottom of queue.

There ya go.

TLDR: Bags cunting up the thread.
Seriously, what was the point of that? Just state what you'd rather see instead of being a douche.

morf

2011-03-02, 10:20 PM

Gotta watch out that the reserves aren't just wantonly chucked across the game though. It'd be amazingly frustrating to die and have to load a new continent every time. There should be some consistency.

I was thinking about this too. They are initially placed at a hotspot and as long as that particular territory remains a hotspot, then the priority would be to spawn the reserve who is already there in the same area. This gives them some continuity and lets them feel like they are a part of that battle. However if a reserve is assaulting a base and it gets hacked and we're all sitting around with our thumbs in our asses waiting for the cap, it's time for those reserves to move out. No rest for the balance grunts.

Bags

2011-03-02, 10:36 PM

TLDR: Bags cunting up the thread.
Seriously, what was the point of that? Just state what you'd rather see instead of being a douche.

That's exactly what I did though. I gave a TLDR of my response to his post. Only reason I posted that my post would be TLDR in length was to point out the stark contrast between his lengthy post and my short, concise post.

Oh, I get it. I got trolled. 10/10 you got me to bite, WP.

PsychoXR-20

2011-03-02, 11:23 PM

Some interesting ideas, and some bad ideas.

Players would be able to download and play the game as a reserve for free, provided that they verify with a credit card, so that hackers can't just create unlimited accounts.

I don't think anyone can really disagree with needing to verify with a CC, even for a free account. CC = no/very few hackers = much more fun game.

First and foremost, free players should not be able to choose their empire. They should only be allowed to play for the empire with the lowest pop.

I like this, empire balance is very important.

I was thinking that reserves could be instant action only...When a reserve dies, instead of choosing a respawn point, he is instantly transported to wherever the game decides he is needed. He spawns, already equipped with weapons and ready to fight.

I like the idea of forcing them into instant action at the start of a session, as that will help keep fights big, however I very much disagree with forcing them into instant action every time they die. You are going to turn more people off from PlanetSide by doing that. The purpose of a reserves program is to get people interested in PlanetSide so that they realize it's not just CoD with a monthly fee, but something much deeper. A reserve would never get to truly experience a large battle if every time they die they get shipped off to a different facility, or a different continent all-together. In the end they will see PS as a shallow, strategy-less game that isn't worth their money. Not to mention the prospect of group play is completely shattered if as soon as they die they are on the other side of the world from the rest of their squad.

NOW here's my favorite part of this idea... how many times have you sat in a CY screaming for a tail gunner for your lib? People are quick to pile into the bomber slot but without a tail gunner you're toast the first time a mossie sees you. But with the improved reserve system, this is no longer a problem. Simply use the "WE NEED A GUNNER" voice macro and a few seconds later, the next available reserve spawns directly into your gunner slot, ready to go. Same goes for passengers in your gal, you can put together raid drops ON DEMAND.

Forcing people into doing roles they don't find entertaining is not the best way to find new customers.

morf

2011-03-03, 12:43 AM

Yeah as I said before, the priority would be to keep a player at the same battle after he instant actions until that is no longer a hotspot, then ship him off somewhere else.

Forcing people into doing roles they don't find entertaining is not the best way to find new customers.

A reserve will play a variety of roles, namely, whatever we need at the time. What's worse: throwing a freeloader customer into a vehicle he may or may not like, or letting a paying customer sit in a CY screaming for a gunner for 5 mins before taking off without one? Besides, the reserve can always exit the vehicle and walk away if he REALLY doesn't like it. Another one will be along in a few seconds.

Sifer2

2011-03-03, 12:47 AM

Hmm everything I was about to say PsychoXR-20 beat me to it.

So yeah like the idea of requiring CC. Like the idea of only able to join lowest pop faction.

But I dislike the rest since spawning them around randomly would only confuse an annoy them an is not likely to make them want to play it for long. I know if I had that kind of restriction I would be tempted to log on only to grief people an act silly since whatever battle I was in wouldn't matter. I would be on the other side of the world after death an never see those people again.

Aractain

2011-03-03, 01:47 AM

It seems like you would be treating potential customers as oil for your current customers.

Its like beating someone who comes into your shop and saying they will stop the beating if you buy. They are just going to go to another establishment.
If someone is playing for 'free' they are doing potentially 2 things.

The first is providing more bodies - self explanatory.
The second, possibly, is providing motivation for friends to keep paying and or friends to play in the first place. (Your player base is your marketing).

