What happened to the old base capture mechanics ?

I remember the old base capture mechanics were much "kinder" to defenders, as attackers HAD to stay on the capture point(s) to accelerate base capture. I also recall that if NO ONE was on the capture point, the point would slowly flip back to the defending empire's possession.

1) Why was this removed ? I never figured out why...

2) Why is this not back in the game yet ? I see this mechanic as a counter to spawn camping, so why not ?

firefalcon124.

Yea I prefered the PS1 way too. Especially the ANT escorting

The whole capture and resource system (or lack of) in PS2 is a bit to derpified.

Because it was boring as h*ll for players standing around a capture point doing nothing.

I never recall it being boring if the defenders were bothered to try to take it back...

It was boring as all hell.

SOE decided it was too boring to camp at the point. But was alot of fun to camp the spawn room instead............

Which rarely happened, just like now.

the points would not convert back to the defenders, but without people on the points the capture was slow as balls.

Right now, it rarely happens because of spawn camping, which is a problem which has not yet been fixed.

except that's not PS1 way at all

problem was that there was spawn camping then as well. so you could either sit on the point to capture faster or camp the spawn and hope to get an extra cert.

Yes, the old system was better, and although you misremember that the point would flip back with no one on it, people did ask for that to be added in. Unfortunately there were massive whines from groups that hated almost any mechanic that wasn't PS1 and it was removed.

The same people that complained that the old cap system took too long or was boring also claimed PS2 is/was catering too much to the 'ADHD BF/COD kiddies.' Yet they wanted shortened capture times overall and wanted Lattice/Rush Lanes in the game as quickly as possible. Now people still forum post that it takes their platoons too long to steamroll a Lattice lane and complain about defenders being able to shoot out of spawn shields and kill them.

I feel like this is a ghostcapping "tactical" hex system lovers whine about the Lattice System more than it is a post about this thread.

In beta, every base had multiple cap points. When you had all the points, you would cap the base instantly. If you had most of them, it would give you a timer like we have now. Despite it being a ghost capping merry-go-round, I prefer the old system of having multiple points and bases capturing instantly. Having 5 points was a little bit ridiculous, but having only one is a disaster. It's even more disastrous that we have to do nothing for 4 minutes.

They need to add some kind of new mechanic to the game that allows attackers to spread out their forces to capture a base more quickly. That would benefit both the spawn campers and the spawn camped. Sitting near the enemy spawn room for 4 minutes waiting for something to happen is even worse than the ghost capping days of old.

Yes, I'm ghostcapper whose post you just quoted says or implies he was in favor of: Longer overall cap times, numbers on point affecting capture time, being forced to stand next to a point to keep the point on your side, etc. Everything a 'ghostcapper' desires.
If you really wanted to punish ghostcapping, tweaking the old system would have been great. ie, Minor base with two x/6 points, low influence, one or two guys trying to ghost cap? Make it take 20 minutes. If your 'tactical' outfit can't send a squad to handle that and respond in 20 minutes, maybe MMOFPS isn't the type of FPS for your outfit.

Ironically, the "flip point back if there's no one" mechanic was used in beta, and removed around release which made ghostcapping EASIER than before. Add in the possibility to cap a base with 0% influence while in beta, if you were surrounded during your cap, the timer froze.

They just need some different capping mechanics, period. Remove some of the smaller bases and toss in outdoor 'cap points' that only ground vehicles can take. Or add in a mechanic like Red Orchestra, where instead of a single little point, you have a large area that is contested by how many people each side has within it.

I don't know if these would be -good- changes, but at least they're something different from the current 'find point, sit on point' model.

They also need to increase the rewards for base captures badly. Capturing a small base only nets you one cert, yet people still hang around to wait for the cap to finish for some reason.

capture mechanics are an improvement. There was still spawn camping with the old system.

The spawn room needs an XP-free way to protect itself and spawns trying to run out. Something like a large flash/stun or XP-free turrets that provide cover fire.

XP free so people wont stay on turrets trying to earn certs. Maybe it could even be resource activated automatic turrets that could provide cover for a last defensive push.

I remember it took 45min to capture an amp station with no one on the point and the territory having the smallest possible influence.

It was also senseless in low pop times. Trying to defend a point by actually standing next to it is an invitation to be murdered. Not every fight is 12v12 or even 24v24 in the non peak times of day.