Ok, this game is unplayable with this population unbalance...

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Nahwel, Apr 16, 2013.

  1. Emotitron

    No one said it came out of nowhere, and it is growing like a cancer. I know people who have switched sides to be on the dominating team so I know it is a factor. I also know now that in response good players are moving to TR to counter it and try to save the game from collapsing in a downward spiral.

    If you think everything is fine... good on you. Go back to the game and enjoy it. Many of us are seeing a very disturbing trend developing that needs to be addressed quickly before the 'unfun' of the game drives away too many more people.
    • Up x 2
  2. Alarox

    There is no trend, you have no evidence besides anecdotes. However, I do have evidence that contradicts your statements, which you refuse to accept.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AmUavphHXmIxdFhHUzJfN1VYalRnWS0xMnBUdTJpM1E&gid=3

    1.) NC population is barely higher than TR/VS population, besides the usual fact that VS is the lowest.

    2.) The population has effectively been cut in half over the course of a month. Therefore, ANY changes to population % will be a result of this. This should be obvious to everyone. I really hope I don't have to explain how halving the number of players will affect population far more than any suggested amount of players changing factions.

    3.) Just because you know people who switched sides, it doesn't mean anything. That is not evidence to support your idea that everyone is flocking to the NC. What if someone knows a bunch of people who changed to the TR or VS from the NC? Does that automatically give credibility to the idea that people are changing to the TR/VS?

    No, it does not, obviously.

    If that's the case, then the only other thing you can use for evidence are the statistics, which I've already explained twice do not support any of these claims.

    This is just the usual "complain about anything and everything" mixed with the placebo effect.
  3. Nahwel

    What more evidence you want besides pure experience?? The screenshots say everything that needs to be understood.
  4. Alarox

    You don't have a single piece of objective, conclusive evidence.

    What you have is either:

    1.) A screenshot of a world population at non-primetime hours.

    2.) A screenshot of a map population when we know nothing about the other map populations or whether it's primetime.

    3.) Anecdotes.

    If you want to prove anything at all, you need statistics for a given server hourly from day to day. And that's just one server. For the entire world, you'd need statistics for every server hourly, over a period of time.

    You don't even have a fraction of what you need to prove anything.

    -------------

    I've shown the most up to date population statistics for every server, and evidence *proving* that any noticeable population changes from at least prior to last month are from people leaving, not people changing factions.
  5. Nahwel

    Ok, dude. Listen up.
    1. Yes, I have screenshots of non-primetime hours because that's when I'm mostly able to play. And is BS that I can play because the over popopulation (whether prime time or not, it does not matter, it should not happen)
    2. What do you need to know? The map name is there. The server is Helios for me, others complained about other servers as well.
    3. Yes dude, anecdotes. Empiric evidence. Believe it or not, that's how it is.
    Besides that, if you don't agree with what is posted here go ahead and start your own thread stating what you think. Go ahead and write about how the populations are well balanced and see how many agree with you.
  6. Alarox

    "Don't have a conflicting opinion in our thread!". Best argument ever used. Bravo.

    ------------

    If you play at off-hours, expect there to be population imbalances. However, asking for there to be lower population caps on maps when a specific faction greatly outnumbers the enemy at off-hours, THAT is fine. Advocate that. I'm for that, it just makes sense.

    Instead, we've got multiple threads with people trying to convince each other and themselves that the NC are growing like a cancer in the game and that SOE has to find some way to make people dislike the NC or enact population control.

    Two pretty different things. Two pretty different motives. Two pretty different sets of evidence needed.
  7. Emotitron

    Yes, your all caps makes it all so clear. I guess it is all in our heads that every alert other than during prime time the last few days has had an NC population of 50% or greater. Everything is just fine, thanks for clearing that up for us all Alarox.
    • Up x 2
  8. Babaganoush

    I for one am waiting for "Planetside 3: The New Conglomerate Civil War"
  9. Pat Cleburne

    Someone is actually trying to say the NC aren't overpopulated on almost every server? Really? I thought even NC players acknowledged this problem.
  10. Egonieser

    Same on Ceres ever since the merge. NC dominate and outnumber TR and VS on every continent most of the time. I can't remember when TR managed to fight off the NC zergs when they happen. They are just too huge and when they start, it's all the way to WG.

