I know that construction has well-deserved animosity simply because of annoying stuff like AI turrets and painfields, but right now it's awful. Repair module walls that can't even stand up to 1 Lightning shooting at it. Heavy repair module requires constant babysitting for marginal benefit. Extra HP from modules is useless, whoa, extra 2 seconds of tank zerg holding, so useful! It should be anti-vehicle resistance so it scales much better vs tank zergs. Command centers and big buildings that melt in under a minute from Prowlers. Like, what is the point of big building with big silhouette, when it's almost as vulnerable as the smaller buildings? Total inability to build in any terrain bigger than a slight decline, where it clearly needed more flexibility in building placement. Now you can only build big bases in guess where, open fields where you'll get shelled by tanks nonstop. Overreliance on big buildings and modules for them - big bases are a nightmare with every building needing a module, and needing big buildings means that base profile is much bigger now and easier to snipe. I can't just place 1-2 modules with stuff I want like repairs but have to go to every single wall to plonk modules into them. God forbid you build a wide base because you'll spend 5+ mins running around setting up modules that aren't even worth it. Complete removal of AI modules instead of a nerf made bases indefensible versus air and ground vehicles. AI anti-infantry turrets were cancer but AV and AA was very much necessary, now if you're attacked by 1 guy w/ a vehicle it's only a matter of time before he kills your base. Total removal of one-way shields of structures and windows opens up garrisoned men to HESH spam. Skyshields that have lost function and are much harder to place right, I know they were cancer, but this practically removes them from the game, you can casually paradrop into a base w/ C4 and bomb modules with squads if you don't want to shoot with AP/HESH for 1min with squadmates. My prediction is that ppl will only build construction to pull vehicles with Cortium, MAYBE once in a blue moon we'll see a OS or router base. Frontline bases have lost all firepower and durability. If you want to make frontline construction not suck, consider the following : Reduce no-construction zones to areas around spawn so griefing isn't possible, but building "permanent" attack bases and FOBs is. Letting attackers build spawns more defensible than Sunderers would be super useful. Edit the resistance so structures don't get erased immediately by orbitals and MBTs. Repair and fortification modules should buff resistance to tank shells, not HP. Consider bringing back invincibility or near enough with a new module at a hefty cortium upkeep cost. Bring back AI modules at a reduced capacity - lower RPM, worse tracking, secondary players that only manned turrets can use, try any combination but as a rule of thumb : AI turrets must exist in some form as early protection but mustn't be better than having an actual gunner. A module/edit that powers structures like towers and bunkers with 1-way infantry shields on the windows. Make it temporary and not last very long. XP rewards for protecting and fighting around construction bases both for the builder and defenders/attackers. BUILDING AT AN ANGLE AND EDITING TURRET HEIGHT. PLEASE! Bring back independent modules but give bigger structures a special purpose. It should be possible to build small bases as well as big forts. Have structures without silos have their own capacity and have them slowly drain cortium if they're not connected to a silo. Restore old skyshield so paradrops into bases is risky. Related to the above suggestion, small walls and barriers would be welcome. Make them unrepairable by modules but by engineers only to prevent turtling with them. Nerf the fire rate of Flails, as well as making them fire shells that arc and make sound as they travel, potentially with spread too (so they don't just appear mid-air with no sound), but allow them to fire into no construction zones. Certain structures like bridges and big buildings should leave ruins behind that can be repaired for a limited amount of time (or harvesting them so you recoup a % of the cost), so blown up bridges and bunkers aren't gone permanently and can be brought back. They could provide limited cover but can also be leveled completely. As a "nerf", make any vehicle pads only able to pull highly specialized, gimped loadouts like the AA ESF variants from Bastions, pure AV vehicles OR a 50/50 cortium-nanite cost. Construction bases need to have SOME intrinsic strategic value aside from free vehicles. Consider adding new buildings that assist in continent/base capture, but aren't too disruptive. Remove outfit OS.
The way devs build dev bases just shows how hostile they are to the idea of defensive gameplay. Flag buildings have 4+ entrances and like 5 windows. Every alley you have to run through has 50 different angles you can be shot at from snipers on hills to liberators. No base has a dominant lane of fire you can cover with some MG fire, for example you park your sundy next to a generator in an amp station and you can only cover a very small portion of the area with the MG, and the sundy is somehow still exposed to aircraft and enemy vehicles. There is no place to hunker down without being flanked from the left, right, behind, above, or cloaker. "But you camping, camping bad advantage." Wow, bruh, are we back playing on a Quake1 server in 1997 and you complaining about camping? An enemy in a fixed position is what artillery was invented for. I see WWIIONLINE finally got some proper artillery, after 22 years, lol. Now there isn't a population to justify it's existence, ironic.
