Work in Progress Lattice Picture, Feedback?

[waldizzo]

From Higby:
https://twitter.com/mhigby/status/332623828515704832

http://i.imgur.com/URS2EPZ.jpg

Credit to [SW] Shepard on reddit.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/comments/1e14w3/new_map_changes_straight_from_higby/

Updated:

http://www.planetside-universe.com/media/album/mp52rz6sp6/20130509_518c2a7600789.png

http://www.planetside-universe.com/media.php?view=2365

[Hamma]

Personally I prefer the way they have it right now

[waldizzo]

I approve of the changes to make it look a lot like the original lattice system. I also like how the map isn't all "hexed out" anymore. To me, it looks more like a complete map, instead of a bunch of separate areas.

[ChipMHazard]

Looks good. Seems like they took the advice about colouring the surrounding area the controlling faction's colour.

[ETD]

It's late and I'm tired so I'll just repost the "review and criticism" i posted on the reddit thread about it:

Higby I know you'll read this post eventually so here are my thoughts:
Overall I really like what you're going for, I think the lines should be thicker though. Not much, just a little. Might be different once I see it ingame though. Stuff looks always little different that way.

I also think the gradients between the faction colours should be a little harder. In my opinion they're too "fuzzy" at the moment.

A detail that's easily missed but much appreciated: You made the edges of the continent a little smoother, now there are no huge hexes, I can actually fly in a straight line at the side! Thanks!
That's all I have for now.

Edit:
So I have come up with some criticism.
I liked the earlier prototypes because they went along the roads, so it made a lot of sense. This still does for the most part, however in some spots the lines go straight over some mountains. For example "The Old Stockpile" to "Zurvan Network Complex".

The line goes straight over that hill. I realize we're supposed to take the road that goes around it, but what about making those lines actually flow along streets? I'm afraid that would look too cluttered pretty quickly, but maybe it's worth a try. I'm too tired to whip up a photoshop mockup of that right now though, maybe tomorrow morning. (1am here)

[Purestorm]

While it might not be perfect, it's looks at lot less messy than the previous version did.

[wasdie]

I'm assuming you can turn off that territory overlay color thing.

I like the changes but I wish the colors didn't just fade into each other. I like a nice, ridged approach that is really easy to read.

The basic web of lines between the outposts and facilities makes the most sense though. Nice and clean. Just improve that ownership overlay thing. I think it needs to be there but it needs to be a bit more distinct between the factions.

[Hamma]

Added a poll for the heck of it.

[MrMak]

I realy dont see the point of droping the current hexed lane system. Well at least apert from "it was like that in PS1" but that alone is not a valid reason.

Not saying its bad but seems a bit pointless.

[ChipMHazard]

Strange that they did away with the hexes completely.

[DirtyBird]

Too hard to see clearly.
Beef'em up a bit.

[TheSaltySeagull]

I agree the line could be a little bit thicker. And I am not a fan of how the map colors seem to bleed into each other. But overall it is an improvement in my opinion.

[Babyfark McGeez]

It looks a bit confusing with the colorschemes we got, but i like it nonetheless. The map has a more "rts / political map" kind of style.
And without hexes and the "lanes" being visible the whole picture seems more "clear" on what's leading where and what's going on. Much like in PS1...heyyyy, WAIT A MINUTE HERE.


Does this actually mean that after all of beta and half a year of release where people were repeatedly asking for a PS1-styled lattice and it was continously deemed inappropriate for this game, THEY IMPLEMENT EXACTLY THE SYSTEM OF PS1? I mean seriously, look at this, there aren't even hexes anymore. This is the system that we were told for over one year would not be good for the game.
So instead of testing different systems in beta we were told that hexes are the way to go, and now, after all this time and countless debates, they...just do it?

Don't get me wrong, i really, really like this change and will definetely check it out when it goes live. But i cannot wrap my head around the design and thought process involved in this game. It's just so mindboggling.

But ahwell, by this logic we will atleast get dedicated gunners/drivers on MBTs next year.


