Systems: Addressing TotalBiscuit's critique of base capture mechanics

[Memeotis]

I just watched TB's Planetside 2 critique, and one of the points that I agreed with a lot was the point that the base capture mechanics are boring and have too little variation.

The game Joint Operations had a nice gamemode (which I have forgotten the name of) where you would have a range of objectives (A, B, C, ..). In this gamemode you would have to capture certain control points, in order to unlock the next control point, or points.

If the map had a linear structure, it was basically a tug-of-war scenario, where each team had to capture: A -> B -> C -> D -> E consecutively, or E -> D -> C -> B -> A if you were on the opposite team.

However, some variations of this gamemode had capture points that would unlock a cluster of points: A -> (B & C) -> (D & E & F) -> (G & H) -> I
In this scenario you could capture B, ignore C entirely, and instead proceed to capture D, E and F, which would then 'lock' C for the other team, rendering them unable to spawn on it, and over time C would become neutral (The game had a King of The Hill capture mechanic), making it relatively quick to capture if one guy from your team bothered to swing by and capture it.

I think PS2 could benefit from this type of 'branched' capture-pathway system, especially on large bases. In this system (let's assume you're attacking a biolab), A, B, C, D are in the small bunkers outside the biolab, and if captured they unlock E, F, G which are inside the biolab, and capturing one of them unlocks H and I, and finally capturing one of those unlock J; the central point in the biolab.

If the attackers manage to capture all E, F, G, the defenders cannot take A, B, C, D, because they would be locked. And if the attackers capture J, the territory is instantly acquired. Of course the current system of gradual take-over should remain, because otherwise the defenders could just focus on defending J, even though the attackers have all the other nodes.

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I also think that the way to capture bases should be more varied. I think the first line of objectives (A, B, C, D) should have a 'Hold E' to capture mechanic, but as you move closer to the core-objective (J), it should become more KoTH-based. So the second branch (E, F, G) E and F should be 'Hold E', whilst G should be KoTH. The third and fourth branch (H, I and J) should also be entirely KoTH based.

Why? Because if you have the defenders defending J well, whilst being attacked by two different factions, they will effectively be rewarded because you can't sneak-cap KoTH objectives like you can the 'Hold E' ones, meaning the two attacking factions will start to fight each other more actively, as they attempt to capture the biolab by holding the most capture points - giving the outnumbered defender a better chance to push them back

A final idea, would be to have some sort of CTF-mechanic, whereby an attacker can acquire something at the first row of capture points (A, B, C, D) - a disc or something - that can turn a KoTH-point into a 'Hold E'-one. The downside would be that he would show up on the defenders' minimap and he would also light up in-game. If the carrier dies he drops it on the ground for other allies to pick up; if the defender or other attacking faction picks it up, it is destroyed and they will have to get a new one. You can only take one disc at a time per capture point you own from the first branch: A, B, C, D. So if the NC is defending, TR has A, B, C and VS has D, the TR has access to three discs at a time, while VS only has access to one.

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I think this approach would be good, because it would focus the combat, and make the capture of a base feel more like a process. And because the combat would be slightly more 'directed', I think you would begin to see more randomers working together, because it would be easier to tell 'where the action is going on'

I think it would also greatly benefit outfits, especially the small ones, because they would only have to follow one branch in order to capture J, meaning they wouldn't necessarily need to have a large amount of members, if they had the speed and organisation to compensate.