[META] Jumpbridges (yes, EvE)

Discussion in 'Test Server: Discussion' started by Hoki, May 22, 2013.

  1. Hoki

    [IMG]

    So in eve they have star gates which are straight lines, and these connections are natural and cannot be destroyed.

    The green curved lines are jump bridges, player created, require sovereignty, and can be destroyed.

    Jump bridges have an entrance and an exit and I think they would work well in this new lattice system and add a new opportunity for teh meta-game / logistics / whatever the kids call it.

    How this would work? Well first you'd need some way to limit it. You wouldn't want it spammed like you can vehicles. If you could spam jump bridges in EvE they would be OP. EvE limits this with sovereignty, which requires holding the system or a group of systems for a while, not 100% sure how sov works.

    But, lets imagine a good way is thought up that allows you to open a jump bridge at a facility. There can only be one of them. They must be in a very visible spot at the facility. Able to be destroy, probably like a turret.
    So yeah maybe after taking a facility, a giant jump bridge starts spinning up, and it takes a long time for it to establish a connection with the faction warp gate. Maybe like an hour or two. Once its blown up, it must be repaired, and takes another hour to establish a connection.

    Once a jump bridge establishes a connection with the main warp gate, it acts as a direct lattice link. Once its blown up, that connection is lost.

    [IMG]

    In this example:
    If the Zurvan amp station and Tawrich tech plant had fully repaired jump bridges, each with established connections to the warp gate, they would each have direct lattice links to the warp gate.


    Additionally I was imagining a vehicle that could establish a connection with a facility's jump bridge, but must be within a certain amount of hexes of the facility's jump bridge.

    Maybe a sunderer or a galaxy could get a different kind of deploy, where the vehicle itself is consumed and turned into a mobile jump bridge. These mobile jump bridges once deployed cannot be undeployed but can be destroyed, and I mean destroyed permanently not like a facility jump bridge.
    Once deployed, the player loses control. Essentially they cannot be owned by players, but instead belong to a faction. The only way it can be removed is for it to be destroyed.
    Mobile jump bridges show up on the map globally to all, like a facility. They must be deployed near one of the capture points of a base in order to open a lattice link to the base.

    These mobile jump bridges would link directly to the facility that they are within range of.

    [IMG]

    Using the above map example, assume the rashnu bio lab has a facility jump bridge connection established with the warp gate, and a mobile jump bridge establishes a connection with that facility jump bridge.
    This opens up a new front for the TR, but it is a delicate front. There are two points where the enemy can quickly close the front, either by destroying the biolab's jump bridge, or by destroying the mobile jump bridge.

    So the lattice system is sort of a heavy handed way to force "zerg lanes", and believe that something like a jump bridge logistics system would make it more interesting and strategical. While a jump bridge network would be powerful, they also would need to be well defended.

    But plz before ******** on this, its just a copy-cat idea i came up with in 5 minutes, the details and ins and outs are arbitrary, so instead judge the idea on the concept.
    • Up x 9
  2. Ash87

    I think it's an awesome idea.

    I don't know about linking to warpgate, but linking between areas that are geographically adjacent would be interesting.

    Would also mean quicker and easier tech lines and what have you. Plus, all you have to do is just destroy the uplink and the connection is gone.


    Would troops spawn at the origin of the jump location, and have to travel through the jump gate to the destination?
    • Up x 2
  3. gotimas

    I'm very conflicted about this, I would like to see base spawn points reduced... but since we already are on this jump straight into battle gameplay might as well... good well structured idea either way
    • Up x 1
  4. sagolsun

    Not until resource system is implemented. Even then, jump bridges would be a way to revert lattice back to hex altogether again, giving attackers more tools (which they don't need)

    The concept is cool, but it would effectively destroy the metagame created by deliberate lattice arrangement.
    • Up x 3
  5. daniel696

    Instead of jumpbridges, a base with all the teleporters to all facilitys in the warpgate.
  6. Ash87

    I still like this idea


    But what it would introduce is a deeper system. You would need to be aware of connected territories again, and also if we are talking about this being tied to the resource system, you would likely be talking about going all in on a link to another territory. So if you loose, you are effectively running down any possible assault on a nearby territory and suspending the use of that base for some time. If you win, you get a new territory, but the defenders would have the benefit of a fully supplied territory to push back from.

    This is one of those ideas, I would give anything if they would let the community work up an idea for proper implementation.
  7. sagolsun

    The idea is as deep as it is poorly thought out.