So tl;dr: Good change!

Edit: Also for some constructive criticism i refer to ETDs post. He worded very well what i would say too (basically, make stuff more clear).

[capiqu]

I think I have seen that somewhere? Lol, I like it but It would be nice to keep the hexes. Love my political maps you know. I would like to be sure that if I'm waiting for capture exp from The Crown that I'm inside the SOI(hex) and not outside of it.

[Aveox]

I like the new WIP. Not so much because it looks like PS1 (it does, and I like it), but it seems much less confined then the rush lanes concept. With the rush lanes I got too much of a lineair corridor feeling, especially with the first, "narrow" variant.
This new WIP makes everything wide open and puts the focus on the bases, and not on the roads leading to them. It also makes the map a whole lot cleaner and easier to read. The only thing I'm wondering about is how they will count base capture XP. SOI perhaps?

[psijaka]

I like it a lot.

3 comments though.

- the links need to be a bit more prominent; they don't really stand out against the empire coloured background very well (the most prominent links are the yellow inoperative ones).

- the links should roughly follow roads; even just making them a simple arc to bend around a mountain would be better than a straight line which takes no account of terrain. Edit - I withdraw this comment; The Amerish map would be like looking at a platefull of spaghetti.

- the empire colours need to be highlighted a bit more around the bases; to make it more obvious to see who controls what at a glance. Perhaps if the lattice links were a bit more prominent, then this would be unnecessary.

And not really on topic I know, but 4 links to the Crown!

[Mastachief]

OMG the new one is awesome, but i think they still need less links between certain areas and some mechanics for either benefit denial or drain/hack behind enemy lines.

[AThreatToYou]

Fucking lattice.

[Babyfark McGeez]

I like it a lot.
- the links should roughly follow roads; even just making them a simple arc to bend around a mountain would be better than a straight line which takes no account of terrain.


I agree with your other comments, but i disagree on this one.
The paths should be as simple and straight as possible in my opinion to make the map as visually clear as possible. Think of the serpentine roads on Amerish and all the mountainsides, if you make these lines follow roads you end up with a visual mess.
I would however like an option on the map to highlight roads, so incase you really are at a loss where to drive to get to the next base, you can see it on the map. Like a checkbox option similar to the ones we allready have with the grid, territory activity and such.

[capiqu]

Jeez we Don't need MapQuest built into PS2.

[Elahhez]

Personally I prefer the way they have it right now

Second that, makes it really obvious the way it is now.

These images you got to study to learn the links..

[KALU]

I personally like it!

worth trying it and seeing how she functions.

[Zulthus]

Wow, they've really outdone themselves with the WIP. I didn't really like the hex/lattice mix, it felt a bit too confined and linear. Now, the emphasis is on the bases themselves, and I envision there will be a lot more field battles.

I'm looking forward to this change, I'll probably start playing actively again.

[Figment]

Added a poll for the heck of it.

NO POLLING ON THIS WEBSITE YOU HERETIC! D:<

HAMMA EXPLICITLY FORBADE POL... oh wait. :p




Anyway, it's a lot clearer how things exactly connect (had to look for what it attached to - worked as well though it looked a bit arbitrary). In that sense, it's slightly more intuitive than the previous rushlane regions, while not suggesting extremely explicitly which roads to use as the other did. Btw, the clear PS1 reference = excellent nostalgia thus bonus points.

Lines could be a bit thicker though, especially regarding contrast between background influence control and the inner lines.



I'm curious to know if one side of a rush lane can be hacked if the other is already contested: would add tactical options to deny a zerg hacks (and provide time) by counter attacks on the enemy base after a resecure and force a withdrawl or time to clear out a facility and regain control.


I'm assuming those white stripes are animated. Would those indicate which benefits are linked? Perhaps those could mean something more?

Also: SPEND YOUR DAMN CERTPOINTS HIGGLES! D:

[Figment]

- the empire colours need to be highlighted a bit more around the bases; to make it more obvious to see who controls what at a glance. Perhaps if the lattice links were a bit more prominent, then this would be unnecessary.

