Reserves, done right

morf · 2011-03-02, 07:43 PM

So I had an idea today about f2p/ reserves in Planetside next. I think that if something like this is implemented it should be used to improve the gameplay experience for subscribers and if done right, it can kill several birds with 1 stone. Here's my idea:

Players would be able to download and play the game as a reserve for free, provided that they verify with a credit card, so that hackers can't just create unlimited accounts. However, the reserve experience would be quite different from a subscriber.

First and foremost, free players should not be able to choose their empire. They should only be allowed to play for the empire with the lowest pop. In any free to play system I think this is an absolute must. The last thing I want to see is one empire with 45 percent pop with a horde of free players that could be distributed to even up the sides. A reserves program is a great opportunity to fix one of the most aggravating things in planetside.

Secondly, I was thinking that reserves could be instant action only. Hear me out on this one. The idea would be to have an advanced instant action system to funnel reserves right into the fight. When a reserve dies, instead of choosing a respawn point, he is instantly transported to wherever the game decides he is needed. He spawns, already equipped with weapons and ready to fight. The weapon choice could be standard (I.e. medium assault and rexo) or preferably, it could even be contextual, I.e. if he spawns in a tower surrounded by planes, he might be in an AA max, if he spawns in the middle of an indoor defense, he might be in rexo with an MCG. The game deploys reserves to where they are needed on the battlefield, with the equipment they need.

NOW here's my favorite part of this idea... how many times have you sat in a CY screaming for a tail gunner for your lib? People are quick to pile into the bomber slot but without a tail gunner you're toast the first time a mossie sees you. But with the improved reserve system, this is no longer a problem. Simply use the "WE NEED A GUNNER" voice macro and a few seconds later, the next available reserve spawns directly into your gunner slot, ready to go. Same goes for passengers in your gal, you can put together raid drops ON DEMAND.

So basically, people who just want to jump on and shoot at some people can do so for free and it improves the game for the rest of us. The reserves miss out on the persistence and character development aspect of planetside, but they get an experience similar to what a traditional FPS offers, you spawn, you shoot, you die, you respawn. They get all of this for free and hopefully they will see how much fun the rest of us are having and subscribe.

Now I know some of you may argue that stripping out character progression will be a turn off, but most people here are recommending br6/10 for free, either of which could be achieved in 1 night, and at that point progression goes out the window anyway. I think that if there is a reserves program, it should be implemented in such a way to improve the game for subs, rather than just catering to the reserves by giving them unlimited freedom while we suffer with unbalanced pops and empty gunner slots.

Thoughts?

Bags · 2011-03-02, 07:49 PM

I'll TLDR your post:

Reserves:
Require legit CC to setup account
Max BR 6 CR 2
Has to wait in bottom of queue.

There ya go.

morf · 2011-03-02, 08:06 PM

Thanks for not reading. Your idea does very little to improve the game experience, at least read what I wrote about empire populations, it's a must if there is f2p in this game imo. Why have imbalanced pop issues when in all likelihood 20+ percent of players will be playing for free. At the very least push them to the least populated empire when they log in instead of just letting them further contribute to the imbalance. The idea here being not just to get more players in the game, but to put them where they are needed.

Bags · 2011-03-02, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by morf

Thanks for not reading. Your idea does very little to improve the game experience, at least read what I wrote about empire populations, it's a must if there is f2p in this game imo. Why have imbalanced pop issues when in all likelihood 20+ percent of players will be playing for free. At the very least push them to the least populated empire when they log in instead of just letting them further contribute to the imbalance. The idea here being not just to get more players in the game, but to put them where they are needed.

That was the only idea you had that I liked.

brinkdadrink · 2011-03-02, 08:39 PM

It might be nice but its probobly hard to spawn someone with the correct equipment every time. The other concern i have is since you cant coordinate or really do what you want like if you were BR6 you just run around and never understand what the game is truly about.

If they were BR6 or something at least they could pick something with certs they want and get a gist of the game and if they are in an outfit (or not) and like the comradery they will eventually sub and play with everyone else.

