[Suggestion] Construction System Tweek: Supply Lines

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Shiaari, May 8, 2016.

  1. Shiaari

    TL;DR: Require HIVEs to be linked to the lattice in some way in order to get credit for refined cortium.

    So, I'm in a fight right now in Indar and NC has a HIVE on the Southern most reaches of the continent. That's a great place to put one if you're coming from the West. It's in a highly defensible position with rough terrain that makes a mechanized assault extremely difficult (slightly less with Magriders, but still makes for slow going), and very close to the South Eastern warpgate making it very efficient. The faction coming from the South West almost always puts one there. They should. It is an absolutely fantastic place to have one, or two, or three or more if you can swing it.

    The trouble is that this HIVE is nowhere near their territory, and that's a bit of a problem. Let me explain. First, some background.

    Player built bases--unlike hex based facilities designed with some manner of balance in mind--are built to be the very opposite. No one faults players for doing this. If you're going to build a base you might as well make it in your favor. These bases are therefore extremely defensible, as they very well should be. Yet, they require next to no upkeep (don't seize upon that yet; please keep reading). Once a base is constructed--and its never truly "done". More turrets and more walls are constantly added as resources allow--all it needs is a garrison of engineers and Sunderers and it can potentially become a completely impregnable fortress.

    Now, when the system was conceived this was fully acknowledged by the devs. HIVE efficiency is therefore slaved to its proximity to enemy warp gates. The idea is that the nearer to a hostile warp gate a HIVE is, the greater risk it is in, and therefore it should--and rightly--be more efficient. Good. But, there's a big rub:

    The population balance rule.

    It seems obvious that a HIVE in proximity to a hostile warp gate is in greater risk. It is indeed in greater risk, but that wisdom originates from the old mechanic of having absolutely no arbitrary population balance what so ever. Remember, the construction system has been a work in progress for a lot longer than the population balance mechanic, that did indeed change the risk/reward dynamics of HIVE placement. The new population mechanic therefore blunts that risk. The HIVE is still at-risk, yes, but not in as great a risk as it would have been. Multiple platoons stacking up on a player built base can keep it up indefinitely, so long as they keep the walls and turrets repaired. The HIVE requires cortium to refine, but that's proven much easier to obtain than perhaps the devs anticipated.

    Now that we've gotten that out of the way, the suggestion.

    I think HIVEs need to be linked to the lattice in some fashion. Allow me to clarify one thing: I *do not* think that a HIVE should be required to be in friendly territory in order to function. I firmly believe that we need to have the capability of putting HIVEs as deep into enemy territory as we can, but I think there needs to be a supply line maintained in order to keep the HIVE active if it is in hostile territory.

    It could be a new item in the construction pool with finite link range. Build one in friendly territory and chain them together for as long as you can, with one linking directly to the HIVE. They should be destructible, or perhaps even hackable, and require defense just like the HIVE.

    Thoughts?
  2. TorigomaSET

    No. The problem is, you've have to string bases all along the route, and even then they'd only need to take out a single part to make the entire thing useless. A better route would be some kind of "wireless" link up, that boosted HIVEs, if the HIVE was within range of Sublinks, and then increase the boost if the Main Link is in friendly Territory.
    This would make it easier to defend, as they would have to find the Sub/Main link, but still make it effective if they do find it.