What about mini-SOIs surrounded by a white stripe?

[GeoGnome]

The heatmap and lines looks amazing.

[camycamera]

i have mixed feelings, i think both of these are good, but the lattice is much more clearer atm, but this is a throwback to PS1, and has a more.... realistic(?) look to it.

i had voted for the lattice, but in all honesty i'll except either one, and let you guys to the arguing tbh

can't wait for either!

[Dougnifico]

I love it. Higby, whoever designed it, give them coffee and a cookie. I'm buying to commissar hat, use that money. lol

They better standardize it with the other continents. It would be so ghetto to have 1 lattice and 2 hexmaps. lol

[Bear]

I find it a bit amusing that back in beta there were a lot of people asking for a lattice type system much like the one that existed in PS1. They were told that there is absolutely no way a lattice would work with PS2. So now we have a lattice but we're calling them rush lanes? Looks a awful lot like the old lattice if you ask me.

http://wiki.planetsidesyndicate.com/images/thumb/3/30/SearhusMap.jpg/600px-SearhusMap.jpg


Personally, I don't care what you call it, something is needed to focus the battles but that's a double edged sword. My bigger concern is that we're in a dangerous middle ground with regards to population. I'm concerned that these rush lanes will result in nothing more than gigantic zergfests and it takes virtually all unpredictability out of the game and clusters everyone in a couple of spots. For example, if you capture CrossRoads tower under the "new" system, you can't push directly to The Crown. You now would have to go directly to Snake Ravine, then grab a portion of Allatom and then Ti Alloys. That' just fighting down a path IMO.

My second concern is that we're still waiting on Hossin but as much as I'd like a new continent, I'm not sure there's enough population to support it.

All that said, I think I like the way they have it now rather than the proposed changes. Those skinny lines just aren't appealing.

[DarkCommando]

I have to say that looks more like PS1 to me and makes a lot of sense and I like the coloring of the map way better. When you say Lattice the new map is what i think of.

[Canaris]

The lattice lines just need to stand out more, then the WIP will be king

It's suffering from one of the worst things in PS2, that effects the main map & minimap which is and excuse my french "WHAT THE FUCK AM I LOOKING AT", it's either colour coded to blend into the backround (stupid) or so cluttered (facility/outposts & minimap stupid)
In fact while we're on the subject of maps, Sort out the clutter on the minimap already you've had enough time with it. :nono:
Also why when I press H to make the minimap bigger does it still not upscale the other items around with it.

Zone I'm in
Faction Influence
Compass direction

get with the program or I shall taunt you a second time:)

[psijaka]

I agree with your other comments, but i disagree on this one.
The paths should be as simple and straight as possible in my opinion to make the map as visually clear as possible. Think of the serpentine roads on Amerish and all the mountainsides, if you make these lines follow roads you end up with a visual mess.
I would however like an option on the map to highlight roads, so incase you really are at a loss where to drive to get to the next base, you can see it on the map. Like a checkbox option similar to the ones we allready have with the grid, territory activity and such.

You've got a good point there McGeez, I hadn't considered Amerish!

[Mox]

Rush lanes..... Haha. Amusing to see how Higgles still desperadly tries to avoid using the word "lattice".
Seeing these WIP-pics tell me that we were right with our proposals for a lattice since early beta.
The only question that remain:
Why did it take so long?
Just listen to the vets instead of experimenting with higgles half backed casual gaming solutions and the game will kick asses!!

[NewSith]

I am a PS1 vet since 2006. And I like the current one.


Why? Because the current one is way more indicative and readable, and, besides, it's gonna take too much time for people to reeducate themselves into the new system if it gets changed that drastically.


But we already know what's gonna win, because PS1 resemblance beats objectivity on topics like the lattice and BFRs way too often.

[waldizzo]

Higby has said that the arrows on the solid lines represent the flow of resources. That's pretty neat in my opinion.


