Esamir Base Changes: Worse Than Before

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by BetaGuru, Aug 14, 2013.

  1. BetaGuru

    So when they were showing the previews of the new Esamir bases, I must admit I was impressed. Walls? About time! Defenders might finally get something to defend from, rather than just a monster spawner the enemy can bombard constantly! Maybe we might get some thrilling Alamo fights! Oh goody!

    Imagine the look on my face when I got inside one of those bases and realized that the walls were tall and sheer on both sides. Meaning they obstructed the defenders just as much as the attackers. Time has passed, and after many horrendous fights at these bases (both on attack and defense) I have decided to compose a post about it. Maybe a dev will look at it.

    If so, hello dev! :)

    Look at this picture.

    [IMG]

    See something there? See those stairs?

    Those stairs led up to defensive positions on the walls. Defenders could easily get to and stand on top of the walls, and engage attackers from a position of tactical superiority. They could set up an area of denial, a killzone, a no-man's-land, to assist with defense. In a way, it was kind of the whole point of there being fortifications in the first place.

    I don't mean to sound condescending, but it seems the concept of this escaped the team who designed the walls on Esamir, which at best have jump pads to exposed positions ABOVE the walls, and stairwells to GAPS in the walls there defenders can stand on a balcony, exposing themselves to multiple fields of fire. The design I pictured above is superior, and those guys who built that thing thought you caught a fever because someone had put a hex on you.

    These changes have turned the Esamir bases into coffins for defenders. When inside the base, you have no idea what the enemy situation looks like outside of your base. Are you being flanked? Are they gathering east or west? Who knows? Can you do anything about it either way? No. You can either run out and engage them face to face (making the walls useless) or wait for them to come inside (making the walls useless). Meanwhile, your enemy knows where YOU are (inside your little coffin fort) but you don't know where THEY are.

    Also, the vehicle term sometimes spawns the vehicle outside of the base, where friendly covering fire is unavailable. I can't... I just don't even...

    Anyway...

    There is a similar concept with the base walls around amp stations (and those one or two bio labs that oddly have walls underneath them, even though every jump pad on the cont launches you over them. Pro design. #MLGReady.) There are only three locations on any given wall to get inside, two of which are always on the ends that the enemy just so happens to be able to run around. Meaning that you have to expose yourself to enemy fire to get up on the wall that the enemy can also easily get up on because they can run up the same damn stairs.

    It was almost as if these bases were designed by people with no functioning concept whatsoever about defensive fortifications. I made better castles when I was playing with legoes as a small child, because even then I understood that the defending lego men needed to get up on the walls somehow, and that the attacking lego men shouldn't be able to just walk inside. But then again I didn't grow up to be a successful MMO game designer, so maybe I was missing something. Seemed solid, though.
    • Up x 7
  2. LivesInNameOnly

    they've already stated that they are going to add walkways on the walls
    • Up x 1
  3. khai

    Not really back in beta many of the bases had excellent defences. Or at least excellent compared to what we have now good fields of fire from cover and almost twice the turrets usually pointing at things besides cliffs some of the bases for a time even had internal facing wall turrets near gates to suppress break-ins. The problem is that people complain if bases are too defensible and they have been taking out defences the longer we go on.

    This last one was really bad I will admit but it was intended to prevent vehicle domination not to increase defensive capabilities which it has done.
  4. Ash87


    Quoted for truth
  5. KAHR-Alpha

    I totally expected this accurate depiction of a few TRs defending their base against nasty vanus:

    [IMG]
    • Up x 1
  6. Osskscosco

    Who cares?

    There is only Indar in the game.
  7. dBMachine

    I have to admit I hate Esamir. I saw no issue with it to begin with. It used to be my favorite because the open terrain was something I enjoyed.

    Instead they put ugly walls around everything. Grey, boring, ugly walls that trap you inside your own base. They only thing they did was create more choke points. Choke points do not prevent spawn camping... If anything it makes it worse. And enemy light assaults get the high ground advantage as they hop the walls.

    Choke points are 100% wrong. The only thing they do is promote spam and camping. And then lattice? I don't have issues with lattice... But I do have a problem when they create huge zerg on zerg clashes on maps that are not even designed to handle those kinds of numbers. Two zergs trying to push through one choke point is terrible gameplay.

    I wish SOE did the opposite of what they have done. I would have rather seen maps opened up even more with bigger bases and less choke points. More buildings and angles? Yes! Choke points and ugly grey walls? NO!!! And I think the spawn system should be overhauled entirely.

    I love this game.... But the more I play the more I see SOE make changes that are in the wrong direction.

    I would love to see SOE take a more creative approach with a focus gameplay interaction. Depth, strategy, counterplay.... Instead it seems like they take the easy way out and simply put "band aids" on everything. Maybe I'm just getting burnt out... But two zergs beating their face against a choke point that devolves into spawn camping is about as anti-fun as ghost capping was.
  8. LT_Latency

    Bases in real life are built for pure defensive victory. This is a game not real war.

    Having the center of every base surrounds with enemy up high is going to make fighting inside a dam nightmare.

    It would just be a circle of enemies up high bombing the hell out of the center
  9. asdfPanda

    I like the teleporters that they added, so that defenders could spawn at multiple points, but the walls are just boring.
    • Up x 1
  10. The King

    I don't like Esimer because it was too white.. Then the sun made it even worse, cannot see too far away.
    Then, the walls made me have to go WAY around stuff. Walkways will help, but, it is still just toooo white with that sun....
    So far, Amerish is the best. Though, no one plays there...
  11. Pikachu

    The trees were the best part of the Esamir update. I love them. I wish all the small rock spikes and lots of the stones would be replaced by trees.
  12. ent|ty

    Yep Esamir was my favourite, especially with HEX play. With the GU13, completely destroyed all of my enjoyment in one patch. i still try to play from time to time, but I usually log out of boredom now because the fights are all the same, at generally the same places.
  13. Sen7rygun

    This is what it feels like on Briggs when TROL comes rolling in... Except most of the time we don't have walls... Or magic Hollywood machine guns that never need reloading.