Staging Protest Against Poor Base Defense By Only Playing On Amerish

[Timithos]

http://dk.reddit.com/r/Planetside/co...e_base_design/

I'm staging my own personal protest in Planetside by playing exclusively on Amerish until Hossin, and refusing to step foot on Indar or Esamir. This is in response to the poorly defensible base design this game has fostered since the beginning. If you like to copy this play style, feel free to make the decision to do that.

We're playing SteamRollSide right now, where attackers can just bring 55%-60% (at the most) numbers to every base on Auraxus and press the I-Win-Button while they roflstomp/faceroll their way across the map. We're basically playing in fps/airsoft/paintball arenas with obstacles equal to both sides. Base defense is meaningless with short battles, unless you're lucky enough to where the numbers remain precariously balanced under 55%, or you just get the satisfaction of an artificial longer then average timer. A base should count for something when defending and be able to repel an overwhelming force which brings meaningfulness and a sense of accomplishment to both defending and attacking. There's dozens of ways to make bases more defensible that don't involve walls and choke points. We don't need fast-paced, tug-of-war, esports-esque fighting in Planetside because that's not a core value of the original Planetside concept. What that is, is a poisonous infection from other FPS games.

I've already unsubscribed from my premium membership over this issue of poor base defense on 2/17/14.

I'll be ranking my personal top 6 defensible bases on Amerish soon, and taking this a step further by fighting ONLY in these 6 bases - or towards them. I also will not step one foot into the Sundrey/Freyr Amp Station debacle/fiasco that levels 9 disadvantages against defenders that I have cataloged in the past.

I "protested" with my game play in the past on Esamir for a mere two weeks before fighting somewhere else realizing that a bunch of walls and poorly placed teleporter rooms wasn't the answer to good base defense.

[HereticusXZ]

Where I do think the other continents need another revamp after the beautiful success of Amerish, Specifically the immersion of themes and conventional military set-ups of bases.... I don't think boycotting the other continents means anything or will even achieve anything.

Okay, Amerish is Superior because it's the culmination of everything the devs have learned over the last year about infantry flow and base design, check.

You only want to fight on Amerish? Okay, it's the new continent, so does everyone else, you're just giving the server either reinforcements or extra targets to shoot. Good!

Your playing on the continent the Devs want you to play on because it's brand new? How is doing what the Devs want, protesting?

[OCNSethy]

Yeah, no. Im with Hereticus here. Why would you only play on the shiney new continent? Seems a bit back-to-front to me.

[Stardouser]

Actually the game needs to be like this, to encourage you to defeat armies in the field and not zerg defend. Of course, it would be better if there were greater distances between bases (promoting fights between armies in the field and not sieges all day long). Having base defense any easier results in long sieges, aided by all the people who won't blow up sunderers because they want to play Battlefield approximation battles.

[synkrotron]

Good luck with your protest dood. I hope you get what you want

In the meantime, I had a whole load of fun, for a time anyways, getting involved int the push me pull you battle along the Excavation/Quartz Ridge/Hvar lattice. Love or hate it, it can still be fun, and the ally/enemy% yesterday was pretty well balanced for quite a few hours.

As for Amerish... I really like the modifications, at least as best as I can make them out. I'm afraid I've fell foul of not playing in Amerish much because I have always tended to stay on Indar, simply because I've learned much of the terrain there. I still get lost on Amerish, and I only have myself to blame. I need to promise myself that I let go of Indarside for a bit and put some much needed time on the "new continent."

Esamir... Hmmm... I love and hate that continent in equal measure. I'm a wall hater, although I would never campaign for their removal... I would simply stay away. I'm sure there are plenty of people that love the walls and it would be unfair for them if they were removed.

[almalino]

So, you want to protest against SOe doing exactly what SOe wants us to do - to go away from Indar and to play on Amerish?

I see ....

[Timithos]

Originally Posted by HereticusXZ

Where I do think the other continents need another revamp after the beautiful success of Amerish, Specifically the immersion of themes and conventional military set-ups of bases.... I don't think boycotting the other continents means anything or will even achieve anything.

Okay, Amerish is Superior because it's the culmination of everything the devs have learned over the last year about infantry flow and base design, check.

You only want to fight on Amerish? Okay, it's the new continent, so does everyone else, you're just giving the server either reinforcements or extra targets to shoot. Good!

Your playing on the continent the Devs want you to play on because it's brand new? How is doing what the Devs want, protesting?

It'll only be shiny and new for a couple weeks at most, and then the extra Amerish population will fade away. But hopefully there will be other players that are sick and tired of non-defensible bases and stay. And when I contribute as best I can to fighting in only the top 6 most defensible bases, I'm just helping out the statistics in a small way, but hopefully in a bigger way with others that decide to do that same thing.

Also pulling my $38 per quarter $156 per years helps too in a small way.

[Timithos]

Originally Posted by Stardouser

Actually the game needs to be like this, to encourage you to defeat armies in the field and not zerg defend. Of course, it would be better if there were greater distances between bases (promoting fights between armies in the field and not sieges all day long). Having base defense any easier results in long sieges, aided by all the people who won't blow up sunderers because they want to play Battlefield approximation battles.

Smaller forces would be able to defend properly, not zerg defenders. Zergs would come upon facilities and get smashed to pieces. Defenders would push out and create fights in the field, not in the facility. You would get all this with more defensible bases. Plus we could add new mechanics in the game that we can't right now such as siege mechanics (armor & air capture points, and power draining (ANT)) But we can't put those in the game because the bases aren't defensible enough to afford to give the attackers any more advantages. Galaxy spawning was the last new advantage handed to them that has further gimped defenders. At 55% pre-galaxy base captures, it's almost zero advantage to owning a base already hence #steamrollside.

[Plaqueis]

Well, i don't know if the protesting helps in any way.. but i have to agree with the OP about game being incredibly boring lately. Despite somewhat balanced faction populations most of the time, it seems that factions just flood different continents all the time, and go for the easy points instead of having actual fights.. i'm guessing this might be large outfits playing 'tactically' with some lonewolves following them, so it's just nonstop roflstomping no matter where you go.

EDIT: Just for an example, i just logged in on Cobalt, decided to play TR on Amerish.. spent 2 hours flying Mossie with ghostcapping platoon, got a little over 100 certs with 1 killed Reaver and few assists, rest were capped bases... population was 49% TR, rest divided by others.. boredom. I switched to NC on same server, went to Esamir to play the Alert.. 54% NC population, ghostcapping continues...

I could have played other factions ofcourse, but getting roflstompsteamrolled isnt my thing either.