Traak · 2011-03-02, 08:43 PM

Reserves: eliminate from existence. There. Rampant hacking problem solved. Any time it's free, you are going to have guys with 2,3,4, 20 accounts running at once, all free.

Effectively, they are running remote cameras to spy on the action. All for free.

Nah, raise the game cost to 50 bucks a month, and nobody plays for free. Then we will see who has two accounts, or five. Not many, that's for sure.

Bags · 2011-03-02, 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by Traak

Reserves: eliminate from existence. There. Rampant hacking problem solved. Any time it's free, you are going to have guys with 2,3,4, 20 accounts running at once, all free.

Requiring a legit CC pretty much fixes this.

Furret · 2011-03-02, 09:28 PM

I started reading it, insta facepalmed and was about to troll the comments much like Bags, and then i saw "hear me out" so I decided to read the rest of it.

I like it a lot, and I can't think of a better way to give free players the best taste of the whole game, but still force them to want to subscribe. Very good idea, I hope it gets implemented this way.

Bags · 2011-03-02, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by Furret

I started reading it, insta facepalmed and was about to troll the comments much like Bags, and then i saw "hear me out" so I decided to read the rest of it.

I like it a lot, and I can't think of a better way to give free players the best taste of the whole game, but still force them to want to subscribe. Very good idea, I hope it gets implemented this way.

Sorry, but having an opinion doesn't mean I'm trolling. I feel reserves were perfect in their original implementation. All they need to do is force them to play on the lowest pop side and require a legit CC.

Raymac · 2011-03-02, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by Traak

Nah, raise the game cost to 50 bucks a month, and nobody plays for free. Then we will see who has two accounts, or five. Not many, that's for sure.

That would be the worst business move since ABC passed on the Cosby show. I don't think you are really being serious about paying $50/month though.

As for the OP, I think it's an interesting idea. You let people experience alot of different sides of the game and would encourage people to subscribe if they liked the game. I just wonder how much is could actually work.

For me, Instant Action has always been notoriously unreliable. Now it's been a long time, so I'm sure they can make improvements as they've done on the graphics. However, it sounds maybe a little too forward thinking to put people in just the right place with just the right loadout.

Also, with the gunner idea you run into a problem of someone just bailing out on you, or on the flip side, the reserve being held captive in the gunner seat if they can't get out.

I don't think this idea should be dismissed out of hand, because with just some minor adjusting, it could work and be really cool. Even if they just implement the idea of reserves automatically going to the lowest pop, that would certainly benefit gameplay.

morf · 2011-03-02, 09:39 PM

I was just thinking, new cr5 ability: deploy reserves. Spawns a strike team of 10 reserves with various weaponry at a friendly tower. Maybe mix in a max unit or 2.

Bags · 2011-03-02, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by morf

I was just thinking, new cr5 ability: deploy reserves. Spawns a strike team of 10 reserves with various weaponry at a friendly tower. Maybe mix in a max unit or 2.

Can the reserves level my account for me and farm me gold?

morf · 2011-03-02, 09:50 PM

So a reserve jumped out of your tail gunner slot? No big deal. Reserves are like cabs in NYC, you'll see another one in 10 seconds tops.

Bags · 2011-03-02, 09:51 PM

I can't wait to fly over the water in my liberator, spam VNG, and boot anyone who spawns in it out.

morf · 2011-03-02, 09:55 PM

haha, as fun as it would be to use the freeloaders as human bombs, I was thinking friendly soi only. or at minimum, you must be on the ground.

Edit to add:
I actually think it's pretty trivial to implement a contextual loadout system. The current planetside game already tracks who kills who and with what weapon and displays this information on your screen. It also tracks the locations of these kills, hence the hotspot indicators on the map. So if the game looks at the last 10 kills and sees that 6/10 TR that have died in the area were killed by reavers/mossies, it spawns the next few TR reserves with the loadout profile that is designed to counter reaver/mossies. If 8/10 were killed by infantry, it spawns an anti-infantry loadout, etc. It doesn't have to be right 100% of the time, but the information is already there to make a pretty accurate guesstimation of what type of soldier is needed.