PlanetSide Universe - View Single Post - Three long overlooked problems with this game.
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Old 2013-06-28, 01:46 PM   [Ignore Me] #51
Artalion
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Re: Three long overlooked problems with this game.


Another option is to make them use a full 750 resources (you must be maxed out) wanna use C4? not if you wanna lay down that spawn beacon. I think a lot of people will think twice about using them. Make them use up all of your resources if you want to use it.
750 resources is too extreme, but making a spawn beacon dependent on infantry resources isn't a bad idea.

I want to point out that Spawn Beacons and Squad Deploy options aren't just good for offense, but can be used for defensive purposes. If your spawn is being camped by liberators, a couple drop pods is a great way to clear the air. Even a near miss is something for the pilot to think about. If you are surrounded by AMS sundies, a drop pod kamikaze strike is an effective way to break a siege. In many cases, a squad beacon is the only way to break a spawn camp siege.

The problem, in my view, isn't one of ability, but one in timing. The timers on squad beacons and squad deploys are too short.

Let's not forget why squad deployments were added. They were added so that if a person just joined a squad or if they got separated from their squad, they could join their squad immediately. That being said, it is unlikely that the player will need to use it for this more than once every thirty minutes. Doing this would cut the waves of drop pods by half, while still leaving it intact for the occasional lost soul, or for special occasions.

Squad Beacons are something which I would balance very delicately, because they are a rather risky thing to do. They attract a lot of attention and they are pretty easy to destroy. I don't mind the fact that they are placed on antennas, because it takes a lot of skill for someone to do that kind of thing.

The real problem is that switching squad leaders resets that count to zero. I think the game should remember how long it last was since you deployed on a squad beacon, no matter who the squad leader is. Furthermore, the squad leader should inherit the squad beacon timer from the last squad leader. I also liked how it used to be, when you had to resupply in order to get the squad beacons if you were suddenly switched to squad leader.

Concerning Galaxies:

I love Galaxies. I love flying them, I love riding in them, and I would use them more often. The problem is that there are only two places where you can get them currently: tech plants, and warpgates. On a place like Esamir, where there is only one tech plant, that generally means you have to use a warpgate.

An easy way to increase their use as a squad transport is to allow players to spawn a Galaxy from each major facility, not just tech plants. It makes sense to have them at major facilities, because that is where you expect the most people to be.

What I like about my suggestions is that it doesn't require the Devs to add new items to the game. It requires tweaking some timers, installing some galaxy terminals, and adding some additional code to make sure that existing things aren't abused. Adding new game items is shiny, but it also takes a lot of time to design, test, implement, and balance it.
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