Lattice + Resouce changes could be interesting

People have complained that lattice limits strategy, but these increases in resource costs could add a new element of strategy to the game. Our commanders will have to weigh different routes to attack or defend based on our resource needs and the resource needs of our enemies. Make the wrong choice, or fail to defend a series of bases with a particular resource and you could suddenly find your empire unable to pull as many force-multipliers as you need. But this will all have to be measured and tweaked by SOE over time. I don't expect it to be a balanced system for quite some time, but this could be the beginnings of a really good strategic meta game.

I expect that organized empires will have a built in advantage, at least initially. By organized, I mean the main outfits coordinate with each other, through TS or some kind of other third party coms. VS on Connery frequently work together. I suspect the TR do too, but I've heard through sources that the NC don't coordinate as much as they should.

So anyway, lattice, right now, puts a premium on tactical play (or zerging) while the resource changes will add a necessary element of strategic thinking. Together, this could make for interesting gameplay for all except those that consider themselves dedicated force-multiplier players. For players that are flexible, this should be no problem.

The presence of dedicated force-multiplier players is, evidently, an unintended side effect. We were never, I suspect, suposed to see large numbers of these dedicated players. However, those that are really good in their role should be rewarded with the necessary resource points to minimize or eliminate any downtime. But it remains to be seen how the recourse changes will affect player behavior. We could start see dedicates going to extreme lengths to survive while not contributing to the overall strategic goals of the empire.

I agree, it might not be the best thing when it comes out, but it lays the groundwork for a lot of changes this game needs imo.

Not at all biased I see. Thank you for your "fair" opinion on things.

I'm looking forward to trying it. Bonus points to Higby for even acknowledging that they could change it back if it wasn't fun.

disagree...it still would suck.....and would still be the same thing,ZERG outpost alpha! ,,,,can't go behind with a small force to do anything....no point to outfits....suck..that whole system made this game less fun and boring

I'm worried about the short-term affects of the resource changes. Right now on most of the servers, we have a severe population imbalance issue. The resource system is designed to use incentives to promote attacking. The more territory you own the more resources you get. This, however, has the disadvantage of causing the defense to slowly starve itself of resources. Being outnumbered 2-1 sets up a snowball effect. As the defense starts to lose territory, they regain resources slower... thus causing less ability to pull vehicles, which causes them to lose territory even faster.

Now, defenders are not only looking at overwhelming odds, but also not being able to pull their chosen vehicles. What do you think they will do? Run as infantry into the fight? Switch Conts? Or switch factions or servers? If they switch factions or servers, it makes the overpop worse. They need to put in hefty population resource bonuses to make it so the underpopped faction can fight on even ground, and even consider resource penalties for having 50% pop on a server. Otherwise, the imbalances will get worse before they get better. % xp bonuses are not enough of a incentive if you are facing 20 MBTs at a warpgate with only your trusted rifles. No amount of Flashes or Sundies is going to break that blockade.

I'm worried about what this will do to the game in the short term. How many players are going to be lost by logging in and seeing that their chosen faction on their high-BR character is facing 50-60% population imbalance. It's a daily occurrence on a lot of servers. Even being on the over-pop faction isn't fun. It's hard to find good fights when you have 3-1 pop advantage at all fights.

Even if those players choose to stick with the game, and start a character on a different server... that means they are just more likely to switch factions/servers if they start losing pop... thus making the issue worse on that server. The pop swings will just increase in strength.


This all may be fixed in the long-term by more conts, end-continent locking, tweaks to incentives, changes to bases, etc. However, in the short-term it's going to be rough.


TL;DR: resource system promotes attacking more than defending... enhancing it is going to make population imbalances worse in the short-term.

Kinda irrelevant when facilities grant 30 resources vs 4-5 for smaller outposts.
Either way this is negated by active resource gain, if you're fighting around a Tech plant you'll never run out of tank resources.


My main playstyle for the next few weeks will be placing landmines on top of vehicle pads to annoy people.