    PS2 is not an RTS. There is much more coordination in EvE than PS2. The highest effective organizational unit in PS2 is an outfit which consists of effectively 2 platoons. Beyond that there's little coordination. When designing game mechanics you need to take that into account.

    It's more like bands of roving barbarians under three different banners than an actual organized military force. Not to say it doesn't happen - command chat is used, occasionally, during weekends and events and sometimes alerts, but otherwise you cannot rely on the whole faction working together. You cannot design mechanics that revolve around that, because it won't work. Not in this game.

    It's not that PS2 players are lemmings, it's that EvE has several orders of magnitude more persistence. PS2 is a CTF arena.

    The problem with your approach, at it's core, is that it gives a benefit mostly to the players who set the jump bridge up, but puts the whole faction at risk. If the faction fails to defend it, they are at a disadvantage. You know how much drama there is about poorly placed sunderers - imagine the outcry when 4rth factioners and trolls set up those relays specifically to screw with a specific side.

    You can never have global disadvantages. It's a tragedy of the commons problem - if there's no strong identity among the people who share the disadvantage, there's no incentive to overcome it.

    Plus, I think you're trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Yet, anyway. Once continent locking and resources make it in, we'll see how the metagame can be improved.
    • Up x 1
  8. UberBonisseur

    Which one ?
  9. sagolsun


    The one that involves separating biolab and techplant satellites into separate zones, mostly. That's where I feel lattice has had the most impact. It allows defenders to push for satellites and leave the main facility when the adjacent link is ticking.

    Pre-lattice defenders mostly stayed in the main facility, post-lattice defenders push out more, which is more fun for both sides.

    Flow in some other areas was affected as well - not necessarily in a positive way (eg. Quartz Ridge)
  10. UberBonisseur


    You had to actively recap the outposts around Biolabs to open/close the teleporter access; I fail to see what's the incentive to make it more dynamic. Maybe you're thinking that if there's too many ways for the enemy to attack, defenders will hole up into the main facility.

    Which is apparently not true since one of the most vocal arguments for removing satellites was the "merry go round" around facilities.
  11. sagolsun


    You still do have to recap outposts around biolabs to open/close teleporter access. In the hex implementation that meant a merry-go-around. You could argue that moving the outposts to their separate zones would address some of the issues, but not all.

    One major improvement of lattice is that the availability of outposts depends on what territories you hold. In hex it was perfectly possible (and advisable) to capture all four satellites from a single link. In lattice the number of satellites you can attack from depends not just on how much people you throw on the field, but what starting position, link-wise, you're attacking from. All in all this makes defense easier as getting to another satellite may take 20 minutes instead of 2. Respectively, reducing the number of satellites and marking them as separate zones removed the incredibly frustrating whack-the-infil gameplay. As well as giving less entry points to attackers, making the ones left more valuable and meaningful.

    I'll be honest, I love lattice. Pre-lattice 40% of my game-time was redeploying. Post-lattice it's 10%. Less kicking people, less insults I have to hurl at players who don't want to redeploy every other minute. Additionally the game flow is substantially different for "lanes" of 2-link outposts than hubs.

    Edit: If you look carefully at Amerish, the winding convoluted zones for areas that seem to wrap around other areas served as kind of a lattice substitute.
  12. Ash87

    Yeah, here is the thing: You say it is a problem that doesn't exist, whereas I see the lack of RTS Mechanics as a problem. To be frank, the game should possess a level of difficulty with mechanics that when used poorly, punish the faction as a whole. If things like this exist, you have a reason for command chat to exist. Controls do need to be put in place to prevent grief, but the lengths to which people say that griefers will go to deflect the faction are downright hilarious. You could design this around people griefing.

    Also you say the game isn't as persistant as Eve, as if you don't think people Want that. I haven't met many players who are satisfied with how Planetside is, and would prefer systems in place that would be much more presistant and reward hard work on the long term.

    The point of the game is team play, but hilariously enough, people in this game seem to be afraid of other people in their own faction that they cannot control. So people as the game is now, prefer small team play. The thing is, there is nothing for small teams to do. And what you detail as metagame someplace else (2 platoons) requires either:
    A.) outfit alliances, which would be rewarded by special perks like I mention above
    B.) Larger outfits that have 96+ members active a night, which a small percentage of the outfits active in the game.
  13. Furluge

    This idea came from EvE? Fruit of the poisoned tree if you ask me. Let's try to think of something that doesn't start spewing satanic verses if you play it backwards as the example for this idea, shall we?