    Wonder why it's TR they hate so much, why not VS, they never seem to get it. All the fights seem to be boardered on our hexes not VS's, they mostly have no activity or only a few people/squads.
  11. Fantom_17

    I have a br 43 on helios and got tired of having the pop advantage all the time so I switched to TR, got up to BR 25 and realized that I was letting something out of my controll influence my enjoyment from the game. so.. Im back to playing my NC character because I have all my stuff on that account. If they allowed people to change teams and keep their certs I would be #1 in the transfer. I actually like TR better cause you dont have little emo girls running around, and your char desings are all around way better cept for those g:confused::confused: gly g:eek: ggles.


    also think about the fact that NC used to be smaller than VS which had a pop in the 40's (during the time we are talking about in the thread, NOT PT) but after maggie nerf/ server merge dropped way down. newcomers dont join TR because they think space commies. I started NC cause I'm american. that being the ONLY reason :oops:
  12. Blackinvictus

    This!!
  13. firewolf

    There is an easy fix to pop imbalance. The problem starts with the fourth faction. Ever since the ESRL got released they flocked to one faction or another. So an easy fix would be giving the lower populations an UNFAIR buff like HP or DMG. That way the fourth faction comes on to see the TR or VS are just 2 shoting everything and guess what they will move to the TR or VS. This makes it so the unfair buff gets knocked out fast enough to make it not really unfair. And we get the fourth faction on another faction for at least a few hours at a time. And now the NC lose all the faction hoppers and just the loyal NC stay. Problem solved.
  14. Schwarzpferd

    I hear you man...I am a hardcore vanu loyalist but loging on to my server usually shows a massive difference between vs pop and TR and NC, usually those two have about 20% more than us. I remember fighting so hard to capture territory, while an alert on another continent took place...then it ended. Within thirty or so minutes TR had taken back the 40% or so of the continent we conquered.

    It is also annoying when I hear things like I did during one battle against the TR. Sure it looked bad for us. Then we had some vanu that were crying in yell chat and one said something like, "Skrew this I am joining TR" It can be annoying when you have whimps that quit just to join the "winning" side. All good though in a dark way...I can now kill these cowards...and on another note, I really don't want quitter-mentality players on my side.

    HOWEVER.....I will not quit or gripe too much for the following reasons:

    1)Sure they cap our bases...but then move out in front of their turrets without thinking I may just have hacked them. Once I hacked an av turret with flashes, tanks and infantry charges in front of me...in a related story whoever introduced the turret "overheat" mechanic is on my hit list ;)
    2)Many players are obsessed with being on the winning side, and typically those people that care only about "winning" and being on the winning side generally have not had to learn how to truly fight. As a result they think numbers are everything, they are not. Strategy is. Many times I focus on planning, outsmarting and the like because I have to. As a result I think that I am a better soldier because of it. "One must endure the worst to become the best."
    3)It is a target rich environment!
    4)As was mentioned by a poster already with NC usually on defense this opens so many opportunities that one must learn to take advantage of. Like hacking turrets for example. It also allows you to manipulate your enemies more, because zergs rarely think. In fact there has only been one time I noticed in which my enemy was aware of my presence and truly thought. In that incident a tr group who was aware of my infiltrator presence also apparently knew what my plan was...at which point they proceeded to send infantry in after me with max support while their vehicles destroyed all their turrets in the area where I was last seen.

    There is something else to consider...and hear me out please. Honestly, playing as vanu and being outnumbered kinda makes sense within the games lore and role play. One vanu I heard complained, "You TR always charge in with massive numbers...that is the way it always is massive numbers." I personally thought that was the point of TR... Now granted balance would be nice, and most don't care about lore.

