DISCUSSION: How do you feel battles will last days, weeks, months?

[Reni]

DISCUSSION: How do you feel battles will last days, weeks, months?

I read in one of the articles about how PS2 is gearing toward battles that will last days, weeks, even a month or more. My question is, especially with the player "regions" that might take place as to who can join what server, how in the world can this even happen?

My thoughts:

Even if we are not restricted to regions, the only way I can see this happening is to have ONE massive server. This will include all time zones (obviously). However, I don't forsee this being something that will happen.

If we are on seperate servers, PS1 for example. You would always have a player base that was on in masses during peak hours and for most of the daytime hours, especially after school/work times. Overnight, the continents would usually go mostly to one side and the wars began again the next day.

The longest battles I have been apart of or have heard about have rarely gone over a 24 hour period. Why? Its the "same stuff, different day" concept. It keeps raging, but eventually everyone gets tired of it, especially when the battles are grid locked.

Would it be awesome to have long battles? Yes. However, I don't forsee anything close what the developers are hoping for and by battle I speak of on a continent level with key bases that were fought for.


What is your opinion to the matter?

Please post constructive comments, critiques, thoughts and ideas.

-Reni

[Atheosim]

I think a big contributing factor to "battles" lasting weeks or more is the fact that every square inch of land is contested territory. Additionally there are deploy-able towers at launch, which can make a single hex LEADING UP TO a base battle take a long time to capture.

[Hmr85]

DISCUSSION: How do you feel battles will last days, weeks, months?

I read in one of the articles about how PS2 is gearing toward battles that will last days, weeks, even a month or more. My question is, especially with the player "regions" that might take place as to who can join what server, how in the world can this even happen?

My thoughts:

Even if we are not restricted to regions, the only way I can see this happening is to have ONE massive server. This will include all time zones (obviously). However, I don't forsee this being something that will happen.

If we are on seperate servers, PS1 for example. You would always have a player base that was on in masses during peak hours and for most of the daytime hours, especially after school/work times. Overnight, the continents would usually go mostly to one side and the wars began again the next day.

The longest battles I have been apart of or have heard about have rarely gone over a 24 hour period. Why? Its the "same stuff, different day" concept. It keeps raging, but eventually everyone gets tired of it, especially when the battles are grid locked.

Would it be awesome to have long battles? Yes. However, I don't forsee anything close what the developers are hoping for and by battle I speak of on a continent level with key bases that were fought for.


What is your opinion to the matter?

Please post constructive comments, critiques, thoughts and ideas.

-Reni

I have known a few battles in PS1 back in its hay day that have lasted 4 or more days on fights just over facility's. With this new Hex system and every square inch being disputable. I could see some battles lasting for a week or more. So yeah, I believe it.

[Gandhi]

I don't remember any battles lasting days (unless we define "battle" really loosely) but there were plenty of base fights that lasted 8 hours or more. What's interesting is they were almost always 3-ways and neither of the 2 attacking empires would give up the attack to flank the other. At the end of the day people play for fun, and as long as everyone is still having fun with that 3-way stalemate it's very hard to break it.

It'll be interesting to see if a relatively small force that breaks away from the zerg can be enough to draw one of the empires off that stalemate, especially if we don't have the NTU system anymore (do we?)

[Shade Millith]

Honestly, the greatest moments of PS1 to me were those day long fights over a single piece of land.

[Hmr85]

I don't remember any battles lasting days (unless we define "battle" really loosely) but there were plenty of base fights that lasted 8 hours or more. What's interesting is they were almost always 3-ways and neither of the 2 attacking empires would give up the attack to flank the other. At the end of the day people play for fun, and as long as everyone is still having fun with that 3-way stalemate it's very hard to break it.

It'll be interesting to see if a relatively small force that breaks away from the zerg can be enough to draw one of the empires off that stalemate, especially if we don't have the NTU system anymore (do we?)

I remember a few lasting days. Good example is 04. Markov Server. All 3 factions fighting it out on Cyssorside. NC attacking from the north Have Faro and are pushing south trying to take Gunuku the drop facility. TR currently have the drop facility. They are stuck in between the NC and the VS who where coming up from the south.

It took 3 days to claim that facility. It went back and forth. NC would get a hack. TR would take it back. VS would get a hack TR would take it back. The only reason that battle ended was because the NC had a breakthrough on the west coast and where closing ground in behind the VS. After about a week worth of fighting on that Continent we finished off the VS first then the TR in Gunuku.

