TL;DR - Reduce the number of contestable lattice links to a number derived from the %-population an Empire has of the maximum continental population. Over the weekend I saw probably the clearest example a small change is needed to the Lattice System. Between Xelas and Onatha a VS zerg was heading up one of the 2 parallel "Lattice-lanes" with the TR zerg heading down the other. Both zergs avoiding each other for the easy kills of the new/brave/stupid players who tried to stand in their path. Whats wrong with the current Lattice System? One of the complaints about the old Hex Influence capture system was there were too many links. Huge armies would divide and head in many different directions and it made enemy movements hard to judge and the big fights even harder to find. The current Lattice system has limited the number of links making the action more concentrated. However its only when the continent is nearing maximum population do the number of Lattice links make sense. Often the population on the continent is far from full and the action is spread thinly between many small fights in each Lattice-lane with the occasional zerg appearing to ruin the fight on both sides. Defenders don't stand a chance and attackers are fighting over scraps. Solution: Population-based Contestable Lattice Links These would aim to reduce the number of active Lattice-lanes depending on the number of players on any given continent. Allowing people to more easily find the fight. Zergs to clash head on and protect low population factions from having to defend every front simultaneously. PbCLL's would open dynamically based on what percentage of the MAXIMUM continent population (2000 players) an Empire currently has. Empire % of maximum continent population / # of active PbCLL's < 15 = 1 16-26 = 2 27-31 = 3 32-34 = 4 35-39 = 5 40 = 8 Example - Continent Half-Full (1000 players) In this example the continent is 50% full with 1000 players (I'm guessing the number of players). NC have 40% of the continent population - 400 players TR have 31% of the continent population - 310 players VS have 28% of the continent population - 280 players (10 players appear to of overslept and failed to hit the launch button in their drop pod. But moving on...) Under the current Lattice system there are 12 contested lattice links in the above example. With the action spread thinly, the largest battle is less then a platoon for each of the TR/VS at Onatha North Gate. Breakdown of lattice links NC v VS - 5 NC v TR - 5 VS v TR - 2 With the TR/VS already in battle and NC with a significant population advantage and 5 contestable links to VS territory. The remaining VS with the lowest Empire population, would struggle to counter any NC attack. Alternatively, The number of PbCLL's for each Empire would be; NC 400 players - 20% of maximum continent population = 2 lattice links TR 310 players - 15.5% of maximum continent population = 1 lattice link VS 280 players - 14% of maximum continent population = 1 lattice link This would activate 2 lattice links. One between NC and TR territory and another between NC and VS territory. Creating 2 potentially huge battles with either the NC defending outnumbered on 2 fronts or combining into one force to push back one faction and sacrifice less important territory to one Empire. Further changes required to make this work World Population - Currently this is 33% of the maximum server population or 2000 per Empire. I see no reason to change this. Continent population Currently this is 33% of the maximum continent population or 666 per Empire. And yes this needs to change. I suggest each Empire is limited too 40% of the current total continent population at any given time. Any more players from that Empire would need to queue in order to join, even if the continent was just a quarter full. One exception would be if there are less then 50 players on the continent. No point queuing if just 19 players from your Empire are on the continent. Why 40%? The idea is to avoid a stalemate. Having 33% each would typically cancel each other out. I'm sure everyone would prefer to lose once in awhile in order to fight over another area of the map, then an endless battle in the middle. If any Empire has less then 27% of the current total continent population. No lattice links would open between the two least populated factions to avoid the smallest faction being teamed up on. In the event an Empire is Warpgate locked. An lattice link would be activated to the Empire territory which has surrounded the locked faction. Example; NC owns all of Indar but has the lowest continent population with just 20%. TR has the highest population. Leaving the VS locked in the Warpgate. In this situation the VS would ignore the above rule about not being able to double team the lowest populated Empire. My suggestion is a small change in the grand scheme. Maybe such a tweak is all thats need to even out the action into a more enjoyable experience. What do you think? Would this work? Would things ultimately end in a stalemate?