If free players arn't having fun they leave and do something that IS.

morf

2011-03-03, 08:15 AM

It seems like you would be treating potential customers as oil for your current customers.

What's wrong with this if it keeps the subs happy? Like they say in business, it's more expensive to recruit a new customer than to keep the one you have. And who said anything about them not having fun? The proposed system would give them a similar experience to what they have in a traditional FPS, like I said before, spawn, shoot, die, respawn. Furthermore it places them in action equipped with weapons needed to make a difference. All of this FOR FREE. Take a look at all of the crap games on the internet that HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS play every day just because they are free. (I'm looking at you, gunz, travian, runescape) This would trump them all.

So they miss out on some of the features that make PS more than another FPS. I've got news for you, software companies do this all the time. It's a proven marketing strategy, make the threshold to try it out as easy as possible then charge them once they have a taste. (I'm looking at you, 30 second fraps demo video length limit) Giving BR6 for free is practically giving 70 percent of the game away. As the saying goes, why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?

Hamma

2011-03-03, 09:38 AM

Interesting ideas for sure. The buddy key system was neat but then again it was our Key Exchange that made that successful otherwise folks would have sat on their buddy keys for some time.

brinkdadrink

2011-03-03, 09:56 AM

What if you did a mix. So lets say they DL the game and they start like normal with BR6 max on a trial account (CC required free) which only takes like a couple of hours to hit anyway. Then after a week if they havnt subbed they already have a feel for how the game actually is and is moved to the "reserves". Here they are bounced around as needed. When they log in they are auto put on the low pop and play like you said.

I like the idea you have but if i want my friends to join and know what the game is about i want them to play with me to get the true since. If after a week they like it but dont want to sub them f*em

Grimster

2011-03-03, 10:03 AM

I think requiring CC has its advantages as well as its drawbacks.

I think many new players might be reluctant to be required to register their CC to be able to play and this might lower the interest for such solution. At the same time I think it is necessary to do.

I guess when I read my post I don't really contribute with anything but anyways just letting my mind loose. :)

Aractain

2011-03-03, 10:27 AM

What's wrong with this if it keeps the subs happy? Like they say in business, it's more expensive to recruit a new customer than to keep the one you have. And who said anything about them not having fun? The proposed system would give them a similar experience to what they have in a traditional FPS, like I said before, spawn, shoot, die, respawn. Furthermore it places them in action equipped with weapons needed to make a difference. All of this FOR FREE. Take a look at all of the crap games on the internet that HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS play every day just because they are free. (I'm looking at you, gunz, travian, runescape) This would trump them all.

So they miss out on some of the features that make PS more than another FPS. I've got news for you, software companies do this all the time. It's a proven marketing strategy, make the threshold to try it out as easy as possible then charge them once they have a taste. (I'm looking at you, 30 second fraps demo video length limit) Giving BR6 for free is practically giving 70 percent of the game away. As the saying goes, why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?

I havn't played Gunz or Combat Arms or whatever but if loads play Im guessing its fun? You are right that these people need to get a demo though.

Anyway my point is more about how these players feel like they are being treated. If they feel like valued potential customers being shown how awesome the game is then great. If the feel like they are just fodder for subscribers we arn't going to get any new players lol.

SOE NEEDS to fix its turnover problem in PSN this time. We need a constant flow of new players to replace those who (will!) quit.

(Side note: Thats why I like free to play, its a demo and a flexible payment model all in one. When done right (LOL ALLODS LOL) it makes more money than subs because you have waaay more people interested. Its perfect for niche games that have bigger budget competition.)

The Desert Fox

2011-03-03, 10:37 AM

You guys arn't looking at this reserves thing literally enough, for those who know how the reserves actually work they drill 1 weekend a month. I say we have a Reserves Drill weekend and apply everything you all said, but only for 1 weekend. To stay true to the Reservist way :rofl:

Traak

2011-03-03, 11:11 AM

Anything free=bad in this game. UNLESS the free players can't fire weapons, are restricted to running around at half speed, and every ten to twenty seconds will randomly be taken over and run around the battlefield in ever-larger circles gibbering and bleating like sheep with an XP amount-displaying WP rotating above their heads. They would all appear on everybody's map, and anyone, friendly or enemy would get triple XP for killing them. Bonus points if they use plasma.

This will make them useful for something, and minimize their ability to ruin the game for everyone else.