[RedKnights]

There have been a couple times in the last year where because of pops we have fought almost exclusively on cyssor, for over a week, because otherwise the lattice was pretty locked down by the empires. So if you define a battle over a continent as a "battle"... I believe the claim will be accurate, if not an understatement.

[Sighpolice]

if it's anything like the fast paced they are promising and bf3 is a big influence, I reckon 3/4 hours, not days or weeks lol, casual's don't wanna do that!

[Sinilaid]

With the region lock, fighting will die down during the night and few owls from this side or the other will run around and cap continents while others sleep

[Mastachief]

You really cannot put a time frame on it. Comes down to leaders and population stability.

I know that outfits such as mine that do not follow the zerg tend to go distract other empires on other continents to help aid our empires progression on another continent that and we like to fight out numbered.

In planetside 1 if we could pull 2 - 3 times our number this would be anything from 60 - 90 troops that were not opposing our empire on the main fight. This would result in progression on the main fight speeding up. If we didn't get the base we might provide a 15minute advantage or in the frame of a interlink that went through we may provide a 2hour advantage.

However the zerg is the zerg and provided the pops are pretty even could spend a day or 2 on the same continent. Even if they get kicked there is nothing to stop them going back again and again.

I do not forsee weeks of contention unless there is a overpowered bonus to a cont (think planetside 1 and oshur (repair facility on all bases), although this was countered by not everyone like the restrictions on oshur.

In the end it does not really matter you could quite happily fight on one cont if you don't know planetside and have come from lets say COD. Each base could be looked at as a different map with differing terrain and the hack seen as round based play.

If an empire had an event that was commanded centrally (think the NCWA events on werner, 170 man gal drops/vanguard zergs/liberator runs) then a poplock could roll an entire continent very quickly.

[General M]

Region lock will probably balls it up.

[Figment]

If it's anything as indicated in the post linked below, yes, battles could be virtually endless.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/forums/showpost.php?p=620609&postcount=24

[EVILPIG]

I keep seeing too many narrow minded posts that compare PS2 to PS1. Go play something like WWII Online and see that battles can last days, weeks, months. New game, new mechanics. Wait for Beta.

[ThGlump]

For battle you need ppl. Without ppl there is no battle. So battle will end once everyone go sleep. Max time for battle +-18hours.

If you define battle as a fight over one continent then that battle will never end as you cannot conquer whole continent.

[Vash02]

I dont think the "big battles will be always 3 ways" will happen, thats a legacy of low populations. PS2 will have much more people than PS1 (I hope) so empires should be able to have multiple fronts on multiple continents.

[Geist]

If it's anything as indicated in the post linked below, yes, battles could be virtually endless.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/forums/showpost.php?p=620609&postcount=24

That's exactly how it could work. I think people are thinking of battles over individual bases. If there are only 3 continents at launch and thousands of players per side per server, I have no doubt that completely locking a continent will be very rare, meaning battles on the scale of an entire continent could in fact take days, weeks, or even months.

And that is exactly how I want it. :D

[Reni]

That's exactly how it could work. I think people are thinking of battles over individual bases. If there are only 3 continents at launch and thousands of players per side per server, I have no doubt that completely locking a continent will be very rare, meaning battles on the scale of an entire continent could in fact take days, weeks, or even months.

And that is exactly how I want it. :D

Agreed.

Beta will tell I guess. I just hope the content is there. I loved PS1, but I am also looking for more content and improvements for the sequal. :)

[Graywolves]

You know those stories or parts in those games where you find two ancient armies doomed to battle each other for an eternity?

That's pretty much how I see Planetside.


Personally, I don't mind if there's an occasion where it take half a day to take a certain area. But that gets dull quick and makes some players feel like they are missing in content if their playtime is limited.

An average battle should probably be 1-2 hours. -edit- for base and its surroundings.

[IronMole]

5 minutes when the generator gets found...

[Mastachief]

Graywolves i presume you mean 1-2hours per base (and associated hexes/towers/outposts)

[Rbstr]

I would hope there's a diversity in the ease with which objectives change hands.
It would really suck for all objectives to be very hard to capture, such that all battles became prolonged affairs.

A couple days of battle would be OK if the objective was highly significant in terms of the war effort, through resources or tech access or some kind of regional control solidification. But if it's some podunk mine, or tower or even smaller sections of a larger base, it should fall quick or be decisively defended in sub-hour time frames.

[Graywolves]

Graywolves i presume you mean 1-2hours per base (and associated hexes/towers/outposts)

Yes. I was not clear. You are correct.

[Mastachief]

Seems ideal time wise then if say there are 5-6 base areas per continent.