...The lines definitely do animate to show the flow of resources. Cut off areas don't have any animation in the lines, and the yellow lines pulse to show contested links (i.e. bases that can be contested).

http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/comments/1e14w3/new_map_changes_straight_from_higby/c9vtwg9

[Assist]

tbh not a big fan of either of them.

[Snipefrag]

I like the WIP, looks great. Although at first glance it seems a bit jarring.. colour wise, i would prefer it if i could see some of the Indar continents map colour (the brown stuff) and not just a mass of red/blue/purple. If you can toggle it off as i expect that's fine, but i would like the lattice links to be more prominent and some sort of visual indication on the base about who owns it (like a red circle, kind of like SOI's in PS1 but not necessarily to be used like a SOI). That way you can see the actual detail of the map without having the spurge of colour over everything.

[Tikuto]

Lattice ought to be just Facility-only.

[Qwan]

Im liking this "NEW" :rolleyes: lattice system, I think it will give those guys who sit behind there computers looking at the map an Idea of whats going on the battle field. What points will need reinforcing and which ones dont. With the system right now its up to numbers whether or not you can take a continent, with the Lattice it will be stratigic placement of troops. Back hacking has always be a frustrating issue, I hope to see this come to an end. I think that as more continents come on line this system will better prove itself.

But my final question is this:
If im fighting at broken arch road pushing North, to Crossroads, and the enemy blows the gens and starts a hack at Tawrich Tech plant, do I loose the ability to spawn tanks, thats if you could spawn tanks at broken arch (which I know you cant). I guess Im asking is, are the lattice lines just showing hack options as well as benifits, or just hack options.

[basti]

Im liking this "NEW" :rolleyes: lattice system, I think it will give those guys who sit behind there computers looking at the map an Idea of whats going on the battle field. What points will need reinforcing and which ones dont. With the system right now its up to numbers whether or not you can take a continent, with the Lattice it will be stratigic placement of troops. Back hacking has always be a frustrating issue, I hope to see this come to an end. I think that as more continents come on line this system will better prove itself.

But my final question is this:
If im fighting at broken arch road pushing North, to Crossroads, and the enemy blows the gens and starts a hack at Tawrich Tech plant, do I loose the ability to spawn tanks, thats if you could spawn tanks at broken arch (which I know you cant). I guess Im asking is, are the lattice lines just showing hack options as well as benifits, or just hack options.



Benefits are already being transferred with the current hex system.

If your base is cut off from your techplant, even tho you have a techplant, then theres no tanks for you. :>

[Rahabib]

This approach makes a lot more sense to me visually. Its a series of connected bases not roads which makes more sense to someone new. As an old UT player this kind of map makes sense to me.

I just hope they work in resources or this doesnt really do anything since technically you could capture any place and if the flow doesnt really matter - well then whats the point?

[ringring]

Hopefully there will also be sliders to increase the intensity of the colours.

Also, is colour-blindness being considered from the start?

[capiqu]

Looks like the majority like the new change and that it seems to be heading in the right direction. I say each facility should be withing a Hex Of Influence(HOI). Circles will leave many areas of the map brown.
But seriously many comment without even using the test server. We need to use the test server and give SOE feedback. Its very important.
We asked over and over and over again for a test server. This so that players would test out changes and provide feedback before any major change are done to the live game that would piss off people . Now that we have it it seems that few use it.
This is especially true for none Planetside1 players. Use the test server. Give the new map a try then provide feed back. The more people on the test server the quicker SOE gets game info and player feedback thus the quicker Soe can decide whether to change or not change something and move on to other things like the rest of the continents.

[Nathaniak]

I prefer it to the system on the test server, but I still don't agree with a lattice in the first place. Soft limits, fine. Hard limits, not so much. I just don't like the idea of limiting player options as much as this pseudo-lattice system seems to.

