Bring Back The Lattice System... But Make It Dynamic

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Rivenshield, Dec 4, 2012.

  1. Rivenshield

    So there I am, part of yet another grandiose Terran tank column... having just been steamrolled by a similar NC zerg on the far side of Indar, and spawning back at my WG to regroup... lamenting we couldn't point these two zergs at each other and have an old-school king-h*ll deathmatch as we did of old, and likewise lamenting that the devs clearly would never bring back the lattice....

    And I had an epiphany. What if the lattice were dynamic? What if those little beams of light tying the main bases together swapped around at regular intervals? You'd have to fight over different ground in different directions at different times of day, and it'd still serve the good old purpose of channelizing the zergs at each other, more often than not.

    You'd still have the hex system. You'd still have to capture outposts and minor facilities to stage the main assault. But if the zerg were only able to go in, say, one of two directions, that would enable the defenders to predict where they'd be. We'd have *battles* again, instead of this frustrating strategic outflank-and-capture-the-empty-base syndrome we suffer from.

    That plus the old yellow/orange/red alert system would do a lot to allow large-scale battles to coalesce. And it'd be *new.* What do my fellow zerglings think?
  2. Rivenshield

    Bump...? If there's merit in the idea, let's discuss it. If it's pants on head ********, pick it apart.
  3. AsmodeusZ28

    I haven't played the first game. Could you explain that lattice system?
  4. DJ2K

    This is the original Lattice system, as described by the Planetside manual addendum (the Lattice was added towards the end of beta after testers complained about the musical-chairs style of gameplay). It was an attempt to create territorial front lines where you would often see major offensives and defensive struggles taking place. :

    The Lattice System

    Advancing your empire's position by acquiring facilities is a primary goal, and for this you'll need a hacker. Hacking to gain control of a facility is fraught with danger, and there's a strategy behind which facilities you can attempt to hack at any given time. This strategy is based on the lattice system, the linking of facilities based on ownership, shown in the PlanetSide map system. The effective hacker will be very familiar with this lattice system and the maps.

    The map system presents all this data in a clear graphical format so you can plan your missions fast, and better prepare your defenses.

    The Lattice

    Bases in PlanetSide are captured in a sequence specified according to the Continental Lattice. In order to capture a base, an Empire must control another base that is linked to it.

    For example, the New Conglomerate and the Vanu Sovereignty each control facilities on one continent. Since the New Conglomerate Amp Station is not linked to the Dropship Center, the NC may not capture the Amp Station directly. To push forward to the Amp Station, the New Conglomerate must first capture the Interlink Facility (which is sequentially linked) from the Vanu Sovereignty. Since the Terran Republic does not have a facility on the continent, to establish a presence on the continent, they must control a base on another continent that links to an intercontinental warpgate, which in turn links to the enemy-held facilities on the specific continent.

    If the same empire controls two bases that share a lattice link, the link will appear colored the same as the primary color of that empire (Red for TR, Purple for VS, Blue for NC). If the link leads to an enemy-held facility, it will appear yellow. If the link leads to a neutral base or to a warp gate, the line will appear gray.

    [IMG]

    One of the cooler things about it was the ability to completely push a faction off the continent and even lock it down to one empire.
  5. Artuskan

    Lettuce? We ain't got no lettuce! We don't need no stinkin' lettuce!!!
  6. AsmodeusZ28

    That seems interesting, and the interconnecting warp gates seems much more interesting than they are now. But only being able to capture linked bases seems a bit linear even if they would switch around every few hours. But I can't think of a better way to stop this capture the empty base syndrome as you call it.
  7. DJ2K

    It was linear, but I would argue that it felt more realistic and was more fun than this "Take A, Take B, Re-take A, Retake B, Re-retake A, Re-retake B, ad nauseum setup that exists now.

    When I say realistic, I'm not talking specifically about the rules that permitted you to only take certain bases on the map at any given time or the science-fiction lore behind it. What the Lattice was good at was representing the army of defenders you'd normally leave occupying each base you've captured. You know, because you'll never get a hundred players to sit around for hours guarding a facility that isn't involved in a battle, and players were violently opposed to having an NPC guard force stationed there. So, you create a system like the Lattice.

    It was not uncommon to be participating in a siege on a base like the Dropship Center, log off for several hours, come back on, ask what's changed, and be told that your empire finally took the Dropship Center and is pushing to the territories beyond it. Taking over a base was a big deal; you knew you weren't going to lose that facility your empire spent hours working on unless your opponents managed to decimate your front line, pushing your army (and territorial lines) back.
  8. AsmodeusZ28

    I see, that does seem pretty nice. It would definitely beat running around in circles because nobody stayed behind to defend captured facilities.
  9. Rivenshield

    Yep. That's part of the charm -- that you *know* whatever lies in your rear area is going to *stay* conquered, until and unless Teh Enemy conquers a base with a line pointing to it. It gives you a feeling of genuine accomplishment.

    A dynamic lattice would keep the best of the old system and add a new wrinkle: that you'd gain the ability to attack from different directions every few hours.
  10. Moises J.Ramos

    Not gonna happen. PS2 Devs are aiming for BF3/CoD players, and the lattice will be too hard for them to stay together as a group. Higby even said on twitter he was not adding it. I only play PS2 for 30 mins 2 days a week or so due to it's genericness, and useless capping. I'm hoping for Planetside 1 F2P this month or at least in January.
  11. Aerolath

    LOL go pay for it if it's that great
  12. Rivenshield

    /struggles with this

    Part of the benefit of the lattice is that it keeps you *together.* How would giving the CoD kids a clear line of advance make it HARD for them to stay together? And what does their previous RPS experience matter...?
  13. Luft

    I like this dynamic lattice idea. I often feel like fronts are just TOO big and it's too easy to flank the enemy.
  14. Rivenshield

    Necro-bump.

    /looks stubborn
  15. Ghostfox

    I'm a fan of this or something to help encourage armies to spread out(as opposed to zerging around each other).

    As is, there simply is too many ways to bypass a main force because there is no real incentive to defend minor territory that is poorly set up for defense.. nor is there any reason to do anything but zerg around as a concentrated force.
  16. Rivenshield

    /nod

    Someone else in a different thread suggested a regional lattice -- clusters of bases that would have to be conquered in order, or that at least would give you only a couple choices as to where you were going next. I like the idea. Unfortunately Higby and Smed don't.

    Then again, they were adamant about not bringing back the AMS.....