[Video]State of the Game - Optimisation, WDS and New Depot Items + PS2 with Newbs

snoopadoopa · 2013-10-23, 04:47 AM

Hey guys SnooPSton here with my latest episode of state of the game

Much Love,
SnooPston

**Malorn** · 2013-10-25, 06:34 PM

Comparing this video to your previous one, what I find most interesting is the difference in WDS perception.

In your Oct 5th video you said WDS is "unhealthy for the game...bad in the long-run"
In this video you said "things have changed dramatically, VS seem invigorated by the changes, scoring is a lot tighter...WDS is having a positive effect."

A few questions for you related to this:
1) Would you say that the WDS has potential for more positive effect if taken in the right direction?
2) If so, what do you think are the most important steps to getting there?

Other folks who aren't Snoop are welcome to answer these questions of course, but I'm most interested in those who may have had a perception change from the beginning to now.

Babyfark McGeez · 2013-10-25, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by Malorn

Comparing this video to your previous one, what I find most interesting is the difference in WDS perception.

In your Oct 5th video you said WDS is "unhealthy for the game...bad in the long-run"
In this video you said "things have changed dramatically, VS seem invigorated by the changes, scoring is a lot tighter...WDS is having a positive effect."

A few questions for you related to this:
1) Would you say that the WDS has potential for more positive effect if taken in the right direction?
2) If so, what do you think are the most important steps to getting there?

Other folks who aren't Snoop are welcome to answer these questions of course, but I'm most interested in those who may have had a perception change from the beginning to now.

Dude...stop this unhealthy obsession with WDS. What's wrong with you?

Systems that calculate a "winner" and show you numbers are for non MMOFPS games. Especially when you need a guide to even understand how the scores are calculated.
I appreciate your effort, but better use the time to think of a system that allows a faction to achieve (temporary) victories on the actual battlefield by actual player actions (like cont-locking in PS1),

basti · 2013-10-26, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by Babyfark McGeez

Dude...stop this unhealthy obsession with WDS. What's wrong with you?

Systems that calculate a "winner" and show you numbers are for non MMOFPS games. Especially when you need a guide to even understand how the scores are calculated.
I appreciate your effort, but better use the time to think of a system that allows a faction to achieve (temporary) victories on the actual battlefield by actual player actions (like cont-locking in PS1),

Way to completly miss the intent of the WDS.

Cont locking was boring. Yes, it was a victory, and yes, we should get it back into PS2, but it was still boring.

People were asking for a proper winning condition since the day PS1 launched. The WDS can actually provide this win condition without screwing up the persistance of the game. Its brilliant, a win win for everyone. All they had to get right was the scoring system, and right now it seems to be right.

PredatorFour · 2013-10-26, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by basti

Way to completly miss the intent of the WDS.

Cont locking was boring. Yes, it was a victory, and yes, we should get it back into PS2, but it was still boring.

Cont locking was boring yes. Resecuring conts however wasn't. You missed this vital bit of info out that comes hand in hand with cont locking.

The sooner we get rid of these make weight events and have cont locking the better imo.

Bobby Shaftoe · 2013-10-26, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by basti

Way to completly miss the intent of the WDS.

Cont locking was boring. Yes, it was a victory, and yes, we should get it back into PS2, but it was still boring.

People were asking for a proper winning condition since the day PS1 launched. The WDS can actually provide this win condition without screwing up the persistance of the game. Its brilliant, a win win for everyone. All they had to get right was the scoring system, and right now it seems to be right.

But PS1 had daily winners based on territory conquered, until they stopped supporting their own website/broke it. I think the scoreboards were stuck from something like December 2003.

Babyfark McGeez · 2013-10-26, 07:52 PM

So (some of) you guys really want a disconnected scoreboard and a flashing "team blue wins" screen? Really?? What??

For me, the fascination with planetside from day one was that it didn't have a scoreboard or artifical winning condition. No numbers and scores that determined a winner like in every other (lobby) shooter, but an ongoing struggle where real actions and events in the game were the victory. When you participated in events that lead to such a (temporary) victory, be it a continent lock or on a smaller scale holding/capturing a hard defended facility it simply felt awesome. If you missed it, tough luck, but the next one will happen soon.

But nothing was translated into numbers that determined an artifical "winner" and showed you a winning screen with scores. If there was an actual scoreboard on the site i never looked at it. And untill now i was under the impression this outstanding feature was what everyone else loved too and drew people into the game in the first place.

And we actually allready had that in PS2. Before capturing continents worked with "thresholds" capping a continent or trying to hold that cap was the victory. The easter weekend on miller with tr desperately trying to hold the lock, last stands at scarred mesa, black ops training camp and the crown (regardless of lag).
Those were the "wins". That was the winning condition i was looking for when i came to planetside. Held indar for today -> Win.
Not a goddamn "VS has 28929 points and wins" screen.

In that regard even alerts are more up my alley since they actually happen on the battlefield and are not being calculated to give you your gratification cookie.

kubacheski · 2013-10-30, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by basti

Way to completly miss the intent of the WDS.

Cont locking was boring. Yes, it was a victory, and yes, we should get it back into PS2, but it was still boring.

People were asking for a proper winning condition since the day PS1 launched. The WDS can actually provide this win condition without screwing up the persistance of the game. Its brilliant, a win win for everyone. All they had to get right was the scoring system, and right now it seems to be right.

Whats so right about it?

