Hi guys. So I feel like a big question people may ask while playing this game is, "Why?" Why take a base that will be taken 5 minutes after you move on. Why not just constantly attack unpopulated hexes for quick caps (all bases at once if you coordinated)? Why even go to battle if everything you took gets lost after you log out. I know there are resources for certain areas and some people just want to fight, but I think Planetside has potential for some real depth. So.....
Geographical bottlenecks
Obviously this is a bit of a longshot since the map seems pretty set (at least on the one continent we've all seen). I think a good way to give areas of the map some value (aside from it being your color and a possible resource) would be to create some bottlenecks.
Things like mountains, rivers, lakes, buildings or w/e just to give a logical area for battles to break loose as well as a strategic reason to hold an area. Depending on how things are placed you could get ravines, bridge battles, or big ass flatlands ripe for large scale tank warfare. My thoughts would be to have areas closer to your home base be 1 road in/out while farther out would have multiple paths for 3 way fights. And yes you could still just fly over the map.
Player Created/Built Buildings
Again, I really feel like there isn't much value to specific bases or areas of the map. However if players/outfits could create their own buildings that would remain until destroyed it would really give some weight to the world.
First, I think being able (forced???) to create a building in order to collect resources would instantly give that hex increased value. It would give you an obvious advantage while simultaneously creating a vulnerable target for enemies. The advantage in extra resources would compel you to build as well as incentivize other factions to get behind your front lines for a high value target (and possibly run into another faction with the same idea, creating some excitement /nerdgasm).
Second, support type structures such as auto-turrets (AA/Anti tank/Anti personel), bridges (river/ravine), or (as I've seen elsewhere) towers and shields (acting as trenches). Clearly with the aircraft and tanks we've seen these structures could be taken out relatively easily if just sitting in the middle of a field, but with proper coordination they could help keep an area more secure or create a new avenue to enemy territory. Obviously, some sort of balancing would need to be done (1 turret per person/requires a cert/high resource cost/whatever) but I really think it would let the map itself become another resource.
From what I've seen you spawn, run to a battle, fight, repeat. I feel this doesn't fully make use of fighting on a gigantic open world map. It would also give much more value to the "Missions" I've heard about (Destroy resource factory in X faction's territory or Take out bridge in X faction's territory). The ability for a specific outfit (these are clans/guilds right?) to pool their resources and lock down a certain ravine or pump out some resources for your faction (with their name on the buildings) instantly makes that section of map more valuable to me and I don't want any dirty "insert dirty faction" to take that hex. These ideas would increase the need for teamwork as well as give other players more incentive to ditch the frontlines in order to help stop the 10 galaxies bombing your resource generators.
I was thinking about these and started getting excited so I may have missed some fundamental impediments, but what do yall think?
P.S. I'd love to be able to conquer a continent and receive some sort of award before a reset
2012-09-07, 04:16 AM
Linear Mode
