Thoughts on new S-AMS

[Hamma]

I like it but I miss my Galaxy spawn.

[Crator]

^ Right. The question still is, how do you remove whack-a-mole game play and still keep the GAL as a viable option?

[Crator]

Sounds like a good plan.

On another note but kind of related since we are talking battle flow mechanics. This is a must read thread: Hex vs Lattice: Which is best for PS2?

It was posted today, about a hour ago. Not many replies in it yet. Really well thought out there. It covers 10 topics, 4 pages long. Yeah, he has a table of contents.

Topics Covered

I. Which system is more "strategic"?

II. The "Fight for every inch" Myth

III. Would a Mission System "Fix" the Hex System?

IV. Are the Large Battles at the Crown a good sign?

V. Would 2000 players make the Hex System Function correctly?

VI. Will the AMS "Fix" the Hex System?

VII. Would a PS1-style Lattice be too Static?

VIII. Is it "too late" to switch to a Lattice System?

IX. What about a Lattice/Hex Hybrid?

X. Esamir

[Traak]

IX. What about a Lattice/Hex Hybrid?

Latex? Only for the female avatars.

[TokyoZeplin]

I like the AMS spawn system way better than the old Galaxy.
However, three things I would like to see changed:

1)Price reduction. Man it's expensive, and massive cooldown. Both price (maybe 100 less or so) could go down, and timer reduction (5-10minutes). If you're in a smaller empire, or don't hold a lot of hexes, it takes aaaaages to get that.

2) Cloaking shield. Make the armour a little worse, but give it a cloaking shield like in PS1 instead. Back in PS1, clever AMS location were actually a big deal. Putting it a place where the enemy wouldn't notice players run out of thin air, getting it there without being spotted, and so on. I miss that, and I think it would add a great deal to the game.

3) Thing needs to be a little bit more manoeuvrable. It's absolutely impossible to get it up some ways, its horribly slow, and very very bad at turns. Not saying it should be super easy, but it could use a little boost. Or at least some CERTS to make it better in those aspects.

[Exmortius]

i ran around for about an hour with ams and i preferred it over the galaxy system as well. easier to get a squad where they need to go.

[Hamma]

Originally Posted by DjEclipse

Higby kicked around this idea last week; a Gal
that is the exclusive spawn of it's Squad.

I like to see it tested. On paper it looks like Hamma can have his Gal
spawn, but solely for his squad, to nerf the whack-a-mole game play.

Yea I have no problem with this - I think it's a pretty good idea.

[TokyoZeplin]

Originally Posted by Crator

On another note but kind of related since we are talking battle flow mechanics. This is a must read thread: Hex vs Lattice: Which is best for PS2?

It was posted today, about a hour ago. Not many replies in it yet. Really well thought out there. It covers 10 topics, 4 pages long. Yeah, he has a table of contents. :lol

Completely unrelated to the current topic, but that is a DAMNED good thread.

[Crator]

Not completely unrelated. The S-AMS was put in to attempt to fix game play mechanics that controlled the flow of battle. The hex and lattice systems do just that. The AMS component works with either of those systems but in different ways.

[Raka Maru]

Another thought about the S-AMS as a support roll is that to keep it alive, it kinda has to stay farther away from the epicenter of the battle to survive. How many times I would be in the contested grid but not quite close enough to the SOI and wouldn't get the capture/defense XP. The numerous spawns from it don't match the cap bonus at all at 5XP.

I end up playing more dangerously and sometime lose my truck. Infantry that I've been supporting run right back to battle and experience the base flip.

Get rid of the small SOI and this will help support classes that hang back to keep the fight going. If you are in the grid, you should get the XP.

[Buggsy]

Originally Posted by DjEclipse

Higby kicked around this idea last week; a Gal
that is the exclusive spawn of it's Squad.

I like to see it tested. On paper it looks like Hamma can have his Gal
spawn, but solely for his squad, to nerf the whack-a-mole game play.

"kicked around this idea"? I rest my case.

Game developers have no plan, no vision, just wing it, and have no idea how game mechanics effect player behavior which is why they need to mass beta test.

[cBselfmonkey]

Originally Posted by Buggsy

"kicked around this idea"? I rest my case.

Game developers have no plan, no vision, just wing it, and have no idea how game mechanics effect player behavior which is why they need to mass beta test.

Yeah...because in a massively multiplayer online game having a large beta isn't beneficial at all. Nor are beta tests a good place to 'kick around' ideas. No no, far better to save all the real testing and changes for release. Betas should have a rigid goal in mind and not be open to changes based on player feedback whatsoever.