Now that PS is in full swing ...

[Griffter]

... has there been any improvement in the base hopping methods that were common in beta? With more people available on each server now do more people defend bases/towers or is it still the same old thing. Take base, move to next base, take base, loose previously taken base ...ect.

I recieved my copy of the official game on the day after launch but have yet to fire it up. I was hoping that some things would change after beta.

Thanks for any replies.

- Griff

[BigFreak]

i dunno about the US servers but on Werner, it's mostly still like that. Sometimes you have to like force yourself to stay put, cos you know the rest of the people around you will swarm to the next base. Just the other day we took most of a continent then noticed that vanu had been working back the ground we just took in the same order we took it. was quite amusing ;p

[teratravp]

nah, I've been watching the official boards and the new players are raising all the same issues we raised in beta. If they do change the game to make defense viable, and make gameplay objectives more diverse and fufilling then they'll have a winner. Still in the wait and see period though.

[Griffter]

... I forget who but someone suggested that it be possible to actually WIN the war. Something that would take a combination of continental locks along with sanctuary strikes. Without going into specifics it sounded pretty cool. The game works similar to what it does now but at some point it is possible to force a server reset when one side wins.

However it was laid out, it sounded like a really good idea. I for one was really miffed at the fact that the game was a constant wild goosechase even when I never concentrated on just gaining experience it seemed like cap base, loose base, re-cap base, loose base ... move to another base, cap base , loose ... blah blah.

- Griff

[Big Bro]

As soon as there are commenserate rewards in place for defending a facility, people will almost ALWAYS move to the next base after a cap. Why stick around? They can come back and get it later... And be rewarded for it.

Now when they DO put in adequate rewards for successfully DEFENDING (not resecuring... that means you had poor defense in the first place), then you'll start to see the battlefield start to show real fronts forming.

It really has gotten a lot better with the Lattice system. At least you aren't running half-way across a continent. Now you are just running to the one next door...

[Airlift]

Yeah, they have very effectively localized the musical bases game. You get two varieties at this point:

Ping-Pong, where two zergs will go back and forth hacking each others' next door bases. Back and forth they bounce until one zerg becomes too small to keep up with the other one.

Cap Rodeo, where two zergs follow each other around a circuit of three connected bases.

In either case, the two massive armies don't face off very often, because there are better rewards for not clashing. When rewards are unimportant, people will skip the rewarded activities and play for other reasons. When rewards are rarified, there will be no greater motivator in the game.

[teratravp]

Originally posted by =NCG=Big Bro

It really has gotten a lot better with the Lattice system. At least you aren't running half-way across a continent. Now you are just running to the one next door...

Personally I don't think the lattice system as implemented makes the game more entertaining. There used to be the feeling of getting a squad together at sanc, getting in a gal, and having the freedom to wage war. You could do anything. Now everyone in the game is bound to do the same thing and it only contributes to the monotony. I've always thought of lattice as an auto-general for the whole war, which is one step backwards from adding depth to a game that needs depth.

For example, as suggested by us old beta'ers, why not create a real gameplay lattice? Something like supply lines between bases, something that was gameplay based. Arbitrary mechanisms aren't good.

I think the real problem though is that the devs somehow did not ever actually plan what the game was going to be. How else can you explain the sudden wholesale changes in the game all through beta? Beta is essentially a bug testing and minor adjusting phase, and they were using it to create the gameplay. I don't know how that's going to work over the longrun and that's probably why so many people have question marks above their heads about this game. There is the chance we'll all get fortunate though and they'll roll the dice the right way and keep it that way at some point.

[Duilin]

How is the game turning out? (dont want to start a whole new thread about this)... I played beta for a few months, it was a lot of fun... but it got old rather fast.

Has any new content or options been added, or is it still just hot drop a base, secure, cap, load up, hot drop a base, etc etc?