I doubt the final round(s) of the preseason even are going to be the finalized weighted numbers of the formula pertaining to population numbers and they haven't added in the points for Alerts.

They're not done with the balance of it. And just introduce an unbalanced game mechanic like the resource changes coming at some point and now you've got to recalculate the entire way the WDS works. Yea they've got a test server, but they didn't have WDS working on it before going live did they?

Why have a win condition at all?
Way to completely miss the intent of PlanetSide. And I know you've been playing for years and years, Basti. wtf?

GeoGnome · 2013-10-30, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by basti

Way to completly miss the intent of the WDS.

Cont locking was boring. Yes, it was a victory, and yes, we should get it back into PS2, but it was still boring.

People were asking for a proper winning condition since the day PS1 launched. The WDS can actually provide this win condition without screwing up the persistance of the game. Its brilliant, a win win for everyone. All they had to get right was the scoring system, and right now it seems to be right.

Here is the thing though, All I have seen from Malorn lately is more questions about the WDS, when what people desperately want: Resources and continental lattice, which are the things WDS will be there to measure, are not really being reported on as much.

I agree with you, the WDS is a good scoring system that will work quite well... But, it wont work well until the systems it's meant to score, are in place. Until we Get a continental lattice and a resource revamp at least, we have absolutely 0 way to tell whether or not the system will work long term. SOE are building a great system of reducing emissions in a car, and then not putting an engine in it. Yeah, it'll run cleaner and there will be fewer problems for the environment later, but we're still not Getting anywhere until the engine is put in.

I mean honestly even with this whole focus on balance next, what could help SOE more than anything at this point, would be for them to come out and say: "Tomorrow we start work on implementing the resource revamp, and it'll be in, inside of 2 months". If they were to get a firmer stance on the deadlines on these important content patches, people would be less worried about the current slump. As is, even with optimization, there is nothing for people to look towards after that. I know multiple people who have stopped playing, and have said to me: "Yeah, get back to me when they put something in the game, that makes the game more engaging day to day"

Gammit10 · 2013-10-30, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by Babyfark McGeez

Dude...stop this unhealthy obsession with WDS. What's wrong with you?

Systems that calculate a "winner" and show you numbers are for non MMOFPS games. Especially when you need a guide to even understand how the scores are calculated.
I appreciate your effort, but better use the time to think of a system that allows a faction to achieve (temporary) victories on the actual battlefield by actual player actions (like cont-locking in PS1),

Agreed. I would love to see a world-locking end game, a la WW2OL.

snoopadoopa · 2013-10-26, 04:26 AM

Originally Posted by Malorn

Comparing this video to your previous one, what I find most interesting is the difference in WDS perception.

In your Oct 5th video you said WDS is "unhealthy for the game...bad in the long-run"
In this video you said "things have changed dramatically, VS seem invigorated by the changes, scoring is a lot tighter...WDS is having a positive effect."

A few questions for you related to this:
1) Would you say that the WDS has potential for more positive effect if taken in the right direction?
2) If so, what do you think are the most important steps to getting there?

Other folks who aren't Snoop are welcome to answer these questions of course, but I'm most interested in those who may have had a perception change from the beginning to now.

1) It just seemed to me that on Ceres the battles and the general vibe in the empire seemed more positive because of the ability to be able to compete via the new scoring system. This also may have something to do with the VS having the northern warpgate position, that maybe makes me think the new scoring system is working as intended. So yes definitely the WDS could have a positive effect if it was taken in the right direction. Maybe some unique rewards that are worth fighting for would inspire some great fighting like an exclusive camo etc.

2)It just needs to be fair is the only one really.(account for pop imbalance etc which the new scoring system does) I love PS2 and I make my videos because a. I enjoy it & b. I want to give back to the game/community in someway by promoting it. The WDS is a great opportunity to positively influence the playerbase. The worst thing that could come out of it is the Players thinking it is just SOE giving the TR a free XP Boost.

Thanks for the question man <3
Much Love,
SnooPSton

Shamrock · 2013-10-27, 09:56 AM

Cont locking was not a boring feature as some of the best base fights were generated by it, i.e. :-
(1) final base defenses.
(2) breaking a lock by preparing a base and defending your hack until the timer went through, often in conjunction with a secondary base (eg a gen drain/hold) to act as a distraction to split up the first responders.
(3) Being a re-secure team, actively keeping an eye on your locked continent and often taking on highly organised opponents who were attempting to break your lock.

Larington · 2013-10-29, 01:28 PM

Some of the boredom was self inflicted too, with people hacking an entire continent with no (significant) resistance, which happens in Planetside 2 sometimes as well. The danger with a global lattice is where people might have no choice but to ghost hack across a continent (To get to the/a fight) but I don't think that's sufficient reason to not try to pursue a global lattice.

KesTro · 2013-10-30, 01:42 PM

Not saying that the changes they did to the WDS are a bad thing, but I have to point out that once the WG's were flipped and the changes implimented all of a sudden you have hordes of VS saying it's a better system. That jab aside I haven't noticed anyone really caring about the WDS on Connery, at least not to the extent that they organize a push to try and get those territories that's been held by an opposing faction for days or weeks even. People just can't be bothered to do that and often times simply can't do that with how the map flows, particularly Indar but it can be observed on Esamir as well.

Blackburn · 2013-10-30, 01:47 PM

The one with FNG's is really funny xD