They need to implement more back-line ability for small ops teams to affect the lattice play. Not being able to capture or ghost bases, but maybe decrease resource gain by dropping key generators (maybe not even every base, but special places along the lattice (like junction points, etc.) Maybe by dropping a certain Gen at an AMP station, it increased all vehicle timers by 30 seconds... Things like that. Even if it required a few people to complete the task... (require two consoles to be hacked within 10 seconds of each other, otherwise it fails, etc)

Things like this could bring back small-squad fights over key objectives. Just promoting huge lattice fights is good for those that like it, but they need more small squad stuff to make tact-ops possible. (Ie, drop way behind enemy lines to slow down MBT timers by sabotaging a tech plant.)

It is another step in the right direction, though not as big a step as lattice was it is still a step. The resource revamp should be a bigger step, as would continent locking be.

They could make it so bases deep behind enemy lines can be put into a state of neutrality, thus interrupting resource flow to forward bases along the lattice. This would give spec op type runs some importance.

Resource penalties and wide open movement would have created some very interesting scenarios. There would truly be risk and reward for pentrating deeply.

Lattice will have us going down the same paths, and whoever can field the most guys for the longest time will have the advantage at POMD (Point of Maximum Danger), and equipment-wise.

Sounds...bleh. Repetitive.

I don't have a problem with dedicated players, but apparently SOE does to a certain extent. SOE is telling us they don't want us to be able to spawn vehicles with impunity. High skill players won't have a problem with these changes, but much like the proliferation of AA turning air into a no-noobs-allowed club, we could see a similar effect with other vehicles, though to a lesser extent, hopefully. Also, these changes could exacerbate problems that low skilled players already have with air.

Personally, I like playing MAX, a lot. I think I'm pretty good about staying alive, so maybe these changes won't affect my preferred playstyle, but I'll have to wait and see.

Without any changes to AV / C4 / AT mines. All this change is going to do is further push armor into the role of artillery. Armor has been getting pushed further and further from actually participating in actual battles. And with these changes armor really won't be anything other than glorified snipers.

Which is my biggest issue with it. The infantry morons foolishly say "L2P" when in fact we are and have been getting pushed further and further back from actual fighting.

Hell, in any given outdoors fight, infantry already has the advantage. And now that's even more true.

Can't wait.....

In the days of hex movement, underpopped teams had a chance.

Now that the mother of all zergs, the Lattice is here, underpops just get rolled.

strategy is to take many options and whittle them down to a few best options (plan a, plan b if you will)

how is removing options resulting in less choice resulting in no latitude to even have a plan b (never mind struggling to activate any plan with so many in a platoon having no resource left in any given hour of play) a change towards the interesting?

two lesses does not a more make

Do you seriously think that platoon commanders who are too dumb for the hex system are going to ever be able to figure something like this out?

Friendly reminder that Lattice is actually easier than Hex. The problem with the hex system was the easy ghostcapping, the problem with Lattice is that underpopulated factions get forced into fighting numerically superior zergs. To add insult to injury, increased resource cost for MAXes and vehicles.

Oh the joy.

That won't happen and you know it. No one will use strategy. They will continue to zerg and then complain when they run out of resources and it makes it unfun for everyone.

They need to rethink resources far more than this, and leave it the way it is until they do so. This is going to completely cripple the TR due to their MBT being so much more fragile.

Edit: I can confirm my outfit, a mid-sized one (Imperial Reach aka home of the ReachCast on Waterson) have stopped fighting their main ops on Indar currently due to the mind numbing boredom that the Lattice has caused.

I sadly kinda agree , the leadership in everyfaction is pretty weak , even take huge organised group such as the well know matherson ( TE ) BC their leaders isnt smart enough to do 1+1 as good as he his to farms randoms with easymode stuff such as Harasser GL or HA tanks or Shotguns

He dosent have any strategies or well oils strategies , its all Zergs and steamrolls ,focus fire and so on and pretty much all big organisation are like this

This game deseparatly need RTS style commanders to lead groups on RTS elements needs and who spread squad and platoon in a meaningfull way to achive strategics goal , all i see now is mindless zerging and steam rolling

NATURAL SELECTION DOES it Brillantly on a smaller scales , but if your comander is poor your in a deep tird !