If I had my way I would remove the extreme turtle aspect and reliance on automated murder defenses to achieve your goal. Instead you rely on players to be encouraged to defend the base because they want to and the attackers have both a reason to fight there and it can be fun to fight there. For example lets let players build building pieces we currently have inside regular bases. These buildings are almost invulnerable to regular damage, and would provide the outer perimeter that protects the bases internals against concentrated tank fire. Simultaneously these buildings provide openings where infantry can fight. Bases also need attractions that give people a reason to want to be there and want to stay to defend or attack when necessary. You could use the module-slots system to upgrade the building pieces you place and provide these benefits. Examples are making these transport hubs that offer teleportation to other sites, drop-pod access to certain area’s (use those antennae that are already all over the place) and costless weaponless transports that keep spawning to quickly get you from the PMB to where you need to go. Other options are local advantages to get players to view the base as important. For example we allow all players to access support powers from a nearby PMB by holding the V button and receiving a radial menu with all the options. A radar dish lets individuals ping a specific area and spot enemies there. A small drop-pod launching unit could provide players with personal supply pods, letting them resupply grenades or change into a MAX anywhere the pod can land (this still costs nanites), it could also supply other things like a heavy weapon or an item generated by the PMB. An artillery system that provides support fire, like a large AOE healing grenade, smoke or an EMP that saps ability energy and HUD from vehicles as well (but doesn’t nerf mobility). A PMB could also have slots to generate special items and gear, accessible for a nanite price so it doesn’t become costless for non-builders to use whimsically. It could generate high-powered weapons for players to call in and use, powerful deployable shield generators that provide temporary cover against AV fire, partially protected off-center rumble-seat turrets that can be picked up and assembled indoors or outdoors to provide higher firepower, an item which when deployed in a pointroom locks the point until its destroyed to delay opponents a bit longer or instantly take a point regardless of how many enemies are still on etc. These items would be accessible either by manually going to the PMB (a free one will be generated periodically on the module) or by buying it with nanites if the drop-pod supply system is up and running. Then there is automated defenses. The “I’ll murder you” defenses need to go, and defenses that delay enemies should be the goal. You’d have defenses that delay in-combat and defenses that focus on giving time and warning to defenders to show up. An example: you create a shield generator building and deploy shield emitters outside your base. If a vehicle tries to shoot the base the shield is tripped and for a minute or three the shield just tanks every AV weapon that tries to pass through. The only options for the attacker are to wait it out or get inside the shield where its close to the PMB and much more vulnerable. similarly modules that create a temporary damage resistance field when a building in their AOE is damaged can provide the time and warning necessary to get defenders to get to the base. In combat options would rely on things that slow enemies down from rushing area’s. A mortar that can be ordered to fire periodically (say every 2 minutes) a cluster munition that distributes low-yield 2 minute lifespan mines into that area. The mines would deal for example 100 damage each and be extremely visible. An enemy that rushes through might get killed or just weakened, so they are encouraged to quickly clear a path and run through instead, slowing them down and warning defenders what is happening (a map indicator could even show for mines that explode to indicate something is happening there). A bigger version for light anti-vehicle mines and longer ranges. You can also add shields that don’t block bullets but push enemies back, after just a few pushes the shield depletes but it could have a sound and warning when someone tries to pass through, slowing enemies. Bases should have a purpose that invest players other than the builder, a reason for attackers to be there (which is currently missing in this post) and ways to slow down attackers until defenders can arrive.
I didn't read anything from this topic, I don't want to anymore but I noticed the last sentence.... The game must be redesigned for construction to have a true purpose, whatever it is. Not the other way around, game must be changed, not construction or else it will become an unplayable mess with no relation to the role anymore. It would just become a dump though I do suspect the devs wanting this. This PTS update is really bad. That is true, it actually may be even worse than construction reconstructed update, though there was much more effort put here. I do not understand how they even came up with it, where did those ideas come from... You know all those different types of blast walls, bridge, that skyscraper, the module concept which will be really annoying, having to run back and forth 20 30 times to insert them, the changes to existing structures like no more AT ground turret, you can no longer place rampart wall low to the ground, which had some uses and all the other assets, that I would trash, incorrectly designed and overcomplicating the system... I just can not understand what is going through their mind.
