[Discussion] Reviving Battle Islands

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Lucidius134, Oct 24, 2017.

  1. Lucidius134

    Imagine you could implement Battle islands into Planetside 2. How would you go about doing it? What funciton would they serve in the grand scheme? For the uninitiated, http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_Islands



    Would you implement them as micro-scale combat only or would you tie this into faction logistics and benefits in any way? Would they be instanced compeative zones or function like mini-continents to bypass continent locking? Would they be alert related? Would they be tied into Player Made Bases at all? How would you tie it into the rest of the game to prevent it from "stealing" players from the core gameplay?

    I'd like to see the topic revived with some new eyes and minds on the subject. Especially now considering the scene that it originally targeted has decreased some.

    I asked a buncha questions but it's mostly ot start the topic off. Will refrain from posting my own for now. No need to rebut every post, post how YOU would do it.
    • Up x 3
  2. Lamat

    I would use them to lattice connect all the continents, so locked continents are only locked until an enemy controls a warpgate: https://forums.daybreakgames.com/ps2/index.php?threads/lattice-connect-all-the-continents.247369/

    • Up x 2
  3. Lucidius134

    Còntinental lattice would be interesting. Thats the most frequently associated idea with them for live. Also warpgate seiges!

    I'm unsure of battle islands could accommodate all the players kicked off of a continent? It might might help if the faction is underpoppes vs the faction that pushed them back but if it happens in peak hours it could be even more people in queue.

    Either way, very want @ seigable warpgate fortified with the construction system and intercontinental lattice.

    I wonder if they were not added or reworked because player made bases?
    • Up x 1
  4. Pikachu

    Wrel 1:35
    • Up x 2
  5. JibbaJabba

    As previously stated: They should be used as a cheaper (dev cost) alternative to creating enough continents to properly implement the lattice system as it was done in Planetside 1.
    • Up x 3
  6. Liewec123

    more maps means the player base is spread thinner,
    imho any map they add now (no matter how awesome) would be a bad move.
    • Up x 2
  7. Lamat

    This was a reason i suggested an interdimensional tunnel, they would only have to make one and re-use it to connect the continents by warp gates. This way it could be a weird sci-fi tron looking place the size of a single base territory. Even if this was just a step before introducing the islands, but imo it's weirder and cooler because it could be unlike anything we fight for now.
    • Up x 1
  8. Lucidius134

    What about the big glowy teleported field in the middle of the old warpgate?

    From planetside 1 those would teleport vehicles from gate to gate. Why not put functionality to the defunct props?
  9. Lamat

    I never played PS1, can you post images/video?

    With the interdimensional tunnel, imagine essentially a base that has part of each continents warp gate buildings. Maybe a one way shield on each side and a center base with a capture point. You have to capture the center base to drop the enemy shield and capture their warpgate point, once you hold that you capture the eneny warpgate and can drive your vehicles through the warpgate tunnel and are on the destination continent.

    For attacking warpgates on the same continents, you similarly add a few external capture points used to lower the big shield, then the final capture point inside to take the warpgate.

    I'd really like to see warpgates become more castle like for this though.

    [IMG]
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    Or like Far Cry Blood Dragon-esk:
    [IMG]
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    • Up x 2
  10. Lucidius134

    I share this sentiment, which is why i'm thinking "how do we do this without killing the main game?"

    In another thread, we discussed the nature of planetside 2 being in a unique situation, where it's an MMO, an FPS and an MMO FPS. Both having different tendancies for longevity. MMO's will often experiment heavily with game modes and mini-games, particularly subscription based games. They're nade to fill niches to widen their appeal. Planetside 2 is unique in that the large player aspect is tied directly into the main and only game mode, as it's an open and persistent world.

    What point is Planetside 2 if, in the future, battle islands were added and the main game as we know it is treated as an open world lobby you wait or **** around in while you queue for a 48v48 competative game mode?


    I'm imagining it now. People getting their new friends to play the game. Their friends only queue for platoon vs platoon combat. They could mention that warpgates are like "waiting rooms" or that the "base game sucks" and then you breed a segregated community. These need not detract from the base experience.


    My main concern with battle islands is that they end up ruining the fow of the game like Core Combat in planetside 1. You needed an expansion to play in the areas and use the stuff and they were smaller, infantry oriented areas. Some people loved them but a lot of the vets i talked to say it killed the flow of the large scale game.



    The first part is them staging at their sanctuary warpgate in vehicles to warp all of their vehicles to a planet connected to their sanctuary.

    You would simply drive your vehicle in and then go to the map and pick where to warp to. Additionally, there were some defunct warpgates sprinkled throughout the map that you could harvest resources from with the ANT.

