oh my god. What is wrong with this guys computer? Or did he film this with a handy-cam? I think I'm going to be motion sick..
We're back where we started! Almost the same concept, only pre-alpha design looked cleaner (and not due to the lack of props)
It's probably just a matter of different shaders. But yeah, I'm digging the fact that Amp Stations are more urban environments again and not just wide open courtyards. Three capture points encouraging actual running battles outdoors sounds like it's going to be sweet.
I knew it! I've seen this before! Total Biscuit did a preview when the game was in studio alpha. When I saw the video, I was like "Darn, this looks like that one video TB did!"
I think it's a matter that the towers and walls looked cleaner without any protruding parts. The AMP station on PTS looks almost cluttered and these small walls everywhere feel like they're out of place and don't belong with the rest of the structure. I mean, just look at the gate and wall separating the two layers and connected to the main structure. It just feels more natural. (i'm also really digging the bunkered walls)
Well, fps is currently all over the place and there are some holes in the geometry that probably should not be there [The last one I'd make accessible from the inside and turn it into a firing position, if I were you.] something strange with the fall damage (it is possible to fall from the highest point of the amp station and not take any damage if you did not interact with a vehicle in any way), some funny looking flashlight bugs this is still way too easy to do, the main spawn could use a way back up from the lower floor, some people have reported painfields extending farther than they probably should, etc, etc, but even with all that the new Freyr already looks interesting. I am very much excited to see how it plays out. I dig the new window shutters and am pumped to see MAX map icons finally making it into the game.
Before After I just got back from giving a thorough look at Freyer Amp Station, and I think the new spawn room layouts changes are a major improvement that should be applied in a similar fashion on the live servers. Underground spawns are excellent change, as is making a spawn in the center of the base with multiple exists to encourage defending and counter attacks. However I'm absolutely disgusted by the new courtyard design, or rather the complete lack of it. It merely funnels tanks into two narrow straight line routes that makes it easy as shooting, or rather mining/Decimating/ C4ing, fish in a barrel. Not to mention the walls on the sides of the routes are easily flown over by light assaults meaning MBT's will quickly get C4'd by suicidal LA's unless the tanks have proximity radar. This new courtyard design is a failure and once again is further removing the combined arms aspect from the game. In addition if these changes go live before tank spam is reduced the level of traffic jams and trolling that will occur will sky rocket at Amp Stations. People already deploy Sunderer's in the middle of narrow paths to troll, and with how narrow these path ways are means the same sort of occurrences will likely happen. The layout in the pictures above are a far cry from the quality and functionality of some earlier Amp Station layout proposals. For instance the picture below shows numerous buildings and fortified rooftops for infantry to use as cover and to attack tanks. At the same time the design giving tanks room to move throughout the courtyard and aid infantry pushes that may be going on one of several directions throughout the base, and not 2 simple directions down the middle. This allows a tank to actually have a chance to retreat and repair in the middle of an infantry push, or use the buildings within the courtyard to flank if they have stealth certed. Currently at Fryer on the test server if a tank is in an Amp station you can always count on them being in the narrow funnel roads, or within the Amp Station building, which is allows for considerably less exciting combined arms battles to occur then what is capable in the design below. TLDR: The Amp Station in the picture below is far superior to the ones on the test server because it allows tanks to push forward throughout many areas of the base with allied infantry, while at the same time providing more than adequate cover and flanking opportunities for enemy infantry to use against said tanks. Once the Planetside 2 Birthday XP event is over I'll be taking time to make another Ultimate Thread o rally against these courtyard changes, and any future changes the developers might have to ruin combined arms gameplay. Planetside 2 should stay a great combined arms game where infantry and tanks can fight side by side both in the open field and within bases. If base design is improved so tanks can't spawn camp and fire directly on capture points there is no reason to completely remove them from the battle within bases.
I just think that the "alpha" amp station picture is looking so good because the new amp stations is a mess, and the old amp station, the alpha one, is very big and at the same time simple, look this picture from the sky of the new amp station, is a lot of mess. They should make only ONE amp station as the alpha one, just to see the results and where the players would like to fight in. Just to test.
First things First AMP stations as they are on Live now are my favourite ground for Infantry fight, I find it very well balanced and a good mixture of verticality and amount of cover, having said this I have mixed feelings about the upcoming update, I really understand it could use more than a few tweaks and I'm really looking forward for the outcome. Will now login onto the PTS to check out the changes
While I think you're right about AMP stations in a common battle, I also think that during organized play capturing/holding an AMP station currently comes down to who can stack the most people on A point the fastest, with generators and the SCU being entirely optional objectives. (This also applies to Tech Plants to a certain degree.) I really hope the change leads to more interesting fights for both random groups and organized platoons and it sure has the potential to IMO.
They've added capture points, spawn rooms and the shield generator. Interesting layout, it spreads the fight over the whole amp station.