[AThreatToYou]

I don't really care whether or not a lattice picture like this or a hex-based lattice picture are implemented. They both work. (choosing between one on PTS and one pictured)

[Shogun]

i like the wip pic!

the lattice is clearly visible now. i am all for better fast and easy information on the map!
and i was never a fan of the hexes at all. looks much better in the wip!

the only thing i would change is the owned by enemy overlay. the contures need to be more visible. so either defuzz the overlay a little bit with clearer borders, or just put clearly visible SOI on every outpost/base and scrap every factioncolor inbetween.

also the new system would allow for a rebirth of llu type bases. a little diversity with base capture mechanics wouldn´t hurt.

[Rivenshield]

I like it -- and not just because it reminds me of the original. It is simple and intuitive and will make finding a good fight easier and faster. The fact that the lines sometimes cross terrain features is a non-issue. People can follow the roads to whichever objectives they want. The lattice simply shows them which objectives are linked together, and how. It makes the strategic picture comprehensible at a glance.

Does this actually mean that after all of beta and half a year of release where people were repeatedly asking for a PS1-styled lattice and it was continously deemed inappropriate for this game, THEY IMPLEMENT EXACTLY THE SYSTEM OF PS1?

Yes. That is how long it took for the dev team as a whole to evolve and understand that behind the bittervet whining there was much good advice. This is how long it took for real-world gameplay to force them to come to the same conclusions we came to six months ago. This is how long it took to reinvent the wheel. (And he's finally calling it a lattice, now, you note.) Yes.

AND IF WE'RE DICKS ABOUT IT, THAT WILL ONLY GUM UP THE WORKS AND MAKE FURTHER EVOLUTION IMPOSSIBLE. The last thing we need now is paragraph-long victory dances. I don't feel triumphant and vindicated. I feel relieved that Higby is still willing to talk to us after all our histrionic doom-laden bullspit. He isn't CONCEDING anything. He's simply remaining open. And bit by bit, on little cat feet, we are getting the game we pleaded for -- not the one we wanted for ourselves, but for the new generations of gamers who need that epic fix and who will wither on the vine without it.

***HIGBY*** Hopefully you're read this far and will see this: YOU GUYS NEED A USER'S MANUAL. Something gamers can download and print out and refer to in-game without breaking gameplay that will explain how everything works and what all this bewildering stuff on the map and in the interface is. It is costing you more business than you can possibly realize. I've seen it over and over again. I've seen it make the difference between 300+ tech support calls a month and FOUR. It is the difference between a five-minute user and a loyal fan.

Put a .pdf out there with the basics and the results will be immediate and gratifying. I promise.

Sincerely,

-- Rivenshield, Senior Level Technical Writer

[Methonius]

This is so much cleaner looking than the hex crap. I approve of this change!

[Kerrec]

I just spent a very frustrating evening trying to defend Indar against a VS/NC double team. When we were down to a couple bases left, it became impossible to do anything. There were SOOOO many people at the last couple bases we held that I couldn't revive anyone, I couldn't replenish ammunition, I'd shoot people CQC and it would take 1+ seconds for the hits to register and the guy to die. I'd take incoming fire, run into an empty building and die seconds later to one guy who did 100% damage.

THIS is what everyone wants? Insane zerg vs. zerg fights, all the time with impossible frame rates, lag that breaks healing/reviving/replenishing ammo.... lines of tanks spamming HE from ridges way beyond dumbfire range?

Tonight was horribly frustrating. If PS2 devolves into this all the time... I wouldn't play this game anymore.

[Kail]

I just spent a very frustrating evening trying to defend Indar against a VS/NC double team. When we were down to a couple bases left, it became impossible to do anything. There were SOOOO many people at the last couple bases we held that I couldn't revive anyone, I couldn't replenish ammunition, I'd shoot people CQC and it would take 1+ seconds for the hits to register and the guy to die. I'd take incoming fire, run into an empty building and die seconds later to one guy who did 100% damage.

THIS is what everyone wants? Insane zerg vs. zerg fights, all the time with impossible frame rates, lag that breaks healing/reviving/replenishing ammo.... lines of tanks spamming HE from ridges way beyond dumbfire range?

