https://steamcommunity.com/games/218230/announcements/detail/1703939057256347069 I'm already head over heels, I "ooh!"ed like a schoolgirl when it said the normal warpgates would be replaced with the freakin Fleet Carriers. I haven't been paying attention to the game at all since July so this is like an early Christmas gift, I absolutely cannot wait to totally ignore PvP and explore the place. From how I understand, it will be impossible to traverse the entire central island chain by ground vehicle, due to those sheer cliffs blocking passage across those spits of land? Does this mean every assaulting force crossing islands are forced to go in by Air? Also will those Skylance Outposts be fundamentally different from the typical mini-base? I know the Skylance Battery outpost on Amerish features static artillery gun assets. Are these outposts actual AA implacements due to the Continent's importance on Aircraft?
If I recall, in the live stream the devs said that the skylances would be used to shoot down the Bastion carriers. Not sure if this was trolling or actual intention though, there were some knowing looks between them when it was mentioned.
Lets split the playerbase over more continents! This means people have another favorite/hate map added that will influence population purely based on it being open or not! Sounds like a plan! And Hey, how about forcing everyone to use the air-game that still isnt fixed and almost completely about one aircraft rather than all of them with the added benefit of a G2A system that is both ludicrously weak and overpowered depending purely on how many people pick it! Aaahhhww yyeeeeaaah that sounds like a recipy for success right there! Sarcasm of why this continent will automatically fail if they release it as it was presented aside, the idea of Bastion carriers and a different way to handle control and capturing a continent sounds good.
Impassible terrain is generally a bad idea. Learn from the past: See: Dark Ages of Camelot, New Frontiers. See: Warhammer Online, RVR Map design. See Skyrim dungeons (monotonous one-way only) versus old school RPG dungeons. See: Current day team based shooters that have become developer controlled map design to force players into specific areas. Top down, developer controlled battle flow in an MMO is always a bad idea. It never works as one person imagines it will. See also: Controlled Economies. How many times have players in PS2 just thrown up their hands in frustration at the ground physics in this game? Be it flipped vehicles or an infantryman not being able to walk up a 30 degree slope because of where the map pieces fit together. When you look at what players generally enjoy in today's PS2, is it Hossin with its endless dead ends (impassible terrain) and countless choke points? I don't think so. Is it open field fights and large bases that offer multiple strategy options? I think yes. But when one guy gets his mind set on "CONTROL" ... oh lawdy. Now, consider the increasingly bad terrain exploits in this game today. Compound it with Ossur. I am all for something for new, but past predicts future. For the record: I rarely use vehicles and when I do, it's a sundy to deploy or a mossie to kill tanks. Ossur reeks of central planning.
Terrain obstacles just give a buff to VS as magriders can go anywhere. And don't deny it, A good magrider driver can get his maggie ANYWHERE, Developer intended or not.
At least if the continent is heavily focused on this type of gameplay it will bring some of these issues directly into the limelight and hopefully into the priority list. If it is exacerbating enough they won't have a choice. The fact that MAX's which have largely played the same since launch, are going to be completely overhauled next year means an overhaul to the Air - AA game is not out of the question. If the continent ends up playing out like 2142's Titan Mode only BIGGER I will be a happy person. Not holding my breath, though.
