Is SOE trying to force the game into a predictable pattern?

[Malorn]

I don't think these continental struggles are going to be anywhere near as stalemated as people are leading on.

Under ideal conditions with perfect population balance and perfect distribution and no double teaming, yeah sure. But that will never happen. Populations won't be even across the empires, and the distribution across the continents for each empire will vary heavily. And of course you will see double teaming , especially if things are relatively evenly matched. Anything to get a territorial edge.

[VioletZero]

Looking at the sanctuary design, I can see the designer wheels turning. They want to make it so that one faction doesn't fall behind for too long. So obviously, the closer you get to a sanctuary, the harder it is going to get. And even if things do get really close, they're going to make it very easy to fight them back.

They're trying to avoid any domination of a sort. Because it's not fun to be on the other end. At least that's what is going through their head.

This is the stalemate people are talking about. Because whenever one faction makes significant progress, the design is intended to make it a lot easier to retake lost land. And the big picture wont matter because all that will matter is the battle on hand and the hex you're fighting for.

And this is an MMO. The big picture SHOULD matter as much if not MORE than the smaller picture. If you want smaller picture, play a different FPS because that area of FPS gaming has been aced many times already.

[CutterJohn]

So... what? You don't want a feedback mechanism that prevents empires from being rolled into the dirt?

The fight has always been completely pointless. Its impossible to win, and we've known it since day one of PS. Hell, its the tagline. For land, for power, forever.

The condition they need to avoid is the same fights over and over and over, i.e. revisiting Cyssorside. The overall fight will, and should, be endlessly stalemated. The best you can hope for is a very, very temporary domination due to luck, NAP with another empire that actually lasts, and the zerg listening for once, before being pushed back, because as you said, it really sucks to lose. And with the way resources work, a constant resource advantage is as bad as a constant population advantage.

[VioletZero]

Originally Posted by CutterJohn

So... what? You don't want a feedback mechanism that prevents empires from being rolled into the dirt?

The fight has always been completely pointless. Its impossible to win, and we've known it since day one of PS. Hell, its the tagline. For land, for power, forever.

The condition they need to avoid is the same fights over and over and over, i.e. revisiting Cyssorside. The overall fight will, and should, be endlessly stalemated. The best you can hope for is a very, very temporary domination due to luck, NAP with another empire that actually lasts, and the zerg listening for once, before being pushed back, because as you said, it really sucks to lose. And with the way resources work, a constant resource advantage is as bad as a constant population advantage.

I'm not asking for a win condition. I'm asking for wiggle room for the environment to change beyond original predictions. And get unique scenarios that forces certain factions to put their heads together.

I would love to see one faction controlling whole continents. I would want a greater sense of purpose and not just fighting for its own sake. I would love to have the thought in the back of my head of "If we lose this hex, we may lose the continent."

What this game is headed towards is precisely the same things happening every day. Certain factions will always be in certain corners of the map. It's impossible to capture all territory and sanctuaries will ensure that they will always retake the land.

[Sirisian]

Originally Posted by VioletZero

I'm not asking for a win condition. I'm asking for wiggle room for the environment to change beyond original predictions. And get unique scenarios that forces certain factions to put their heads together.

There's been suggestions like this. You basically want to get players fighting outside the bases. I linked this in another thread which is like a resource game mode that could randomly happen.

The second part of this post details some more ways to add complexity by allowing small base pieces to be deployed for cover.

Also regarding factions taking parts of the map and making things stale Malorn solved this a long time ago. I hope the devs were listening.

[VioletZero]

Mixing things up shouldn't be done through randomness. The unpredictability should be the result of player action.

[Sirisian]

Originally Posted by VioletZero

Mixing things up shouldn't be done through randomness. The unpredictability should be the result of player action.

Player action to random occurrences. To be fair the base rotation could be a known periodic event explained away by saying they used warpgate energy to protect the bases which causes the bases to rotate when the moon makes a revolution. It's magic... er science fiction! So not random. Which apparently makes it more acceptable.