"Bases need attractions that give people a reason to want to be there and want to stay to defend or attack when necessary. You could use the module-slots system to upgrade the building pieces you place and provide these benefits." if PMBs do no not have a clear objective NO player will willingly go defend it ... this WAS once the case with HIVEs at least to a degree ... change it as much as you want the primary use of PMBs always has been forwardstaging, firebase or area denial .. i haven´t been able to test the changes to PTS but i wont need to reserve judgement for much longer ... IF the perseverance of PMBs has been significantly reduced we´ll very likely gonna see next to no actual use of PMBs coming the next patch .. the addition of vehicle capturepoints didn´t change anything torwards encouraging to defend PMBs didn´t even matter with AI module supported turrets .. it won´t matter if you add a transportationnode or any sort of structure with C&C-esque supportive power ... non-builder players may make use of them, sure .. but defend the base because of them? .. nope .. also remember that there are warassets for platoons, so there isn´t even realy any need to have to spawn into a PMB for it .. on the flipside adding such "attactions" may at best lead to merely spam a base for primarily that "attraction" but no real use otherwise ... non-builder players care about fighting within the latticebases ... or farm with tanks/ESFs/gunships ... they DO NOT care about fighting within a PMB if that one isn´t cabale to support offence/defence of a latticepush ... the few times i saw other players actively use and defend a PMB i provided is when it is more or less next to the Latticebase players want to get to ... and even then i can count these moments from one hand ...
So the flexible system where relatively small changes can change how its used is tougher to change than everything else in the game? Its easier to change the spawns, routes, spacing, building placement, cover points, capture mechanics all to benefit a broken system they tacked on? How can any builder be taken seriously anymore if this kind of idea’s is pretty much standard for builders?
Yes, it was flexible for the devs to figure it out but they sadly have not, and instead are playing around with the system like special ed students I guess, but I don't care anymore, do whatever. The devs are the ones who should not be taken seriously. Almost everything they have done, the majority was a complete failure and it was always clearly visible as soon as it was revealed, I tried to be positive, think to myself that they know what they are doing but it seems that my instincts were always correct from the start. I do not know where they get the ideas from.
Every online pvp or co-op game I've played has been ruined by feature bloat or power creep. I'd like to go back playing Star Trek Online or Path of Exile but there's too much inventory management and the spell effects give me a headache and lag me out. The power creep is ridiculous too. There's this weird World of Warcraft private server I played where you can customize your own class. Fun idea, but now there is just way too much stuff going on. (browses information on Eve Online) eeeeyeah, no thanks.
yeah, no. The game does NOT need changed to make construction work. Either construction works, or remove it.
Curent construction works good on some base that allow you to build close to sundy deployment spots. Wokuk ecological reserve, west pass watchtower(better pre ctf) , Tarich recycling and few more. Having bases built near sundy zones act as tougher spawns points for attackers to keep the fights going . The one way shields were a little to OP and I personally hate the artillery aspect of it. I wish we can take this approach of building harder spawns for attackers for those bases that have a hard time getting sundy support
I do not agree about AI modules at all. In my long practice those turrets are the way to keep base durable. Those auto-turrets is the only one thing which can save base in case of serious attacks. And in case of enemy came to almost empty base and there are no enough allyes there to defend - base is doomed. Remember, that even with auto turrets most (90%-95%) bases was not difficult to take down (especially those sh*tty bases, which built on open field). And overall i agree that new construction with all its new fancy stuff - Complete Garbage. I remember golden times of base building, when walls, silo and some other stuff was invincible, generetors for win points. There was a realy great fights if you build a good base and have enouhg allyes in it to defend.
If you want real impactful construction, consider making it modify a lattice line. For example; if you build a 'point' in a hexagon where a lattice crosses over, it 'hijacks' the lattice and hexagon, forcing the flow of battle to attack said base to destroy the 'point' before they can move on to the next base. (For example, it can be like a shield generator at a tech plant that takes 30 seconds to destroy) In return, it will cost an extreme amount of cortium per second to keep it functional in addition to it's extreme upfront cost. This ensures attackers can effectively starve out a hijacked lattice if attacks fail. I posted a picture for a theoretical example. Once the base is destroyed, the lattice is restored to it's original state. Much like hive bases when they generated VP's, this is one way to introduce genuine functionality to construction.
so since people are currently spamming PMBs cause of the trainingmission may as well give it a week ... but first thing i can definetively say they raised the required certs to grind for the stuff by a ludicrous ammount ... i mean .. 1000 and 1500 certs for wallpieces is redicioulous ... 1000 Certs for the AA Turret ... seriously ... without even having access to AI modules any longer ... nah ... that´s it for me ... i am no longer willing to grind for this stuff ... it´s not even possible to hide the elysiumtube into the garage anymore which was the primary way to give it a bit more surviveability ... i like to refrain from saying soloconstruction having been gutted .. but .. it already strongly feels like it ...
Construction was doomed when the game's lead designer actually said this: 'Do you guys think base builders should get free kills from pain spires?' Ya...with that one question, it was clear problems would follow. My suspicion was that the new construction would be implemented via the view of an attacking Infil or Light Assault'. Wonder why I suspected that would be the case...?
So not only is construction nerfed into uselessness, there are new missions that promote wasting cortium and building useless silos everywhere. lol