Also, make it so no free account can be going to the same IP address as any other account, free or otherwise, so people can't stack 200 free accounts up and then just use them to mow down to bolster their kill stats, like they did when it was available. "Gee, why are the guys not defending this base, but just respawning and clotting the hallway where we're trying to fight?" DUH! Why do you think??? So their "owner" can mow them down for fat XP b0nuz!

Hm. Trying to think of what else we could do with the free players. How about if they canvass their neighborhoods and sign up 100 paying players, they get to play for free until every paying player they signed up quits? Make them salesmen for Sony!

I really don't like the idea of people playing for free because free=cheat, cheat, cheat, cheat, cheat. I also think it should be physically impossible for one player to play more than one toon at the same time. This is supposed to be PVP not PVPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.

Sony could just spend more, scratch that, ANY money on advertising and get this game rocking. It could become a society-affecting thing like Facebook. Bring it to the masses, not just computer gamers with more money in their computer than in their cars. (sheepishly raises hand).

DviddLeff

2011-03-03, 12:03 PM

Here is my system:

Free Trial: Maximum BR6, CR0, Cannot lead squads
Box/one time fee purchased only: Maximum BR10, CR3
Subscription: Maximum BR 20, CR5.
Once a player has been subscribed for three years, they get to carry on without paying further subscriptions.
Alternatively players could spend the equivalent of a years subscription to become a lifetime member, with the same opportunities of a subscribed player, but no recurring cost.

Free trial is through steam, thereby requiring a credit card.

Traak

2011-03-03, 12:28 PM

Want to see PS REALLY rock? Bundle it with gaming towers and laptops. Play free for three months. Heck, that would make it financially feasible, encourage cheatlessness, as you could be banned and kiboshed from the game if you cheated, and expose it to a much wider audience.

What will make PS really rock is numbers. We need more people. What we do not need is the SAME people who are already playing to have access to any kind of free (thus unlimited in number) accounts. This does not increase the userbase, it increases the cheaterbase among people who already play the game.

morf

2011-03-03, 01:28 PM

I guess everyone has their own ideas on what would make a good trial/demo, but it looks like there's pretty much a consensus that free players should be placed on the empire with the lowest pop. This would solve a major problem that caused a good number of people to leave planetside.

Traak

2011-03-03, 01:41 PM

Great. Put up a server that has new players only. The moment they want to pay, they get transferred to the REAL server.

DviddLeff

2011-03-03, 01:49 PM

A major point of having the free trial is to keep populations up.

Timantium

2011-03-03, 01:59 PM

What if the reserves weren't allowed to carry any weapons, only big shields that I could hide behind. Or we could spawn them in as trees, rocks and other things that we "need" in the game.

If we make them all do mundane stuff like drive ANTs and fill NTU silos until they sub for the game, why would they ever sub for the game OR sign up for a free trial?

Forcing people into doing roles they don't find entertaining is not the best way to find new customers.

This.

Nah, raise the game cost to 50 bucks a month, and nobody plays AT ALL. Then we will see who has ONE accounts, or ONE. Not ANY, that's for sure.

Fixed

Azellon

2011-03-03, 02:15 PM

I gotta admit, PS Reserves made me pick the game up for a while again to see if it had become any better.

Reserves will increase bodies, which is exactly what the game needs, so saying no to having the Reserves at all, or suggesting ludicrous ideas about how to restrict them, is detrimental to the game we supposedly like playing. A poplocked battle that takes hours or even days (Cyssor bridge battles anyone?) is and has always been vastly more entertaining than a small skirmish. Reserves going to low pop empires will increase the likelihood of these battles. Requiring a credit card is smart and will turn off a lot of hackers, going through Steam is also smart.

I would say shove them into the larger battles to bring those battles closer to full. Squads will go off on independent ops frequently. I've had IA drop me where one person was shooting at CE stuff. I've had IA put me in the middle of nowhere with nobody around. That sucked bad.

Hamma

2011-03-03, 02:22 PM

There is a whole lot of non-constructive posts being made in this thread. If you do not have a legitimate constructive post to make then please do everyone a favor and don't reply.

morf

2011-03-03, 02:53 PM

Guys I'm not saying that they are just here to plug undesirable roles, just whatever is needed. They might be gunning a prowler one minute, riding in a juggernaut the next, and stomping around in an AA max the next. They get to experience it all. Hell if an empire is under pop I wouldn't mind if it spawned a tank full of reserves now and then. BF2 has been discussed a lot here and this is what gave me the idea, if you're in a squad and you die and your leader is in a chopper, you spawn right there in the chopper. It's fun because you get back into the fight quicker. Like I said, very similar experience to a traditional fps.