    Basically what I am saying is this...yes if you play vanu you will have less numbers, but a good game is one that presents challenge and opportunity to meet those challenges. I always feel outnumbered, but never have I felt that I can not be competitive. Sometimes there are rewards that are not tangable but still worth everything...I mean think of the above situation.. TR capped a base and had two sunderers ready to move out...but knew I was there, so they waited while 2 prowlers, several mosquitoes, and infantry tried to take me out...about five minutes they did that...I am not saying I am the greatest thing ever...far from it very very far from it, but when one player can delay about 10 enemies from advancing for about 5 or so minutes it still gives you that sense of contributing..it gives you that sense of having to think, plan and use patience. Someone once said, and it still rings true, "Planetside has three difficulties, easy, medium and hard, also known as playing as NC, TR, and VS respectively."

    Now am I saying the balance issue should never be fixed? NO. What I am saying is, take a deep breath, relax and think about the good that can come from being the underpopulated Vanu. This is important because I honestly feel this will never be an issue that is resolved and vanu will always be underpopulated for a few reasons.

    1) Obviously there is an "association" with being a faction that wears purple. Some people cannot realize that clothes are like people in the sense that judgements should not be made based on color.
    2) According to the lore we want to implant alien technology into us and as the TR say, "Destroy our very humanity" and the NC see us as "trying to oppress their mind" It is seen as we are the ones trying to "force our beliefs on others." In today's world people take a stand against that and so why would they want to join a faction where you are "trying to force your beliefs on another" when you could be part of a faction that is "fighting for freedom" or "fighting to preserve what mankind has worked for." In short we are the "bad" guys to the public. In truth NC are the pure evil because the hide behind terrorism and call it wanting freedom and the TR just want to hold humanity back and don't care to see us improve. So we are the only good guys in the game, but many will never see that because the truth is something people today cannot recognize or handle.
    3) Then consider the weapons...some are insecure in themselves so they need to be around big and powerful things to feel better about themselves. Now I am not saying all NC are insecure, but there are those that are drawn to the faction because of the prospect of big and powerful tanks, guns and aircraft. Others like the powerful refire rate of machine guns.

    In conclusion (finally ;)) It isn't right as far as a gameplay sense, but it probably will not change. There is just too much to draw people to NC and TR, but it is not as bad as you may think...again more targets. You say it is unplayable...on that note I must respectfully disagree given the points I have stated.

    That said, SOE, I honestly feel warpgate movements should be more frequent. I am not going to cry about being under popped but being as we get pushed back so much, more frequent warpgate switches would at least mean I have an opportunity to fight in different areas.

    Also...SOE what happened to the idea back in PS1 of players only being able to have chars on two empires per server and having a major timer between them? Seriously people will switch to the winning side for alerts and the like..why not have such a long timer again?
    • Up x 1
  15. firewolf

  16. Nahwel

    Holy wall of words!! :p
  17. LuNaTIcFrEAk

    Alarox read the note on the stats page you linked:
    Note: in this data set, an "active character" is one that was created on or before the given date and has logged in on that date or later.
    It does not mean that the character actually logged in on that specific date. For this reason, I have not included the last 7 days

    This means what you are showing is only total active character count, it does not tell you what character they are playing the most.

    If someone plays their NC six days a week and they play their VS one day a week it counts as the same in the stats you are using.
    • Up x 1
  18. {joer

    TR are the weakest empire by far in terms of weapons. Its human nature to pick on the softer target.
  19. Alizona

    I totally agree the game is unplayable. But I just suck it up because obviously Sony doesn't care.

    If I log on and I see NC with 62%, TR with 19% and Vanu with 19% (which is what the numbers have been the past two days when I tried to play), then I just logout and quit, and try again later.

    The game is truly getting worse, not better. But I still try to play every day, so it does still have some appeal to me. But the overpopulation problem with the NC on Helios is ruining the fun.
    • Up x 1
  20. Schwarzpferd

    Interesting point but may I ask something? If the server pop is shrinking but the NC population is staying high wouldn't that in theory mean more VS and TR players are quitting than NC? If that is the case, it is still a slight problem IMHO.

    Personally I can endure the low pop, but I am just one person, those who wish for a balanced pop have a right to their feelings.
    • Up x 1