The continents: some are better than others

[Beerbeer]

Indar, in my opinion, is the best continent by far for one reason and one reason only: it's small and easy to get into fights without much downtime.

Esimar: I never go there anymore as it's too big and way too much downtime between fights.

Amerish: looks nice, but too big.

Indar: perfect size and all three empires are always in each other's faces. It's easy to find fights quickly even if you have to hoof it.

Which brings me to a suggestion: make all future continents smaller IMO.

[Timealude]

personally...I hate Indar. When I lead an outfit squad normally I go to Amerish or Esamir over Indar.

[Beerbeer]

I love it, at least on Thebe. The other continents are too big and everyone is zerging in different directions a lot of the time.

[Crator]

Once we get more then 3 continents this might not be much of an issue anymore. Just guessing. Constant 3-ways, which is what the empire footholds on all continents currently produce, is not good. I produces stalemates and going around in circles taking territory. This isn't anything new, we had 3-way stalemates happen in PS1. But there were ways to break those stalemates in PS1 by attacking other continents that gave powerful benefits to the other empires that owned them.

EDIT: What they need to do eventually is have it so there's a chance that each empire can have an opportunity to fight over all the different maps with a chance to see the entire map. Not all maps at the same time, but eventually after playing a while you would have the chance of seeing all the content the maps have to offer. That should be the final design goal and I believe it will happen with more continents.

[Beerbeer]

That makes me worried actually, unless continents can be locked down as people will be spread too thin.

[Crator]

Sorry Beerbeer, I added more to my post after you read it. Check it out.

[Beerbeer]

I see, thanks.

[Ghryphen]

Pretty sure all the continent's are nearly the same size.

[Beerbeer]

Huh? They don't feel like they're the same size. Maybe it has more to do with the proximity of bases?

[Crator]

Yes, it has a lot to do with that. They have added more outposts, and bases?, to Esamir after they first launched it. They seem to be constantly tweaking and building on all the things they've discovered during beta testing. Also, they are going back to the older continents, like Indar, and making those tweaks to them as well.

If you ask me though, Indar was much more complete then the other two they put out. They just did't have the time to finish them all the way. It was in their plan to do this I think though. Due to how they've been designing them, learning from the mistakes made before. They most likely have templates made for all the continents they want in the game. Then they just stack all the features into it ad-hoc after that.

[Beerbeer]

If that's the case, esimar and Amerish needs more bases/outposts.

[Crator]

I just now remembered, Esamir was much more wide open when it first launched due to player feedback. It was a test of game flow really. They took what they learned from Indar and Esamir and mashed that into Amerish. Of course still making changes on all the continents looks like.

[Sunrock]

Indar is my favorite too. But I think that has to do with I have spent allot more time there and know every little rock by name now. Making it allot easer for me to maximize my combat efficiency. On Esamir and Amerish I still some times have to pop up the map to orient my self when driving.

But if we are talking about art design Esamir is the most beautiful looking continent. The aurora effects are extremely cool. And as I'm Swedish I always feel at home in snowy continents in games....

My least favorite continent most be Amerish all categories. It just felt rushed to me. And the art design is just blend. I also might be because I had pictured the continent to be a jungle.

[Rago]

Very Different Feelings about this.

Amerish: Love it. Best so far !(@bearbeer i think its fine)

Indar: Great, because there is ever a ongoing Fight, if Amerish is overrun by one Fraction i play there.

Esamir: To wide Designed Areals and Space between the Bases. (We dont play there,if possible)

[typhaon]

Pretty sure all the continent's are nearly the same size.

I was going to say... I thought they were, too.

I think a lot of people enjoy Indar the most because it's the most conducive to meatgrinding and faster cert gain.

If SOE can get the focus of the metagame shifted more in the direction of conquest/capture-and-hold gameplay... then I think you'll see the other continents improve in popularity.

[NewSith]

Esamir is the best. It has least tank spam.

Not to mention its looks.

[Rolfski]

I guess the fact that there is a lot of discussion about this is an indication for me that SOE did a pretty good job on balancing these out to cater different play styles.

For me, I can appreciate all of them in a different way.

Indar: Go-to continent for balanced warfare and you can always find a great battle at the Crown.
Esamir: Less bases and flat landscape makes it good for big vehicle clashes.
Amerish: Best looking continent, great for infantry/sniping and air warfare.

[Dkamanus]

Well, my view on the continents:

Indar - More canyon and crivances, good for infantry. Vehicular combat is the worst here, mostly because a good part of the continent isn't very vehicle friendly, with natural chokepoints, and some high places that can turn into deathtraps very easily. Favour Airplanes quite easily. Easy Continent to play, you don't have to worry much about losing Tech plants, Amps Stations and Biolabs, since each "side of the map" has each for each feaction.

Esamir - Considered by the HARSHEST of the continents, mostly because of that lone Tech Plant in the middle of the map, that give a huge edge for those owning it (Yes, MBTs are important). The most competitive map, favour vehicular combat more then indar and Amerish thanks to the flatter map and less mountain ranges. More open fields are also easier killing grounds for infantry. Doesnt favour airplanes so much, mostly because of its flatness, can't be spotted and shot down more easily.

Amerish - Most balanced map, doesn't favor so much infantry or vehicle, both have their moments. Has tech plants, amp stations and biolabs for all as well, so we can count on good fights all around.

I'd say my favorite map is Esamir > Amerish > Indar, in a scale of 10 > 9.5 > 9. Esamir is just too nice to fight in thanks to this edge that one needs.

[Beerbeer]

Yeah, there's just something about Indar that I enjoy. The natural funneling and choke points created by the many canyons and roads (as others have mentioned) and close proximity of the bases and outposts makes it easy for me to find fights. I can easily switch between fighting one faction or another if I desire without having to travel across half the map. Bonus.

Another base I only recently discovered: Vanu archives, is fun to fight in as well as it's infantry only up top, although there's still a lot of tank spam, but there are areas up there where no vehicle spam can encroach.

A lot of outposts have walls around them as well, can't remember if they were always there or only recently added.

[Crator]

^ Vanu Archives is very fun to play at. :) You don't hear about it a lot cause of The Crown I think.

[Beerbeer]

Yeah, ironically I try to avoid the crown, but I do like fighting around the periphery of that meat grinder when all three factions are fighting over it.

The crater is fun too when there are a lot of people around.