Spawn Times

[Harrod]

Following on from the IRC debate, just trying to get some sort of conclusion or community feel on spawn times.

The methods being offered so far seem to be based on a fixed time, either short to keep people in game or longer to allow assaults to progress. There is also a method whereby each death increases your spawn time, while each minute alive decreases it again to a pre-set minimum.

My personal suggestion would be to link spawn time to the level of control at the selected spawn point, using the same mechanic (and probably metrics) of the facility capture system as described in the dual commentary;

Example:
VS currently hold significant area control around a facility, while attacking TR hold a couple of nearby towers. This facility is pretty much on the frontlines.
As the VS hold a significant proportion of the surrounding area, they have a bonus on spawning at nearby facilities, while the TR suffer a penalty. Spawning at the main facility will also provide the VS with a small additional bonus. In order to decrease the penalty, the TR must divert forces from the main battle to capture the surrounding towers, which increases their control and decreases VS's. As the battle progresses and the TR slowly take over the surrounding area, they gain the advantage on spawn times, effectively translating the regional control into a force multiplier.

With this system, assaulting a main facility directly without first establishing regional control or without overwhelming numbers will be suicide; even against a numerically inferior force due to a large spawn advantage on the side of the defenders. Attackers would need to choose whether they concentrate their forces on the main front and break through or to capture the surrounding area in preperation for a final push.

This would further boost the value of towers, since they would play an indirect role in determining the battle, and force the same choice on defenders; hold the towers or dig in hard and hope to withstand the storm.

From what i've gathered from the dual commentary and other sources, control is planned to be key; this method would further cement that and further seperate PS2 from the million generic FPS's out there.

[Brusi]

my only comment would be to do away with the current message in the original Planetside that says "your spawn time has been increased"

[Sabot]

I'm sorry but... VC? Vanu Conglomerate? What is this heresy!?

Seriously though... I'm not sure if the spawn time mechanic should be any more complex than just "die alot = longer spawn".... I can see specialized, smaller installations (no bigger than a 1-2 hex areas), that can be linked together, litteraly, over a set number of hexes, and finally likned into the front line Gals that spawn troops. Other cap points aren't affected by this, and bases can use themsleves to augment spawn times, so to speak.

I think I'd encourage drops behind the enemy front line to cut off links from facilites that reduces enmy spawn times, and it will encourage players to defend those facilities.

[Harrod]

Originally Posted by Sabot

I'm sorry but... VC? Vanu Conglomerate? What is this heresy!?

*ahem* Dunno what you're talking about.

The thing with a plain more deaths = longer spawn is that I see how that works in BF when rounds are only an hour or so at most, but in PS it's going to be constant, so how do you count it? Deaths per hour? Day? Is it persistent, or can I just drop out, return to the server and have my times reset?