Nowhere did I say that reserves would not have fun, nor would they be fodder. A reserve can and will melt your face at some point. The loadout profiles would contain the same weapons and armor as other players are using for the particular role they spawn as. This idea let's them sample all of the roles psn has to offer and at the beginning and end of a session they could throw in an advertisement to let them know what they are missing, namely, the freedom to play your favorite role 24/7. Most game demos give you a single level to play if you are lucky.

Always having a gunner for your vehicle is a huge convenience benefit. More people could cert for gals and transport would be more available. Why wait around? Convenience attracts a lot of different types of players. World of warcraft proved this. Most of it's predecessors had excessive death penalties, travel was made intentionally hard, you couldn't level without a group and if your class was not desirable you could spend 4 hours finding one (I'm looking at you, everquest) - people said you had to have penalties, frustrations etc. or the victories wouldn't be as sweet. Boy were they wrong.

There are millions (literally millions) of people out there who will play any game just because it is free. I'm pretty confident that something like this would crush some of the most popular free options.

Timantium

2011-03-03, 03:05 PM

Guys I'm not saying that they are just here to plug undesirable roles, just whatever is needed. They might be gunning a prowler one minute, riding in a juggernaut the next, and stomping around in an AA max the next.

Yes, you are. Define "undersirable roles." What if I want to run ANTs and fill silos all day? You are telling me I would have to gun a prowler or ride in a juggernaut instead of doing what I want to do?

Anytime you tell me what role I have to play and I don't get to choose for myself, that is automatically an undersirable role. Ever wonder why that role might be "needed" in the first place? It's because nobody wants to do it. And on a side note, I would never want some scrub freeloader auto-spawning in my magrider. I'd rather drive off a cliff.

If I have no choice of my role, then that is not me playing a game, that's a game playing me. People do what they are told all the time, at work. Nobody wants to come home and be controlled like this in a game. The game is supposed to be an escape from this type of control.

I would rather be stuck in reserves training against VR units or other reserves in VR training than spawn in the passenger seat of the worst galaxy pilot in Auraxis. Everybody likes your "make them play the lowest pop" idea, stick with that and move on.

**EDIT**
Another thought, how would we start new skirmishes and open new continents if the system was auto-spawning groups of reservists at the points of need? I would hate to go through the trouble of trying to open a new continent and get flooded with tons of free accounts auto spawning on top of me because they system detected hot spots.

Azellon

2011-03-03, 04:04 PM

That's why I suggested having them spawn where populations were already high, but one side is smaller than another. That way they truly are "reserves" called in when the full-timers don't have quite the numbers they want. This is the way IA should work imo. I don't want to hit IA and drop to where one person is hacking a base to gain a foothold. I kill him and it's over. Boring.

morf

2011-03-03, 10:50 PM

What if I want to run ANTs and fill silos all day? You are telling me I would have to gun a prowler or ride in a juggernaut instead of doing what I want to do?

Not if you subscribe. You can drive ANT's off a cliff all day long if that's your fancy.

**EDIT**
Another thought, how would we start new skirmishes and open new continents if the system was auto-spawning groups of reservists at the points of need? I would hate to go through the trouble of trying to open a new continent and get flooded with tons of free accounts auto spawning on top of me because they system detected hot spots.

Crushed by a squad of reserves? Assuming the pops are even (which they should be) all you need to do is sit back for a minute and wait for your reserves to arrive. There, you have the battle you wanted, faster than ever.

I hadn't really thought about this before, but it's a good way to stop people from sitting on the highest pop empire and ghost hacking bases.

I understand your mentality about keeping the game simple. PS was and is a great game, but it had flaws and it lost a ton of players that it didn't need to. A new game is a chance to keep the things we liked about PS and for the devs to solve some of the complaints from last time around. I've seen people complain about low pops, necessary roles that no one wants to fill, ghost hacking, and population imbalance. No system is perfect, but if someone has a better idea to address these issues I'd like to hear it. And I don't mean that in a sarcastic way, I'd really like to hear it.