    The PS2 warpgates had that central platform with the beam in the middle you'd park/fly into to warp. They just had no function. Additionally, I think PMB's should be used to fortify a warpgate for the case where a warpgate becomes siegable. No need to change how warpgates are, and it'll make sieges slightly different each time.
    • Up x 2
  11. Lamat

    Yeah I would definitely not want to see battle islands as a means for session based 48x48 battles, I think that would hurt the main game. I don't think linking the continents with lattice would do this though, because some of them would still be effectively locked because one faction conquered them and kicked everyone off.
    • Up x 1
  12. Lucidius134


    Perhaps we can merge the previous ideas and do them a bit backwards. Unless i'm mis-interpretting an earlier post and getting the orders mixed up:

    Treat Continental Warpgates as permanent structures (for now)
    Allow Battle Islands as Small Continents
    These Battle Island Warpgates would be siegable
    Warpgates and the surrounding areas will be the only constructable areas for player made bases
    Each majour facility on the battle island (3 I believe, 1 per lane) acts as 1 big capture point to drain the other faction's waprgate
    Allow Ion cannons to drain warpgate barriers to increase their capture speed (very offensive PMB construction)


    This would cause every battle island flip to end with a warpgate seige, while keeping warpgate rotations and continental territory the same. Perhaps make this the method of unlocking continents.


    [IMG]


    I would also like to take this time and mention this video:


    The rocky parts of amerish with a space skybox looks like an asteroid base and would be the perfect set up for a new "Battle Island"

    The Urban City Proof of Concept wouldn't be optimized or run well as an entire continent but would be a perfect fit for a battle island instead. We'd need more actual buildings so it isn't entirely recycled or different texture sets for this urban continent specifically, maybe more props with very tight LOD/Culling measures in place to keep performance from being terrible?
    [IMG]


    You could even have a battle island that is just one looonggg assss brridge. Maybe make it a bridge near a volcano or something? Make it have facilities on top of eachother or several bridges.

    (FFXIV)
    [IMG]
    (HL2)
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  13. Lamat

    We need urban conflict areas really bad, I would like to see government buildings, parkades, malls, scifi entertainment complexes, etc as battle locations. Tank battles on streets and over-passes, aircraft fighting around buildings... Wow!
    • Up x 1
  14. zaspacer

    I would love this *if* some of the maps weren't so miserable to fight on OR if the game made sure to rotate the maps quicker somehow.

    Love it or hate it, most FPS games tend to develop a portfolio of maps, where some are really enjoyed and some just end up being largely disliked.

    Some games manage to have more maps that people enjoy. But not every game has a design team or mod community able to deliver lots of popular maps.
    • Up x 1
  15. Lamat

    Well it seems the most popular (Indar, Esamir) have some flatter wide open areas that make for good vehicle fights, while Hossin is the least favorite and mostly lacks this. So the key would be to have wide open gaps between several urban areas that make up the map. Even in the urban areas, wide open paved roads can make for some interesting vehicle fights. The maps in Halo 3 ODST were pretty interesting, there were wide open monument areas between buildings.
    • Up x 1
  16. Lucidius134

    Idea:

    What if battle islands were tied into Alerts some how? The battle islands could be a prime time only alert that can influence other continent alert types.

    Additionally, an Idea I had to expand Battle Islands beyond 48v48 combat. The Nexus is designed around 3 lanes, 2 squads top and bottom and 1 mid or any mix of. If we expand the out of bounds areas to be a full continent size and just have a bunch of open water, we could have bastion fleet carriers for each side, adding an additional 'lane' or two per carrier depending on how they are designed. This would allow battle islands to accomodate a large amount of players without diverting the players from the continents too much because it'd be prime time only. It'd also create an artificial 'start' and end to each instance.
    This would give people the 'titan mode' esque ship seiging they crave while keeping the flow of the current continents without having big seige ships bombarding everything that pushes to flank a lane.
    Making it a limited event will keep it from killing the main game by dividing the player base up too much, would reduce ghost capping but provide some newer more fresh experiences.
    ESF's would be scouting the enemy carriers out over the wide open oceans while enemy ESF do the same and also interept other ESF. Ground Vehicles could have capturable objectives that super charge their cannons to engage carriers should they fly into range to bombard the battle islands.
    IDK just some thoughts on the idea.
  17. OneShadowWarrior

    Any new maps or continents would be great to change things up.
    • Up x 1
  18. Lamat

    Yeah, not more unlocked, just more variety.

    I really wish they could outsource for more content, and just pay royalties like they do for cosmetics, this game would probably grow a lot faster.
    • Up x 2
  19. Nikushimi

    Doubt any of this will ever happen, DBG is pretty much operating on a ghost crew at this point. Columbus Nova is certainly not going to fund anything that would need to be hardcoded, they would rather just milk what they already have dry and move on.
  20. Lucidius134

    Likely the case but people were fine with the nexus being cloned to be all battle islands initially and it's literally already made, playable and has been played on. All things considered that's still a fair bit of design and code time but 0 time for level design.
    • Up x 1