Tonight was horribly frustrating. If PS2 devolves into this all the time... I wouldn't play this game anymore.

I just came from that myself! From the VS side of course :D - did you stick around for when we crashed galaxies into your warpgate? Wish I could have seen that from the inside lol.

Anyway, to your point, rush lanes or lattice won't really create those kind of conditions you describe, because that kind of situation only happens at warpgates. Although you're completely correct in that normal base fights will be bigger, so there will be performance issues.

To the WIP piece itself, my feedback.

Connections

All connections should be unanimated, gray lines
Connections from your empire into an enemy empire should be a fat orange arrow (pointing to the enemy)
Connections between enemy empires should be should be slightly larger and colored yellow
By default, only "Your Empire" arrows are shown on the map


The goal: The map should be like a war documentary; Every part of the map should have a color of who controls it. The big arrows serve as the "Battle Front" indicators. The connections inside empire territory, and between enemy empires, are irrelevant for at-a-glance information (you only care when you want to plan capture movement, so it can be toggled on).

One thing I'm not sure of would be to have the connections between the facilities look like they do from the rush lanes - ie, the follow the actual roads / connections between bases. The Battle Front arrows (your empire > enemy empire) would always be straight arrows of course. The idea behind that being looking at connections shows you the true paths between bases, while the battle front is way to quickly see where you can attack next.

Control Area Coloring

The purple and the red seem too close, and should be more obviously different
Facility labels and icons should be on a layer above the coloring, not under
Instead of a darker color for disconnected facilities, an alternative may be to shrink the heat spot of a cut off base so that they just have coloring around the label / icons (note - I get the feeling a darker tint will still look way better)

[NewSith]

I like it -- and not just because it reminds me of the original. It is simple and intuitive and will make finding a good fight easier and faster.

It's not intuitive at all. Does ANYONE remember their first experience with any original PlanetSide map?


Because my first experience, aswell as some of my friends' I can only describe as "LOLWUT?" Hex map or any territorial distinction gives WAAAAAAAAAY more indication as to what you are looking at on the map.

[MrMak]

There is one option missing from the poll.

http://youtu.be/ussCHoQttyQ

[basti]

I just spent a very frustrating evening trying to defend Indar against a VS/NC double team. When we were down to a couple bases left, it became impossible to do anything. There were SOOOO many people at the last couple bases we held that I couldn't revive anyone, I couldn't replenish ammunition, I'd shoot people CQC and it would take 1+ seconds for the hits to register and the guy to die. I'd take incoming fire, run into an empty building and die seconds later to one guy who did 100% damage.

THIS is what everyone wants? Insane zerg vs. zerg fights, all the time with impossible frame rates, lag that breaks healing/reviving/replenishing ammo.... lines of tanks spamming HE from ridges way beyond dumbfire range?

Tonight was horribly frustrating. If PS2 devolves into this all the time... I wouldn't play this game anymore.


Fun fact: This is exactly what doesnt happen with the lattice system.

It pretty much completly stops insane zergs from happening, as you have med sized zergs fighting it out, as opposed to getting pushed back to your warpgate before your empire gets its shit together.

[Shogun]

Fun fact: This is exactly what doesnt happen with the lattice system.

It pretty much completly stops insane zergs from happening, as you have med sized zergs fighting it out, as opposed to getting pushed back to your warpgate before your empire gets its shit together.

i hope you are right. the nc on miller don´t seem to be able to coordinate and usually it´s just a giant zerg steamrolling the cont while every base the terg is not located at, gets retaken in minutes. but i don´t see how the new lattice would change that.
by the way, are the nc on other servers capable of winning a cont? i haven´t seen a nc tagged cont on miller ever!

[ChipMHazard]

There is one option missing from the poll.

http://youtu.be/ussCHoQttyQ

Heh, aye. Can't say that I care which design they go with at this point. At the moment the only difference there is, is in the way it's presented visually. It works the exact same way as the current rush lane hex system does.
I don't rightly care which they go with, as long as they stick with one and expand upon it with features that tie into said system.