Timantium

2011-03-04, 03:17 PM

I understand your mentality about keeping the game simple. PS was and is a great game, but it had flaws and it lost a ton of players that it didn't need to. A new game is a chance to keep the things we liked about PS and for the devs to solve some of the complaints from last time around. I've seen people complain about low pops, necessary roles that no one wants to fill, ghost hacking, and population imbalance. No system is perfect, but if someone has a better idea to address these issues I'd like to hear it. And I don't mean that in a sarcastic way, I'd really like to hear it.

I think the general consensus is positive for the reserves being forced into the empire with the lowest pop. That is certainly fine with me. The thing I do not want is to control how the reserves help in the fight. So here is, as you requested, a NEW idea :)

Certainly, let reserves try out different roles that will help them demo the game. Instead of forcing them into a tail-gun seat or spawning them at a recently captured base with a gluegun and a map of the turrets, lets give them a pulldown menu that shows "needed" roles that are generated from players macroing for gunners, passengers, etc.

Then, they can pick which of the "needed" roles they could try out. Also, they could tooltip over any of those roles (or perhaps an inactive list of "typical" roles) to get a description of what the role is and how to fill it effectively. If they just want to run around and explore, let them.

Traak

2011-03-04, 04:25 PM

If Sony can control the cheating, reserves are a great idea. If they can't, well, we have bigger problems, I think. My main concern is the multiple-account holders using their little reserve pet to spy on an empire he is SUPPOSED to be fighting FOR.

Sifer2

2011-03-04, 04:46 PM

Morf is correct that there are millions who will play something just because its free. Though i'm not sure if these are the kind of players we want. An even if they were I still doubt this random spawning system would convince them to subscribe. Which is what is important from SOE's view.

Also how would this system even know what is needed? Filling gunner slots is simple I guess. Until they jump right out cause they wanted to do something else. But how does it know an AA max is needed? Does some CR5 just build them like its an RTS? Play for free an be a unit in some players RTS lol. If its left up to a computer who knows what kind of crazy spawns we will get.

A better system is probably BR6 no ability to lead squads. An being limited to joining the lowest pop Empire/Continent. Possibly no access to certain vehicles/weapons. Maybe no achievements/badges either.

brinkdadrink

2011-03-04, 05:38 PM

The question is if you played this game what would make you want to subscribe. To me that is:
- Feel some Comradery with others that i want to play with (If i cant choose where to spawn or how im going to play then how do i team up with others well for cordinated attacks and such)
- Looks great and fun to play (If i continuously spawn randomly everywhere and die half the time instantly later it will not be fun to play)
- Understand the game (If i dont understand how to play then why would i want to keep playing. Had a guy last night asking how to recert and how to fly around. If these are not easily shown upfront then you will be runing around asking question which is again not fun)

I would like reserves to keep people interested and pops high. I would like people who play reserves feel they want to subscribe.

Best way i see doing this is as mentioned
- Credit Card (free, just for approval)
- BR6 ish to experiment with all the different stuff but very limited after leaving the cert terminal
- Cant lead squad
- A very good and useful tutorial video/gameplay showing how to do everything needed BEFORE showing up in the game. (can skip through parts)

Atleast if someone gets banned then that CC wont be able to be used again for several months to forever which will help keep hackers out. (provided they are still around with the new system).

Making people join the lowest pop seems to be an argument everyone agrees on but i dont. Yes it would help even out the empires but does that mean every time they log on they are a different empire. If i want to play with my friend to get him interested am i not able to play with him because he was forced on the NC while im VS. This is a team oriented game and if i didnt see that when i started playing i wouldn't be here now. Enough people move around for the XP bonus as it is, there is no need to force potential people to do it for you. Besides war inst always fair and that makes it fun sometimes.

Sifer2

2011-03-05, 12:17 AM

Making people join the lowest pop seems to be an argument everyone agrees on but i dont. Yes it would help even out the empires but does that mean every time they log on they are a different empire. If i want to play with my friend to get him interested am i not able to play with him because he was forced on the NC while im VS. This is a team oriented game and if i didnt see that when i started playing i wouldn't be here now. Enough people move around for the XP bonus as it is, there is no need to force potential people to do it for you. Besides war inst always fair and that makes it fun sometimes.

A fair point though part of the reason for reserves would be like the OP says. A way not just to show people the game but make the experience better for the paying customers. An the best way to do that would be making them play the low pop Empire an only go to the continent their needed most.

I think your problem could be solved just by giving subscribers a limited number of keys they can give to friends that allow them to get around the normal limitations for a week or so.