[Kail]

Fun fact: This is exactly what doesnt happen with the lattice system.

It pretty much completly stops insane zergs from happening, as you have med sized zergs fighting it out, as opposed to getting pushed back to your warpgate before your empire gets its shit together.

Well that's not quite true. Consider the case he's talking about - on that night, the last TR territory was Camp Waterson. Given that, the TR had 7 territories they could attack, and one territory to defend, for a total of 8 possible battle locations.

The problem? Everyone of those 8 had Enemy Platoons on them.

Lattice has no impact in that scenario at all, and indeed won't change warpgating situations. He was expressing the concern that those fight conditions will now be the norm across the whole continent - which from first blush shouldn't be that bad, but they will definitely be impacted negatively from a performance perspective compared to live.

[Kerrec]

Fun fact: This is exactly what doesnt happen with the lattice system.

It pretty much completly stops insane zergs from happening, as you have med sized zergs fighting it out, as opposed to getting pushed back to your warpgate before your empire gets its shit together.

By what definition in any human language is what you said a "fact"? Until it plays out and is proven in a game that has continent population locks of 666 per faction where every bullet, missile, grenade, etc... is an object requiring the server to do calculations, then what you say is purely a hypothesis.

"But PS1 did it", you're going to say. PS1 had much lower populations, multiple continents that could be locked and from hearsay, this created battle lines where a 3 way battle was relatively rare. That means factions "usually" fought one other empire on any given continent, a mechanic that allowed the possibility of fights to remain equal at 1:1. Until PS2 gets this kind of continent locking that enforces this kind of continent population balance, rush lanes in PS2 are going to be a disaster IMO.

Based on my experience (real experimental data) last night, I am swayed towards the opinion that a lattice forcing players to concentrate forces in "rush lanes" is going to reproduce the UNPLAYABLE conditions I experienced last night. IE:

-Heals didn't work (every death means you have to respawn at the spawn room, making it that much easier for the attacking forces to close the noose and camp it)
-Revives didn't work (particularly painful for using MAX resources wisely, makes the spawn room the only location to spawn from... see the "noose" comment above)
-Repairs didn't work (makes vehicles and MAXes pointless)
-Ammo boxes didn't work (assuming you live, you have to run back to a weapon terminal to resupply. Eventually, the only ones that remain are in the spawn room, meaning it just makes it that much easier for the enemy forces to close the noose and camp it)
-Lag was horrible. Deaths and kills took SECONDS to register. Means you dumped WAY too much ammo into one enemy to be SURE they were dead. Compounds the Ammo boxes not working issue!
-Many people complained about infantry culling. I personally didn't experience it, but if it is true, just one more reason why forcing battles at specific locations is bad for the game.

Now, the lattice:

http://www.planetside-universe.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1160&stc=1&d=1368297940
This is what a VS player posted just after the battle. He verifies that all 4 hexes adjacent to the TR warpgate has VS platoons defending. All attempts to push out at one of the hexes was retaliated by having the VS move all platoons to that hex to squash the attack, then they moved back to their "assigned" hex to defend. Excellent teamwork that means for any push out of the warpgate, the TR faced 1:1 odds IF they could coordinate to send EVERYONE at one hex which never happened, so any TR push met superior numbers. Meanwhile TR held Camp Waterson and decided to hold it against the entire population of NC, again a 1:1 ratio fight in the best scenario. Given that we had the spawn room, it SHOULD have been possible as long as the VS didn't come to help. It never got to that because the realities of what the server can handle decided the outcome of that battle, but I digress.

The point I want to make is we had a situation where we could spawn at one place and move out in 4 directions or spawn at another place and move out in 3 directions. To illustrate:

Warpgate -> NS Salvage Yard
Warpgate -> Camp Connery (can't get there by foot or vehicle without going thru NS Salvage Yard)
Warpgate -> Crater Firing Range
Warpgate -> Alkali Storage

Camp Waterson -> Alkali Storage
Camp Waterson -> Mao Tech Plant
Camp Waterson -> NS Refinery

So the VS had a Platoon or Platoons at every link leading out from the Warpgate. NC cut off the two unique links leading out from Camp Waterson and could retaliate against any kind of drop with Platoons.

Now look at this Lattice:
http://www.planetside-universe.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1161&stc=1&d=1368297940
Lets say that the VS control Valley Storage Yard and Old Auraxium mines cutting off 2 of our 3 "rush lanes" out of the warpgate. The TR have Tawrich Tech Plant which is being pushed by NC. So the sum of the TR forces are going to be at Tawrich against the sum of the NC, recreating the exact unplayable laggy scenario I experienced last night. Once the TR lose Tawrich, the same laggy unplayable scenario will replay itself at Tawrich Recycling. And again at Arroyo Tore Station and again at Copper Ravine Station.

So instead of having one stupid unplayable battle, we'll have 4. And to make it worse, instead of having the VS spread out among FOUR hexes to defend, they become concentrated into TWO hexes, which means it's that much easier for them to coordinate and succeed at defending them.

"But Kerrec, that'll only happen when you're being warpgated", you'll say. Yes and No. In cases like last night when two factions work towards the same objective, which is to neutralize a continent, it'll happen like this everywhere. One faction will push down one rush lane with everything they got until they reach a fork. Then they'll leave a force to hold while they rush down an adjacent rush lane to prevent any back capping due to the fork. Once the holding force is reunited with the attacking force, they'll push down the remaining rush lane until it reaches another fork. This will be repeated over and over until the targeted faction is warpgated. And the only way that targeted faction can defend is to go into the superpopulated contested rush lanes and fight thru the lag.

I'm sorry, but I'm convinced this is going to be bad unless there is never any kind of coordination and fighting is spread out everywhere.

[Climhazzard]

Seeing these WIP-pics tell me that we were right with our proposals for a lattice since early beta.

Getting your way doesn't necessarily mean you're right.

Also, is colour-blindness being considered from the start?

I assume the colors will be selectable, just like the hex colors are on live.

I prefer it to the system on the test server, but I still don't agree with a lattice in the first place.

That's my opinion as well.

[WSNeo]

Why not something like this?

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/HanSime/Planetside%20Lattices/Forseral_RegMap.jpg

No offense, I really like the cosmetic side of the WIP, but the color bleeding throws me off a bit (most likely because I'm not accustomed to it yet). If there was something that clearly shows the influence of the base (ie a circle) I wouldn't mind the bleeding.

Other than that everything else (line colors and indicators that show where they are clearly connecting) look fine! :thumbsup:

[Rahabib]

Why not something like this?

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb180/HanSime/Planetside%20Lattices/Forseral_RegMap.jpg

No offense, I really like the cosmetic side of the WIP, but the color bleeding throws me off a bit (most likely because I'm not accustomed to it yet). If there was something that clearly shows the influence of the base (ie a circle) I wouldn't mind the bleeding.

Other than that everything else (line colors and indicators that show where they are clearly connecting) look fine! :thumbsup:

Exactly. Just show which faction owns the base. Move resources to bases not territory. This is far more intuitive imo., and I am not a ps1 player.

[Crator]

Benefits are already being transferred with the current hex system.

If your base is cut off from your techplant, even tho you have a techplant, then theres no tanks for you. :>

Ya, I'd prefer base benefits follow the lattice, not hexes. Hexes can give you resource benefits. Using the lattice for connecting base benefits makes the locations to attack or defend more static/persistent. Add in a way to temporarily disable the benefit, for instance by taking a gen out, without needing to actually take the base and we got something that resembles the PS1 system!

EDIT: Some people keep saying, it's too complicated. Perhaps, but there should be some complication for the strategist players. Those are the ones who figure out the best locations to attack or defend. It gives meaning to high command. (structure and depth)

[Brusi]

They both look like shit.

Where is the "not either" option